Shane Helms Should Leave Social Media

For your own good, shut up.
Photo Credit: Share TV

"TMZ, a site that profits off the mistakes and downfalls of human beings. How proud they must be. What a bunch of maggots." - Shane Helms, post Matt Hardy's arrest, via Twitter

I read both reports TMZ released about Matt Hardy's arrest and firing from Impact Wrestling. Believe you me, I have no great love for the Thirty Mile Zone, but there's no doubt that sometimes, they do good reporting. This is one of those cases. I get that Helms wants to defend a friend from attack, and believe me, there are some baseless attacks on Hardy out there, but at the same time? He doesn't seem to treat the trolls any differently from people who have constructive criticisms.

"I'm just saying don't JUDGE someone you DON'T EVEN KNOW over a situation that YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT! Maybe worry about YOURSELF first." -- Helms.

Hmm... sounds like potentially sage advice. I think Helms should follow it himself, given that he wrote a screed about a situation he pretty much knew nothing about, at least firsthand (even if he probably does know both Matt and Nick Jackson since he worked for PWG this year).

Seriously, it's okay to pontificate about respect, but when someone shows a blatant lack of respect for innocent people (and let's not get pedantic here, just because Hardy crashed into a tree and there was no one else on the road at that exact moment doesn't mean that he magically had respect for everyone else by driving impaired), we have to shut up because it's his friend? I'm not buying that. While his intentions are probably decent, Helms just comes off terribly here because he's lashing out at the wrong people. He's acting like a know-it-all, and here's a guy who's had his share of dust-ups that seriously damage his credibility. Whether it's trying to justify the situation by bringing up the fact that he was hit by a sober driver when he was a kid or retweeting someone trying to deflect from Hardy because of the bloodshed sparked by the overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi in Libya, all he's doing is bringing more light and heat to a situation that really doesn't need any help garnering attention.

The thing about drunk driving/impaired driving is that more often than not, odds are someone who comments is someone who has been affected by it either way. One of my dad's friends got nailed for drunk driving after getting into a pretty bad accident by driving the wrong way on an exit ramp onto I-95. Admittedly, my parents were both kinda ticked at the punishment he got, which was light even looking back at it now, but all things considered, I'm glad he did have to go to jail. It turned his life around. But he still really fucked up the lives of a whole family. Other people have been impacted by a drunk driver killing or injuring people they know and love. So, I'm pretty sure that this is a situation that people know a lot about, even if they don't know Hardy personally.

"Just because you support someone doesn't mean you agree with EVERYTHING they do. It just means you're there for them." -- Helms.

I don't want to seem like a heartless asshole here. I sympathize and empathize with Helms here. He wants his friend to get better, and I think his heart may be in the right place here. That being said, his head is certainly not. If he wants to truly help his friend get better, he should stop combating with "keyboard warriors" as he's saying and really put the pressure on him to get the help he needs. Then again, are we sure Helms has gotten the help that he needs himself? I mean, he's still recovering from a nasty motorcycle accident that was caused by his own negligence through impaired operation of a moving vehicle. I'm not sure he knows that what Hardy did was wrong, because it's not clear whether he realizes what he did in the past was wrong.

That's why I feel like he needs to quit Twitter and Tumblr and focus on getting his life back into order as well as helping his friends get their affairs in a row. Three of them have problems (counting Jeff Hardy in this bunch as well) with substance abuse, and if they don't help themselves and help each other, they're going to hurt someone real bad, whether it's themselves or someone innocent. Stop worrying about "the dirtsheets". Stop worrying about "respect". Stop worrying about "having boundaries". Stop worrying about your careers. Start worrying about your health.

Until then, all they're doing, Helms especially it seems, is riling up people for no other reason than to get riled up all while ignoring their own problems as they slowly claim their lives and livelihoods.

Designed Hypocrisy: Does Cena's Promo at the End of RAW Have Deeper Meaning?

Was Cena's lack of perspective intentional Monday?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

The final scene on RAW was indelible to say the least. Alberto del Rio locked his rival, Rey Mysterio, in the cross armbreaker after his successful title defense, and he would not let go. John Cena came to Mysterio's aid and then cut the angriest promo I've seen from him in the three years that I've been back watching. He looked pissed off, not because del Rio wronged him, but because del Rio wronged the Championship. He preyed on CM Punk moments after a hard fought victory and a sneak attack from Kevin Nash, and he didn't act honorably. On the surface, without any context, this makes sense. Cena's character is about hustle, loyalty and respect, and del Rio showed none.

The truth is, neither did Cena.

Go back to the RAW where Justin Roberts proclaimed "JEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHN CENA" as the new WWE Champion after defeating Mysterio. The diminutive San Diegan was wrestling in his fourth match in two weeks. He had wrestled a grueling match against The Miz, a former Champion himself, earlier in the program. The major difference between the two is that del Rio seized his own opportunity, while Cena had it handed to him by Triple H.

That may make all the difference in the world, but at the same time, refusing a title shot isn't really out of the realm of character for someone if the storyline called for it. Hell, CM Punk, the guy who was "wronged" by del Rio, forewent his rematch to chase Kevin Nash and try to uncover conspiracies that would keep him from attaining his deserved prize as "Best in the World". So, why couldn't Cena forego his title shot for one more week to get Mysterio at his best if that's the way he'd conveniently feel after seeing Punk get jobbed out of the title?

Some may point to internal inconsistencies, and I agree that with WWE Creative, as well as they've been doing lately, that's always a possibility. That being said, WWE Creative is doing pretty well for themselves lately, at least on the main event level, so maybe they do deserve some benefit of the doubt here. Maybe Cena's reaction was carefully planned to foreshadow a change in alignment.

Yes, the ultimate white whale of the Internet fan is a John Cena heel turn. Ever since he became a fan favorite, the cries have come it seems, and it always has seemed like a bad idea. He sold too much merch. He's too much of a house show draw. He gets too loud a reaction from the children, whereas no one else but the increasingly fragile Rey Mysterio would get. Plain and simple, it would have been bad business, even if it would have been better TV for folks who make up a small portion of the audience.

That being said, the appearance of Punk, and possibly even Miz, as suitors to the role of top hero make Cena as a bad guy increasingly tempting and viable. Of course, neither Miz nor Punk appeal to a family-oriented crowd as they stand right now, which to me would still call into question the wisdom of turning Cena heel. Having one kind of top hero, or appealing to only one audience, can be a good plan of action if you can clean up in that one area. That being said, if you can have versatility in direction, then why not try to aim for more than one demographic? Pixar has been doing this for years, loading up its movies with clever, adult-oriented humor that was well-hidden within the aimed-for-children stories and trappings.

But I'm not really here to judge whether it's a good idea, just to speculate as to whether this could be a deliberate shift in direction for Cena. One of the great parts about programming right now is that it's unpredictable. Just when you think you have the answers, they change the questions. Whether we'll see the same ol' Cena going forward or not is now more than ever not certain, and I think the promo on Monday, whether it telegraphs a change in character or not for Cena, was intentionally crafted that way to cause doubt, to bring more than just Cena, Punk and the McMahon-Helmsley ruling house into the, as David Shoemaker terms it, The Reality Era.