WWE: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

professional wrestling literally the only good excuse to wear a onesie and that's right babies you're not pulling it off put on some jeans and a button-down like a person specifically I want to talk about the undisputed corporate champion of wrestling the WWE formerly known as the WWF until and this is true they lost a court case to the World Wildlife Fund presumably thanks to that funds powerful team of Panda lawyers and look before we go any further let me say this I like wrestling and you might be surprised to hear that but I don't you it's objectively entertaining and the WWE has over the years delivered numerous ludicrous and genuinely incredible moments from when jake the snake' roberts set a live Cobra on Macho Man Randy Savage did the time braun strowman suplex the big show off the turnbuckle and broke the entire ring to end Stone Cold Steve Austin drove a beer truck into the arena and sprayed the corporation with a beer hose not to be mistaken with it on that Kurt Angle drove a milk truck into the arena and sprayed Stone Cold Steve Austin with a milk hose and then there was whatever the this is [Applause] everything about that is fantastic but my favorite part is after the table was lit on fire the commentator asking what's gonna happen what was he expecting to happen Oh the tables on fire oh my god here comes a hibachi chef and he's making one of those on the table it is were talking about the WWE tonight for multiple reasons first it's astonishingly popular it has over a billion fans on social media it has two highly rated cable shows its own streaming network reality shows video games and even a movie studio which has produced such hits as the Scorpion King walking tall the Marine the Marine - the Marine 3 the rooting for the marine 5 the marine 6 and of course Lincoln by the way by the way their first choice to play Abraham Lincoln was actually Brutus the barber beefcake but he wasn't available so the role went to Daniel day-lewis who was he was he was fine I'm not this company makes a lot of money last year it generated a record 930 million in revenue in fact WrestleMania alone which is taking place next Sunday is one of the most valuable sports brands in the world ranking higher than the World Series which actually makes sense when you think about it because while the World Series is mostly spent watching a millionaire in a button-down think about whether or not to throw a ball WrestleMania involves things like this [Applause] are you not going to change how could any other TV show top that in fact every other show she just because unfortunately not a guy exploding through her table and this show should very much be included in that but but the other reason that it's worth talking about the WWE's because of the prevalence of stories like these Eddie Guerrero found dead in a Minneapolis hotel room the World Wrestling star was just 38 years old we have just confirmed that Randy Macho Man Savage has died Chyna one of the most famous wrestlers in the 90s has now died she was 46 years old pro wrestling legend King Kong Bundy has died at the age of 61 he came here we were in studio a and he relayed me almost up to the ceiling he'll be missed just 61 years old these wrestlers died in early wow that is a harrowing statement there from Brian Kilmeade only slightly dampened by his childlike wonder and how high the big man lifted him and how did that even happen did Bundy offer him did kill me to ask honestly I wouldn't really be surprised if one of his stock interview questions is up horsey rides but Kilmeade is not actually wrong there because Redfoo flying early is a troubling trend 538 tracked the rate of deaths among WWF wrestlers and the findings were startling here is the expected death rate by age group among the population as a whole here is the rate among former NFL players and here is the rate among wrestlers that is shockingly high you'd expect that line to be labeled test pilots who lied on their resume or zookeepers who aren't just gonna let some baboon screen to them like that hey hey enough sass-mouth there buddy put some respect on my name so so with that in mind tonight a week ahead of Wrestlemania let's take a look at how the WWE does business and how it treats its wrestlers and before we start you can't talk about the WWE without talking about its chairman and CEO Vince McMahon because he's incredibly powerful as you can see in this actual photo he took for a fitness magazine the magazine scary grandpa who looks like a big bumpy hot dog Horton Vince bought the company from his dad and has since overseen its meteoric ascent into the mainstream because before he came along wrestling was splintered into fiefdom around the country all of which had their own broadcasts welcome to this special edition of world class Championship Wrestling welcome this week's edition of mid-south wrestling welcome to video manic Championship Wrestling I get wrestling is all about spectacle and pageantry but a tuxedo gym a tuxedo tone it down a notch you're not at a gala Michael as usual no notes you look great to keep living your truth throughout the 80s and 90s Vince McMahon gradually eliminated or absorbed his competitors and now one giant company basically holds a monopoly on the industry and it's impossible to overstate just how involved Vince is he's not just CEO he obviously storylines scripts everything even playing a fictionalized version of himself as the show's over arching villain although his choices of how to dramatize that have been pretty questionable whether it's him forcing female wrestlers to strip or beating up his supposed illegitimate son Hornswoggle or dropping the ultimate racial slur as part of a comedic skits yeah what's good that is rough to watch and remember he's in complete control of those scripts no one is making him do that and well yes he is playing a villain there there are many other ways that that can be achieved Darth Vader was a great villain not once did he drop the n-word meanwhile r2 said it pretty much non-stop it's why he kept getting bleep but but but the fact that that man is an active character in wrestling actually gives us an opportunity because he's taken a lot of in ring abuse over the years so I point tonight where you're gonna be disgusted with him for say using the n-word I can now simply play a clip like this of the rock smashing them over the head with a trash can lid [Applause] wrestling's good it's just very good but while the character Vince is an it's important to know that the real Vince is also an and many fans legitimately hate him because well the WWE has made him a billionaire many wrestlers say he's treated them terribly just listen to Bret hitman Hart weren't one of the biggest wrestlers of all time speaking about his former boss Vince McMahon has always had this mentality about treating wrestlers like circus animals all these