The Pattern of Misinformation
This weekend, Stephanie Vaquer achieved her childhood dream of joining WWE. Several years ago, Vaquer in one interview talked about being 14 years old and wanting to see Rey Mysterio at a WWE live event. Mysterio is Stephanie’s idol. When her mother said they did not have the money to attend, Vaquer sold hot dogs in the hope of being able to participate. However, the show sold out.
WWE was always the dream. Various sources have stated as much. Dave Meltzer and Thunder Rosa to Luchablog have noted this. Some like Luchablog have felt the need to repeat this in the face of misinformation.
News surrounding how Vaquer left CMLL and NJPW without dropping her CMLL World Women’s Championship has stirred discussion. Inevitably, discord related to AEW, where Vaquer wrestled her most high-profile match in America against Mercedes Moné. News that AEW wasn’t even in conversation has been a lightning rod for discord.
Many fans are happy for Vaquer and look forward to what she can do in NXT. If not sooner, on the main roster. Yet others in the binary-inducing world of social media, where the algorithms encourage extreme hot takes and conspiracies, have spread other ideas.
It highlights a familiar and common pattern that’s emerged and is likely to repeat with other female wrestlers over time. It will likely not go away due to a looming investigation into WWE by the Department of Justice. Some folks try to turn the limited information taken from news sites and refashion it into moralistic takes to say that their preferred wrestling company is better than the other.
Vaquer Exit and Not Choosing AEW
These issues of asserting moralism occur on both sides of the divide. Sometimes joking, but in the case of Vaquer, invoking an extremely serious and disturbing event in the new WWE signee’s life.
Various posters on Reddit and X and elsewhere have brought into focus that in March 2023, Vaquer’s former boyfriend, AAA wrestler El Cuatrero, was arrested for attempted femicide (attempted murder). El Cuatrero is still in prison in Mexico. However, in December 2023, various wrestlers protested for El Cuatrero’s release on bail.
The narrative these posters have spread is that Vaquer would not work with AEW because of RUSH and Dralistico, former CMLL wrestlers who attended this protest. Information about the protest is limited. Some photos appear online and I could not distinguish either man. It doesn’t mean they weren’t there, but with conspiracy theories, the lack of proof just works as proof.
The implication is a repetition of an insidious narrative that’s appeared multiple times attacking AEW over the years. AEW hires despicable wrestlers or personalities who have either committed or condoned horrible crimes. It’s different from the other ways AEW has been under attack by the cottage industry of detractors (which I’ve discussed here).
I’m not going to discuss this further for two reasons. I’m not a legal expert and I believe talking about it is better to be honest with a lack of knowledge that potentially harmfully assert opinion as fact. Second, when it comes to discussing women who have suffered abuse or violence from men, regardless of legal confirmation, they are more than victims. It’s something I’ve touched on elsewhere when discussing Ashley Massaro’s legacy and impact (here). It reduces the women to pieces in a game of asserting which company is better.
Flaws in The Good and Evil Argument
What such stories also do is reframe women’s stories around men and reduce their autonomy. By recentring it on Rush, Dralistico, and AEW, it focuses on portraying them as bad guys in the binary work of wrestling. It ignores the obvious logical issues. The glaring issue is that Rush and Dralistico’s brother, Dragon Lee is a WWE wrestler. It takes one wrestler’s dream and reduces it into a convenient weapon to beat on AEW.
The binary landscape of social media encourages and pushes some fans to two sides with a wide gulf between them that makes dehumanization easier. Hot takes and wild speculation grab attention. The algorithm encourages views and discord, and it can balloon from there. People become reduced.
For some, it’s either WWE good or AEW evil, or vice versa. One is wrestling’s saviour and the other is wrestling’s devil. There isn’t room for nuance or the reality of actual complications. Things get reduced to fit the tribalistic war. One side has to be better than the other. Morality has become another battle in the war. Perhaps in part because of wrestling’s incredibly murky and morally dubious history. Allegations against Vince McMahon still linger. Yet unfounded speculation is dangerous when wielded as fact.
