I try and try to keep political views and political discussion out of my columns as much as I can.
It just doesn’t serve much of a purpose in this type of setting, in my opinion.
Sometimes, though, things just happen in the world of pro wrestling that deserve to be talked about, and if those things involve the world of political and social views in any way, shape, or form… so be it.
When multiple things happen in the same week, tied with the same connective tissue, then it’s really something I need to at least contemplate talking about.
It all started with Dustin Rhodes, who recently started a bit of controversy after he was found replying in a positive way to a woman’s post on Twitter.
The woman posted a picture of herself in a t-shirt with the women’s restroom symbol on it with the phrase “Come And Take It” underneath. Also in the picture was a gun clearly holstered on her right hip. Her caption for the photo read “Hey ISLAM, come at [sic] take it. I dare ya.”
Dustin replied with a heart emoji and the emoji for “rock on,” “too sweet,” or the devil’s horns… whatever you like to refer to it as.
Pretty simple and straightforward.
Naturally (no pun intended), the complaints started rolling in.
People started calling the woman’s post “Islamophobic” and chiding Dustin for his positive reaction to it.
However, it wasn’t until TNA’s Mustafa Ali quote-tweeted the whole thing that this situation really went viral. Ali, a proud Muslim man, stated that he has a lot of respect for Dustin and the entire Rhodes family, but that he found Dustin’s support of the particular tweet to be “really disappointing.”
Relatively soon after Ali’s tweet, Dustin responded with an apology, saying that he isn’t “that person,” and that his response to the initial tweet was about the image itself, and not the caption. He then went on to say that he liked the picture because of the gun, and not for anything else, following it up by saying that he has “selective reading.”
That last part fits, because this is nowhere near the first time that Dustin has responded to a tweet or liked a tweet that caused some controversy, only for him to basically turn around and say “my bad” when people call him out on it.
The whole thing was weird to me. I’m well-aware that Dustin Rhodes is strongly pro-gun. He has never been shy about saying as much in the past. That’s fine. However, the gun was probably the fifth-most noticeable thing about the tweet, and maybe even the sixth-most noticeable thing. Right away, you should notice the caption, whether you agree with it or not. Then, you have a woman who is (subjectively, of course) good looking. Said woman is also… well, let’s just say she’s busty, and we’ll move on. Then there’s the t-shirt that she’s wearing, which I mentioned earlier. Finally, you could notice the gun, but even then, I noticed her several tattoos before I even saw a gun.
Dustin apologized numerous times, both to Ali directly and in general, before saying that he’s leaving Twitter and then locking his account.
My initial thoughts were to say that I think Dustin Rhodes is full of shit.
I don’t buy the “selective reading” excuse at all. It would’ve been more believable if he launched into a 29-tweet anti-Islam tirade. It would’ve been more believable if he said nothing and simply posted a GIF of Vince Vaughn’s character from Wedding Crashers doing the motorboat face. It would’ve been more believable if he said he was shooting his shot with the woman and was ready to leave his wife for her. To use his same lazy-ass “whoops” excuse that he uses time and time again… come on now.
Look, Dustin Rhodes has been very up front about his support of Donald Trump. Well, unless his “selective reading” kicked in again, and it led to him liking and replying to pro-Trump tweets without him actually knowing what they were about, of course. Whether you like it or not, and whether you agree with it or not, people that are pro-Trump have a lot of stereotypes about the things they like and support… the same for anti-Trump people, before anyone complains… and some of those stereotypes are right there in that initial tweet Dustin replied to. It’s why you didn’t exactly see a lot of “I love Dustin Rhodes, and there’s no way he supports stuff like that” responses from people in the immediate aftermath of the controversy. You had the “hell yeah, that’s why I love Dustin Rhodes” people and the “Dustin Rhodes has always been a piece of shit” people, and not much middle ground, as is the way of the United States over the last decade or so.
I don’t know… I guess the waffling is what frustrates me the most. One of my biggest pet peeves about people is not being able to stand behind your opinion. I don’t care if it’s politics or what flavor of ice cream you think is the best. If you have an opinion, stand by it. Fight for it. Dustin Rhodes, time and time again, will give his opinion on this type of thing, only to fold immediately when called out on it, hiding behind the same terrible excuses. You’d think he would’ve grown out of that by the time he turned 57, but apparently, you’d be wrong.
Just when the heat from that incident began to die down, it was replaced by a completely different… and yet, very similar… incident that had everyone talking again.
