If you haven't yet watched John Oliver's 23-minute deep-dive on WWE on 'Last Week Tonight', it's embedded in this here article because we're so sound.
Anyway, the general gist of Oliver's piece shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's been following wrestling for the past couple of decades. Oliver used old interview clips from the likes of Bret 'The Hitman' Hart and Jesse 'The Body' Ventura about McMahon's antics through the years. From everything to stamping out unionisation of the wrestlers to being treated like "circus animals", according to Hart, Oliver's piece was comprehensive and damning.
As you'd expect, the WWE had an answer for all of this and provided a statement to Deadline the other day. "John Oliver is clearly a clever and humorous entertainer, however the subject matter covered in his WWE segment is no laughing matter. Prior to airing, WWE responded to his producers refuting every point in his one-sided presentation," the statement claims. "John Oliver simply ignored the facts."
The statement goes on, saying that "(the) health and wellness of our performers is the single most important aspect of our business, and we have a comprehensive, longstanding Talent Wellness program." On top of this, WWE also invited John Oliver to WrestleMania 35 - which takes place this weekend to "learn more about the company."
As you'll see in Oliver's piece, they most certainly don't hold back on WWE or Vince McMahon specifically. "While the character Vince is an asshole, it’s important to know that the real Vince is also an asshole," Oliver remarks in his piece. "Many fans legitimately hate him. While the WWE has made him a billionaire, many wrestlers say he’s treated him terribly."
It doesn't end there, either, as Viceland are set to release a six-part documentary series called 'The Dark Side Of The Ring', which will feature interviews with the aforementioned Bret Hart, and the infamous Von Erich Curse which saw several members of a well-known wrestling family die by suicide and freak accidents.
WrestleMania 35 takes place this Sunday.
