Backstage Heat On Sami Zayn?, WWE Hall Of Famer Apologizes For Recent Jimmy Snuka Remarks
- As seen on RAW this past Monday, Sami Zayn defeated Seth Rollins – following an assist from Triple H's entrance music – to earn a spot in the WWE Royal Rumble match this Sunday. On last week's RAW, there was a backstage segment with Sami Zayn annoying Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, which you can watch above. Dave Meltzer noted in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer that there is backstage heat on Sami right now, and that the segment was done to "establish Zayn as a total geek."
- Jim Ross recently appeared on The Straight Shooters Podcast and discussed WWE paying tribute to the late Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, who was charged in September of 2015 with involuntary manslaughter and third-degree murder for the 1983 death of Nancy Argentino. They sent us this highlight from the podcast:
"I had no issues with [the tribute]," JR said. "I was glad they recognized it and recognized his passing. For wrestling fans, for many of them, he meant a lot to a generation of fans. I'm glad that they acknowledged it.
"It's the wrong form, in my view, to continue to wear out a topic of a trial that never happened and a court case that's been dismissed. I don't know what happened and all this other stuff regarding Jimmy and the lady that was murdered. But golly, there's a time and place to discuss those issues. And one would think that we'd have enough intelligence to let the family ? he had a lot of kids, man. They have friends and they have cousins and I think to just let the family grieve before we go back on this Oliver Stone quest of proving Jimmy Snuka posthumously was a murderer. It's ridiculous. It's embarrassing."
JR issued an apology for his remarks on his official website, writing:
First things first, I have apparently upset some folks with my remarks about WWE recognizing the memory of the late Jimmy Snuka on their broadcasts and, more specifically, my inadvertently flippant remarks about the 'Oliver Stone" types who chose to seemingly disregard the opportunity of the children and grandchildren of Jimmy Snuka to grieve for the loss of their family patriarch.
In no way did i mean to disrespect the Argentino family for their loss of their daughter/sister Nancy in 1983. That was certainly not my intent. My thoughts were strictly on the children and grandchildren of Snuka which in hindsight was not equitable considering the extraordinary circumstances of this matter.
My apologies to anyone affected by my remarks especially the family of the late, Nancy Argentino.
I hope that anyone who knows me realizes that me intentionally hurting others is simply not my style, however, my comments made on the Ross Report were mine and I take ownership and responsibility for them in their entirety. Again, I regret how my remarks were taken especially as it relates to the feelings of the Argentino family.
Thanks.