Political Moralism and the Response
But this moralism does go two ways and beyond abuse to the concept of how wrestlers handle “business.” When picking a side, criticism is inevitable for any wrestler. Some more fans have likewise taken issue with Vaquer for the way she has left CMLL and NJPW before completing her dates and dropping her championships.
The truth of what happened or what Vaquer’s relationship with CMLL and NJPW is unknown, based on snippets of information. Speculation and opinion are used to fill the void. For some, the possibility, that Vaquer has burnt her bridges with CMLL, NJPW, and AEW deserves criticism and comparison.
The sentiment, if she signed with AEW, they would have let her do this. Some praising Willow Nightingale for winning the CMLL World Women’s championship have likewise framed it as a win for AEW, as much as for Willow herself. This likewise undermines Nightingale’s moment.
For some, the portrayal of Vaquer then becomes that of a backstabber. Betraying the companies who helped her gain attention. Or outright blaming WWE for making Stephanie do it. This fits with the critical narrative of WWE as arrogant and bullying. In either case, it’s oversimplifying.
Retaliating, some have then responded by bringing Vaquer’s Forbidden Door opponent into the spotlight. To make an odd comparison to justify Vaquer’s actions. The reason is extremely flimsy. Mercedes WWE walked out, which was worse than Vaquer leaving CMLL.
Moné is the female equivalent of The Elite. An easy scapegoat and target for some anti-AEW fans. Like The Elite, there will be nothing she can do right for these fans. Despite very different contexts and personal and political reasoning, Conveniently, these takes also ignore that Naomi also walked out and left her blameless. She did rejoin WWE. It’s a strange and demeaning comparison of two talented wrestlers.
Differences in How Men’s and Women’s Wrestlers are Discussed
Some readers might be thinking this is already too “woke”. Or jumping to generalizations like “You can’t say/write anything these days without it being misinterpreted”. They might automatically go to a binary, oppositional defensive stance. I
’ll explain later why comparisons in wrestling are fine, natural, and a huge part of our fandom. The issue isn’t a misinterpretation of what’s said on the surface, but more about the underlying interpretation and association of what is being spotlighted.
Vaquer is an accomplished and acclaimed wrestler who is benefitting from the reshaping of the wrestling landscape due to competition between WWE and AEW. Yet these takes with women’s wrestlers, whether Vaquer, Mercedes, Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, “Timeless Toni Storm, and others only carry on a subtly type of misogyny.
Comparisons and moralism happen with male wrestlers also. There is binary and negative discord around wrestlers such as Adam Copeland and CM Punk. Their crimes likewise go to the other company. Again, you’re either a saint or a devil. Obviously, with Punk there are other complications related to his past, even before he spoke on the MMA Hour or continues to take shots at AEW.
The difference, as I discussed earlier this year when talking about the misogyny of the past (here), is women get it worse. Punk or Copeland did or did not get insulted for their gender or genitals. They don’t receive death threats or the threat of violence.
Adam Copeland has been mocked for being an overenthusiastic flag-waver for AEW. Contrastingly, Moné talking about how great AEW is met by personal attacks on her and her wrestling ability and assertions of how much political power she has as if she were a female Hulk Hogan, which memes of exist. No one is giving that much or extreme hate to Copeland.
The Issue of Reducing Female Wrestlers
Ultimately, the issue of reducing female wrestlers to pieces in some moral and political game is one-upmanship. It strips these women of their individuality and autonomy.
Their stories become not about themselves, their hard work, or their struggles, but instead about the battle for supremacy in the war between WWE and AEW. It’s taken focus away from what matters ironically the most to us as fans, the wrestling.
Yes, things beyond the world of wrestling in terms of real-life abuses and crimes committed against women are more important than anything that takes place in the ring. H
owever, in instances like the use of a dark part of Vaquer’s personal life, her experience has been manipulated and used for a petty and trivial reason. To assert one wrestling company is better than another. This has happened before. It likely will not be the last.
To change this fans need to consider such claims carefully. Research before reacting to emotive claims that deal with such difficult issues. No one is immune from being influenced by misinformation. Or from passing it on also.
Fans also need to call out these claims. Block rather than engage with such accounts or threads. More importantly, listen to a promote the accounts and takes of female wrestlers. It’s their story to tell.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube.
