A lot of pro wrestling fans were curious to see if WWE would acknowledge the death of Ted Turner on tonight’s (May 8) episode of SmackDown. Billionaire Ted’s World Championship Wrestling almost put WWF out of business back in the mid 1990’s, after all.
WWE did indeed do the right thing by kicking off SmackDown with a graphic indicating this show is dedicated to the memory of Turner, which you can see as the header image at the top of this post.
Unfortunately things got very awkward after that, because
SmackDown transitioned from Turner’s memory right into a glimpse of the Gingerbread Man’s funeral. Various wrestlers and people like GM Nick Aldis were there looking somber and heartbroken while remembering all of the good times they shared with Gingerbread over the years last month. Commentator Joe Tessitore added, “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
Maybe it’s fine to go there right after mentioning Turner’s death, or maybe it spotlights one of the problems with WWE running this “hokey and archaic” Gingerbread Man angle. Let me know how you feel about it in the comments below, Cagesiders.
Catch up on all the results from SmackDown in our live blog right here.
