Why This Is WWE's Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic This Year
Evans' setting was seemingly speaking from the inside of an American flag in week two, which was odd considering that she was about to explain in greater detail some of the traumatic events that were in part caused by the grim systemic and controlled inequality that defines the United States and the rest of the capitalist modern world.
Almost bracing herself for what she was about to say, Evans braced herself and went back into the breach;
"Okay, here it goes. After my Mom took us and ran, it wasn't long before my father eventually found us in Texas and the anger and sadness within our home grew. He wanted to teach us work ethic and certain values that he found important, but the way he went about doing so scarred us for life. I was cleaning up job sites, shovelling shingles by the time I was in middle school. If our chicken pens or pig pens weren't cleaned out good enough, he would make us climb inside of them and sit for hours. If is food wasn't hot enough or not what he wanted, he would flip the tables and throw whatever dish was in front of him. And then he would go to his room and he'd slam the door and he'd leave us covered in food cleaning up broken glass...my father found himself a wanted man...and once again we were on the run...child protective services was involved in my life from the start just about as much as law enforcement. But the problem was that neither saved me or my family. I learned how to rely on myself because no-one was gonna save me...my ability to find the positives in the middle of so much negative made me who I am today. And when all else fails, you gotta keep your head up and you gotta work hard."
Evans fights back tears at various points in this recollection, and not a moment feels performative. How could one even assume it based on the content? And therein lies the moment all of this became something that had the potential to be ignorant and insipid, rather than inspiring. She hit the catchphrase again, just about tied it to the trials and tribulations of being a pro wrestler. The "work hard" message was a WWE babyface staple, and though it felt a touch exploitative to get so granular just to extract an earnest pop, the 'Sassy Southern Belle' had well and truly been left behind. Job done.
Time to undo it!
CONT'D...