Brian James… aka Road Dogg… was having a mini-argument with Dave Meltzer on Twitter, all about tag team wrestling. In a tweet that complimented The Gunns, ol’ Road Dogg said that the AEW Tag Team Titles were not only “beneath” The Gunns, but also “EVERY OTHER TEAM” on the roster. Meltzer, unable to miss an opportunity to mention AEW in a positive light, quote-tweeted Road Dogg’s comment, going on a mini-rant about the AEW tag division.
As a clear joke, someone tweeted Road Dogg, saying that he shouldn’t be arguing publicly with AEW’s “executive vice president of Communications” if he wanted to be hired by the company.
Replying to the fan, Road Dogg mentioned that he was “turned away” because of his “political/core beliefs,” then hinted at a sort of hypocrisy over the fact that he didn’t donate to or vote for Donald Trump, while “his old man did,” wondering why he was being punished. The “old man” being referenced is Shahid Khan, father of Tony Khan and the lead investor of AEW.
Of course, the reference is the famous bit of news that Shahid Khan made a $1 million donation to the 2016 fund that backed Donald Trump’s bid to become the President Of The United States that year.
However, in the years that followed, Shahid has been very critical of Trump’s social policies and attacks on the Muslim community. Khan, a Muslim, has called Trump “The Great Divider” and said that, because of Trump, “politics and the Western World will never be the same again.”
At the same time, Shahid has also publicly praised Trump’s economic policies, making people confused about whether or not he was still a Trump supporter. He didn’t donate to Trump’s 2020 campaign or his 2024 campaign, but he’s still a registered Republican that has made financial donations to multiple Democratic Mayoral candidates in the city of Jacksonville, so… who knows?
Anyway, back to Road Dogg and his tweet.
The obvious implication is that Tony Khan refused to hire him because of his personal views, but he made the accusation confusing. So… you supposedly didn’t vote for Donald Trump, nor did you support Donald Trump financially, but Tony Khan still turned you down? That doesn’t make sense. While TK hasn’t publicly stated any of his political leanings, it seems pretty clear, at least at face value, that he seems to be more on the Democrat side of things. He has allowed multiple wrestlers to wear shirts or play up signs in the crowd that are heavily liberal in tone, and Jake Hager has been very public with his comments that Tony threatened his job if he continued “promoting” Donald Trump. If Tony is a Democrat, and if he’s anywhere near as anti-Trump as Jake Hager makes him out to be, wouldn’t he praise Brian James for not voting for Trump?
Let’s also not forget that Chris Jericho has made political donations to Donald Trump, and the fact that Chris’ wife was present at the rally in Washington DC on January 6th, 2021 that would eventually become the storming of the Capitol building, although there is no proof she was someone who entered the Capitol building itself. I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention or not, but Jericho was not only a day one signing for AEW, but he was also the company’s first World Champion and continues to hold a major role for the promotion seven-and-a-half years later.
Oh, and what about the aforementioned Dustin Rhodes? He has been pro-MAGA and pro-Trump for a while, and he was receiving the strongest push of his entire career before needing knee surgeries.
Then there’s the aforementioned Jake Hager. Even if he’s telling the truth about Tony Khan trying to silence him by threatening his job for supporting Trump, he still had a job to be threatened in the first place.
While AEW certainly doesn’t have the (public) connections to Donald Trump and the MAGA movement that WWE has, it seems pretty clear that the company isn’t going to shy away from employing you because your political views may clash with what the public perception of the company itself happens to be.
If Brian James was truly “turned away” by Tony Khan, what does that tell you?
Are his “political/core beliefs” SO FAR detached from where Tony Khan’s are that TK couldn’t possibly stand to be in the same room as him?
Or…
Is there absolutely zero room on the AEW payroll for him, either as a member of the “creative team” that helps Tony Khan put shows together, as a backstage Coach, or in any other role?
Or… and this is my personal pick…
Is it because Brian James fucking sucks at whatever the hell he’s done since his days as an in-ring competitor came to an end?
Quick… what was the last creative decision that he was even remotely responsible for that you really and truly enjoyed? Go ahead. I’ll wait.
I’ve seen people praising him because he was on WWE Unreal praising Chelsea Green, saying that she deserved a bigger push than what she was getting. While that’s true, do you remember what happened then? During the creative meeting that he pitched the idea, Paul Levesque then asked him what would happen next, and the man had ZERO IDEA.
I don’t work for WWE, but if I wrote a column and simply said “So-and-so should be pushed more” without giving any reasons why, I’d be crucified in the feedback. Then, if you pressed me about it, and I still had no idea why or how the push should happen, you’d probably stop looking for my opinion on the spot. The fact that a WWE creative team member was doing this is completely unacceptable. It’s LITERALLY his job to come up with the ins and outs, the who, what, when, where, why, and how of things, and he just sat there with his thumb up his own ass, staring off in the distance.
