Pro Wrestling Contract Season

[SaitoRyo]

7 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

How would Sean Oliver know this?

He's close with Kevin Nash, who is tight with Paul Levesque? He also has relationships with many other people in the business and, well, wrestlers talk.

[wordsfromlee]

To me it sounds like Nash told him off air, then Nash played dumb when Sean Oliver brought up as he knew he’d probably get an ear full if it was found out he’d been gossiping. 

[Devon Malcolm]

Why wouldn't Sami Zayn just go to AEW instead? Most of his mates are over there, he'd get paid loads more and he could go back to being El Generico again. I've always liked him when I've been watching but this is the Triple H Kiss My Ass Club he just joined.

[WyattSheepMask]

He might when TKO inevitably ask him to take a 50% cut to his 50% cut

[Hannibal Scorch]

14 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Why wouldn't Sami Zayn just go to AEW instead? Most of his mates are over there, he'd get paid loads more and he could go back to being El Generico again. I've always liked him when I've been watching but this is the Triple H Kiss My Ass Club he just joined.

He can’t wrestle in Saudi if he goes to AEW and they love him over there.

But in all honesty some people have been there so long you feel indoctrinated. Look at Johnny Gargano. He had a picture of HHH and his son in the top pocket of his tuxedo while Candice had the image printed on the shoes she was wearing to the hall of fame! That’s not normal behaviour. 
 

But outside of that, the fact they can revoke your contract at any time should give them more pause for thought.

[LaGoosh]

14 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Why wouldn't Sami Zayn just go to AEW instead? Most of his mates are over there, he'd get paid loads more and he could go back to being El Generico again. I've always liked him when I've been watching but this is the Triple H Kiss My Ass Club he just joined.

Perhaps he's just comfortable in WWE and likes the perks. Additionally he runs a charity which presumably being part of WWE provides the visibility and platform he needs to get funding for it. He's also probably pretty banged up and not far off from retirement - having to go to AEW and be expected to wrestle regularly at a higher level might feel like too much effort at this point. I'm guessing he's minted and not bothered about money anymore otherwise he wouldn't have taken that pay cut.

Edited July 10 by LaGoosh

[DavidB6937]

11 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Perhaps he's just comfortable in WWE and likes the perks. Additionally he runs a charity which presumably being part of WWE provides the visibility and platform he needs to get funding for it. He's also probably pretty banged up and not far off from retirement - having to go to AEW and be expected to wrestle regularly at a higher level might feel like too much effort at this point. I'm guessing he's minted and not bothered about money anymore otherwise he wouldn't have taken that pay cut.

Exactly - not everyone's motivated by money, and "most of his mates are over there" ignores the fact he's probably pretty close to a lot of people in WWE considering he's been there for 13 years or whatever it is. It's not just the wrestlers he knows well but the backstage crew etc. It must feel like a family to many of them.

Plus yeah I almost see him as an AJ type - knowing that he's at a stage at his career where he doesn't need to go elsewhere and put his body through that.

Who knows. Maybe he'll give it a go elsewhere at some point - I never thought Edge would so I'm always more open to it now - but if he's happy where he is then why not?

Would the same fans who are complaining about his treatment actually want him to jump to AEW and get a title run? Or does it just become the same Sami Hogan problem elsewhere? It's a fickle business.

[LaGoosh]

I don't even know what mates he has in AEW. He worked with the Bucks and Kenny in PWG back in 2012 but I don't get the sense he's close with anyone there in particular. I'm not still mates with anyone I worked with 14 years ago. I imagine the wrestling business isn't much different than anywhere else.

Edited July 10 by LaGoosh

[mim731]

1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

But in all honesty some people have been there so long you feel indoctrinated. Look at Johnny Gargano. He had a picture of HHH and his son in the top pocket of his tuxedo while Candice had the image printed on the shoes she was wearing to the hall of fame! That’s not normal behaviour. 
 

But outside of that, the fact they can revoke your contract at any time should give them more pause for thought.

I do think for a lot of those Black and Gold era NXT guys (with notable exceptions), there's some weird hero worship thing with Triple H, which this is part of. It's odd, but I guess because there was no competition at the time he helped them achieve their dreams etc in some way? 

