Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
This article was originally posted on July 17th.
As PWInsider.com reported last night, reader Victoria Gonzales sent video she shot of Alberto el Patron and Paige at a soccer game yesterday in San Antonio, Texas. In the video, the couple appear to be having a wonderful time, all the chaos of everything that happened in the Orlando Airport behind them, but make no doubt about it, it takes a lot more than a stroll through a soccer stadium to convince people that hey, we're OK.
The Patron situation reminds me very much of the issues Matt Hardy had years ago, and in the midst of all that - the arrests, the behavior, the outbursts at people online and privately, I wrote that I was worried for Hardy and that he had worked his entire life to become a millionaire zonked out of his mind. I meant it. I was scared to death for him.
Thankfully, Hardy was able to turn his life around and indeed, he has done that - with a wife, several children, a great run in Impact and maybe even a gimmick he will own one day. None of that would have been possible if Hardy hadn't made turned things around personally and made amends in his own way. He should be commended for doing so. Perhaps one day, we'll be able to commend Patron. One can only hope, but that won't come a week later and it won't come because of a video of a stroll.
I am already raising my eyebrow that GFW, after publicly suspending Patron, is still advertising him for August events. TV has been filmed and you can't just magically create new content, but there should be no mention of Patron in releases and no sign of him on graphics. If this is a case that GFW are hoping the investigation into Patron will be dropped by then, it's bad form for the company.
Sure, they are limited on stars, but Jeff Jarrett himself said on his media teleconference last week that the state of the GFW title isn't what's really important here. He's right on that, but that's also how the company should be looking at their live events as well. They aren't important in this insance. If someone is suspended, he should be suspended. the company shouldn't be hoping everything will be OK by August 5th. They should cut bait on that hope.
Let's not forget that when GFW was Impact Wrestling they rallied around former talent Mia Yim/Jade when she spoke out against the domestic abuse she endured in her life and the company got lots of publicity for themselves at that point.
Management changeover or not, GFW shouldn't be advertising someone under CURRENT INVESTIGATION for domestic battery violence under any circumstances. The fact the local promoter in Connecticut sent an email out last week after the company publicly suspended Patron is inexcusable. Press releases can be changed 100 times over in the time it takes someone to read this column. There was no excuse.
If the company wants fans to respect them as they attempt to resurrect themselves to their SpikeTV-era status, they sure as hell should publicly back away from Patron as much as possible. It's not like the company was promoting Bram when he was suspended - and in that case, Bram HAD been officially arrested. GFW should remove any doubt. As long as Patron is being advertised for dates, they haven't done that.
Patron, meanwhile, should publicly state he won't be at the shows and apologize to the fans that he won't be there. While I am sure he has been instructed to stay the hell off social media (advice he needed a long time ago) he should get make an exception in this instance, acknowledge the suspension and say publicly that he wants GFW take whatever money Patron would have been paid and use it make a public donation to abused women's shelters in those markets - and that he will match the money.
In fact, if Patron really wants to make amends, he should go visit some abused women's shelters in his area and hear the stories of what some of these women have been through. If he's innocent of allegations, he can use his status to try and bring some much needed attention and perhaps donations to the plight of these women and their families. If he's not, well, there's no better place to volunteer and donate time in order to try and make things right - and don't tell anyone you are doing it until well after the fact, and let the charitable organization be the ones to announce it.
Patron should also offer to take a drug test and to have the lab - which would have to use the WWE methods of a tester watching the person urinate - reveal the results. Whether Patron was really off doing cocaine for two days straight, as alleged by the woman who recorded the couple in Orlando or not, there's a sizable amount of fans out there who will assume the worst going forward. There's been a lot of questionable behavior (to say the least) on social media. If Patron expects someone to really forgive and forget, he needs to remove any doubt that the allegations are true. So, he needs to go, drop his pants and pee for a lab and let them - not him - announce the results of the test. Sure, some will assume he is lying, but at that point, this situation is so out of control, there's no way that can change until time has passed.
If there's one thing all parties - GFW, Patron, Paige - should have learned is that Paige needs to be banned from going to GFW with Patron. If she's not there, there's zero chance of anything happening, and honestly, a WWE-signed talent shouldn't be backstage at a GFW show to begin with. Does anyone think Eddie Kingston was backstage at the Mae Young Classic because Mia Yim was wrestling? Such a thing doesn't happen in WWE and it shouldn't happen at GFW shows. GFW management needs to tell Patron that Paige is to stay home going forward and WWE management needs to tell her enough is enough. Paige being with him when he's at work is a distraction, whether she wants to be or not. Remove the distraction.
The couple should also remove the distraction they have created for themselves publicly by dropping any discussion of their private lives from social media. While the video yesterday was sent by a fan, there is such a concern and such an anger towards the situation, there were some that claims that the couple worked with yours truly to "leak" a video - as if A)I would ever agree to such stupidity and B)they would go to the person who BROKE the story about the Orlando incident and investigation into Patron to do so. What was obvious from some of the responses to the fan video is that the pair are under a ridiculous amount of scrutiny and well, that's completely their fault and the scrutiny is completely, 100% deserved.
The couple can blame the "marks" or the "media" all they want, but their behavior on social media - Periscope videos where Patron is knocking WWE while Paige tries to stop him, Paige demanding people leave them alone, Patron knocking "marks", Patron challenging WWE personalities to fights, etc. All of that has whipped up a huge sharknado of negativity towards the couple and they alone are responsible for that. So, they should shut themselves down by not discussing their relationship on social media going forward - no photos, no Tweets, no stupidity. If they are upset people are paying attention, well they should stop giving people the forum where they can. They need to be accountable for their own actions and in fact, the best case scenario would be for them to hire a PR firm and hand the social media accounts over to the firm, NOW.
Let's cut the BS and put it all out in the open: we've all seen what has been an explosive relationship play our before our eyes, one that includes Paige running through the streets of Vegas, a stabbing in San Antonio that was never really explained and now an open investigation in Florida that has seen Patron under suspicion, Paige changing her story and taking the blame (which technically means she publicly admitted a violation of the WWE's policy on domestic abuse - think about THAT), a frightening audio recording of Paige and probably more I am forgetting as I write this, all of which has created an unsettling window into a relationship that is scaring the hell out of lot of people - including Paige's own family and quite frankly, myself.
I am so scared that instead of enjoying my vacation in Las Vegas, I am writing about how worried I am. The last time I was this worried about someone was, as I noted, Matt Hardy. In that case, after a lot of public mistakes and arrests, Hardy took the steps necessary to change and fix his life. He should be commended for that and life has rewarded him with a great family, a good run in Impact and now a return WWE run.
Seven years ago, however, I was scared and waiting for Matt Hardy to die. I was waiting for that call and I am relieved that call never came. I am now waiting for the day when I know I can be relieved the next call won't be something tragic about Patron and Paige...and a Sunday stroll through the San Antonio Stadium for soccer doesn't make that feeling magically go away. The only way to insure that is for all involved to take the same steps Matt Hardy made to reclaim his life, his legacy and his happiness. Until then, I am scared to death for Patron and Paige - and hope the call I fear never comes.
Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com. He regrets not writing this article the day he confirmed the Patron airport incident.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
