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It's time once again, Cagesiders, for a wrestling personality to make a fool of themselves on Twitter.
This time it was TNA announcer Josh Mathews who insinuated that fellow broadcaster Jim Ross was an old fuddy duddy who should just go away over a seemingly innocuous tweet about how UFC airing a big fight with Conor McGregor shortly after Sunday night's NFL playoff match had finished was a winning formula.
Mathews quickly got slapped down by Good Ol' J.R. and eventually apologised to him, after initially attempting to defend his outspoken comments, which he should have known was never going to work in the court of wrestling fandom, where Ross is held in the utmost regard.
Here's the bizarre Twitter exchange between the two for you to judge for yourselves, Cagesiders:
#UFCBoston @FOXSports1 @ufc 'won' tonight while battling @nfl playoffs. Excellent idea..
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) January 19, 2015
Why anyone would say @ufc "won" the night over @nfl is beyond me. Please, stop. It's not a fair fight. If you are over 60, just go away.
— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) January 19, 2015
@realjoshmathews @ufc @nfl ... That's a little stiff re: my remark. I'm over 60 & not going away. Didn't expect this from you.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) January 19, 2015
.@JRsBBQ It was stiff, I get that. Sometimes you gotta call it like you see it.
— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) January 19, 2015
Anyone who thinks I meant @NFL is less than @UFC when j said UFC 'won' Sun NITE is ignorant. UFC Programming experiment worked. @NFL=Big Dog
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) January 19, 2015
After 13 years I get to be open & express what I'm thinking via @twitter. Backlash is expected & understandable, but I'm speaking my mind.
— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) January 19, 2015
Look, the tweet was outta character & disrespectful to @JRsBBQ & I'm sorry. I'll continue to speak my mind, but in a respectful/proper way.
— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) January 20, 2015
However, the real news here is not Josh's outburst itself, but what prompted it. According to Dave Meltzer on his subscriber only radio show today, Josh Mathews' meltdown on Twitter was caused by his belief that Jim Ross was coming after his job after listening to J.R.'s podcast with Dixie Carter a couple of weeks ago. I would have to listen to the full interview again, but I don't know where he would get that impression from, other than Ross was his usual self when it comes to being opinionated about how the business should be run.
The lesson here Cagesiders is don't tweet in anger, especially if you're a public figure.