OO Column: Online Onslaught by Rick Scaia (Pro Wrestling News, Analysis, and Commentary... WWE, WWF, WCW, ECW, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Trish Stratus, Lita, Stacy Keibler, Divas, RAW, SmackDown, WrestleMania

OO RAW RECAP
Brock and Owens: Brothers in Badassery
June 15, 2015

by Rick Scaia
Exclusive to OOWrestling.com

So, let's talk about the MLB All Star Game... it's down in Cincinnati this year, and my Hollywood Brother is looking into pulling a few strings so that we can attend.

And if things don't change, there's a very good chance that I'll be watching the fricking Kansas City Royals facing the NL All Stars. The hell? Any other year, I'd probably be yukking it up, because I really got behind the Royals last year in the playoffs with their running game and come from behind drama. But if I'm gonna be there, in the stadium, I'd really kind of like to get to see the All Stars from the other league, when I only really end up going to interleague games if the Yankees or Indians are in town.

I mean, I guess the subs (or, in this case, the real All Stars) would come into the game starting in the 3rd inning, but still.... this is pretty bush league, KC.

Nothing underscores HOW bush league it is better than the fact that the Royals are actively shopping for a new 2nd baseman, because Omar Infante is terrible. Not bad. Epically terrible. The worst offensive player in all of baseball, with an OPS 50 points worse than the next most terrible guy. On pace to be one of the five worst offensive seasons in modern baseball history.

And Omar Infante is slated to be the starting 2nd baseman for the AL All Star Team. Which is bullshit. Even you have to recognize that, KC. Step back off the ledge, and inject at least a modicum of sanity, KC. I know the All Star Game is just an exhibition, and doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.... but this year, it doesn't mean a whole lot in my neck of the woods, and I'd really rather not have to endure your BS, when I'm paying for tickets.

Thank you, drive through. And here's what happened on tonight's edition of Monday Night RAW...

OO Will Recap a Recap: rather than do it a second time, WWE remembers Dusty Rhodes by replaying the 10 Bell Salute from last night's PPV. And then, the video package that reduced Renee Young to tears plays again.

Opening Theme/Pyro/Etc., and we're live in Cleveland, OH. Cole & The Gang offer up a perfunctory welcome, and then shoot it down to the ring, because the WWE Champion (and no one else) is strolling down the aisle to address us 24 hours after his big ladder match victory.

Oh, wait. Before Seth Rollins speaks, we're going to break for....

[ads]

SETH ROLLINS WOULD LIKE TO THANK... SETH ROLLINS

After that awkwardly timed break, Seth welcomes us to "Monday Night Rollins" and rubs in his victory. He offers Dean Ambrose a back-handed compliment, saying he sure as hell brought his A-game... but the problem is that Ambrose's A-game is still no match for Rollins'. And then he offers up another little bit of misdirection, as he talks about how it took a whole team of people to help him accomplish this feat... he even pulls a list out of his boot, because he wants to make sure he doesn't forget to thank anybody.

He proceeds to heartfully thank..... Seth Rollins. And Seth Rollins. And Seth Rollins, Seth Rollins, and Seth Rollins. You get the idea.

Once he's thanked himself about two dozen times, Rollins makes sure to bad mouth J&J and Kane. And he even says that he appreciates the support, but he has no need for Triple H and Stephanie, either. He invites the fans to gaze upon his magnificence, because he's the only champion they've got, and the only champion they will ever have. He gets mega cheap heat by taunting LeBron and the Cavs, and also bad-mouthing Johnny Manziel (who is seated ringside; but honestly, Cleveland, are you so lacking in self-respect that you'll take THAT mantwat's side in this arguement?).

Rollins says he walked into this piece of crap town as a champion, andhe's going to leave it as a champion. BOO~!

Ambrose's music hits, and he storms the ring, winning a very brief brawl, before Rollins grabs his belt and walks out. BOO~! again.

Ambrose gets a chair and a mic, and takes a seat in the middle of the ring. He says he's enjoyed making Rollins' life a living hell so much that he doesn't want it to end. So he's gonna stay in the ring until Rollins comes back out to fight him.

The announcers sell it as a Monday Night Sit-In as we break for yet another set of...

