Dot Net Mailbag ROH angle was more than just comedy, one reader is fine with that Feb 25, 2008 - 06:02 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing I am not offended at all by the controversial Ring of Honor angle. People talk about suspending disbelief for wrestling shows all the time. How is this any different? We all want wrestling to be taken seriously, so why not follow what other TV shows do as well? Fans get upset when real issues are touched on in pro wrestling.  Larry Sweeney beat up a woman and tried to get a guy to take advantage of her. That happens on television shows every week. “Law and Order SVU” is dedicated to sex crimes. Yes, Sweeney is a real person, while Quagmire is not, but they are still both characters. If Family Guy made a live action movie, would people suddenly hate Quagmire? I don’t think so. Wrestling fans have a hard time separating wrestlers and the characters they play. Larry Sweeney the man did not do anything, Larry Sweeney the character did.  The angle was controversial, but in a good way.  It got people taking not only about ROH but the overall issue. Was it okay for people to be laughing? What should be done to Sweeney now? These are morality questions that most wrestling shows can obtain. I think it was a well done angle to get immense heat on Sweeney and make the fans think a little bit as well.   Zach Marcus La Jolla, Calif. Powell’s POV: Originally, I thought this angle was strictly intended to draw laughs based on the way it was described in our reader’s report and by reviews on other websites. However, I’ve been told that you are right in the sense that the goal truly was to put heat on Sweeney’s character by having him do something sleazy. That makes the angle more controversial and I’m not as comfortable with it as I was when I thought it was strictly a comedy angle. Nevertheless, I think the same rules apply. If other television shows can get away with similar story lines (and this was much lighter in the sense that no one truly believed Allison Danger’s character was going to be raped), then I think wrestling companies have every right to use the same ploys. Of course, wrestling fans also have the right to reject these story lines. In this case, there were enough people who spoke out against the angle that ROH made the decision to pull back. I’m still not bothered by the way the live crowd reacted because I think they felt they were seeing a comedy angle. *** I am an original FamilyGuy-aholic since it debuted (and personally I think TBS putting “Family Guy” up against Raw has hurt WWE’s ratings more than people realize). I was not offended by the angle per say, but I will bet many people were offended because they thought they should be offended. To be fair, as much grief as everyone gave WWE over the Katie Vick angle and the Triple H scene that disgusted everyone, it was not played up as real, so it’s hard to blame people for being offended. Of course at the same time, if you watch “Family Guy” or “South Park,” you are probably just desensitized to the whole thing. Shaun Corbett Powell’s POV: Again, I’ve learned since I wrote about the angle this morning that the company had more than comedy in mind when they wrote the angle. I wasn’t offended by the Katie Vick angle. For that matter, I’m not offended by the Paul Burchill and Katie Lea story line. Neither is what I want out of a wrestling show, but I was not offended. Of course, if enough people are offended, then it’s generally in the company’s best interest, which is what ROH has apparently decided to do. I don’t think the desensitized argument rings true in this case, Zach. Keep in mind that wrestling fans, who are exposed simulated violence and controversial angles on a regular basis, can still be offended from time to time, as the Sweeney angle proves. BOOKMARK DOT NET AND ADD US TO YOUR RSS • HELP DOT NET: TAKE OUR ADVERTISER DEMO SURVEY CLICK TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY Dot Net Mailbag Latest Twelve Articles Round Two of Dot Net reader feedback to Twilling's "Wrestling is Fake" blog Readers respond to Twilling's "What to tell people that say professional wrestling is fake" blog Reader questions and editor responses regarding Shane McMahon, Triple H, John Cena, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy Reader comments and editor feedback on Hulk Hogan's appearance on "Larry King Live" Dot Net reader comments (and editor response) on Monday's Raw, Bryan Danielson's WWE appearance, and Sunday's TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view A news reporter explains why Nick Hogan's audio recordings were released, reader criticizes Dot Net for being too hard on the Hogans