David Starr has posted a statement explaining that he has pulled a controversial promo video due to being asked by the ‘powers that be.’
Last night, Starr posted a promo where he bashed Ring Of Honor for having him compete for the ROH Championship in Isreal as a publicity stunt, and accused Sinclair Broadcasting of being a company pushing “far right wing extremist corporate propaganda.” Starr went on to talk about Israel being the homeland for all, not just Jewish people, and said their worst nightmare is going to be seeing him—a progressive Jew—wearing that championship after the match.
Starr has since pulled the clip, and issued the following statement, saying he has complied, but this doesn’t serve as an admission of wrongdoing:
Last night, I posted a promo for my historic championship match on April 21st against Ring of Honor Champion Jay Lethal in Netanya, Israel for Israeli Pro Wrestling Association.
I have been asked by the powers that be to remove said promo.
“Out of respect to IPWA, who have already paid for Jay’s very expensive flight & accommodation, I will comply.
My complying with this request is not an admission of wrongdoing or a retraction. I stand by my entire statement and do not regret any of my actions regarding this subject.
Special thank you to James Musselwhite, Gery Roif and “Dennis”
Sincerely,
David Starr
Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting ROH management was not happy with Starr criticizing company politics, and implied Lethal could be removed from the card if the video remained posted. It was noted that Starr ultimately pulled the video so IPWA wouldn’t lose out of money.
Starr is set to challenge Jay Lethal for the Ring Of Honor World Championship on April 21st at IPWA’s Passover Bash event. The original promo can be seen below:
David Starr promo bashing Sinclair / ROH has been pulled at request of 'the powers that be' pic.twitter.com/7wsfy2SASk
— WrestleZone (@WRESTLEZONEcom) March 20, 2019