Tolerance And Respect Not Shown To Magnum XL
The WWE has taken up the Anti-bullying flag over the past months and helped pioneer a programme called "Be a STAR: Show Tolerance And Respect".
Perhaps Magnum XL needs to sit Rolling Thunder down in front of some WWE programming and have him watch this.
It's not that XL was doing wonderfully on his own. For a guy as big as he is, it seems like he should have been much more dominant than he was. But his win-loss record since returning to regular competition on UWE and SRPW has been less than stellar all-around.
Rolling Thunder has also fallen on hard times, although in his case, it's due to physical injury. A broken foot sidelined the former UWE United States Champion and in an effort to remain involved, he's taken more of a managerial role, forming Rolling Thunder, Inc. On March 10, he announced his first acquisition as Magnum XL. Magnum's opponent was X-Stat!k, which seemed like a major mis-match in terms of size and experience. But from the moment that the match began, it was clear that Thunder didn't have any actual respect for Magnum. He berated him, calling him stupid and breaking up pins that Magnum had on X-Stat!k because he wanted Magnum to deliver more punishment. Magnum dominated much of the match, but in the end, X-Stat!k won with a Super Code-Breaker. This sent Thunder into a fit as he couldn't believe he had given his attention to someone he now beleived was a loser like Magnum.
It would not have been surprising to see Thunder dump Magnum and move on to another potential client when UWE's next event in Jay arrived, but that was not the case as Thunder brought Magnum out again for a match against newcomer Bryan Heisley. Again, on paper, this should have been an easy win for Magnum. While Heisley is certainly bigger than X-Stat!k, he has even less experience in the ring. But no matter what Magnum did in the match, it wasn't enough. Magnum handled Heisley on his own and put him down with a Black Hole Slam, but while he was doing that, Rolling Thunder again hopped up on the ropes and distracted referee Stephen. While Magnum had Heisley pinned, Thunder threw a pair of Brass Knucks into the ring. Magnum moved over and picked them up just when Stephen turned around. Seeing a prone Heisley and Magnum in possession of a foreign object, Stephen made a logical decision and gave the match to Heisley via DQ. It was Heisley's first win of his career and again Thunder was embarassed, but put all the blame on Thunder, calling him stupid and ugly.
If nothing else, you have to give Thunder credit for picking on people his own size. He's faced Bobby Burns, Terry Montana and Big Smooth in high-profile feuds. But he's reluctant to do much of anything in a man-to-man manner, instead relying on foreign object, trickery and deceitful tactics. Now, since he can't get in the ring himself, he's using someone who is desperate to turn his career around. This looks like a near-textbook case of mental abuse. The question now is: How long will Magnum continue to allow himself to be treated this way? There's a point where every man has to stand up and do what's right for themselves. Magnum is at that point. He just has to realise it.
