I was given rave reviews by fans, family and friends after writing my commentary on the moral good of pro wrestling, and if there was any left. This was my conclusion at the end of Part 1....�So what do I do from here? Do I just quit and say that wrestling is all bad and that I could never do anything productive with wrestling except have big muscles, get hot chicks, and make lots of money. HA, a lot of people would kill to have that in life� not me. I want to make a difference� and I want to use wrestling to make that difference. It might be difficult, but I believe it's possible.�
With that I ended it. I ended with hopes of possibility. Since I wrote the commentary (in January), nothing much has changed as it pertains to my role as a professional wrestler. Needless to say, I haven�t made much of a difference in any people�s lives, besides entertaining people to the best of my ability... so... I guess that�s something.
The following comment was made on my message board by Fallen Angel CA,
�What do you think of Honky Tonk Man's website, especially his views on how he believes that there are certain wrestlers that used to be associated with the business or are still in the business and are using their beliefs on Religion to cash in and laugh all the way to the bank (His words not mine) He was very open on how certain wrestlers such as Ted DiBiase, Nikita Koloff, Sting, Road Warrior Hawk and Shawn Michaels would use the church as a way to speak their views while charging people money to make these personal appearances and sign autographs or take pictures.
The way I see things these days, he does have a valid point especially when I saw the latest "HBK" shirt that was released by the WWE, about how his name is an emblem over the Holy Cross...I'm glad there is a positive message being spread but to slap a $30 pricetag on it at the same time is quite a moral dilemma...
What do you think about this topic?�
Fabulous question. And not an easy one to answer. I was unaware of Honky Tonk Man�s (HTM) views so I went over to his website to check out what he thinks. Personally, after reading what he says about religion in wrestling, I keep feeling one thing... HTM is angry and bitter. I actually know some fellow workers who have worked with HTM in the past and they will say the same thing... he�s just an out of shape, bitter at the world, worker who is well past his prime. And a lot of his comments about Shawn Michaels, Ted DiBiase, and Sting, reflect this.
What I�m gonna do is refer to specific examples of quotes from various websites in order to deal with this difficult topic, and hopefully in doing so, I�ll be able to sum it all up with my own opinion.
The following is what HTM had to say about Michaels� beliefs, �Michaels is a born again believer in something. We know this because he said so himself. His life is in order, he prays to God. God tells him to go back to the WWE. God tells him to wrestle. God must tell him more than just this, wouldn't you think? He says he prays everyday. About what? I know what you right wingers are going to say now. "HTM, what a man prays about his personal business and you shouldn't pry into it." Well, hell's bell's, why shouldn't I? If he steps up to the plate and says God is telling him something, then he is in his own way trying to sell his bill of goods to us to make us think this is what you have to do to get back into the ring. Isn't there more to it than that? Does his God just speak to him about a match and nothing else? Why does his God say nothing about the WWE storylines and the points they are trying to get across to the public?�
I think HTM is totally misinformed by stating that Michaels is trying to �sell us his bill of goods� and say that prayer is the only way �you� can get back into the ring after a long absence. The problem here is �you.� Michaels isn�t talking about �you� (ie. Other wrestlers) at all. He is talking about himself. He is talking about his own personal experience. Michaels simply says that HE prayed about getting back into the ring and HE felt that God wanted him to get back into the ring. He didn�t by any means say that prayer is what everyone must do when contemplating such a decision. Furthermore, Michaels DOES address WWE storylines... something HTM obviously fails to address himself.
