Dave Meltzer's Twitter Storm Over WWE's Peyton Royce: What's The Deal?
Company employees round on Observer guru after misplaced comments.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter journo Dave Meltzer found himself in hot water last night, when an audio clip from a 9 August episode of Wrestling Observer Radio surfaced on SmackDown superstar Peyton Royce's Twitter timeline.
The snippet included a conversation between Meltzer and co-host Bryan Alvarez pondering The IIconics difficulty adapting to the main roster, with the veteran reporter dwelling on Royce's appearance:
I don’t get a thing out of them. I don’t think their promos are particularly good, their wrestling isn’t good. I think they even like - I think Peyton Royce’s transformation to look more attractive. I don’t know, I don’t want to say. But I don’t think that...
After being needled by Alvarez on his implication, Meltzer eventually relented:
[In NXT] She was.... she was a lot lighter...
Meltzer's veiled comments about the Australian's recent breast augmentation surgery, and in particular, her weight, understandably drew widespread censure on the social media platform. Royce herself responded, directly challenging Dave on his troublesome comments:
A host of WWE employees soon rushed to the defence of their colleague, including Ember Moon, Charlotte Flair, and Beth Phoenix. Renee Young was particularly skewering, denouncing Meltzer's opinion as "a true piece of sweltering hot garbage".
As the imbroglio raged on, Melzter eventually popped up with a clumsily worded apology, which succeeded in appearing both insincere and patronising:
I'd like to apologize to you. You are an exceedingly attractive woman. I do realize the lengths and pressures on women in the entertainment world to maintain unnatural looks at times and am glad you pointed this out.
The newsman stopped just short of saying, "I'm sorry you're offended, Peyton." As with his initial statement, Meltzer's attempted apology drew further ire from WWE superstars, with Tyler Breeze in particular exchanging a series of eloquent Tweets denouncing Dave for deflecting the blame, and highlighting his ability to engender change via his significant media platform.
Seth Rollins - for who a five star Meltzer rating has remained elusive - also waded in with his own quip:
For some though, there was a particular irony in WWE's superstars rounding on Meltzer's misogynistic slight having previously kept mum about the company's decision to stage a completely female-free show in the retrograde Saudi Arabia.
It's difficult to draw direct comparisons between the two scenarios. Speaking out in defence of a friend and colleague in response to an external insult is not exactly the same as potentially jeaopardising your career with public criticism of your employers. Hypocritical? Perhaps. Stage-managed? Very possibly. Either way, the nuances are too subtle to make such broad inferences.
What is certain is that Meltzer's reputation has been deservedly damaged in the wake of his poorly-chosen words. In possible relation to the furore, this week's issue of the Wrestling Observer has been delayed 'due to time constraints', and there's every chance that it may find its subscriber base a little... lighter... in the coming week.