As PWMania.com previously reported, Jacques Rougeau created a video for his family’s celebration during the Buy In pre-show segment at AEW Redemption. However, he was informed that the video could not be used, which prompted him to throw a “tantrum” backstage. At one point, an official had to tell him to calm down or risk being kicked out of the building. Ultimately, Jacques shared the video on his Facebook account.
Several issues were cited regarding the video, including its use of generative AI, its length, and the presence of copyrighted WWE-owned footage and music rather than AEW-owned.
According to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the video was not actually too long, running at only one minute and 17 seconds. Nonetheless, Tony Khan, the owner of AEW, has a strong stance against AI, which contributed to the video’s rejection. The video featured footage of Jacques pinning Hulk Hogan in a singles match from 1997 at the Bell Centre, the venue for AEW Redemption. While this was not the primary reason for the video’s disapproval, it was one of several issues.
The match was not part of WCW, where footage would be owned by WWE; instead, it was filmed during an independent show. Jacques Rougeau, PCO, promoter Tony Mule, and lawyer Cookie Lazarus organized the event, for which Hogan was paid $25,000. Although the original agreement stipulated that Hogan would not lose, he ultimately consented to the outcome because it was a house show in Jacques’ hometown. WCW received $20,000 for the rights to use its talent at the event, but they did not own the actual footage. There was confusion regarding the rights, as the footage was only shown to AEW officials at the last minute.
Jacques has claimed there was no “incident” backstage, even though security staff were made aware of the situation. The Bell Centre has a policy stating that anyone removed from backstage for disciplinary reasons must leave the building. Fortunately, it did not come to that, as Jacques calmed down and was ultimately not removed from the venue.
