WWE walkout vs. the NBA's lockout: Sean Grande weighs in

Since last Monday’s unprecedented walkout on Raw SuperShow, WWE and NBA fans have been all over Twitter and Facebook comparing WWE’s walkout to the NBA’s lockout. Being an office comprised of WWE and NBA fans ourselves, the WWE.com staff had been having the same discussions all week. So, to bridge the gap between our two worlds, we “tagged-in” Boston Celtics play-by-play announcer and lifelong WWE fan, Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) to get his insight into the similarities between the two situations. We felt Sean was the perfect person to interview because like Jerry “The King” Lawler, Sean has had an unpleasant experience with physicality at his announce table.

WWE.com: What similarities at all does WWE's current situation have to the NBA's lockout?

SEAN GRANDE: On the surface, none. The NBA lockout is about the revenue generated by the league, and how the team owners and players should divide it. WWE's walkout seems to be more about work environment, but on closer inspection, the common theme is the very striking image of potential high-stakes combatants standing together. Whether that's Kevin Garnett standing with Dwyane Wade, or Mark Henry standing with Wade Barrett. The biggest similarity of all is that grievances which should be settled behind closed doors are interfering with the fans' enjoyment of the product they love.

WWE.com: A full-scale WWE walkout will not only affect WWE talent and management, but also WWE office employees, arena employees, local businesses near arenas and TV networks. Will the NBA lockout have similar affects?

GRANDE: It already has. When there's an NBA game or a WWE event at your local arena, there are hundreds of people involved in creating that spectacle, most of whom you never see. When the arena goes dark because of a labor stoppage, all those jobs disappear. Restaurants, local businesses ... they all suffer. In the NBA, we've already lost the pre-season, which for some individuals and businesses, represents 5-10% of their annual income. If [WWE Chief Operating Officer] Triple H has learned anything from his legendary predecessor ... it's that the show must go on, for everyone's sake.

WWE.com: After watching Jerry Lawler put through a table at ringside and seeing Mark Henry only get fined instead of fired, would you have walked off Raw like "The King," Michael Cole, Booker T and Justin Roberts did last Monday?

GRANDE: I'll only say this: Three years ago, [forward] James Posey went after a ball out-of-bounds, and he put both Cedric Maxwell and me over the courtside table and through two chairs. We both dusted ourselves off, and finished the game. I think that is what Triple H was talking about Monday night. Fans are paying to see Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce, John Cena and CM Punk, settle their disputes in the ring and on the floor, with tables if need be, not at a table. Fans pay us to perform, not whine.