When you’re great friends with the likes of Paul Levesque and Shawn Michaels, a spot in WWE should be viewed as a, for lack of a better term, “for life” situation. This now marks the second time Brian James has left under the Levesque-led WWE, once under his own volition and once against his will. That says a lot to me.
Tony Khan never seems to avoid bringing in new names, whether they’re in-ring competitors or people that can help backstage in one way or another. If he looks at Brian James, and he simply says “nah,” that should be an immediate sign.
When Mr. Dogg left WWE a few months back, it was immediately rumored that he could be heading to TNA to either take over as the head of their creative team, or at least to have a major role in that part of the promotion. He would apparently attend TNA’s Slammiversary event in June, where it was reported that the deal would be finalized. Then, it was reported that he went home, and didn’t stick around to attend TNA’s television tapings. Two months later, and not only is he still not signed to TNA, reports seem to indicate that it probably isn’t happening, or at least that it isn’t close to happening.
He tries to hide behind the stupid ass “political persecution” excuse, but his does-he-or-doesn’t-he support of MAGA and Donald Trump has nothing to do with why he’s unemployed. Everyone saw right through that nonsense right away. If you’re someone that is of any benefit to the product and the company’s bottom line, Tony Khan is going to find a spot for you. The same goes for hardcore liberals in the Trump-friendly WWE.
Brian James comes from a legendary pro wrestling family, and I’m sure he has a solid “wrestling mind,” but that doesn’t make someone good at the creative side of things. It’s the same thing that is always said about “real sports,” where you almost never see the best players go on to become the best coaches of all-time.
Could he find a role in the business that suits him well? Of course. Should that role be anything remotely involving the creative side of a company? Absolutely not. He could be a manager of some sort, or he could be someone to help teach a promo class somewhere, but not being responsible for the creative that we see on television every week. Hard pass.
Is it too much to ask for these people to be honest and to hold themselves accountable?
Lots of drama that has nothing to do with the in-ring product. Congratulations, AEW… I guess?
What do you think about the controversy surrounding Dustin Rhodes and Brian James last week? Please, please try not to get all political on your soapboxes. I’m sure that’s easier said than done for some of you, but still… I’d like to know what you think. As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s switch things over to my Weekly Power Rankings, before I close it out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Bandido vs Nick Wayne: There was a lot of hubbub online about this match this week, mostly based around clips that popped up afterwards of a stretch or two that saw both men no-selling moves. A lot of people are complaining about it. To those people, I say this… don’t watch. If that’s not your cup of tea… don’t watch it. If WWE isn’t your thing… don’t watch it. If New Japan isn’t your thing… don’t watch it. How is this such a difficult concept for so many people? I thought this was a fantastic match, and a real star-making performance from Nick Wayne. This was the best match of his that I’ve ever seen, and he really looked like he was going to become the RoH World Champion on multiple occasions here. I’m very interested to see where Tony Khan wants to go with him from here.
CM Punk vs Kevin Owens: They got pay-per-view main event time, and they’re two of the most trustworthy performers in the business, so you already knew it was going to be a high quality match. If I have a concern, it’s not only that KO didn’t win the Undisputed WWE Title, but that he didn’t win it so that he can apparently feud with Sami Zayn again. Since dropping the Universal Title to Goldberg at Fastlane 2017, KO is now 0-13 in World Title matches on television or pay-per-view. That’s ridiculous. He should’ve won the title here, taking advantage of the momentum he has coming off of his surprise return to the ring, but no… we need KO vs Sami again, with nothing on the line. If you really wanted KO vs Sami again, at least have them feud for the Undisputed WWE Title. At least the match was great.
Lio Rush vs Action Andretti: It was a Fight Without Honor that ended up being a really entertaining mix of “hardcore” action, hardcore action, and high flying greatness. It started off slow with weapons like brooms, but things really picked up from there. I could’ve done without the multiple instances of interference, but they really helped to make Lio’s character look strong, as he kept fighting back through all that interference.
Mistico & Mascara Dorada vs Matthew Taven & Michael Bennett vs Sammy Guevara & The Beast Mortos vs Dante & Darius Martin: If you’ve been reading my work for a while, you’ve seen me use this term a bunch, but it’s worth repeating again here. This match had more spots than a leopard orgy. You know there’s going to be at least one match like this on any show Tony Khan is responsible for.
Chad Gable vs Rey Mysterio: It’s worth pointing out that Rey is less than four months away from celebrating his 52nd birthday, has been a professional wrestler for over 37 years, and has even more mileage on his proverbial tires than that… and he’s still putting on great matches like this. Folks, I don’t think he gets enough mentions in the GOAT conversations. It’s almost unfair that he’s still capable of doing things like this.
