Wrestling Community Divided On Barbed Wire Crown Spot From AEW Rampage
A spot during the Texas Deathmatch for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship between 'Hangman' Page and Adam Cole has stirred up some controversy on social media.
Some legends of the pro wrestling business reacted to a tweet sent out by Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp where he posted a video of the spot in question. With the show airing live on the Christian holiday, Good Friday, some eyebrows were raised when 'Hangman' Page placed a crown of barbed wire on the head of Adam Cole at the conclusion of the bout.
For those unfamiliar, Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday, on which Jesus Christ was tortured, had a crown of thorns placed upon his head, and was then Crucified to a cross. There were obviously parallels between the crown of thorns and the barbed wire crown, and viewers noticed.
Sapp's tweet accompanied the clip with the caption, "Lmaoooooo Hangman Page put a crown of barbed wire on Adam Cole's head on Good Friday." Finding humor in the situation was something Eric Bischoff seemingly did not, as he wrote back, "You find this funny?"
Another veteran, Brian "Road Dogg" James also chimed into a debate on the topic, asking, "Would it be ok if they mocked ANY other religion?"
The fan perception was varied in their response, with one fan going as far as to vow they will quit watching AEW altogether because of the "unacceptable" part of the match. Others pointed to the various times religion was poked fun at in WWE — the Austin 3:16 idea being a spin-off of John 3:16, Vince McMahon's infamous angle with Shawn Michaels and God, etc.
Page ultimately emerged victoriously and retained the AEW World Championship yesterday, following up the barbed wire crown of thorns with a Deadeye through a table for the 1-2-3. You can see full results from last night's show at this link.
You can see the spot from AEW Rampage below, as well as various tweets:
Dead-eye with the barbed wire crown THROUGH THE TABLE! #Hangman @theadampage and @adamcolepro leaving the entire crowd speechless right now! #AEWRampage is LIVE on @tntdrama! pic.twitter.com/S3YsGs9JL5
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 16, 2022
A ton of IWC drones just became super devout so they can bitch about that spot.
— Crane (@MiskatonicLab) April 16, 2022
I find it weird that people find this offensive when the best selling wrestling shirt of all time is a parody of John 3:16. You guys just like finding things to be mad about
— Pizza Dog (@OGPizzaDog) April 16, 2022
For all the folks offended . Vince McMahon mocked religion for weeks and headlined a ppv in atg match against "god"
this weekend all over the country they have parades with cosplay jesus reenacting the crucifixion for entertainment I guess?
https://t.co/nIDFWWJMrn— BIGLAZ (@TeamKaos1998) April 16, 2022
@WarnerMedia @TBSNetwork You cool with the crown of thorns on Good Friday?
— Owen Mark McDonald (@owenmc00) April 16, 2022
That's where I draw the line. I've been supporting AEW up until this point. No one cares about my opinion and that's fine. I'm just saying it was totally unnecessary unacceptable and I'll no longer be watching
— RebelCaws (@RebelCaws) April 16, 2022
Doing this on Good Friday is a reason why most look down on wrestling in the mainstream
— Nathan (@Best4Business15) April 16, 2022
Lmaoooooo Hangman Page put a crown of barbed wire on Adam Cole's head on Good Friday
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) April 15, 2022
You find this funny? https://t.co/aaHpbZKCKu
— Eric Bischoff (@EBischoff) April 16, 2022
Would it be ok if they mocked ANY other religion?
— Brian G. James (@BrianRDJames) April 16, 2022