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While compiling some news bits to discuss on the next episode of LIONS, TIGERS, BEARS, AND DIRT, I found an interesting tidbit on the (false) rumor that Eva Marie was going to replace Jerry Lawler as the host for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. WrestlingInc.com summarized a report from Dave Meltzer on the issue, and this is what they said:
“Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that many people were talking about Eva hosting the Hall that weekend and it appears the original story of Eva hosting was right but WWE just changed their minds and put Lawler back as the host.”
I don’t know any different, as I have no “sources” for this issue, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. It does, however, point out something that has been written over and over in the past how the original report was “correct” but “plans changed.” Seems pretty easy to cover up false rumors, doesn’t it?
Let me detail two ways this can occur. Number one is, if I’m a news reporter, I will make an educated guess based on a current trend and report it as a rumor. For example, based on current WWE storylines, I could say “sources inside WWE are reporting that the main event for SummerSlam will be a triple-threat match between Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns.” Not a stretch of the imagination by any means. If this comes true, then my “sources” were correct even though I really pulled this out of my butt. Let’s say, for example, the main event ends up being Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns. I could then report “the original plan was indeed a triple-threat match, but WWE decided to hold off Lesnar’s rematch until Survivor Series as they believe that will help better build his big babyface push as they get closer to WrestleMania season.” See how easy that was?
The second way is that the reporter was lied to by their source. It could be for any number of reasons such as a rib or a way to plant false stories about someone they dislike or feels is threatening their spot. In this case, the reporter will post the news and it will immediately get shot down by everyone involved. For instance, let’s say my source is someone who hates John Cena and is jealous of his success. They could tell me that Cena was overheard saying that “the only reason he grants Make-A-Wish requests is to sell t-shirts.” John Cena, the WWE, Vince McMahon, anyone you can think of will come out and say how false this is and may even present evidence to the contrary. The reporter, however, will still “stand by their source” to save face even though they were proven wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, some of the stuff that hits the web is indeed true. I just want you all to think how much of the news you have read has actually come true, and how much of it was spun with the “plans have changed” angle? One of my favorite parts about doing the LIONS, TIGERS, BEARS, AND DIRT show with Vince is talking about the absurdity of some of these rumors. If you haven’t checked out or show yet, please do so in the “videos” section.
By the way – sources tell me that Vince was indeed going to work at Lucha Underground, but plans changed at the last minute. Even though Vince, Lucha Underground, and the President of the United States proved this to be false, I will stand by my source. Brian Williams never lies.
Follow Jeff on Twitter: @JeffLane22