[ads]

Back, and Ambrose is still in the middle of the ring.

Backstage: Triple H and Stephanie are discussing how to deal with this situation when Rollins walks in and says "What are we gonna do about this? WE make the decisions around here. This is our show. Let's get him out of here." But Stephanie again plays the "WE? All of a sudden it's WE again?" They don't much care for Rollins' comments, and Rollins tries to talk his way out of things by saying he'd never disrespect the Authority, he was just running his mouth to stick it to all the idiot fans.

Triple H half-heartedly accepts the non-pology, and says, "Hey, here's what we're gonna do tonight.... I've got a plan for Ambrose. But after that, we trusted you to beat Dean Ambrose all by yourself, and you did. So tonight, you're gonna trust us to determine your next challenger. OK?" Rollins, also half-heartedly, agrees....

Back to the ring...

Ambrose is still seated, and Sheamus' music hits. Sheamus reminds us that he's the new Mr. MitB, which means he's closer to the WWE Title than Ambrose is. Also, he says he's out here for a fight, so apparently that's what HHH was talking about...

DEAN AMBROSE vs. SHEAMUS

Quick start for Ambrose, but then Sheamus went after the left knee that Ambrose injured last night. Right into the heel beatdown. After about 90 seconds, a running knee hits, and Ambrose tumbles out of the ring, so we break for some more....

[ads]

Back, and Sheamus is wrenching on Ambrose's knee. Ambrose tries firing up a few times, but Sheamus just goes for the knee, and resumes command. Eventually, Sheamus cinches in the Cloverleaf for a legit submission attempt. AMbrose manages to get a rope break.

The Ace of Clubs. Then the Deuce. Then he fires off 3 more, but as soon as the crowd dares to start counting along with him, he stops and taunts them. This gives Ambrose time to catch his breath, and when Sheamus turns back to him, Ambrose hits the Ten of Clubs himself. YAY~!

Ambrose's rally continues for about a minute, until he has Dirty Deeds set up... Sheamus manages to escape, and threatens to walk out, because he does not need this.

Randy Orton's music hits, and he chases Sheamus back into the ring, where Ambrose hits a quick roll-up for the win.

Your Winner: Dean Ambrose, via pinfall, in about 8 minutes. An 8 minute match where 3 of those are commercials is never gonna score any real points. But in terms of servicing the three characters involved, I guess it advanced their respective agendas (Ambrose is still a top contender, Sheamus is a chickenshit, and Orton wants to fight Sheamus).

After the Match: Ambrose evaporated so that Orton and Sheamus could brawl. But as soon as Orton got the upperhand, Sheamus kept on chickenshitting it up. He grabbed his briefcase and bolted up the ramp.

Backstage: Seth Rollins is WALKING~! And he comes up upon Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury. Rollins is all "Oh, let me guess, you two want your jobs back... well, maybe I can work something out. If you've heard something about the new #1 Contender, and want to share." Turns out, they haven't heard anything, and even if they had, they wouldn't share, because they think Rollins is a piece of crap and after last week, when J&J beat Rollins, they're not gonna waste any energy begging for the jobs back, because they figure if THEY can beat him, it's just a matter of time before Rollins drops the WWE Title. So why hitch their stars to his wagon. Rollins is rather miffed by this.

[ads]

R-TRUTH vs. KING BARRETT

Truth enters first, and he's got a Burger King crown, a bed sheet for a cape, and a plunger for a scepter... and also, he thinks he's doing guest commentary, not wrestling, which is once again randomly stupid, but hilarious (same as last week, when he thought he was in MitB, but wasn't).

Once JBL gets Truth straightened out, Truth hops in the ring, and after a 15 second exchange, he gets another cheap roll-up on Barrett, for the win.

Your Winner: R-Truth, via pinfall, in 20 seconds. So yeah, that happened.

After the Match: Barrett hit a Bullhammer and decimated Truth for a bit, before grabbing a mic and saying he doesn't appreciate Truth making a joke of his prestigious kingship. Barrett worked hard to become King of the Ring, and he will demand that we all Hail King Barrett. BOO~!

[ads]

OWENS' SIDE OF THE STORY

Kevin Owens is on his way to the ring. Once there, he declares "John Cena is not here tonight." And a goodly percentage of the crowd cheers. Owens continues by saying that if they want to blame somebody for that, they should blame Cena himself. Sure, Owens had a hand in it, because he powerbombed Cena into the ring and broke his spine, but Cena forced him to it.

Because Cena disrespected him last night, by shaking his hand and telling Owens "You belong here" after their match. And Owens doesn't need any of that happy crappy. He KNOWS he belongs here. That was never in doubt, and who does Cena think he is, handing down proclamations like that, as if anybody gives a damn what he thinks. He says he (Owens) wasn't a sore loser last night, he says Cena was a sore winner and an attention hog, so he (Owens) did what he had to do, because he has his pride.

Owens says that after last night, yep, he wants a rematch with Cena. And it may not be for a while, since Cena's licking his wounds... but whenever it does happen, Owens wants the US TItle to be on the line.

In the meantime, since there is US Open CHallenge tonight, Owens will make it up to us by issuing yet another NXT Open CHallenge. Anybody who wants a shot at the NXT champ, come on down and have at it.

Here comes Dolph Ziggler (Lana once again comes out onto the stage with him, gives Dolph a little smooch, and then falls back). He kisses up to the Cleveland fans (Ziggler went to nearby Kent State) and says he's ready to win some gold.

Lilian Garcia tries to start in on full boxing-style ring intros, but Owens cuts her off, and says there's been a misunderstanding. Owens is happy to let Ziggler have a shot at the NXT Champ, but he never said anything about the NXT Title. So sure, he's happy to fight Dolph, but it's non-title.

Ziggler's pissed, but he's already here, so what the hell? He says ring that bell, he'll take the fight... so ref Charles Robinson shows up and rings the bell. Owens blindsides Ziggler and tosses him out of the ring so we immediately break for....

[ads]

KEVIN OWENS vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER (Non-Title Match)

Back, and per Standard Heel Operating Procedure, Owens is working a chinlock. Dolph tries to fire up, but Owens ends that with a running senton, and then keeps the focus on Dolph's ribs.

A few more hope spots, and a few more snuff outs, building up to a brawl outside the ring, where Owens gets the better of it and tosses Ziggler into the Timekeeper Cubicle. Owens rolls back into the ring, and gestures (Broadly) that he's perfectly happy to take the count-out win... but Dolph gets back in at 9.

Owens goes for another running senton, but Ziggler dodges, pops up, and hits a big spike DDT. The effort takes a lot out of him, though, and he can't follow up. Owens rolls out of the ring to regroup, and we break for more....

[ads]

Back, and despite what happened before the break, Kevin Owens abides by all WWE regulations, so he's back in command, and working a chinlock. The offensive continues until Owens sets up for the corner cannonball, and Ziggler pops up and hits the superkick as a counter.

Both men down,, ref applies the double count, both men up, and Ziggler gets the better of it, hitting a Fameasser for his first near fall. But then Dolph whiffs on a Stinger Splash, and Owens hits the Cannonball on Take 2. Dolph kicks out. Owens goes for the Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Ziggler leapfrogs him and hits a Zig Zag. Owens kicks out.

Owens dodges a charge, and hits a superkick of his own, and then sends Dolph into the ropes, catching him with the Pop-Up Powerbomb. Fin.

Your Winner: Kevin Owens, via pinfall, in 12 minutes. Good match, but again, half that match time was spent on commercial breaks, so it was noticeable when the match ended just when it seemed to be hitting top gear.

Backstage: Paige has called a meeting of the Diva Roster... she wants a little help ending the tyrannical reign of the Bellas. Alicia says Paige has turned against every partner she's ever had. Paige admits, yeah, she's not been a great partner, but this isn't about her, this is about doing what's right for the entire division. Naomi says that's great and all, and she might even agree with Paige, but she's not gonna let Paige be the boss of her. Paige says, NO THIS ISN"T ABOUT ME, THIS IS ABOUT US...

