WFWF.com - Daniel Knight breaks his silence!
Jul 31, 2018 23:49:33 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2018 23:49:33 GMT -5
Daniel Knight breaks his silence following controversy!
LOS ANGELES - A week after his insensitive comments on Twitter, WFWF color commentator Daniel Knight has broken his silence. Early Monday morning, Knight appeared on PWN Radio with wrestling journalist, Ichabod Slipp. Appearing via Skype, Knight discussed his early life, how he became a reporter for the WFWF which led to him becoming an announcer and so much more. The following is an excerpt from that tell-all interview:
Slipp: So of course, you know why I brought you on.
Knight: Yes but just for the record, I asked to be on your show.
Slipp: Right so tell us, what happened? Take us through that night.
Knight: Well, we had just left the arena following the show. I tend to take an Uber back to the hotel room as soon as possible. Now for those of you that watched Second to None, you’ll remember after Mesh’s match, she stood on top of the turnbuckle and did her thing for the fans. That’s when we made eye contact and she smiled. She made a ‘L’ with her opposite hand on put it on her forehead. Then pointed at me. I’ll admit, I was surprised by that gesture, but I didn’t let it bother me. The whole “evil eye” thing – that was all for the camera.
Slipp: So you’re weren’t upset?
Knight: Not at all. I found it rather amusing that she finally responded to my criticism.
Slipp: You managed to call the rest of the show, nothing out of the ordinary. What happened next? You responded to Mesh’s initial tweet 2 hours after the show ended.
Knight: I think you’re mistaken, Slipp.
Slipp: About?
Knight: The time I tweeted Mesh. I was on Twitter while on my way back to my hotel room.
Slipp: Really? I guess the time zone difference threw me off.
Knight: It’s okay, it happens. Anyway, as soon as we went off the air, I went to the backstage, got an Uber and headed to my hotel room. I prefer being the first one to leave so I can beat all the traffic afterwards. To kill some time, I checked my Twitter to see what fans thought of Second to None which, by the way was one of the best shows so far.
Slipp: Ehh, I disagree but go ahead.
Knight: Why do you disagree?
Knight: Yes but just for the record, I asked to be on your show.
Slipp: Right so tell us, what happened? Take us through that night.
Knight: Well, we had just left the arena following the show. I tend to take an Uber back to the hotel room as soon as possible. Now for those of you that watched Second to None, you’ll remember after Mesh’s match, she stood on top of the turnbuckle and did her thing for the fans. That’s when we made eye contact and she smiled. She made a ‘L’ with her opposite hand on put it on her forehead. Then pointed at me. I’ll admit, I was surprised by that gesture, but I didn’t let it bother me. The whole “evil eye” thing – that was all for the camera.
Slipp: So you’re weren’t upset?
Knight: Not at all. I found it rather amusing that she finally responded to my criticism.
Slipp: You managed to call the rest of the show, nothing out of the ordinary. What happened next? You responded to Mesh’s initial tweet 2 hours after the show ended.
Knight: I think you’re mistaken, Slipp.
Slipp: About?
Knight: The time I tweeted Mesh. I was on Twitter while on my way back to my hotel room.
Slipp: Really? I guess the time zone difference threw me off.
Knight: It’s okay, it happens. Anyway, as soon as we went off the air, I went to the backstage, got an Uber and headed to my hotel room. I prefer being the first one to leave so I can beat all the traffic afterwards. To kill some time, I checked my Twitter to see what fans thought of Second to None which, by the way was one of the best shows so far.
Slipp: Ehh, I disagree but go ahead.
Knight: Why do you disagree?
Following a friendly discussion on difference of opinion of Second to None and the current state of the WFWF, Slipp eventually brought Knight back to his original point.
Slipp: I always find it funny when one of the boys gets worked up at the things I write.
Knight: They take their job seriously and when they have somebody that has no experience being a worker, that tends to rub people the wrong way. As a former reporter myself, I’m a fan of your work, Slipp – keep it up!
Slipp: Why, I appreciate that! Anyway, we got sidetracked. You were about to tell us what happened the night of the controversy.
Knight: Right. So, I saw that the company retweeted Mesh, which was the original tweet that I responded to. I went on her profile and saw the kind of stuff that she’s into – random memes, cat gifs, pictures of Keith Flint, numerous selfies and video game things. She retweets a lot of fan interactions as well as fanart. My initial reaction to the tweet was a scoff. To me, it came as very pretentious. That’s pretty much it.
Slipp: It started out tense and it quickly escalated.
Knight: Yeah, it did. She took a couple of shots, I took a couple of shots. We started out hot as people in the business would say.
Slipp: Then you made the now infamous tweet.
Knight: Yup and to be honest with you, I don’t regret it.
Slipp: Why’s that?
