The use of Charlotte’s brother, Reid, and his death from an overdose has divided fans into camps of those who think it was disrepectful and tasteless and those who want WWE to push into more edgy, personal territory.
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ORIGINAL: WWE has issued a statement in the wake of criticism regarding the controversial main event angle on Raw that saw Paige make reference to Charlotte’s late brother Reid Flair. Everyone that knew him said he would have loved it. That’s the difference.
However, on Ric Flair’s podcast yesterday (which was recorded on Tuesday), he said that Charlotte had no choice but to go along with what she was asked to do.
What I can say is that during my three years on the WWE creative team, whenever sensitive, real-life subject matter was being considered for an angle, Vince McMahon always sought input from the talent involved as well as the writers and producers before making a decision.
We also previewed Survivor Series, which airs this Sunday on the WWE Network.
Bottom line, it was a despicable way for the WWE to try and sell a match, though sadly, it isn’t unprecedented. People keep asking about the stuff CM Punk and Paul Heyman did during his Wrestlemania program with The Undertaker, mocking the then recently deceased Paul Bearer.
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With the RAW ratings continuing to plummet each week, the WWE is desperate for fresh angles, but to cross one of the greatest legends that ever lived and his family is a bad way to go about boosting an angle over the Divas Championship.
