Wrestling Forward: At What Point Do We Stop Comparing Becky Lynch To Others?

In today’s “Wrestling Forward”, I implore fans to cease comparing Becky Lynch to men of the past, take a critical look at the dialogue surrounding Jimmy Uso’s arrest, and give some praise to Ariya Daivari.

WWE may have replaced Becky Lynch in the main event of WrestleMania 35 on this past week’s episode of Raw, but we all know that isn’t going to last. Becky, who has become THE biggest star in professional wrestling, is bound to get back into the match, and even if it does end up being a Triple Threat that includes Charlotte Flair, it won’t make her crowning moment any less magical.

Aside from the remarks of a few trolls, wrestling fans, as a whole, understand why Lynch is in this position. They respect The Man for her ability to captivate their attention seemingly at will, for her tireless work ethic in this industry, and for her ability to break a glass ceiling that played a role in holding women back from becoming top stars in WWE.

Yet despite Becky’s work in ascending to the top of the card, she is still bogged down by comparisons to Stone Cold Steve Austin. This obsession with comparing Becky to Stone Cold was once understandable, but it’s gradually become frustrating.

Yes, Becky is a bad-ass and has a no-nonsense demeanor that endears her as a relatable character, and she certainly takes no prisoners when punching the lights out of her opponents. And oh yeah, she had THAT moment when she stood, bloodied and concussed, peering at the Raw wreckage below her.

But comparing Becky to anyone, especially men in this industry who haven’t faced the unique challenges Becky has as a woman born in a different country who was consistently overlooked by WWE and other promotions for years, is a disservice.

Let’s make a conscious effort to avoid comparing Becky to others. I know most of you reading this mean well, and I mean no harm in saying this. But without realizing it, we may be cheapening Becky’s profound impact on this industry by burdening her with comparisons, because the previous novelty of comparing her to Stone Cold during her initial rise has become fully outdated; she is clearly here to stay as her own legend in this business.

Taking A Step Back: Jimmy Uso

Yesterday, TMZ Sports reported that WWE Superstar Jimmy Uso was arrested in Detroit for disorderly conduct and obstruction after, in the police’s account of the story, taking off his shirt and “squaring up like he wanted to fight”.

It is imperative to place that phrase in quotations and attribute them to the police, because “police sources” do not equate to “facts”. As much as we’d like to consider law enforcement reliable and unbiased, we don’t actually know if that’s the case in every situation. We don’t know who these police sources are.

Jimmy Uso and his wife Naomi were pulled over for driving in the wrong direction on a one-way street. For any of you who live in a city like Cleveland and Detroit that is rife with one-way streets, I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of drivers unfamiliar with these areas making wrong turns out of confusion. It is important to make this clear, because people used this fact as a reason to speculate that Naomi was driving while intoxicated. This is irresponsible speculation.

Especially because if that were actually the case, we would have heard about it. This is because TMZ reported that Naomi was asked to exit the car because of the smell of alcohol in the car, as Jimmy was the one intoxicated. So the only reasonable speculation is that Naomi was his designated driver.

This line from the TMZ report that followed the description of the events that occurred after Jimmy allegedly became combative stood out to me:

"“We’re told the officer took out his taser ’cause he was scared for his safety.”"

Thank goodness it was only a taser, and thank goodness nobody was harmed.

https://twitter.com/NaomiWWE/status/1096202145135820801

At the end of the day, Naomi’s tweet above is the main thing that matters about this story, but I’d like to add a little more perspective to a situation that hasn’t been critically examined in writing. We know how scary it is for People of Color, especially Black Americans, to face the police, given how many lives systemic racism in police departments have claimed. It never got anywhere near this here, but it is important to always have these conversations, especially when looking at how the situation with Naomi and Jimmy Uso needlessly escalated.

One of our writers, Joe Anthony Myrick, has lived in Detroit throughout his life and told me:

"“As a resident of Detroit, I know for a fact that the cops here are no joke. Jimmy Uso is super lucky that all that cop pulled out was a taser. This whole situation could’ve gone really bad, but thankfully, both Jimmy and his wife are okay.”"