wrestlers that have broke their backs making this living for years end up with nothing when it's over and then they sort of take you out back and they put a slug in the back of head and dump you out now that's the life of a professional wrestler now that might sound extreme to you but Hart has good reason to be angry his own brother Owen died wrestling for Vince and Hart is frankly far from a lung in voicing grievances about his former employer because the shocking thing about McMahon in his company is the extent to which he shielded himself from responsibility for his wrestlers welfare and the main way that he's done this is actually pretty simple because well you might reasonably think that the wrestlers employed by him are his employees they're actually not that they're merely independent contractors just as former wrestler Jesse Ventura pointed out on Howard Stern it's just insane power they self employed when you're signed exclusively right you can't work for nobody else a monopoly yeah they tell you when and where you'll work they tell you who you work they can totally control your life and you and yet anaconda and yet they call you an independent contractor how has the government allowed them to get away with that for 35 to 40 years yeah he's got a point there an independent contractor is someone that you might hire for a specific limited task like a plumber or an accountant wrestlers aren't either of those things apart from this wrestling plumber and this wrestling accountant but the vast majority are totally different and as independent contractors wrestlers are exempt from most discrimination and occupational safety laws they also don't get paid annual leave pensions or health insurance and I would argue that when you look at the Department of Labor and the IRS is specific criteria for independent contractors it's a complete joke to think that they apply to Vince's wrestlers for instance the IRS states that independent contractors should be free to work when and for whom they choose well Vince's wrestlers sign exclusive contracts so that's complete the guidelines also say that someone's probably not an independent contractor if the success or continuation of a business depends to an appreciable degree on the services they provide now I guess the question there is our wrestlers essential to World Wrestling Entertainment it's a good question I mean it's not called world totally empty ring entertainment so that might be a clue in fact if I might quote the company's own website WWE performers of the company's greatest asset without our performers WWE would not exist and look maybe when wrestlers might work years ago for multiple different organizations it made sense to call them contractors but now that WWE has a chokehold on this industry it makes just as much sense to call them that as it does to call Jimmy Carter a panty-dropping machine it's just clearly not true anymore look for what it's worth back in 1986 Ventura actually tried to unionize wrestlers which could have dramatically improved their working conditions but man stamped it out heart and if that makes you want to see someone stamp him out hard I actually have some good news for you [Applause] wrestling is better than the things you like and the lack the lack of a union to advocate for wrestlers means that Vince gets to call all the shots because while literally every major sports league has an offseason for athletes to recover the WWE works its wrestlers year-round multiple times a week both on TV and in untelevised so-called house shows and big stars may be able to command big money for that but not every wrestler is a big star and whenever we've gotten glimpses of wrestlers contracts they contain some astonishing clauses one says if a wrestler is unable to wrestle for as little as six weeks because of an injury the company can terminate their contract well another releases the company from all liability for damage resulting in permanent injury or death even if caused by its own negligence which is a crazy thing for McMahon to put in a contract and frankly enough to make you want to see him be on the receiving end of his own medical mishap still technically more helpful than a visit from dr. oz when you take all of this together with wrestlers working as independent contractors in a monopolized industry largely free from meaningful oversight and able to be fired at any time you wind up with an environment with huge potential for unsafe conduct before Lance mcnaught died at 29 of heart failure while struggling with addiction to painkillers he spoke of the pressure that he felt to work through injury saying everybody knows that if you get hurt you work through it because you'll lose your spot and another top wrestler CM Punk has questioned the advice that he was given by a WWE doctor following an incident in the ring I got hit with something and it rung my bell and I got a concussion but we were leaving for Europe the next day so doc was leaning on me going do you want me to do you have a concussion or can you go to Europe kind of thing and I was just like you you pigs I'll go to Europe whatever that's on me that's my fault I'm dry heaving after every match I'm either puking for real or I'm just dry heaving because I don't have anything in my stomach that's like oh you're sick here's a z-pack they z-pak me to death so much then too whereas my pants on a Smackdown he did he actually did that and we actually found that episode of SmackDown smackdown and out of common courtesy we are not going to show it to you but this is his face as it was happening Punk even tweeting about it afterwards saying just my britches on Smackdown please retweet something good WWE then made him take down even though it's obviously the best tweet ever written seriously you try and think of a better suite right now have you got one does it say mark britches please retweet then it's not better is it stand down look obviously gets much worse thanking past wrestlers themselves on live TV because wrestlers bodies regularly get smashed up and undergo general wear and tear damage that's cumulative and can last a lifetime but McMahon doesn't provide health insurance for his wrestlers for anything other than injuries that occur inside the ring in fact the extent to which he's denied any responsibility for their welfare is astonishing just watching respond to a question years ago about wrestler deaths do you have a reason why these people would be dying under the age of 45 why don't you ask yourself that question I mean why why what are you indicating that's my responsibility these people are dead because asking you if it's in any way shape or form falls on your shoulders I would accept no responsibility whatsoever for their untimely deaths none whatsoever as far as and you've got that look on your face like yeah well but none whatsoever I mean they wrestled for you it was the heart of your organization they had worked