Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Wrestling meets Politics - the story so far

Anyone familiar with the site will know we deal with Politics and Punditry using the analogy of Wrestling. We rarely touch on wrestling itself, but we don't shy away from it when wrestling and politics do intersect.

As the Democratic Primaries get more rancorous, the WWE are playing up on the developing feud between Hillary and Obama by inviting them to an episode of Raw. The last time the WWE capitalised on a public rivalry was a parody of the Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell feud. This involved actor look-a-likes brawling in the ring, it was however a precursor to introducing the real Donald Trump into a wrestling storyline. Its highly unlikely that Barack or Hillary will accept the invitation, at any rate whatever the WWE do expect to hear the line "If you smell what Barack is cooking."

obama, hillary, wwe, raw, wrestling, feud

Watch the video here
From the WWE site:
The Race for the Democratic Presidential nomination is in full swing, and WWE invites Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to settle their differences in the ring when Raw returns from England on April 21.

Check out the WWE official website

WWE Tribute to the Troops
The WWE has had a bipartisan history with Politics in the past. The WWE frequently go to combat zones and host Annual Wrestling shows for the troops.
From the WWE site:
Tribute to the Troops is WWE's way of helping to bring the Troops home to you for the Holidays.

WWE's most important broadcast of the year – the only entertainment event broadcast from Iraq – takes the Superstars of Raw, SmackDown and ECW to the Middle East to proudly serve up a slice of Americana to the men and women serving in the Armed Forces.

Visit the WWE's 'Tribute to the Troops' microsite.

WWE superstars nominate their all-time favourite Presidents
A fun feature detailing which Presidents assorted wrestlers admire and the reasons behind it.
Go here to view WWE Presidential tag teams

Get off the Couch, Get in the Booth
The WWE have a site dedicated to getting voters interested in American Politics and voting, Smackdown your Vote.

Wrestlers and their Politics
Some wrestlers have been much more open with their politics:
- Ric Flair was the 2nd-most well-known early endorser of Republican Presidential runner-up, Mike Huckabee. The first of course was Chuck Norris.
- Kane AKA Glen Jacobs was seen endorsing conservative upstart Ron Paul.
- Rob van Dam got himself into trouble by sitting himself out for a troop benefit show. Though it was optional for wrestlers to appear, Rob Van Dam apparently upset management with his ungracious approach to the invitation. RVD touches lightly on his side of the story here.
- Hillary Clinton pays for WWE airtime, airing a Holiday ad for the troops.

Update: (April 19)
VIDEO: The latest WWE Hillary/Obama commercial

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