What, again?

I’m getting tired.

Very tired in fact. What makes me tired you ask? The simple answer is – the very same group of people I find myself associated with because I write about pro Wrestling – ‘Internet Journalists’.

I’ve written before about the opinion pieces some of them post as ‘legitimate news’ that turn out to be anything but. Examples of this range from twisting words from an interview to commenting on something they don’t have actual firsthand knowledge of.

So what got to me this time? Comments about what some Wrestling stars of the present AND past post on the Facebook, Twitter or Myspace accounts. In particular this time are comments made by Tammy Sytch, AKA Sunny from ECW, WWE & WCW.

Much as I detest the people who use this form of yellow journalism (google it if you have to), I will NOT be naming names. If I were to call them on this by name, I’d be no better than they are, because I’d be using their tactics and stooping to their level. What I will do is paste their ‘News’ here verbatim so you can see what I mean.

1) While flipping channels this past Monday night, former WWE performer Tammy Sytch (a.k.a. Sunny) came upon RAW and put up a status update on her Facebook page noting how chubby The Bella Twins got over the holidays. Sytch exclaimed, “I saw back fat!”

At least in the case of Nikki Bella, who accompanied Brie for her match against Maryse on Monday’s show, she wore a much-too-tight bikini top which caused her back skin to noticeably fold. It was so noticeable that it could even be seen from WWE’s distant camera angle during her sister’s match.

Her disparaging remarks garnered much feedback from her Facebook followers and she added maybe she wouldn’t have called them chubby had they been nicer to her at WrestleMania. If you recall, both Sytch and the Bellas took part in the 25-Diva battle royal that took place at the event.

Sytch continued: “I only said they look chubby, i didnt call them obese slobs…christ dude, get over it. And maybe if they were a little nicer at Wrestlemania, I wouldnt call them chubby either…but theres no excuse for any of those girls in their early 20′s to get a little chubby… wait til … See Morethey hit 35 and everything slows the down..then what??? They are getting paid to look a certain way… If I was there right now, I’d weigh 118 ing skinny ass pounds again!!”

Considering Sytch battled her own weight in the past (as well as the criticism that some fans heaped on her as a result of her ballooned appearance), it would appear hypocritical for her to poke fun at the Bellas’ bodies. However, she said it was “a medical reason,” and wants to know their excuse.

“Hey, at least I had a medical reason for gaining weight…whats their’s? too much partying and pastry?”

Fascinating stuff if true. Problem is – *I* have a Facebook account myself – one I use to actually keep contact with friends and colleagues, and Tammy happens to be one of the people on my Friends list. Apparently this sets me apart from my Internet brethren, because they are using little snippets written by someone to try and make ‘news’ out of nothing more than wry comments or witty banter. But here’s the kicker – below this ‘news’ piece, this ‘journalist seems to have the same opinion..

Click here to see The Bella Twins back fat on RAW Monday. PHOTOS: The Bella Twins BACK FAT On RAW – YUCK!!

As the old saw goes – Pot, meet Kettle. How in the world can you justify reporting a ‘news’ piece about something in a negative way – AND THEN USE THE SAME WORDS YOURSELF to get hits for your website?

2) After several websites posted comments of Tammy Lynn Sytch blasting the Bella Twins for appearing “fat” on RAW while she was “channel surfing,”

Sytch had this to say: “[I] would love to know why EVERYONE has a right to their own opinion and freedom of speech, but according to these “news” websites, IM NOT ALLOWED to have one????!! Is it b/c Im a woman?? Jim Cornette can rant about everything, and he’s respected for it…I say ONE LITTLE THING and Im a raving b**ch??? Double standards,… you a**holes……hypocritial double standards…..F**k all of you.”

Come on people, use some common sense and tact. People are entitled to their opinion, regardless of whether you agree or not. this entire thing is so blown out of proportion not to mention wildly inaccurate. Did Tammy give her opinion? Yes, she did. But did SHE go on to make a big deal out of it – or was it ‘reporters’ giving THEIR opinion that caused the landslide?

Point blank, I saw it as it happened. Tammy merely made an observation based upon what SHE had to do while in the WWF. That’s not her calling the Bella’s ‘fat’, but wondering why there is a difference between then and now. She went on to point out (correctly IMO) that there is a vast difference between being in your 20s and being in your 30s. Also note – she never said Fat, she said Chubby – as a Fat person myself, I’d LOVE to just be Chubby. Replacing that single word changed the meaning of her post – meaning ‘news’ wasn’t reported – a flawed opinion of what was said was.

In the days of Social Network sites though, it’s not just people like Tammy Sytch getting nailed with improper quoting, poor trancription and/or outright lies. Every Superstar that participates on these sites is under fire. Chris Jericho in fact has now been targeted as cheating on his wife due to twitter:

It would appear that Chris Jericho accidentally posted two messages on his Twitter account which were not meant to be read by the general public as the following tweets were deleted shortly after its initial posting:

“Well u can invite her too! Gotta take care of my Aussie girls (happy face emoticon) U ever come to the US?”

“Yes I have changed my wig a few times over the years.”

Twitter has a feature which allows users to private message one another.

For those wondering, it is believed that Jericho is still tied to his wife of ten years, Jessica, as he noted on his Twitter account several weeks ago during an an overseas tour that he missed her.

Early last year, Jericho was rumored to have been involved in a relationship with female performer Kelly Kelly. That particular rumor was largely based off of certain photographs which had surfaced online of the two getting cozy with each other at a party. For what it’s worth, I know Kelly herself asked owners of a Kelly fansite and wrestling diva message forum to remove all photos of her with Jericho. The photos showed Kelly Kelly and Jericho kissing. Click here to view them.

So the question remains – is Jericho a ‘player’?!

THIS is ‘news’? Here’s a clue to the person who wrote the above – Twitter has TWO sides in a conversation, and 90% of the time you can simply click the name to read the other side. Try that next time and then you have a FULL conversation to work from. Despite that though – what business is it of yours, or mine, or anyone’s aside from Jericho and who he was speaking to?

Plain English time. IF you are a ‘Journalist’, your ‘job’ is to report News. News is any happening or event that is Factual in nature. not wondering whether or not someone is cheating on their wife – that’s Opinion. If you want to post Opinion – feel free, do so! But do NOT label it as News, because at that point you are possibly committing libel – and yes, google that too.

We have an unprecedented amount of contact with Wrestling Superstars nowadays. Social sites allow us to interact with them in real time, something many of us have always wanted. But mark my words here folks – if you keep reporting every little utterance as ‘news’ when it’s just a chat, or a joke, or a comment – we WILL lose that conduit as they begin to withdraw back to the way it used to be.

You are warned. Make the right choices.