Claudio Castagnoli vs Daniel Garcia: They’re already competing to advance in the Continental Challenge Cup, but the story of both men being in the Death Riders stable added a new layer of intrigue here. This might have been the best Daniel Garcia match in his time with AEW, and of course, Claudio looked fantastic, as always.
Athena vs Hazuki: During my first watch, I called this a “tale of two halves,” with the first half of the match being just average, and the second half being a banger. However, when I went back and watched the match a second time, I realized that I may have been too tough on it. The first half was better than I gave it credit for, even if it didn’t come close to approaching the second half. I also want to give Athena an insane amount of credit after it was revealed that she suffered an asthma attack during the match. She went to the outside and had it taken care of, without anyone noticing it while watching the match live.
EK Prosper vs La Parka vs Tristan Angels vs Romeo Moreno: Here’s the NXT version of the “leopard orgy” match. They were competing to become the #1 Contender for the AAA World Cruiserweight Title, currently held by Rey Fenix. Prosper picked up the win here, continuing his trajectory as one of the brightest young stars on the NXT roster, and if the Fenix vs Prosper match doesn’t end up on this list next week, I will be stunned.
Adam Priest vs Daniel Garcia: A last-minute addition to the Death Before Dishonor card, with both men looking to be the choice to replace an injured Eddie Kingston in the Continental Challenge Cup, so both men were motivated. This was a great showing for Priest, but Garcia advancing here to have the aforementioned match against Claudio Castagnoli just made too much sense not to happen.
Lee Moriarty vs Katsuyori Shibata: I really liked the way this match was put together. Their history was played up on commentary, and it was pointed out that Moriarty was 0-2 in singles competition against Shibata in his career. In this one, Shibata really took Moriarty to the limit, using the Pure Rules to his advantage, forcing Moriarty to use up all of his rope breaks for one of the only times during Moriarty’s two-year reign as the RoH Pure Champion. This forced Moriarty to get creative down the final stretch to pick up the win. Good stuff.
“Switchblade” Jay White vs Jon Moxley: The Continental Challenge Cup has really brought out some great work from the people involved, and this match was no different. Will Jay White ever be pushed as a singles talent in AEW? It remains to be seen.
Stephanie Vaquer: You saw her. You know why she’s listed here.
Dragon Lee vs El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.: This was another part of a AAA and Lucha Libre heavy episode of Raw coming from the Lucha hotspot of… *checks notes*… Buffalo, New York. It was a really good match, sure, but I’m starting to wonder if WWE knows their audience at all.
Oba Femi: His impression of Bron Breakker was fantastic. Kudos to Bron for not breaking (no pun intended) character, even though you could tell he was fighting for his life for a second.
Kyoki: Obviously, it remains to be seen if the former Hiromu Takahashi will succeed in WWE… and the odds are certainly against him… but it’s still really cool to see him make his debut for the company. A tag pairing with Shinsuke Nakamura could be a blast to watch.
Jay Lethal, Blake Christian & Lee Johnson: If you’re someone who cares about this sort of thing, congratulations to the brand new RoH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions. Christian and Johnson have been doing really good work as a duo, and the addition of the veteran Lethal can only be viewed as a positive thing for them.
This Week’s Playlist: “Butterflies” by Mac Miller… “Dangerous” by Ro$ama… “Lean On” by Miles Caton… “Die For You” by From Ashes To New & Neoni… “Bring Me Silence” by Floor Jansen… “NEVERAFTER” by Anberlin… “I’ll Be Around” by Rappin’ 4-Tay… “Birthday (Remix)” by Flo Rida, Rick Ross & Brisco… “Sho Nuff” by Tela, 8Ball & MJG… “You’re Everything” by Bun B, Rick Ross, David Banner, 8Ball & MJG… “Don’t Turn Around” by Project Pat… “100 Bars Of Crack” by Ya Boy… “Game’s Pain” by The Game & Keyshia Cole… “Root Down” by Beastie Boys… “Forever Young” by Rod Stewart… “Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)” by Billy Ocean… “Alone” by Heart… “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago… “If You Leave Me Now” by Chicago… “Baby, What A Big Surprise” by Chicago… “Love Me Tomorrow” by Chicago… “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” by Chicago… “Hard Habit To Break” by Chicago… “You’re The Inspiration” by Chicago… “Will You Still Love Me?” by Chicago… “Look Away” by Chicago… “What Kind Of Man Would I Be?” by Chicago… “White Wedding” by Billy Idol… “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads… “Champagne Supernova” by Oasis