a couple of hundred nights a year for you they live this lifestyle what are you doing you weird weird man and while all of that is ridiculous my favorite response isn't actually the weird face or the smacking of the papers it's answering why our wrestlers dying early with why don't you ask yourself that question which in terms of dodges is certifiably insane I don't know things maybe because that journalist doesn't employ any wrestlers I want to know that you don't think you do either I'm telling you you're wrong about that now the company will say that they've completely transformed in recent years and they have taken some positive steps like banning Church shots in their head and introducing concussion protocols although CM Punk's experience probably suggests that there may be room for some significant improvement there but but some of the other steps they've taken under their talent wellness program are a little underwhelming like the fact that they now have annual physical examinations that's just nothing I have to take one of those every year to host this show and I've never once exploded through this table it's in the name of our show now the program also provides for things like cardiovascular and brain testing which is nice although remember they're still responsible for their own health insurance and while the company says it pays for addiction treatment for former wrestlers that doesn't really address the underlying issues that get them hooked on pain medication in the first place and the tragic thing is some have reluctantly had to drag their bodies back to the WWE because they have no other financial option rowdy roddy piper continued wrestling into his 40s and 50s and just listen to him explain why wrestling is it has a tremendous entrance plan you come in as boy here you are you rock the wall and everything is one it's got no exit plan and rowdy roddy piper should know a few months ago he climbed back into the ring what would you have me do it 49 when like my pension plan I can't take out till I'm 65 I'm not gonna make 65 let's just face facts guys and sadly he was right about that cuz Roddy Piper died in 2015 at the age of 61 and while nothing I say can or should make that okay I do hope they're watching this final clip events in the ring gives you just a tiny piece of catharsis [Applause] you know the reassuring thing there is you can fake being kicked in the face or hit in the head with a bedpan but there is no faking that so I guess the question is is there any pulp here but incredibly there might be because there is one group that even McMahon occasionally seems to listen to and that's the fans they actually have a strong independent voice in the WWE and have been vocal over the years about everything from the company's dealings with Saudi Arabia to its treatment of female wrestlers who have come a long way from the old days of so-called bra and panty matches in fact fans online launched their hashtag give divas a chance campaign at a feature women more more prominently to which Vince himself responded we hear you keep watching and next week for the first time ever Wrestlemania will be headlined by a women's match so wrestling fans don't just go along with whatever the company tells them to cheer and boo they know what they like and just as importantly what they don't like for instance the WWE tried for years literally years to make Roman reigns a superstar hero on the level of the rock but fans just didn't like him and they let him and the WWE know about that and keep in mind as he watch this Roman reigns is supposed to be a good guy [Applause] they boot him non-stop for eight minutes and you might think that's harsh but I know he was the only rational response to someone with permanently wet hair how could it always be wet you look like a pedophile out for a jog boo boo so so the fans have a big voice here that's the point and they really care about these wrestlers and continue to do that long after the WWE has abandoned them and nowhere was the extent of this devotion more obvious than when legendary wrestler jake the snake' needed help paying for medical expenses Jake had is no insurance he didn't have any money to pay for the surgery so we had to come up with some kind of solution so we we put up a page on IndieGoGo to try to raise the money for a surgery I'm real but the really cool thing that came out of that was Jake got to see how much the fans really cared all those years ago say I guess they did leave something yeah those years meant a lot of fans that's why they want him and other wrestlers to be taken care of they've actually been multiple GoFundMe campaigns to cover both healthcare and funeral expenses for wrestlers that fans have stepped up for which is heartwarming but frankly fans shouldn't be the ones shouldering that responsibility here's how bad it is even the NFL for all its massive thoughts now offers players health reimbursement accounts and have established a legacy fund for older players who may be dealing with health issues and when you've lost the moral high ground to the NFL you are lauralee subterranea the potential opportunities because remember WrestleMania the biggest event in the WWE's calendar is next Sunday any fans in that arena what McMahon to help pay for wrestlers long term health care or just to call them employees they could say choose to make up a chance about that the event is live the crowd is miked they won't be able to cut the chance out I'm not saying that fans should do that or make signs or make lots of signs I'm just saying I really hope they make their voices heard on this because given that business Hulk here is a billionaire on the broken backs of his non employees the very least he can do is show the same dedication to wrestlers that they have shown to his company on I know that I haven't really said any of this tonight in the preferred language of wrestling fans so maybe this will help wrestling fans cheered Royal Rumble real the Hell in a Cell you killed your head off at SummerSlam ready to scream for something new I'm talking about Louds or favorite wrestlers having access to retirement care workers comp and family and vertical [Applause] walking comfortably bending their knees past a 90-degree angle a spending quality time with their grandchildren you can see all this is more the system was put in place that gave wrestlers things like an offseason because the human body was not designed to do things like this 200 nights a year we're talking about bringing three mature wrestlers they're back in line with actuarial tables he's gonna need a doctor they preferably one who won't make it advance on Smackdown before it is at WrestleMania 35 why not join thousands of screaming fans and calling for your favorite wrestlers to be employee though you never have to pay for their future surgery drew go mr. McMahon doesn't like it you know what he can do [Applause] the decision [Applause]

