PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

BE A STAR: THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS ON WWE'S ANTI-BULLYING RALLY TODAY IN THE BRONX

When World Wrestling Entertainment hits a major city for a tentpole event such as this Sunday's Summerslam in Brooklyn, NY, one of the major components that goes with having all of their talent in one place for a stretch far longer than their usual touring cycle is the ability to do a number of community outreach programs, such as the Be A STAR Program that I attended earlier today at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in The Bronx.

Created several years ago by the company as an anti-bullying campaign that would combat such acts in a grass roots fashion, Be A STAR was designed to specifically approach younger children as a way to attempt to break the cycle of bullying.  At today's event, held before a large group of young children, the power of WWE's popularity and the fact that to an audience of that age, WWE performers are literally superheroes come to life, WWE utilized its might to humanize those heroes and in doing so, empower the audience.

That exchange of power was charged by the electricity in the room, which was absolutely insane before the WWE talents took the stage.  I've attended every Wrestlemania since 2001 and I've covered tons of pro wrestling events, big and small, all over the United States and Canada over the last 20 years and the one constant I've learned is that the smaller and more intimate the event, the more energetic the audience becomes.  The assembly, knowing that real life WWE characters were going to be coming to their Boys & Girls Club and meet with them in the same gym they play in every day, had a bubbly excitement about them, looking to every door that opened, waiting for the big moment where they might see a glimpse of WWE come to life before their eyes.  It was Christmas morning to these kids and no matter how jaded an adult might be, it was impossible not to get caught up in the moment.

When the event finally began with Charly Caruso (who did a great job making the 45 minute presentation flow) and Dana Warrior (who was far smoother than you'd expect in front of an audience, given the short amount of time she's worked as a WWE Ambassador) setting the stage for the introduction of the WWE stars and the presentation to combat bullying.  Warrior was very good in using her own daughters as the window into the presentation, noting that not only would she accept anyone bullying them but she wouldn't accept her daughters acting like bullies.

Every WWE talent received a massive reaction, especially Kalisto, who received a massive "Lucha" chant from the Spanish children in attendance.  It was amazing to watch all the chatter in the room become massive cheers as if these kids were sitting at Madison Square Garden and then witness that all melt away as the audience quietly, intently hung on every word being spoken.  Later on, when the audience were told that they would be quizzed about the stories they were being told, watching the kids turning to each other with excitement and then really pay attention was something to behold.

As I noted earlier, it's easy to get jaded about pro wrestling and for WWE's reasons for holding these events, but to me, having attended several different WWE presentations for different outreach programs, to me, the ends justify the means.   It's easy to dismiss these sort of presentations as fluff but when you are in the room and Dana Warrior asks in the room has been bullied and hear the gasps from kids when Nia Jax and Apollo Crews and everyone else on the panel raises their arm, you can actually feel the moment where kids are thinking, "They are just like me."

This was the humanizing of these athletes to the children.  One by one, all of the talents told stories about being bullied in life.    They were no longer stars and fans separated by who was sitting on stage.  Instead, they were all together as one, united by their experiences.

Apollo Crews told a story of someone who bullied both himself and his brother, specifically tormenting him over his K-Mart Power Rangers sneakers.  Finally having had enough of the abuse, a young Crews decided to defend himself and it went, as he admitted, "Badly."  While it led to Crews lifting weights because of the belief that if he got bigger, no one would ever bully him again, he also admitted that it was a mistake to defend himself by physically confronting someone and that instead, it would have been smarter to go to someone - a parent, a teacher, a counselor - for help.

Bayley talked about cyberbullying and how it is the worst and scariest version of bullying today, even admitting that she has detractors who attack her on Twitter today and that some people were happy that she recently injured her shoulder.  Bayley said that she responds by blocking those who attack and instead takes to social media with nice posts, showing good things that are happy in her life and spreading wonderful posts, instead of wallowing and being bothered by those who want to be rude and mean.  She suggested that if anyone was bothering them online, they go to their parents and teachers and get help in figuring out what was happening, but even if they didn't get those answers, they can always protect themselves by blocking those who are harassing them.

