10 Wrestling Facts We Didn’t Know Last Week (July 26)
3. WWE's 'Dr. Heinie' Rib On JR Was "Done Out Of Love"
"Watch tonight's show, pal. There's something you might like," Vince McMahon told Jim Ross over the phone. When JR, who was recovering from serious colon surgery, then tuned into that night's Raw show, he couldn't believe that WWE dedicated the final segment to a send up of his real-life problems.
Infamously, Vinnie Mac dressed as 'Dr. Heinie' and mocked up a surgical procedure on a dummy JR that included pulling Jim's head out of his own ass. It was roundly criticised for being insensitive at the time, and Ross (via his 'Grilling JR' pod) said he refused to see the funny side.
Bruce Prichard has chimed in through his own podcast to say it was "done out of love". Huh?
He says WWE never intended to hurt Jim's feelings; Bruce and Vince have a unique sense of humour that involves ripping the p*ss out of one another when bad things happen. It's their way of raising spirits, but it didn't work for JR. He was insulted, humiliated and left wondering why the oh-so-important lasting visual on Raw was something so unnecessary and demeaning.