Michaels said the following on milliondollarman.com, �Now obviously it�s still going to be violent because that�s what wrestling is: simulated violence. But that was a lot easier to explain to your children, as opposed to the women barely dressed and the language and everything else. Will those things change? I don�t know. I don�t take part in them: I don�t use vulgarity in the show, now: I surely don�t curse and I don�t do anything with the women. I�m certainly doing what I can, and I think the last two weeks the show has been more wrestling based, so hopefully that�s a sign of things to come. We also, we don�t watch it in my home. My wife does her best to flip through and see if I�m on, just to show her son his daddy on TV; but he�s seen it now, seen daddy on TV. So we don�t need to, he don�t need to see the show because there is just too many things that he can see that we don�t want him to see. So we don�t watch it either, by the same token, we don�t watch a lot of stuff on TV.�
Apparently �Michaels� God� (as HTM describes it) DOES have something to say to Michaels about WWE storylines. Michaels has obviously made the conscious decision to not involve himself in questionable storylines and does not allow his child to watch what he feels his child shouldn�t watch. That�s just good parenting. And furthermore, Michaels is only doing what he can do, and that is make decisions for himself. He can�t tell Steve Austin he can�t drink beer on television. He can�t tell Torrie to show less cleavage. This things are out of his control. All he can do (and all he does do) is separate himself from such storylines. I feel that that is a perfectly honest and acceptable decision, and one that I too would make if put in the same situation. However, HTM seems to think that Michaels� affiliation with the WWE AT ALL is a testament to his hypocrisy. This is a valid argument. But let�s look at this from a different perspective.
Let�s assume that Michaels decided to come back to the WWE because the Devil told him to come back. Would the Honky Tonk Man then say, �What does Michaels� devil have to say about WWE charity work? Don�t WWE superstars visit sick children in hospitals? Don�t WWE superstars get involved in communities and help make a difference in people�s lives? What does Michaels� devil have to say about that!?� What I�ve just done is called �reductio ad absurdum�; meaning �to reduce the argument to the ridiculous.�
If HTM said this, it would seem ridiculous. However, it is the exact same thing as the current situation, only with the roles of good and evil reversed. It would seem absurd to ask such questions if Michaels was moved by the devil, therefore, it is equally absurd to ask such questions if Michaels is moved by the word or spiritual guidance of God. HTM only makes a stink about Michaels� decision because it is controversial and (to HTM) hypocritical. Is it hypocritical for Michaels to be involved with the WWE based on his current beliefs vs. the storylines that WWE give the audience? I don�t think so. Solely because Michaels distances himself from those storylines. However, one could argue that Michaels is still supporting the WWE by working for a company that shows such filth. This is still a valid argument, and one that I don�t wish to argue against. I simply feel Michaels has made personal decisions and it is none of my business why he made them. If HTM returned to the WWE and was asked why, and he said because he felt it was time... would we be asking, why is it time? Time for what? How did you make such a decision? Why? Why? Why? I don�t think so. I think we�d accept his answer and move on. But because Michaels� answer involved religious and spiritual content, people such as HTM make a big stink about it. This shows that there is bitterness involved. Bitterness towards Michaels, WWE, or more than likely, religion as a whole. That�s basically all I can say about that. That�s why I think HTM makes his comments, and that�s how I feel about Michaels� decisions.
HTM said the following about HBK and Terry Taylor, �Has Michaels or Rooster testified to the other employees of the WWE about the eternal fire that is waiting below if they do not repent and leave this city of damnation!?� This is a down right bitter statement. This statement assumes a negative outlook about spiritual people. This statement assumes that Christians are going to impose their views on others. Michaels� does not do this. Michaels� writes, �I stay in the word everyday and I pray a lot before I go to work and so I feel very good when I go to work and strong, and there�s some other guys who were Christians before, but sort of like closet Christians... Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho, But now with me there, I�ve been sort of a staple in that company for a long time and I�m somebody who�s a little more outgoing that we openly talk about it now. So that it�s something that can be openly talked about in the dressing room around the guys, and the guys can take part of it or not. A lot of guys don�t talk about it for whatever reason, I think a lot of it has to do with, the business can be very intimidating. Not that we all are subject to anything that�s not cool, but to a certain extent that�s true: if it�s something you don�t think that everyone is going to accept then you sort of don�t talk about it. And me, I�m thrilled about it, and the thing is now there�s other guys, there�s guys in there who believe but just don�t want to talk about it but now it�s a subject that can be talked about.�
What I take from this statement is that Michaels is a person that is excited about God and is more than happy to talk about spiritual issues. However, Michaels only talks to those that want to be talked to. I believe this is the smart approach. Not only is imposing your beliefs on others unnecessary, the result can be turning that person off from your beliefs. This happens all too often when it comes to Christianity. Christians constantly jam their beliefs down people�s throats with the intent of helping people develop a relationship with God. However, this approach often has the reverse affect. It just turns people off. Michaels takes the smart approach and says people can either take part in the discussion, or not. That�s a good way in dealing with such an issue in a locker room that encompasses many different and conflicting beliefs. I totally see where Michaels is coming from and saying when he says that Christianity is seen as �uncool.� I�ve had my fair share of ridicule from people inside and outside of the wrestling business about my beliefs. I just simply don�t care. I don�t judge people about their beliefs and don�t think they should judge me about mine. I think people DO judge me because they feel that based on my beliefs, I�m going to judge them. But I don�t. I have NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to judge the way a person lives their life. So I don�t. And I don�t think HTM should be judging the way Michaels� lives HIS life.