Speaking at events like these is extremely important to Bayley because it's close to her heart.

"It's a lot...it's kind of the coolest things I get to do, one of the coolest things, because I really was bullied a lot as a kids, " Bayley told PWInsider.com after the rally.  "It was for being a fan of WWE.  The girls thought I was different and I got called a boy all the time because I liked professional wrestling and I dressed differently and the way I wore my hair and all those sorts of things.  Now that I am here representing WWE and helping these kids, with any kind of bullying that they are or are going through.  When I was a fan growing up or when I was a kid, if somebody with that stardom or somebody could have told me what to do, I would have held onto it and be well, Bayley said to do this or Bayley said to do that or Apollo Crews said...the words would be gold to me, so I know how much they are like sponges and soaking it all in.  I get emotional every time.  It's a huge deal.  It's one of my favorite things that I get to do with the company."

Nia Jax, obviously playing a powerful force of nature on screen, told a story of knowing that she was different because of her size growing up and that she was bullied over that, eventually realizing that what made her different is what makes her beautiful and that no one should be bullied because of it. 

Nia Jax later explained to PWInsider.com that walking out on TV playing her "bad-ass self" is great, but there's almost more a pressure standing in front of children at an event like this, because "you know you are trying to reach them."

"We do have this amazing platform of entertainment, "Jax said.  "Nia Jax is this big, mean bully on WWE Raw, but when I get to come here and do this and speak to this kids and say, 'Look, I used to be you.  I was bullied.  I was different, but you know what?  I grew up and I realized that being different made me beautiful, it made me unique.'  To be able to share that message and even having that option [to share it], it's amazing."

This is the point where you, as a jaded adult reading this, now point out that it is completely inane that WWE, with storylines that regularly feature antagonists doing terrible things to the heroes, are spreading this message, as it's a complete disconnect from the WWE-centric ideal of two people fighting it out to see who is better or to get revenge. 

To WWE's credit, they don't hide from this but instead embrace it during the Be A STAR presentation. 

Today, Kalisto explained that just like other TV shows, WWE features characters who are not exactly who they are in real life.  He then explained that he wanted to talk to the kids, not as Kalisto, but as himself and after playing up that he was nervous to do so and making the kids promise not to take pictures or film him, he removed his lucha mask to speak to them as Manny (receiving shocked "Wows" from every corner of the room) as he humanized himself even more by removing the mask that represented his stardom to the children assembled.

Manny told of being bullied and the teacher who interceded.  They were forced to sit down and finally made to have a conversation and learn about each other.  In the process, they learned that they had one thing they each loved in common - pro wrestling and their love of their favorite wrestler, The Undertaker.  Soon, they were playing with their wrestling toys and to this day, they speak every week and now his bully is his friend who watches and comes to see him wrestle.  Kalisto pushed that if you communicate and talk, you will find a bond and a friendship that will break the cycle.

As I wrote, all of this helped to humanize the WWE stars in front of the audience, but then also served to empower them.  By telling their stories and showcasing to the children that what they are going through isn't all that different from what the WWE stars dealt with in their past, it puts them all on the same level.  When the WWE talents then advised the children of what they can do to protect themselves and recount the ways they can combat bullying -  by blocking the bad comments online, by not standing by and being a bystander when others are bullied and by going to someone they can trust for help - as corny as it sounds on paper, it was necessary.  You could feel that in the room as the kids cheered and you could feel it as they intently listened.  You could feel it as they screamed "Be A STAR", giving you the belief that somewhere in that room, the message was heard and that perhaps, the trajectory of someone's life changed ever so slightly, but enough to make a difference.

For all that WWE is and all it does, at that end of the day, it is meant to be an escape from reality for its viewers.  Today, they entered what is reality for many children day to day and attempted to give them not an escape, but a solution. 

There may be louder pops and mightier bodyslams this weekend, but none will be as important or as far-reaching as the achievements made by WWE's roster today in the Bronx.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet