Opinion Editor- Soph White
I don’t remember when I first heard of this, but, guys, former Try Guy, Ned Fulmer, has debuted on the wrestling stage in the All-Elite Wrestling (AEW) promotion. I likely saw it from a random YouTube creator that I follow on Instagram, who had reacted to Ned Fulmer’s cheating scandal and Ned’s reaction to getting caught on social media. If you don’t know about the cheating scandal, it essentially breaks down to the abuse of his authority as someone’s boss in order for him to have sexual relations or an affair outside of his marital relationship. As someone whose personality was his wife throughout his time on the Try Guys, he ruined, for many, what the image of a good husband looked like. Many said that they didn’t know if they could trust men after this moment in history. Since then, his need for relevancy and attention has only grown stronger and more disgusting.
Upon scouring the interwebs, you can see clear distaste for this new debut all over the internet on various forums. One thread on Reddit reads as follows:
“The guy that cheated on his wife and brought down the Try Guys?”
“The boss that abused his position as Head of HR and had an affair with his subordinate? Yep, that one.”
“The one that tried to do a podcast about how low he’s fallen and his first guest is his wife [that he cheated on]. That’s incredulous. He’s even trying to get sympathy?”
I thought this was a joke the first time I heard about it, and then I saw pictures. Nothing against 38-year-olds, but he’s a bit older and has no training for this kind of sport whatsoever. He might likely break something or end up in the hospital. If you’re reaching that age where your joints and back are breaking down and you haven’t had much physical activity to help maintain your joint/back health, please don’t try professional wrestling. Maybe you can consider being on the Try Guys team as a sort of physical exertion, but I would jump to say that he is not in the right physical shape for this kind of physical activity, especially with his very public talk about being depressed. Depression is kinda known for making you not do anything. Not moving. Maybe if you are a high-functioning depressed person, but I would not call this example high-functioning anything.
Another Reddit thread has my favorite quotable lines:
“Can’t this guy work an office job to provide for his kids?”
“He went to Yale!!”
“He is so Rory Gilmore with how things have turned out for him.”
Yes, he very much is a male Rory Gilmore with the entitlement that ultimately spirals him to scraping at the bottom of the barrel that he is now wrestling for a living. His wrestling name is literally “Nasty Ned”—have I mentioned that yet? He has resorted to admitting he is gross and the things he has done is gross and is actively living into it. To his ex-wife, this is a sign—a sign to no longer even be friends with him. Potentially, suggesting that he should not take part in parenting your kids or I fear they may catch the nasty as well. In comparison to all the other wrestlers he is with in this match, he looks old, worn out, and like a creepy old man in a grocery store who tries to brush by your hand. There—I said it. He creeps me out. Always has. I’ve experienced self-sabotage coming out of a depressive episode, so I truly understand the poor decisions a person can make when in a pit of despair. Still, this is something else. Whether this is a cry for help or a way to stay relevant (even if in a negative way), it lacks any awareness of the fool he is making himself out to be.
Sadly, it seems as if Ned Fulmer will not be leaving his “Nasty Ned” ways anytime soon. In fact, he is more likely to take new leaps into unknown territory for the sake of relevance. It’s only a matter of time before we see him creating a prank YouTube channel where he craps in public for views. This may be a harsh outlook, but I sincerely do not see the future being bright for this man, who is clearly going through a crisis that he brought upon himself.