The most ridiculous and offensive thing written on HTM�s website is the following, �For a person who couldn't get it together for 18 years to be stopped cold by one question about religion indicates a serious inner deficiency that "getting religion" won't fix. The problem with such individuals is that like former alcoholics they are always "recovering."
Unfortunately they often do not come to religion through honest reflection and sincere belief but rather through a traumatic event or events when they hit bottom and didn't bounce off. They are both weak and weak minded.
Whereas others turn to dope, alcohol, or even binge eating, such people self medicate on religion. These losers at life then think they have to convince everyone else that they now "know the truth" and everyone but them has it wrong.�
I take particular offense to this statement because I myself went through a string of traumatic events that made me think about my eternal future. And when all was said and done, I came to the conclusion that God was real. Does this make me �weak minded� or a �loser at life� ? Most definitely not. If anything, my mind is stronger and I am no longer a loser. You see, HTM seems to think that just because a person has a spiritual side that that results in a decrease in the mental capacity of that human. This is a flawed view. Just because I believe in God does not mean I can�t think for myself. God didn�t make me say that I believe in him. I said that on my own. It was my decision to believe in life after death. And because of that decision, I stopped doing things in my life that made me a �loser at life.� At no point in my life have I ever tried to �convince everyone else that [I] now "know the truth" and everyone but [me] has it wrong.� That is just a simple minded and overgeneralized statement. Like I said, I don�t impose my beliefs on others and I NEVER tell someone that what they believe is wrong. If someone is going to believe in God, they will do so on their own terms, NOT because I tell them to. To think that would be ridiculous.
Another thing that I took offense to was HTM comments about alcoholics. There are people close to me that are admitted alcoholics and have since turned to God for answers. But these people are NOT in constant recovery. These people are not always �recovering�, like HTM says, but rather, that are �living.� They are living a life much better than they were before. They are living one day at a time, and making a conscious decision to live a better life. For HTM to say alcoholics �often do not come to religion through honest reflection and sincere belief� is simply distasteful. This statement is obviously a general observation based on one or two circumstances that HTM observed in his life, and he decided to induce that ALL alcoholics are in this category of dishonest believers. I don�t even want to rip apart such an idiotic statement because it is a waste of my time. It is simply a misinformed comment by a bitter, bitter man.
The following is what Sting said about coming to know God, �Well, I had to, unfortunately, reach my rock bottom. They talk about that deep dark despair, well I got there. After so many years of living a lifestyle on the road, my marriage and my family suffering because of it... I finally got to the point where I needed something supernatural, I needed Divine intervention. I tell people the same thing: I just got to the point where I knew that there wasn�t a drug, there wasn�t any amount of money, there wasn�t a contract, there wasn�t enough toys, there wasn�t a psychologist, there wasn�t anything in the world that could fix me and I knew it. I also knew I wasn�t going to be able to wake up from a bad dream. This was life and I needed something supernatural and I got it!� This statement (I believe) demonstrates BOTH �honest reflection� AND �sincere belief.� Both things that spawned from traumatic events in Stings life. I just wanted to include this statement in the commentary to further illustrate HTM�s flawed statement.
So............ now that I�ve given an overview of the research that I�ve done on this topic of the �moral dilemma� in pro wrestling, I guess I should now actually answer Fallen Angel CA�s original question. I answered the first part of his question and have said what I think about HTM�s website, but I haven�t addressed his question about these wrestlers using religion to make money.
Fallen Angel CA said, �[HTM] was very open on how certain wrestlers such as Ted DiBiase, Nikita Koloff, Sting, Road Warrior Hawk and Shawn Michaels would use the church as a way to speak their views while charging people money to make these personal appearances and sign autographs or take pictures.� OK. First I�ll talk about Ted DiBiase.