Channel: LastWeekTonight

Views: 11,497,021

Rating: 4.8575549 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: m8UQ4O7UiDs

Length: 23min 6sec (1386 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 31 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/rdp3186]

"Im sure theyll gloss over WWE quickly and focus more on independent contractors as a whole"

(Plays CM Punk podcast)

"Oh boy."

[u/AJBIsHere]

More than anything, this episode just made me sad that Piper is no longer with us.

[u/rainbowyuc]

That interview with Vince knocking the clipboard of the interviewer is alarming. Comes across as deranged and hostile.

[u/Vagabond21]

So disappointed the title wasn’t “John Oliver shoots on wwe!!!”

[u/incredibleamadeuscho]

Vince: I want some mainstream coverage before Mania. That’d be great! Like remember when Seth was on the Daily Show!? On comedy shows like that.

Writer: We got some good news and bad news for you them!

[u/LiveFastBiYoung]

Surprised that John Oliver didn’t mention that Mick Foley is his kayfabe best friend

[u/themanifoldcuriosity]

Most surprising thing: John Oliver confirmed mark.

[u/Cody73]

Cause the video seems to be "US Only", I created a streamable in case anyone needs it.... unsure if people will see the link, but yeah: https://streamable.com/80sod

EDIT: Adding the rest of the video to this post as this gets cuts off at the ten minute mark.... thanks, Streamable:

https://streamable.com/smf5v (Part 2) https://streamable.com/k3jdi (Part 3)

The whole video was 23 minutes long.

[u/[deleted]]

Never going to happen unless the entire roster of wrestlers stands united. Going to be impossible since the top guys will look out for themselves and have much much more to lose.