His TNA run ultimately lasted less than 24 hours, and Max Caster’s dismissal is getting a lot more play than his appearance did — and has brought a lot more attention to the controversial line from his entrance rap that got him fired.
While walking out for his match with Moose on Sun., Oct. 11’s Bound for Glory card, Caster did his usual freestyle as he was walking to the ring. But referencing recent attacks on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where TNA’s partner WWE is still planning to hold a major event in three
weeks despite recent fatal missile strikes at the Saudi capital’s airport, was a bridge too far for TNA and its president, Carlos Silva.
TNA said the issue was Caster “making light of violent attacks”, which seems like an odd thing to get fired for in a business built around violence that’s frequently courted controversy as a promotional tactic, but okay. It’s clear from our comment sections and other wrestling forums that folks have feelings about the WWE/Saudi relationship, the WWE/TNA relationship, and how those things may or may not have influenced Silva’s decision-making about Caster’s employment. I don’t imagine anything I am going to write here will change anyone’s mind on those topics.
Will a professional, in my opinion reasonable apology from Platinum Max change any minds? Let’s find out, since he shared one this morning (Oct. 13):
“Just to address all the TNA stuff, I want to say thank you to Carlos Silva. I talked to him in person. He was very generous, very professional even after all this stuff happened. And I, I understand why he did what he did. It’s his show. He’s got to protect TNA. And I went too far for him.
“So I want to apologize to him and everybody else in the office. I want to apologize to anyone who vouched for me to get that spot. I feel like I let those people down. Thank you to Moose for sharing your platform with me. And I wish things didn’t turn out the way they did, but I’m proud of that match and I’m sorry how things have ended up.
“And then for anybody who’s offended, I just want everybody to know that when I do these raps, it’s never to offend people. It’s only to entertain. So in my mind, it’s entertainment value first. And then if you’re offended by it, that’s your right. So I can’t apologize for anyone being offended. But just know that it’s not my intention to make people upset.
“If it gets a reaction, I think I did my job. It was a very relevant part of the show and highly talked about. So I feel good about that, but the consequences of everything, I’m accepting that. I can accept the facts of that.
“And then to anybody who is asking if I’m good, I’m good. I’m just embarrassed how all this happened. It’s, you know, you don’t want it to be one match and then that’s it and get fired. But again, that’s the reality of the situation. I’m accepting it and that’s life.
“And in life, sometimes you got to man up and just accept it and move on. So, whatever is next, I don’t know, but we’ll see. Thank you everybody who’s reaching out and supporting.”
Pretty generous from a guy who a lot of folks think was just doing his job — and as he says, insofar as the job is to get people paying attention to TNA Bound for Glory, doing it pretty well. I particularly think “I can’t apologize for anyone being offended, but it’s not my intention to make people upset” is one of the better ways I’ve heard that sentiment expressed.
But again, I doubt I can convince anyone to change their existing opinions on all the controversial topics Caster’s TNA appearance ended up encompassing.
Did Max’s apology change your thinking about the situation at all?
