This has to be one of the silliest, most ridiculous stories you'll ever hear: Some fans who ordered the WWE Night of Champions pay-per-view (PPV) this past Sunday night (Sept. 16, 2013) were reportedly given refunds when they complained to their cable company about the "Dusty finish" that occurred in the main event.
From PWInsider.com, who revealed as much from one of its site members:
An Elite member wrote me to tell me that he called Cox Cable and asked for a refund due to the finish of the Night Of Champions PPV being overturned. He said that Cox eventually gave it to him and the representative told him that other people had asked for a refund for the same reason.
The "Dusty finish" is in reference to the fact that Daniel Bryan defeated Randy Orton to win the WWE championship at the PPV but the decision was reversed the very next night on Monday Night Raw due to a fast count from the referee. Once that happened, fans apparently started calling their cable companies and refunds were given out.
Seriously.
Here's a statement from WWE addressing the matter:
"While certain fans may not have liked the continuing storyline following Night of Champions, we're certain that the 3-hour pay-per-view event delivered all the entertainment and excitement expected from WWE."
That's debatable, of course, but the fact that actual refunds were given to fans thanks to a finish that has been used in the wrestling industry for what seems like forever creates quite the slippery slope as far as such things go.
Awful Announcing wonders how far this could stretch:
I'd like to know what the next step is. If a result on a UFC card is overturned because of a positive drug test, is that worth a refund? If you order a movie on PPV and a sequel is announced, is that worth a refund because the ending is invalidated by a second movie in the series? If you're a Browns fan that ordered Sunday Ticket, do you demand a refund because the team traded their best player and is going in the tank for the next 14 games?
Ultimately, this is more of an issue with the cable company than the organization staging an event. Sadly, if you whine loud enough and long enough you'll probably get your way, even if your logic is so incredibly flawed it's amazing you're not laughed off the phone.
As should have probably happened here.
Then again, this could be the ultimate form of smarks fighting back against the machine. WWE screws Bryan out of the title, so smark fan gets his/her money back while still having gotten to see the event.
Revenge is sweet but stupid is as stupid does.