Also, a lot of wrestlers were WWE fans as kids, and there's still a pull from that I suspect even if AEW is an easier schedule in theory. To many people WWE is wrestling, despite AEW also being massive in the same way WCW was technically the number 1 wrestling company at one point, but to the man on the street it would still have been "that WWF wrestling". There's a pull of working for the biggest company in the industry and that brand name recognition for better or for worse (definitely worse).

 

[RedTwoster]

46 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

Exactly - not everyone's motivated by money, and "most of his mates are over there" ignores the fact he's probably pretty close to a lot of people in WWE considering he's been there for 13 years or whatever it is. It's not just the wrestlers he knows well but the backstage crew etc. It must feel like a family to many of them.

He’s clearly incredibly close with Becky Lynch as well as Kevin Owen’s, and I’m sure there will be others. It’s the people that you miss when you leave a workplace more than the job, and given how much time he’ll have spent with these people over the last few years, I totally understand why he’d find it hard to go. I do feel sorry for him though, it can’t feel good to be put in that position and I suspect he was asked precisely because they thought he might accept.

[Chili]

He's clearly a lovely bloke but he's a fucking sap for taking the pay cut. It's not like all his friends would disappear or he'd be grounded or persona non grata, and if he doesn't have much of a life away with other actual friends that's his issue (suppose it's better than selfies with a nonce).

I absolutely love his work but he sounds like a gullible, easily manipulated fella with no idea he's in some weird cult.

Johnny Gargano is going to need years of work to deprogram him when he and his wife accept cuts and gets sacked when that day comes. Hunter could probably Manchurian candidate him eventually.

Edited July 10 by Chili

[Cod Eye]

I keep seeing "easier schedule" mentioned. I don't keep up with WWE anymore(or as much as I used to , anyway), but is that a thing anymore? How many of what used be called House Shows do they do these days? Thats a genuine question, by the way, as while I have no idea I'm sure it's a now a long way from the infamous "Killer Kalander" days where hey were worked into the ground. Is AEW that much an easier schedule these days? Even doing a Cody Rhodes or Matt Cardona and rinsing the indie circuit, I'd think you'd be working more often than not to make the same amount of money you would wrestling for modern day WWE(although I suppose the potential for making cash from merch offsets it a bit).

[LaGoosh]

I would imagine WWE is an easier schedule these days than AEW. No house shows. Most guys don't seem to wrestle every week (my impression is the top guys barely wrestle?), the matches are shorter and the ring style is generally slower and lighter than AEW.

Edited July 10 by LaGoosh

[RedTwoster]

2 hours ago, Chili said:

He's clearly a lovely bloke but he's a fucking sap for taking the pay cut. It's not like all his friends would disappear or he'd be grounded or persona non grata, and if he doesn't have much of a life away with other actual friends that's his issue (suppose it's better than selfies with a nonce).

I absolutely love his work but he sounds like a gullible, easily manipulated fella with no idea he's in some weird cult.

I don’t think that’s completely fair on him. Could it not be that he’s happy with the job and isn’t money-motivated? It’s not like he’s earning pittance, and ultimately depending on how you spend your money, if you’re living comfortably either way what difference does it make? He’s still going to be earning a lot.

I don’t think it’s necessarily culty, or even a sign of manipulation - I think it’s shitty behaviour from TKO, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think it’s indicative of him being ‘indoctrinated’.

[Chili]

5 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I don’t think that’s completely fair on him. Could it not be that he’s happy with the job and isn’t money-motivated? It’s not like he’s earning pittance, and ultimately depending on how you spend your money, if you’re living comfortably either way what difference does it make? He’s still going to be earning a lot.

I don’t think it’s necessarily culty, or even a sign of manipulation - I think it’s shitty behaviour from TKO, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think it’s indicative of him being ‘indoctrinated’.

I mean I'm exaggerating in that post to take the piss a bit, but whatever excuse, taking a pay cut when they're making so much sets a precedent that you can be properly fucked with regardless if he's money motivated or not. Earning a lot or not, accepting a 50% pay cut is not taking one for the team.