WWE's Lana Drawing Major Media Criticism For Controversial MH17 Promo

Last night at Battleground, WWE's two characters that are pro-Russian Rusev and Lana (even though they aren't really Russian) said something to rile up the fans that has earned them some headlines around the world. During her promo before Rusev's match, Lana said this: "You blame Russia for the recent current events?" It was a reference to last week's Air Malaysia flight that was shot down by a missile by the Ukraine/Russia border that's known as the MH17 disaster. There were 298 people that died on that flight and the details of who caused it are not fully known at this time although there's a lot of speculation about who may have been involved. Lana said they dedicated the match to Russian president Vladimir Putin: "Tonight we dedicate this match to the most powerful man in the world. Tonight we dedicate this match the man that makes fools out of all of you Americans. He is my role model. He is my idol. The president of Russia" and then a photo of Putin appeared on the screen. The fans booed like they always do. It's the same thing WWE has been doing for a few months now, but it was the first show after the MH17 disaster. She also said the US President was a "wuss" during the same speech. The woman that plays Lana is an American actress named CJ Perry and Rusev is actually a Bulgaria named Miroslav Barnyashev. Here's how the Daily Mail reported it in the UK;

It would have been better if WWE said nothing about the MH17 disaster. They should have had Lana ready to deliver a promo only for Jack Swagger's music to start up and for the match to begin at that point. While WWE may like to draw attention to themselves in the media, this was done in poor taste. It's a situation that definitely could have been avoided. If WWE continues to draw unwanted heat for this storyline then perhaps the angle could end abruptly like the Muhammad Hassan character that drew massive criticism due to being a terrorism storyline. Most wrestling fans will never forget what WWE did in 1991 with American hero Sgt. Slaughter turning his back on America by supporting Iraq while the Gulf War was going on. Hulk Hogan beat him for the WWE Title at WrestleMania 7, but Slaughter said that was definitely the toughest time in his career even though he became a main event performer during that storyline. He received many death threats from people that didn't realize he was just playing a character. There are a number of major news outlets around the world that have already picked up on the story, so it will be interesting to see how WWE handles it. We will provide updates if there are are any signs that they pull the plug on these characters or how WWE might go about handling it.