WWE News: Bubba Ray Dudley responds to Sasha Banks' 'fan stalking' comments
What's the story?
Bubba Ray Dudley defended the WWE Universe in a recent social media post following some controversial remarks that WWE woman's wrestler Sasha Banks made during a podcast interview.
In case you didn't know...
During a recent podcast interview with Sam Roberts, Sasha Banks voiced her frustration with fans who wait around in airports and at hotels, hoping to get a photo or maybe an autograph with WWE Superstars.
The heart of the matter
Banks went as far to suggest that these types of fans were "stalkers."
The following is an excerpt of what Banks had to say:
"I grew up a wrestling fan, so I knew that I wanted to meet all my favorite wrestlers. But always in the back of my head I never thought in my life to be like, ‘Hey, they’re gonna fly in. Maybe I should wait at the airport for like 12 hours at a gate. Hey! They don’t want any sleep. Maybe I’ll go find their hotel they’re staying at and let me bother them.’
Like to me, that’s stalking. I don’t tweet out what hotel I’m at. I don’t tweet out what airline I’m flying. I do tweet you what arena I’ll be performing at, so I do expect fans at the arena, and I’m so happy to sign at the arena, that’s fine because I’m telling you where I’m going to be at. If I see you in public, that’s fine.
But when I’m at an airport at 4 in the morning and I see somebody with a carry-on and they open it with a hundred items of everyone and they’re bothering everybody to get an autograph, and I see it on eBay - that’s not okay to me."
Former WWE Superstar Bully Ray Dudley apparently has a different opinion on the matter and he took to Twitter with his opinion regarding those type of fans:
What's next?
Since leaving WWE, Bubba Ray continues to get plenty of booking opportunities with various promotions around the world.
However, his schedule has begun to change significantly as he has started to focus more on his wrestling schools and training prospective talent.
Author's take
I must say, I am one thousand percent in agreement with Bubba on this one. Sasha, as well as any and all other professional wrestlers, know all too well that dealing with the fans is something that comes with the territory, even in these situations when it's early in the morning and all you want to do is get home and go to bed.
With that said, fans should certainly be mindful of the fact that these folks are on the road 300 days per years and there is indeed a line of common respect that should never be crossed.
For the most part, WWE fans are genuinely good people who simply want to take advantage of an opportunity that may not come around again for them.
If I could speak directly to Sasha Banks, I would tell her to just be mindful of how passionate wrestling fans are. There's no malice intended. These folks are blue collar, hardworking people who often spend their last dollar on tickets to watch you perform. They shell out stacks of cash to purchase your action figures for their kids and so on.
Just remember who puts food on your table. You have a great life, thanks to the WWE Universe.