Knight: Because as “insensitive” as my comments were, it’s the truth. I was just harsh with how I said it. If you look into it though, you’ll notice that the backlash isn’t solely because of what I said but who said it. I’m not an active wrestler and this sorta talk is normal in our business but the difference here is that Mesh will never get her “payoff” – there’s an insider term for you! I see where everyone that’s spoken out is coming from but I have no regrets for what I said. It's not like I said something stupid but then tried to pass it off as "a joke". I meant to hurt Mesh.
Slipp: Now, you haven't tweeted since the controversy. In fact, nobody from the company decided to comment when I reached out to them. Why is that? Will you still be calling the upcoming show in Japan?
Knight: I don't know. I never heard from anyone either, but I had a private conversation with my broadcast partner where she basically told me to drop it and stay off Twitter for a while. I haven’t tweeted since then, only because I’ve been busy with other things. I’m a man of a thousand different hats, Slipp and to answer your second question, I'm pretty sure I'm still calling the show. I would have heard something by now if that wasn't the case. I know guys like Allen “All-In” Neal don't like that answer but here's the honest truth - I'm one of the best commentators working today. Certainly better than Cameron Stone who, by the way piled on me during the whole Twitter thing but anyway, I'm very good at my job. To outsiders, this whole thing may look like I committed career suicide but the fact of the matter is that what I bring to the table is something that can't be replicated nor duplicated. I'm sure I gave Lila a headache once this whole Twitter thing blew up but she knows me - this was clearly a mistake and I won't make that same mistake ever again.
Slipp: Good to know. You've constantly called Mesh a 'phony' yet you’ve never said directly why you dislike Mesh so much.
Knight: That’s very true. I like how we present professional wrestling at the WFWF – it’s dark, edgy, full of angst and passion. Watching guys like Drakz, Frank Lynn, David Brennan, Tyler Draven – it’s truly remarkable and that’s just the guys here now! I was fortunate enough to see Hall of Fame names like EBR, Josh Dean, Phillip Schneider, Trace Demon, Shawn Malakai, Joe Bishop, you get the idea; Those guys are no longer part of the company but I got to see them wrestle and once the company starts to go through a “rebuilding” phase, Mesh comes along and is pretty much the brightest light in the dark world of the WFWF. A little too bright for my liking. As dumb and as close minded as this is probably going to sound but I don’t like that. I like the darkness and angst of the company, Mesh is going to turn our company into the circus. Does that make sense?
Slipp: It does. I feel the same way about her – she’s a gimmick and I don’t like gimmicks.
Knight: Exactly! That’s why I call her ‘phony’ all the time. The WFWF prides itself on its legitimacy and presentation – our business is a sport. To some of the guys in the back, this is all they have, and I think that Mesh is making a joke of our business. I read in your newsletter that it’s rumored that I call her “the joke wrestler” backstage.
Slipp: Yeah?
Knight: Well, that’s true. That’s what she is to me – a joke wrestler and please, I’ve heard it all; “But Knight, Mesh is making the company so much money you should be grateful for her!” – believe it or not, sometimes not everything is about the money. Sometimes, it’s about having integrity.
Slipp: Very admirable. Do you think this whole thing is going to affect ticket sales overseas for the World Domination Tour?
Knight: No, not at all. In fact, I've gotten word that tickets are going like crazy! I guess in a way, Mesh and I are the hottest feud going on right now. [laughs] We’re fine.
Slipp: Is there anything you want to say to anybody listening? An apology or anything?
Knight: Not really. Listen, I meant every word I said to Mesh. If anybody was truly hurt or offended by what I said, then I apologize to those specific people. My venom was directed at Mesh and only Mesh. I know what I said was dumb, but I don’t make excuses for it. Unlike a lot of people in the media today, I own up to the things that come out of my mouth. That’s pretty much all I have to say.
Slipp: Do you think you’ll ever come around to Mesh?
Knight: Maybe once she stops acting like a goofy child. Maybe. She’s a pro wrestler, she should act like it more but for the time being, nope.
Knight: They take their job seriously and when they have somebody that has no experience being a worker, that tends to rub people the wrong way. As a former reporter myself, I’m a fan of your work, Slipp – keep it up!
Slipp: Why, I appreciate that! Anyway, we got sidetracked. You were about to tell us what happened the night of the controversy.
Knight: Right. So, I saw that the company retweeted Mesh, which was the original tweet that I responded to. I went on her profile and saw the kind of stuff that she’s into – random memes, cat gifs, pictures of Keith Flint, numerous selfies and video game things. She retweets a lot of fan interactions as well as fanart. My initial reaction to the tweet was a scoff. To me, it came as very pretentious. That’s pretty much it.
Slipp: It started out tense and it quickly escalated.
