WHEEL OF FORTUNE SHOCKER LEAVES FANS DEVASTATED — A Marine Veteran’s Heartbreaking Stumble Costs Him $40,000 In One Of The Most Gut-Wrenching Moments Ever Seen On The Show. What Should Have Been A Triumphant Night Turned Into A Painful Collapse As Months Of Preparation Unraveled In Seconds Under The Pressure Of A Single Puzzle. The Emotional Scene Is Now Going Viral, With Viewers Reacting Strongly And Calling It A Brutal Reminder Of How Quickly Everything Can Slip Away On Live Television.
A marine veteran lost out on taking home an additional $40,000 on Wheel of Fortune. He stumbled over the Bonus Round puzzle, and many fans thought the game show should have given him the win, saying that he “stuttered” at the crucial moment.
Ron Sheppard, from Clarksville, Tennessee, played against Devin Green, from Lacey, Washington, and Hillary Hudson, from Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday, November 13. Sheppard is a retired veteran who has been married for 36 years. He shared that the key to their success is that they each have their own TV and watch shows separately.
Green, a retired Army field artilleryman, solved both toss-ups, giving him $3,000. Sheppard solved the first puzzle — “Mess Hall of Mirrors” — for $4.850.
Sheppard also solved “Playing Minecraft” for $8,500. Green solved the prize puzzle — “Everybody’s So Nice and Polite” — and won a trip to British Columbia, Canada, worth $8,768, giving him $14,668 and the lead.
Sheppard solved two of three triple toss-ups. Hudson, a Navy veteran who helps out the homeless vets in her town, finally got on the board when she solved the last one for $2,000.
Sheppard took the lead when he solved the final puzzle — “Cried During a Commercial.” He had $20,000.
Green took home $14,668. Hudson had $2,000. Sheppard chose “Thing” for his Bonus Round category.
Host Ryan Seacrest asked Sheppard’s wife, Dawn, if she would watch him on her TV when his episode airs. “Absolutely,” she nodded.
Sheppard shared that they would watch it together. “Finally, a show you can watch together,” Seacrest joked.
After Wheel of Fortune gave him “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” the huge football fan chose “M,G,C, and O.” The puzzle then looked like “O_ _ECT_ _E O_ _N_ON.”
As the clock counted down, Sheppard guessed “Olecture Onion,” …”Opinion,” “Objectionable Opinion.” He stumbled over his words and couldn’t guess it in time.
However, he was close. The puzzle was “Objective Opinion.” Sheppard added another syllable to the first word. $40,000 was in the envelope.
Fans thought he was close enough and should have won. “I think they should of gave him that. He just had a stutter!” a YouTuber user asked.
“He definitely stuttered on the last guess,” said another.
“Wait, didn’t he say it at the very end, but he stuttered? I know they can be picky, but it was obvious he solved it lol,” a third added.
“Poor guy had a stutter, cut the old man some slack!! He knew what it was,” another wrote.