"A picture is worth a thousand words", "Let's go to the video", "Photo Finish", "Instant Replay"... there is a reason why these phrases have become pop culture icons and why we rely so heavily on imagery in our society to provide us with visual communications in a way that no other form of communication can provide.
Last night (Oct. 8, 2012) on WWE Monday Night Raw, CM Punk was provoked by multiple fans in the crowd and as we all know by now, he lashed out at an innocent bystander who got mistaken for the real instigator and found himself between the culprit and Punk's flailing fists.
As an artist, I am a visual person, so my first instinct is to analyze the visual evidence we have available to us before jumping to any conclusions and even before believing any eyewitness accounts, as eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable.
Therefore, I selected about three dozen screen shots from the one-minute video footage that was recorded by user "DaJoel@YouTube.com" and have assembled them all right here for you in a handy evidentiary gallery just for your perusal.
This way you can leisurely judge for yourselves, based on the actual visual evidence, as to what exactly went down last night in the crowd, within literally a minute's glance on live television. It was a melee in the stands and Punk was being pawed at and provoked from all directions as all ages, sizes and types of fans wanted a piece of "The Best in the World."
Until that one guy pushed it too far, crossed a line, only to flee and hide, like the coward he is, allowing Punk to mistakenly snap on an innocent bystander.
The images will show you, Cagesiders, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Tweeter Dario Teyes, although he got his 15-mins of fame, was not the real perpetrator, but was actually just a pushy poser, and a braggart to boot. After all, he does not even appear on the scene until the last five seconds of the footage to grab a photo op.
The real instigator, as the evidence will prove to you, is that "white-tee-shirt guy flipping the bird" is the real instigator in all this and "sunglasses dude" truly is innocent of all wrong-doing (well, at least on the scene, as some would argue he is now guilty of allegedly making claims of injury for monetary gain), but that is not our concern here, is it?
For now, take a look with your own eyes and decide for yourselves. You be the judge, Cagesiders.
How do YOU see it?