ESPN Continuing Positive Coverage Of WWE Despite Vince McMahon Scandal

WWE Raw opened this week’s episode with a very strange promo from Titus O’Neil. With no explanation, Titus stood in the ring and talked about the great charity work that WWE does. He even said the company is a safe space, where political differences are not discussed.

Many thought the segment was an obvious response to media coverage of the recent Vince McMahon hush money scandal. The segment did seem quite out of place. On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said there is no doubt that’s the reason for O’Neil’s promo.

“Obviously, like, Titus does great, great work. I have great respect for Titus. Also, we know why this was done this week. Some people have asked, ‘Do you think this is in reaction?’ Of course it is. It’s in reaction to the bad publicity that Vince got, and this is how Vince fights back or, you know, responds. You know, more charity work. Make it more visible.

It was very interesting that ESPN just honored them for that because I think, in a weird way, it shows that from a mainstream standpoint, that if WWE was toxic because of Vince in mainstream right now, they would not have done that for fear of a backlash. So, the reality is is that if it was a major sport and the owner had done these things, they would not have, you know, praised them for their charity work this week, but because it’s wrestling, they did. ESPN did. I mean, the timing of it I thought, was like, ‘Wow, this is some bad timing,’ but the reality is, it is bad timing, but it also tells you that ESPN didn’t think it was such a big story that it looks bad for them to be doing this.”

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To wrestling fans, things look pretty serious for Vince McMahon and WWE. To ESPN, which is one of the leading mainstream sports networks, it hasn’t been a needle mover. ESPN continues to cover the positive community work of WWE while barely addressing the McMahon scandal.

As more news comes out, things could change. For the moment, one of WWE’s major media supporters isn’t ready to change its tune. The very nature of professional wrestling seems to be shielding WWE from a lot of heat that any other sports organization would currently be feeling intensely.

What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments!

Transcription by Thirsty for News