Another colleague of mine, Patches Chance, is familiar with situations like this as a former member of the law enforcement community, He provided some valuable insight that is worth considering:

"“Based on my experience working in law enforcement for five years, the circumstances of this arrest sound unfortunately flimsy. There is a saying in law enforcement that someone can be arrested for “POP,” which stands for “pissed off the police.” As crass as it may sound, it’s not uncommon for a police officer to choose to arrest someone because of their anger in the way a situation was handled. Even if someone hasn’t done anything wrong, it isn’t difficult for officers to find simple charges to justify an arrest.Disorderly conduct is a low-level ticketable offense in many states, on par with a speeding ticket. Obstruction is rare as a valid charge, and is often removed as a case moves forward. If Jimmy Uso had exited the vehicle only because he wanted to see his wife’s interaction with police clearly, or even to film it, both things that are absolutely legal, it’s certainly possible that an officer could have acted unreasonably and escalated the situation.Once an officer starts to get frustrated or raise their voice, it doesn’t take long for a taser or firearm to be pulled and a situation to worsen dramatically. It’s important to remember that we don’t yet have an account from Jimmy Uso or Naomi, but only the report from “police sources,” who would have a clear incentive to frame things in a way that makes an officer appear firmly in the right for his actions, no matter how rash they may have been.”"

It is important to share these perspectives, because arrests like this can be blown out of proportion. Jimmy and Jey Uso are both in a stage where they are negotiating an expiring contract (April) with WWE, and based on WWE’s rather terse statement on Jimmy, it’s fair to wonder if fans reading headlines about “Jimmy Uso arrested for disorderly conduct” aren’t seeing how trivial this was.

Jimmy got a little fiesty at being pulled over, a cop panicked by pulling out his taser, the situation didn’t escalate, but the cop still felt the need to arrest Jimmy even though Jimmy, by the police’s own account to TMZ, didn’t actually become physical or do anything illegal.

His reputation took a hit, his safety was put in jeopardy, and we’re here wondering why so few people have dissected this situation beyond the surface level, especially when police systematically mishandle cases involving people with darker complexions like Naomi and Jimmy Uso.

I have no idea what really went down that night, but it hurts to hear that they were put in this situation because of unclear one-way signs in large midwestern cities. And while it is in my nature to treat the police with a healthy dose of skepticism, I am extremely glad that the police did not harm either of them – and that’s a low bar to set, especially because it assumes that everything they told to TMZ is true. It may very well be, so please forgive my unwillingness to take something at face value when one side – one that always holds all the power – controls the narrative at the expense of another’s reputation and safety.

Ariya Daivari Just Needs A Platform

We’ve seen more wrestlers from 205 Live show up on Raw with a microphone in their hands, as 205 General Manager Drake Maverick has provided fans with some entertainment value (though not all of Vince McMahon’s childish jokes land) as AOP’s manager and Lio Rush has been undeniably great as Bobby Lashley’s manager.

I think one more name we should float around is Ariya Daivari, who is also a fabulous talker in his own right. On a smaller platform, Daivari proved his speaking chops as Enzo Amore’s right-hand man during the *shudder* ‘Zo Train days, and he was even better as Hideo Itami’s manager recently, promoting the respected striker with aplomb.

Itami, as reported by the excellent journalists at Fightful.com, is on his way out of WWE after years of injuries and uneven booking, leaving Daivari in a situation where he can shine on his own again.

Those opportunities haven’t been frequent for Daivari, but in his first promo without Itami, Daivari made a splash. He dissed both Amore and Itami, calling Enzo a “wannabe wrestler” (those are the facts, ma’am) while rocking the wife-beater, torn light blue jean-jacket vest look perfectly. (Because we Iranians have the best style…duh!)

Daivari seems tired of propping up others as a manager, but there’s no denying that he’s great at this. Being managers on Raw haven’t hurt either Rush or Maverick, and Rush’s stock has been flying high over the past couple of months; he’s easily one of 205 Live’s best wrestlers in the ring.

While not nearly as dynamic as Rush in the ring, Daivari is an excellent seller and story-teller with a lovely Hammerlock Lariat and a splendid spinebuster. He hasn’t been given many matches on 205 lately, and it’s time the program did a better job of showcasing heels like Daivari, who joins Rush on my shortlist of the best talkers and characters on 205.

I’d like Daivari to continue to focus on himself and get a push on 205, but in the future, it’d be awesome to see him expand his brand by helping someone out on Raw or SmackDown Live. It’s just an idea to throw out there, because I think Daivari is the type of well-rounded performer who should be given as many opportunities to succeed in WWE.