But before she can expand upon that, the Bellas walk in and give a little speech of their own. It boils down to "Tonight we have a 2-on-1 match against Paige. She's already a 2 time loser against us, so if she's drawing a line in the sand, honestly, whose side do you want to be on? The winning side of history? Or the losing side?"

Slowly, the entire room empties, and Paige is left by herself. Nikki taunts her ("Great speech, there") and then the Bellas leave, too.

[ads]

RANDY ORTON vs. KANE

Not sure what the point of this is, other than to give Orton a pointless win over somebody who was also in the MitB Match last night. Let's see if they can win us over, somehow...

We just immediately jump into a time compressed "mid-"match heel beatdown, and from the sounds of things, nobody's buying it. Orton's feuding with Mr. MitB, and Kane's a part time in-ring competitor as far as TV goes, so do the math on that.

Orton starts his comeback when Kane makes the rookie mistake of lowering his head too soon on a backdrop attempt. Yes, Kane. A rookie mistake. Try to figure out the math on that one, while you're at it.

Then, mid-fire-up, Sheamus' music hits, and he comes out to attempt to create a distraction, as revenge for Orton's distraction earlier. Kane bails out, grabs a mic, and says this is now a No DQ, Anything Goes Match.

Kane and Sheamus triangulate on Orton, who decides to keep his focus on Kane, allowing Sheamus to hit a Brogue Kick. And hey, what do you know: the math was dead wrong.

Your Winner: Kane, via pinfall, in 3 minutes. So yeah, that wasn't expected. But surprising the fans works better if they're mid-giving-a-shit. An upset that only jars us out of our apathy isn't exactly setting the world on fire.

Backstage: Kane is WALKING~! And he comes up to Seth Rollins, who mocks Kane, by reminding him that even though he just got a win, he was still a loser last night, and Rollins was a winner... Kane tries to talk some sense, telling Rollins that if he doesn't realize just how important it is to have a team behind him, then he's no architect, he's just an idiot. This just gets Rollins all pissy, and it ends with him saying he hopes HHH and Steph name Kane as his next challenger, because he'd love to expose him. Rollins leaves Kane steaming.

[ads]

BIG SHOW vs. MIZ

Ryback is sitting in on guest commentary. Show's definitely leaning babyface, here, as even Ryback is putting him over a bit, while giving Miz nothing but shade. Miz just plays chickenshit, running away from Big Show... until Show chases him and comes up gimpy. Show sells a knee injury, and Miz figures it's time to pounce.

But Show was faking, and as soon as Miz is within arm's reach, Show goes to town. A whole onslaught of SHHHHH! Chops, and then Show finally just chucks Miz into Ryback.

Ryback takes offense, and gets in Big Show's face. The two jaw at each other, while Miz crawls back into the ring to just barely beat the count-out.

Your Winner: Miz, via count-out, in 2 minutes. This is certainly another upset, but I can state, with authority, that the blend of personalities and shennanigans meant the fans were actually invested in the match and the outcome, unlike Kane/Orton. Good times...

[ads]

BRAY WYATT: READY TO EXPOSE ANOTHER FRAUD

Roman Reigns is here, and he's pissed. He doesn't want to wait till Battleground, he wants to fight Bray Wyatt right now.

We get the Wyatt Freeze Frame, but Bray only pops up on the Tron, not in the flesh. Why did Bray do what he did? Well, that's pretty simple: Wyatt should have been in the MitB Match, but 2 weeks ago, Reigns beat Wyatt in a match that kept Wyatt from his destiny. And he didn't just rob Wyatt... he robbed the world of the beacon of light that they so desperately need.

Like others before him, Reigns claims to fight for justice, but Wyatt sees through him, and will do what he always does to the posers and pretender... he will expose them. And that started last night, by making sure that Reigns did not become the MitB winner... and with Father's Day in the air, Bray holds up a picture of Reigns with his daughter and implies that he will make sure she learns her dad is a fraud, just like everyone else.

On that creepy note, Bray signs off....

[ads]

PAIGE vs. THE BELLA TWINS (Handicap Match)

As promised earlier, here's the handicap match. And absolutely nobody is here backing Paige. Yet.

Paige bum rushes Nikki to jumpstart things, shoves Brie off the apron, and then follows up with knees to Nikki's face.... but then, as the ref checked on Nikki, Brie tripped Paige up to send us into the heel beatdown.

