Vince owns their real names now as well

[Hannibal Scorch]

2 hours ago, Mr Lawrence said:

I can imagine the UKFF grammar police are not happy with the Lana tweet.

[tiger_rick]

I know it's another Vince is barking lolz thread but does anyone have any sympathy for these people? They sign these contracts and take his money. The whole "independent contractor" sham has been around since before some of these people were born so it's no surprise that they continue to take liberties. 

Yeah, it's clearly a crap situation for people who can make money off their own creativity but I'm minded not to give a shit about anyone who continues to work for them. You know when you sign that they own you. This is just a clarification. 

[Dead Mike]

The problem with the 'if you don't like it then leave' approach is that it's largely fine for non-vital professions like entertainers. When you apply it to jobs like firefighters, nurses, teachers etc it's trickier because if they all decide to follow that advice we're fucked. 

[Michael_3165]

29 minutes ago, Dead Mike said:

The problem with the 'if you don't like it then leave' approach is that it's largely fine for non-vital professions like entertainers. When you apply it to jobs like firefighters, nurses, teachers etc it's trickier because if they all decide to follow that advice we're fucked. 

Sadly that is exactly what's happened in the health and education fields over the past 15 years. The NHS has over 100,000 vacancies for key positions because people DID exercise that right. Which is why you have to wait for appointments, why waiting lists are long, why more errors happen because people cut corners due to low staffing etc.. 

But hey, it's a free country I suppose! We need to stop whining and just do the job without question... Just run into those burning buildings to saved people and stop asking for money that meets tht risk... Eh ?

[Michael_3165]

Whilst I agree in principle, they do have a shortage of people good enough to headline major events and actually draw. There's a huge difference between doing the MOVEZ and being a good worker to a high enough degree to be the face of the company. 

I don't think it's a bad thing to expect companies to be moral and ethical but maybe it's naive to expect it. 

[The King Of Swing]

The wrestlers are no longer the draw, the brand is the draw. Or that's probably the theory at least.

[Yakashi]

3 hours ago, The King Of Swing said:

The wrestlers are no longer the draw, the brand is the draw. Or that's probably the theory at least.

That’s only true because there are no stars. If they make a star and allow them to be a star then the star will draw money. They just don’t have any.

[RedRooster]

4 minutes ago, Yakashi said:

That’s only true because they are no stars. If they make a star and allow them to be a star then the star will draw money. They just don’t have any.

I’m not sure I agree with this. WWE’s created an environment where there’s little point having any investment in their storylines. They can be and often are dropped on a whim. Even if they did book someone to go on a massive winning run I’m not sure that’s going to encourage investment in the wider product. They’ve created an environment of apathy. 

While I’m sure there people who watch simply because it’s WWE, people still have their favourites. I care about and keep up with Big E, for example. Daniel Bryan, Sonya Deville, Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch. 

Personally I have no loyalty to the brand, but I do to specific performers. I would speculate that it’s far more performer reliant than Vince himself believes. 

[King Coconut]

1 hour ago, Michael_3165 said:

Sadly that is exactly what's happened in the health and education fields over the past 15 years. The NHS has over 100,000 vacancies for key positions because people DID exercise that right. Which is why you have to wait for appointments, why waiting lists are long, why more errors happen because people cut corners due to low staffing etc.. 

But hey, it's a free country I suppose! We need to stop whining and just do the job without question... Just run into those burning buildings to saved people and stop asking for money that meets tht risk... Eh ?

And because we kicked all the foreigners out. 

[garynysmon]

5 hours ago, scratchdj said:

I believe working for WWE is similar. How many speak of their “childhood dream” when getting contracted? Why should it still be a surprise that actually working as a WWE wrestler is anything other than a shitty existence for the majority of contractors?

I don't think its a massive shock to anyone that the WWE uses its past glories to its advantage, in this regard.  

I find it tiresome beyond belief how everyone signs for WWE and bang on about it being their dream and having been a lifelong wrestling fan. Its reached the stage where I'd find it more admirable if someone entered the business after a failed American Football career and didn't really care about it other than the pay cheque tbh (which launched many a successful career in the 80's and previously),  but it works for them I suppose.

Using the same argument, I wonder how many of its current regular audience still watches the show every week out of nothing more than habit based on previous enjoyment of the product , but couldn't say the same about the present day?

[Vamp]

I'm hoping this is the start of Vince turning into Bill Watts and 'restoring' kayfabe. No social media, no heels and blue eyes travelling together, etc. 

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, Vamp said:

I'm hoping this is the start of Vince turning into Bill Watts and 'restoring' kayfabe. No social media, no heels and blue eyes travelling together, etc. 

No better time to do it than when you've nowhere to travel to. If only there'd been a pandemic in 1987, Sheik and Duggan would've been fine.

[LaGoosh]

5 hours ago, Dead Mike said:

The problem with the 'if you don't like it then leave' approach is that it's largely fine for non-vital professions like entertainers. When you apply it to jobs like firefighters, nurses, teachers etc it's trickier because if they all decide to follow that advice we're fucked. 

And additionally the skills you learn as a firefighter aren't exactly massively useful in other jobs where you aren't fighting fire so there's not really a huge variety of jobs that are looking for those skills. So if you've been a wrestler and nothing else for 15 years, yeah you might have a college degree in your back pocket but it's not like you can switch careers and easily make anywhere near the same pay in another field.

[rollthedice]

Im with Rick in regards to my lack of sympathy. You know what you're signing up for and if you don't then you're an idiot. 

I was thinking though, WWE should essentially just be an agency. Anyone that the outside world wishes to see, can do adverts, films, whatever and Vince takes a fat cut. Anyone who isn't wanted has to wrestle on one of the 5 brands in order to pay for their headshots fronted by Vinny. 

[CavemanLynn]

6 hours ago, RedRooster said:

While I’m sure there people who watch simply because it’s WWE, people still have their favourites. I care about and keep up with Big E, for example. Daniel Bryan, Sonya Deville, Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch. 

Personally I have no loyalty to the brand, but I do to specific performers. I would speculate that it’s far more performer reliant than Vince himself believes. 

Do you like these performers because of what WWE have done with them, or in spite of it?

I know I like particular WWE wrestlers, but mainly after seeing them in behind the scenes vignettes or having followed them since I used to watch NXT. More often than not, I'll complain about the poor angles or crappy promo material they're given, but still want them to succeed because I like what I know if them outside the big shows. That's where the catch 22 arises - to support them properly, you have to buy their merch, which is vetted by and lines the pockets of WWE, the same people I want to protest against for treating my faves badly.

Yes, they're marks and fans, and yes, they 'know what they're getting into' in terms of working for the company hyped by itself as the 'grandest stage of all' where old heroes like Hogan and Austin have worked. But that's no excuse for the company to get away with deliberately misleading contract terminology that gives the workers the absolute worst of all worlds.