Knight: Yeah, it did. She took a couple of shots, I took a couple of shots. We started out hot as people in the business would say.
Slipp: Then you made the now infamous tweet.
Knight: Yup and to be honest with you, I don’t regret it.
Slipp: Why’s that?
Knight: Because as “insensitive” as my comments were, it’s the truth. I was just harsh with how I said it. If you look into it though, you’ll notice that the backlash isn’t solely because of what I said but who said it. I’m not an active wrestler and this sorta talk is normal in our business but the difference here is that Mesh will never get her “payoff” – there’s an insider term for you! I see where everyone that’s spoken out is coming from but I have no regrets for what I said. It's not like I said something stupid but then tried to pass it off as "a joke". I meant to hurt Mesh.
Slipp: Now, you haven't tweeted since the controversy. In fact, nobody from the company decided to comment when I reached out to them. Why is that? Will you still be calling the upcoming show in Japan?
Knight: I don't know. I never heard from anyone either, but I had a private conversation with my broadcast partner where she basically told me to drop it and stay off Twitter for a while. I haven’t tweeted since then, only because I’ve been busy with other things. I’m a man of a thousand different hats, Slipp and to answer your second question, I'm pretty sure I'm still calling the show. I would have heard something by now if that wasn't the case. I know guys like Allen “All-In” Neal don't like that answer but here's the honest truth - I'm one of the best commentators working today. Certainly better than Cameron Stone who, by the way piled on me during the whole Twitter thing but anyway, I'm very good at my job. To outsiders, this whole thing may look like I committed career suicide but the fact of the matter is that what I bring to the table is something that can't be replicated nor duplicated. I'm sure I gave Lila a headache once this whole Twitter thing blew up but she knows me - this was clearly a mistake and I won't make that same mistake ever again.
Slipp: Good to know. You've constantly called Mesh a 'phony' yet you’ve never said directly why you dislike Mesh so much.
Knight: That’s very true. I like how we present professional wrestling at the WFWF – it’s dark, edgy, full of angst and passion. Watching guys like Drakz, Frank Lynn, David Brennan, Tyler Draven – it’s truly remarkable and that’s just the guys here now! I was fortunate enough to see Hall of Fame names like EBR, Josh Dean, Phillip Schneider, Trace Demon, Shawn Malakai, Joe Bishop, you get the idea; Those guys are no longer part of the company but I got to see them wrestle and once the company starts to go through a “rebuilding” phase, Mesh comes along and is pretty much the brightest light in the dark world of the WFWF. A little too bright for my liking. As dumb and as close minded as this is probably going to sound but I don’t like that. I like the darkness and angst of the company, Mesh is going to turn our company into the circus. Does that make sense?
Slipp: It does. I feel the same way about her – she’s a gimmick and I don’t like gimmicks.
Knight: Exactly! That’s why I call her ‘phony’ all the time. The WFWF prides itself on its legitimacy and presentation – our business is a sport. To some of the guys in the back, this is all they have, and I think that Mesh is making a joke of our business. I read in your newsletter that it’s rumored that I call her “the joke wrestler” backstage.
Slipp: Yeah?
Knight: Well, that’s true. That’s what she is to me – a joke wrestler and please, I’ve heard it all; “But Knight, Mesh is making the company so much money you should be grateful for her!” – believe it or not, sometimes not everything is about the money. Sometimes, it’s about having integrity.
Slipp: Very admirable. Do you think this whole thing is going to affect ticket sales overseas for the World Domination Tour?
Knight: No, not at all. In fact, I've gotten word that tickets are going like crazy! I guess in a way, Mesh and I are the hottest feud going on right now. [laughs] We’re fine.
Slipp: Is there anything you want to say to anybody listening? An apology or anything?
Knight: Not really. Listen, I meant every word I said to Mesh. If anybody was truly hurt or offended by what I said, then I apologize to those specific people. My venom was directed at Mesh and only Mesh. I know what I said was dumb, but I don’t make excuses for it. Unlike a lot of people in the media today, I own up to the things that come out of my mouth. That’s pretty much all I have to say.
Slipp: Do you think you’ll ever come around to Mesh?
Knight: Maybe once she stops acting like a goofy child. Maybe. She’s a pro wrestler, she should act like it more but for the time being, nope.
Knight seems to have no regrets for the things he said, which is to be expected. The WFWF is embarking on the World Domination Tour, starting with a show in the famous Tokyo Dome, aptly named Under the Dome. A tournament will be held to crown a new champion which is yet to be revealed. It was also revealed that WFWF alumni Lance Rodriguez will be making his return to the company at the show. WFWF General Manager Lila Sleater said of the upcoming show, "Under the Dome stands poised to be our biggest, most high stakes card since Back to Basics."
As always, keep it here at WFWF.com for more on this and ALL the latest backstage happenings!