Paige gets about zero moves in, as the Bellas make frequent tags for the next 3 or 4 minutes. Finally, a doubleteam attempt backfires when Paige ducks, and the Bellas collide. Paige goes on a tear, hitting the RamPaige on Brie... but Nikki breaks up the fall, and just like that, the Rack Attack hits, and it's all over.

Your Winners: the Bellas, via pinfall, in 5 minutes. The story here is clear: the Bellas are dominant, and only Paige is willing to stand up to them.

[ads]

KEVIN OWENS POLISHES A TURD

So Machine Gun Kelly is here, and performs a song. The less said, the better.

But afterwards, Kevin Owens pops out onto the stage. MGK offers to shake Owens' hand. The exact mistake that John Cena made the night before. When Owens refuses to shake it, MGK actually initiates hostilities by shoving Owens in the chest.

So Owens powerbombs him off the stage, onto an elevated platform. Which made me smile a big old smile.

A few things were presentationally screwy, including Cole & The Gang acting all indignant when it was Kelly who shoved Owens first. Also, Cena couldn't leave the ring under his own power last night, but the scrawny little twit celebrity is up on his feet within 30 seconds.

Still: a powerbomb to a low-talent schmuck by any other name....

[ads]

THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS & NEVILLE vs. THE NEW DAY (Six Man Tag)

We start the same as last night's tag title match, with Young/Woods. But this time, it's DY who gains an edge and makes a tag to Titus, granting his team the first shot at a power display. Kofi and Big E both try to interfere, but TItus dispatches them, and then Neville hits a big ass plancha onto all three of the New Day.

On that note, we break for...

[ads]

Back, and during the break, the New Day resumed control, and DYoung is now your Face in Peril. Frequent tags and smooth teamwork keep it that way for several minutes.

Young finally gets separation from Woods, and Neville comes in on the hot tag. Woods can't make a tag of his own. So Neville goes on a run, Kofi and Big E interfere, and a Pier Sixer breaks out. DY hits his gutbuster on Kofi (who was selling injured ribs from last night's MitB Match), and Neville follows up with the Red Arrow.

Your Winners: Neville and the Prime Time Players, via pinfall, in 8 minutes. Fun and harmless. But not exactly memorable, either.

Backstage: Dean Ambrose is playing darts (shooting at a picture of Seth Rollins, naturally)... and in walks Kane. Ambrose immediately makes a joke about how Kane's just a glorified errand boy, anymore. And Kane initially gets mad... but he finally stops and listens to what Ambrose is saying, and Ambrose is giving a pretty nice speech about how it's one thing if you come to RAW and it's your job... but Ambrose says he LIVES for this, he had his fingers on the WWE Title last night, and he won't rest until he gets another taste. THAT is what Ambrose lives for. What do you live for, Kane?

And Kane is genuinely stumped. He has no answer, so Ambrose just gives him a slap on the shoulder, says "Good talk," and walks out.

[ads]

HE'S BACK

Triple H and Stephanie are on their way to the ring... it's time to reveal Seth Rollins' next challenger.

Actually, first, Steph apologizes for Kevin Owens' actions, and promises there will be disciplinary action announced soon, because that's what's best for business. The boos to this would seem to suggest otherwise.

HHH takes up the issue of Rollins' next contender... he says it won't be Mercury or Noble. It won't be Kane. And it won't be Dean Ambrose. BOO~! So who will it be....

Before we find out, Rollins' music hits, and he comes on down to the ring to hear the news, firsthand. He gets a mic, and says it doesn't matter who they pick, because Rollins has lived up to their expectations of him, and nobody on the roster can beat him.

HHH says, yep, ever since WrestleMania, you've beaten everybody we've put in front of you. But you've not been put to the ultimate test. HHH has invested everything in Rollins, and now, it's time to find out of that investment is paying off, or if it's just a sunk cost. HHH repises the "lump of coal" speech, and asks Rollins "Are you going to crumble, or are you going to survive the pressure and become the diamond we all hope you can be?"

Rollins has a flicker of doubt, but then mans up and says, OK, I'll take whatever got.

