WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson came up with the Royal Rumble nearly 40 years ago. Twenty wrestlers entered the first televised version in 1988, won by “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. By 1989, it was 30 and on pay-per-view. Big John Studd survived that one. I know; I was there. I spent six and a half years as marketing director for what was then the WWF. Trust me, I know a Royal Rumble when I see one. And lately, all you have to do is turn on a WNBA game.
Players punching players. Players body-slamming players. Players clotheslining players. Players eye-poking players. Players clubbing players. Players going in the stands confronting fans. Coaches confronting officials. Owners confronting fans. Everybody mad at everybody. The perfect script for a Royal Rumble.
And in the second Fever-Aces playoff game, A’ja Wilson apparently decided it was time to add another contestant to the Rumble: a fan. It happened immediately after another one of those WNBA moments where you look at the television and wonder if you’re watching the same game as the officials.
Wilson drove through Sophie Cunningham. Cunningham went hard to the floor. The refs called the foul on Cunningham, of course. But Wilson wasn’t finished. She turned toward a fan sitting near the baseline. There was shouting and pointing. Wilson rushed two rows of the stands. Teammates and officials intervened. Wilson got a technical. That was it.
According to the WNBA rule book, Wilson should have been ejected for going into the stands — or even received a one-game suspension. But then again, when did the WWE ever follow the rulebook? As the infamous pirate Captain Hector Barbossa once said, “The Code is more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.”
In pro-wrestling, there’s an old term called “kayfabe.” It means presenting the story, characters, and action, as if everything happening in front of you is absolutely real. Good wrestling announcers are part of it. They know who the babyface is. They know who the heel is. They know the storyline. And they sell it.
Apparently, so do WNBA announcers. Regardless of the network. Before anyone knew what the fan had said, or even whether he’d done anything wrong, the Prime Video broadcasters were already putting him on trial — and convicting him.
Analyst LaChina Robinson targeting the fan, saying you knew something must have been said because you don’t see that kind of reaction from Wilson unless it’s necessary. Really? That’s not evidence. That’s kayfabe. Wilson reacted; therefore the fan must have deserved the reaction. The roles had already been assigned. Wilson was the babyface. The fan was the heel.
There’s just one problem. Arena security actually investigated what happened. The Fever said the fan had not violated the team’s Fan Code of Conduct and allowed him to return to his seat. This is considerably different from the verdict viewers had already been handed. Maybe the announcers should try something revolutionary: wait for the facts.
In wrestling, the announcers are supposed to help sell the storyline. In basketball, we used to call it broadcasting.
Then came the ruling. The WNBA reviewed the Wilson incident and decided there would be no suspension. No fine. Nothing. The explanation? Wilson hadn’t actually entered the stands. According to a source, she remained in something called the “player escape lane.” Seriously.
Apparently, you can leave the basketball court, charge toward a spectator, point at him, stand over him as he is seated, scream at him, and have teammates and coaches rush over to restrain you. And as long as you remain in the proper “player escape lane,” we’re good. I worked in professional wrestling for six and a half years. Even we didn’t come up with that one.
We have all seen the video. We have all seen the images. Wilson is clearly two rows deep into the stands. Several feet beyond what the league calls the “player escape lane.” The fan she confronted was sitting in the second row. She is clearly standing over him. So what exactly is the WNBA looking at?
Any player deliberately entering the stands other than during the continuation of play is supposed to mean an automatic ejection. But A’ja Wilson isn’t just any player. She has five MVP trophies and is one of the biggest stars in the sport. This means the league should be more careful about appearing to have one rule for its stars and another for everyone else.
If you’re wondering why fans have stopped trusting WNBA officiating and discipline, this is how you get there.
Then came game three. Apparently, nobody told the players the Royal Rumble was over and it was time to get back to playing basketball. Early in the second quarter, Las Vegas’ Brianna Turner hooked her arm around Lexie Hull and suplexed her to the floor. It was a hard slam. Fortunately, neither player was hurt. But Hull got called for the foul.
Fever coach Stephanie White went to midcourt trying to get the officials’ attention, demanding a review. What do they do? Slapped White with a technical. Then the replay center ruled the time to challenge had passed. Of course. I can imagine Patterson quickly scribbling notes in his idea pad from all of this. Kayfabe.
Yes, A’ja Wilson had a great game. She scored 36 points. Ten rebounds. Las Vegas won 94–83. But A’ja should not have been in the game. That’s precisely why all this nonsense is so unnecessary. Great players don’t need questionable officiating. Champions don’t need different creative interpretations of the rulebook. And basketball doesn’t need kayfabe.
And yet, here we are again. After three playoff games and the past three seasons, we are still talking about the horrible officiating, technicals, players going after fans, missed elbows, missed challenges, questionable league rulings, vacant leadership, and now “player escape lanes.”
Caitlin Clark gets hammered and punched in the throat, and everybody argues about whether any of it was it a foul. Sophie Cunningham defends a teammate, and everybody argues about whether she went too far. Sophie Cunningham (see a pattern here?) gets clubbed from behind, leaving her with a bloody lip. And it becomes a race debate.
This is the state of the WNBA. The commissioner is MIA. Players complain about officials. Coaches complain about officials. Fans complain about officials. Then everybody complains about everybody complaining. We’ve had arguments over race, arguments over officiating, arguments over leadership, and arguments over eligibility and what a woman is. Arguments over Caitlin Clark. Arguments over Sophie Cunningham. Arguments over the arguments.
Wrestling promoter Vince McMahon would be exhausted. Pat Patterson would be howling with laughter. The WNBA has become the WWE with free throws. Which brings us right back to where we started: kayfabe.
The WNBA finally has people’s attention. Maybe it’s time to try something radical. Play basketball. Let the fans cheer. Let them boo. Call the fouls. Keep the players on the court. And leave the folding chairs to the professionals.
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Jonathan Flora is an award-winning movie producer and director with over 20 years at Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. A writer, commentator, 82nd Airborne veteran, and cofounder of Lamplight Entertainment, he is happily married to producer and media host Deborah Flora.
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