As discussed in yesterday's Rumor Round-up, some mysteriously synchronized tweets from Raw and Smackdown announcer John Bradshaw Layfield and the satirical Twitter account Cranky Vince lead to some speculation that JBL was in fact the man behind Cranky Vince.
The Wrestling God has taken to his Facebook page to refute such accusations:
So let me get this right, some have claimed I am behind a parody account-and the proof of that is that last night I tweeted out something and then shortly after the parody account tweeted the same thing?
So, I would have had to tweet it on my iPhone, then right away tweet it on the WWE computer (not my computer) on my desktop (because it showed that the two tweets were sent from different devices) that is on camera and in full view of fans and of course King and Cole, all the while doing commentary for Raw. Brilliant.
I can say 100% it is not me-it's crazy to me that anyone would think it would be. Don't know why this was done, I think WWE's IT guys have it figured out-but doesn't matter, someone is having fun on Twitter and that's fine. I'll block anyone who brings it up as whoever is behind this account certainly doesn't have WWE's best intentions.
I do my best to do a good job on commentary and wish any focus was on a great show last night-not a silly Twitter account that is NOT me.
Does it even make sense that I would tweet it out from my personal account and then also from a parody account right after-why would anyone do this? Why would anyone tweet from both accounts, if this is possible-I'm sure it is if you know the tech world well, which I don't.
LOVING all our shows lately-this time of year is the very best and what should be, and is for the most part, the focus of all fans (which I am one).
So, that's the end of the story, right?
Not so fast, smarks. According to some discussion in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter there are actually two or three people behind Cranky Vince - and they're in WWE's social media department.
The parody account is allegedly part of ongoing efforts to "mess with" internet fans. The rumors aren't specific as to how exactly this is being accomplished via Cranky Vince, or if this is different from the kind of communication that lead many in the wrestling press to report that CM Punk's return for Raw in Chicago a few weeks back was a sure thing.
In the face of much evidence that WWE is wisely paying attention to internet and social media discussion of their product, there shouldn't be much surprise to the idea that the company is actively looking to use the new tools the same way they've always used every tool at their disposal - to "work" their fans. Twitter is the new carnival barker.
Some may decry such endeavors as disrespectful to fans or a waste of time, but, really, it's what we pay WWE to do. Who doesn't like to be surprised, to try to guess what is real and what is fake or, at least every once in a while, "mark out"?
If some suspense about a Twitter account and a few kayfabe injury reports help do that, I'm all for it. And the great thing about it is that they're all rumors. We can speculate and debate about them for hours, and WWE can deny or ignore the whole thing.
As another fictional character who knew how to manipulate public opinion about his own legend would say, "It's all in the game".