So HHH nods his head, and Brock Lesnar's music hits. Lesnar -- sporting a new Suplex City t-shirt, personalized for Cleveland, and if they do that for every city Brock visits over the next two years, they are gonna sell a SHITTON of them -- comes out on the stage to a huge pop. Heyman shakes hands with HHH and Steph, and then all three get out of the ring to let Seth Rollins show us what he's made of.

Rollins stands nose to nose with Lesnar for about 20 seconds, but then he blinks, and backs away. Lesnar breaks into a shit-eating grin, as Rollins slinks up the ramp with a worried look on his face.

Brock breaks into the Lesnar Shuffle before we fade to black...

And so ends the show... it's a show that dragged and dragged and dragged in spots. But at the end of the night, we got Brock, and we got Kevin Owens powerbombing a scrawny turd. And both of those were up-off-the-couch-and-pump-a-fist moments. You're lucky to get one of those a week. We just got two in one night.

That doesn't excuse the lack of creativity/effort elsewhere, but wrestling is closer to sports than to scripted entertainment in the fact that it actually can skate by on moments, rather than sustained quality.

Tonight was a summer blockbuster version of RAW. It was a lot like Jurassic World... if you stop and think about it, it wasn't very good at all. But you also ended up feeling like you got your money's worth. I'd massively prefer to get the best of all worlds, like The Dark Knight of the new Mad Max, but ultimately, I'll take nights like tonight without picking the nits that nobody is gonna remember.

Even if the nits massively outnumbered the good stuff.

I'll slap a final grade of B on tonight, and leave it to you to sort of get why, without me spelling out every little fault for you.

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Bonding Exercises

RAW RECAP: The New Guy Blows It

PPV RECAP: WWE Night of Champions 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: 18 Seconds? NO! NO! NO!

RAW RECAP: The Show Must Go On

SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Boot Gets the Boot

RAW RECAP: Heyman Lands an Expansion Franchise

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Losing is the new Winning

RAW RECAP: Say My Name

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Deja Vu All Over Again

RAW RECAP: Dignity Before Gold?

PPV RECAP: SummerSlam 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Backfired!

RAW RECAP: Bigger IS Better

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Hitting with Two Strikes

RAW RECAP: Heel, or Tweener?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Destiny Do-Over

RAW RECAP: CM Punk is Not a Fan of Dwayne

SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Returnening

RAW RECAP: Countdown to 1000

PPV RECAP: WWE Money in the Bank 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Friday Night ZackDown

RAW RECAP: Closure's a Bitch

SMACKDOWN RECAP: In-BRO-pendence Day

RAW RECAP: Crazy Gets What Crazy Wants

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Five Surprising MitB Deposits

RAW RECAP: Weeeellll, It's a Big MitB

SMACKDOWN RECAP: #striketwo

RAW RECAP: Johnny B. Gone

PPV RECAP: WWE No Way Out 2012

RAW RECAP: Crazy Go Nuts

SMACKDOWN RECAP: You're Welcome

RAW RECAP: Be a Star, My Ass

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Needs More Kane?

RAW RECAP: You Can't See Him

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Lady Power

RAW RECAP: Big Johnny Still in Charge

PPV RECAP: WWE Over the Limit 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: One Gullible Fella

RAW RECAP: Anvil, or Red Herring?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Everybody Hates Berto

RAW RECAP: Look Who's Back

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Care to go Best of Five?

RAW RECAP: An Ace Up His Sleeve

PPV RECAP: WWE Extreme Rules 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Sh-Sh-Sheamus and the nOObs

RAW RECAP: Edge, the Motivational Speaker?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: AJ is Angry, Jilted

RAW RECAP: Maybe Cena DOES Suck?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: No! No! No!

RAW RECAP: Brock's a Jerk

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Back with a Bang

RAW RECAP: Yes! Yes! Yes!

PPV RECAP: WWE WrestleMania 28

E-MAIL RICK SCAIA
BROWSE THE OO ARCHIVES

Rick Scaia is a wrestling fan from Dayton, OH. He's been doing this since 1995, but enjoyed it best when the suckers from SportsLine were actually PAYING him to be a fan.