I haven't watched the WWE/WWF in a couple of years, but apparently Bradshaw has become increasingly freeperish on the air. He's always been a right-wing, "good ol' boy," Texan bully in real life, and they've recently incorporated those attributes into his heel gimmick in the ring. To the uninitiated, that means he's portrayed as a bad guy.
While I generally don't think performers should be punished for
playing a role, be it in movies or television or pro wrestling, I have a suspicion that Bradshaw was doing a little more freelancing than his role required. In any case, I can't say I'm sorry to see this idiot booted from his laughable gig as a financial analyst.
Here are some links from the last two days ...
From Alex Marvez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
Making gestures associated with Nazism during a World Wrestling Entertainment match in Germany last weekend has cost a prominent performer his moonlighting job as a financial analyst on CNBC.
The network announced Tuesday that John "Bradshaw" Layfield was fired from his job as a CNBC contributor. Layfield was hired last month after serving as a guest analyst for Fox News Channel, which began featuring him regularly last year following the release of his book Have More Money Now.
In an apparent attempt to draw a crowd response during his match against WWE champion Eddie Guerrero in Munich, eyewitness reports said Layfield goose-stepped around the ring and raised his arm numerous times in an Adolf Hitler salute. Such actions are illegal in Germany, although no criminal charges were brought against the 13-year wrestling veteran after the show.
**snip**
Layfield, 36, was recently elevated to a main-event position on the WWE's Smackdown roster after his character was changed to portray him as an anti-immigration zealot, with Mexicans usually the targets of his prejudice during weekly Thursday telecasts on UPN.From the Pro Wrestling Torch:
Since Bradshaw has been so hard on internet fans recently (in a mix of work/shoot comments) there have been a number of email campaigns to both WWE and CNBC alerting them to the situation. CNBC has not reacted publicly to Bradshaw's actions. Bradshaw hosts a show on the financial cable network.Also from the Pro Wrestling Torch:
CNBC, the financial news cable network that recently hired Bradshaw (John Layfield) away from Fox News, has fired Bradshaw for his imitation of well-known "Heil Hitler" gestures during a wrestling match in Germany this weekend. A CNBC spokesman called his behavior offensive and inappropriate and no longer wanted to be associated with him.
For what it's worth, several colleagues of Bradshaw have told me this week and in recent weeks that while Bradshaw does genuinely hold Republican/conservative beliefs, they don't believe he is a racist in real life. He has a track record of being a brutish bully behind the scenes, but not racist, according to several colleagues. Even those who don't like him believe his actions in Germany were thoughtlessness on his part while trying to use similar heel techniques as he used while in Texas, for instance, in trying to demean Hispanics. That said, there are a lot of people he's gotten stiff with in the ring or ribbed behind the scenes who are happy to see him get a form of comeuppance.