Stuttering John at Rodney's on 2/27/26 was the Dabbleverse's WrestleMania X-Seven
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Over the past few years, I have really gotten into the Dabbleverse. It’s an online subsection based around the career and actions of one “Stuttering” John Melendez, former “stunt boy” of the Howard Stern Show and announcer of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
There is so much detail on why the Dabbleverse is called such. The story is so deep and comprehensive I can’t even begin to detail it in here. Here are two documentary style videos from Sheet Shitterson discussing how everything began and where we go from here:
And for those that don’t have the immediate time to check it out, here’s the TL;DR: Stuttering John’s lack of self-awareness and ability to laugh at himself has allowed his life to unravel, complete with lawsuits, doxxing attempts, and an exposure of how troubled his life truly is.
The Dabbleverse is not for everyone, but if you get it, it’s incredible to watch.
Last night was the Dabbleverse’s WrestleMania X-Seven. Stuttering John was performing a stand-up act at Rodney’s in Manhattan. Normally, this would have been a quiet night, as John’s set, which realistically hasn’t changed in nearly a decade, doesn’t attract many viewers. However, when Anthony Cumia, controversial and legendary radio personality, announced he was going to watch the program live, the place sold out!
Not only fans of the Dabbleverse came out, but people who despised John like Kevin Brennan, Karl Hamburger, Anthony Zenhauser, Lucy Tightbox, and High Pitch Erik from the Howard Stern Whack Pack! This was an absolute spectacle. All eyes were on Stuttering John. Would he succeed?
I wasn’t able to go to Rodney’s, but I was able to watch The Uncle Rico Show with live coverage from Shuli Egar, former staffer from the Howard Stern Show and mortal Stuttering John enemy.
This truly was a spectacle. I know a lot of Shuli detractors knock his style, delivery, or character, but he, alongside “Discount Don” and Erik “E-Rock” Nagel, did an absolutely tremendous job keeping up with the insanity of the night. I’m a Shuli fan, so witnessing him do his magic was great redemption to his detractors. Shuli even rocked his old school Howard 100 News jacket as he was doing coverage, which I geeked out for. Someone said it best: it was Shuli’s Jim McKay at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, as morbid as it sounds.
When John took the stage, watching it in real-time, thanks to Vince the Lawyer live-streaming it from the venue, it felt like a Mike Tyson fight. The anticipation had built. The tension was at a fever pitch. Would Stuttering John do the “Squeegee” bit to a standing ovation?
NOPE. He read Anthony Cumia’s arrest report from 2015. For some, it would’ve been shocking. But fans of Anthony, who not only acknowledged this and his wrongdoings on several occasions, including in his own book Permanently Suspended, were not shocked or offended.
John, regardless, refused to do his bit and continued to read the entire report, until Dabbleverse fan Tommy Jordan ran up and ripped the printed report out of his hands and shredded it to a loud applause. StutJo then took a sip of his bottled Michelob 64 beer, said “SKOL!”, raised his arms in the air, stated “Thank You,” and left the stage thirty-two minutes early.
It was rumored that John even left crying, due to another angle of him leaving the stage.
Absolutely enthralling stuff.
I’m nothing but a wacked-out fan for a niche fanbase. I think that the Dabbleverse fan base are among the wildest, weirdest, outlandish, and most creative humans on the planet. So many people have made incredible content based around this wacky world.
But I think this might’ve been the zenith. Where do you go from here?
If this was an angle, I think there would be some breathing room from everyone involved. There has to be. Even after incredible storylines involved in television shows, you have to reset the stage and build up once again.
But this is real life. It’s only the beginning. Stuttering John will obviously retort instead of leaving the internet. There’s still a lawsuit hearing with the battle between StutJo against Karl Hamburger from Who Are These Podcasts and Shuli. (Initial Article from NY Post, although there has been so much transpired since then.) Then, there’s the possibility of another Dabblecon convention, other incidents that are bound to happen, and other variables we don’t even know about yet.
Like I said, it felt like WrestleMania X-Seven from April 1, 2001. The beginning of the end of the Attitude Era. Just like the WWF, it’ll continue onward, but similar to the end of Austin vs Rock II, it’s going to take some time for another moment to reach this peak. Maybe I'm wrong. But that's the gut feeling I have after last night.
All I know is that I’m buckling up and going along for the ride. Not everyone gets the Dabbleverse, but if you do, this is preparing to go to the next level. Get ready. SKOL!
Jon Harder
