WWE superstar fools internet with video trashing Canada, RCMP

There is a moderately old saying that goes something like, “don’t believe everything you read on the internet,” which is good advice in its own right but is perhaps improved significantly if it was posted by a WWE superstar.

Lacey Evans, a WWE character with a “Southern Belle” gimmick that often uses her self-perceived status to remind fans and viewers that she is in a higher class than they are, got the Canadian corners of the internet in a fit over the weekend after posting video of her being pulled over by the RCMP in Edmonton.

The video, which has over two million views as of Monday evening, shows Evans arguing with an officer about a speeding violation. The officer even gets the best line of the video in, with a casual “Welcome to Edmonton” on his way out of the frame.

The clip made the news rounds very quickly, with everyone from TMZ, to news outlets, to radio hosts chiming in to say how rude it was for Evans to insult the great city of Edmonton like that.

The only problem, of course, is that the clip is pretty blatantly not real. Now, I’m not an investigative journalist but:

• A police officer that is staring at a driver’s licence likely wouldn’t call someone by their stage name

• The delightfully polite officer is barely able to contain his laughter and smile throughout the scene

• Insulting the town you’re performing in is quite literally the first thing every ‘heel’ wrestler does

• Evans herself was the one who ‘broke’ the story online

Honestly, in these modern times with WWE as entrenched in the culture as any form of sports or entertainment, it is nice to see that there are still marks out there that can get worked. I, for one, am hoping this opens up our news outlets to start taking wrestling news more seriously. We could really use a landslide of headlines like:

“A WWE Superstar had to be rushed to a Local Medical Facility this evening. To make matters worse, the victim’s assailant was also revealed to be behind the wheel of the ambulance as it fled the scene.”

or

“WWE Superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin was detained by police and forcibly removed from an arena for belligerent behaviour. He was able to escape custody and return to the show just in time to spoil the main event.”

The backlash Evans received over the weekend caused her to break the kayfabe of being in character on her twitter account and post an explanation that the entire setup was a harmless rib meant to build animosity with the city of Edmonton.