This whole topic came about because I went on my message board and said that people should go check out www.milliondollarman.com. I did this because I had just finished writing Ted DiBiase an emailing concerning wrestling missionary work. I had just read Greg Valentine�s interview that talked about missionary work in Israel that involved going into a town, putting on a wrestling show, and then afterwards, talking to people in the community about God. After reading this I became excited. I felt that this was my answer to my conclusion at the end of my first commentary about the moral good in wrestling. This was the opportunity I was looking for, except this didn�t involve having to make it to the WWE to have such an experience. I immediately emailed Ted DiBiase to let him know I�d be interested in doing such work.
The best part about this whole thing is that it isn�t about money. I don�t expect to get paid, the kids in Israel didn�t have to pay... the whole thing was not and is not about money. So in this case, it is not about �cashing in� on religion. It�s about changing lives and helping people. And it�s about using wrestling as a means to do so! And I think that�s awesome.
However, I can see how people can see this under a different light. Ted DiBiase does run PWA and does make personal appearances. And Shawn Michaels does talk about God in interviews for WWE magazine and WWE does put out a t-shirt referring to his beliefs. But I don�t think this is about money.
First of all, from my knowledge (by perusing the PWA website) I could tell that DiBiase was far from �cashing in� on religion. Take a look at some of the pictures and look at how many people are in the crowd. If anything, I assume DiBiase is barely breaking even... however he still continues to put on shows. Why? Because of the message. When I read what DiBiase has to say about his ministry and his goals, I feel he is very sincere. Now obviously, this doesn�t prove anything, it�s just a feeling, but that�s enough for me, and that�s what you asked.... you asked what I think.
Now as it pertains to the WWE making a t-shirt with a cross on it for Shawn Michaels. I honestly think that the WWE does NOT want to use Michaels in any religious gimmicks. It was funny, in Michaels� interview with WWE Magazine, they kept asking him about wrestling, but he kept coming back to God. It just shows that Michaels� is sincerely excited about life and serious about his beliefs. I DO NOT think that it is about money. Michaels even said it himself... Christianity is �uncool.� And he�s right. It IS �uncool.� If anything, I think Michaels has lost fans because of his beliefs, rather than gained more. And I think WWE had no choice but to acknowledge Michaels� beliefs. They can�t market Michaels� as the HBK of old, either the stripping male dancer OR the crotch chopping DX member, because Michaels refuses to participate in such storylines. WWE knows that there is a demand for Michaels merchandise, therefore, instead of trying to sell them something that doesn�t reflect Michaels� character, they decided to make a shirt with a cross on it, because that reflects Michaels� character and beliefs. I don�t think WWE is cashing in on Michaels� beliefs. I think they are cashing in on Michaels� talent. Plain and simple.
In conclusion, I just want to sum up some important points in the commentary.
1. HTM is bitter. His comments show a bitter man that is bitter at the business and bitter at the people that are still making a decent living off the business. If anything, HTM is �cashing in� on the religious topic by talking about it on his website and talking about other people�s personal lives, when it really has nothing whatsoever to do with him.
2. Money. It�s a shame that there are actually �ministers� out there that use religion and confused people to make a buck. It happens. But just because a human uses religion to make money does not make religion the thing that�s wrong. It�s the human that�s wrong.
3. My future. I ended my last commentary with hopes of someday using the wrestling business to make a difference in people�s lives and to help me reach people on a spiritual level. At the end of my last commentary I thought that this was only going to be possible if I made it to the WWE. But, if Ted DiBiase emails me back, I might just be wrong. I hope I�m wrong.
Wow. That was long. I�ve been sitting here typing for WAY too long. I think I�m going to stop. I hope I�ve answered the question at hand. If anyone disagrees with me or has anything to say, PLEASE write it in the message board.... I�d be more than happy to discuss things with you via the board or email. Heck, if there is enough discussion I might just be forced to update my site again and write another commentary. I�m sure I will return to this topic sometime down the road as it is a topic that is close to my heart. But for now, I have to stop writing. Thanks for reading.
"Completely" yours,
Cody Steele