-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Wrasslin' Thread 20XX |OT| New Age WrestleGAF
- Thread starter Bullet Club
- Start date
- Sports
NickFire
Member
WWE might be killing itself by a thousand cuts with how they treat their talent. I don't know enough about the finances associated with AEW & social media income v. WWE income, but based on anecdotal stories about social media starts earnings, I won't be surprised if talent starts making more money by leaving WWE. Or at least close enough to make the loss from leaving worthwhile after factoring in quality of life.
Dthomp
Member
I'm fairly certain that most of the talent could make more via social media stuff then their WWE contracts when you figure in they have to pay for their own travel, lodging, etc. I thought I heard AEW covers all of those expenses cause they treat the talent like their football team and not trash. Like probably the top 15-20% of WWE guys make solid money, but the Zelinas and Paiges of the world? They could make way more through Twitch/Patreon. I mean look at some of those twitch thoughts who don't have personalities raking in 50-100k a month not even gaming, and then realize that these WWE women can actually talk and fans want to interact with these people. I hope Zelina does great, and I expect her to turn up in AEW or Impact, I think AEW scooping her up just for the promotion of AEW Games would be fantastic.
AJUMP23
Parody of actual AJUMP23
I think my biggest issue with the WWE and how they treat their talent, is they want to control them like employees but provide benefits like they are contractors. If I was a top talent and making good money off the social media stuff I would tell Vince that I need to renegotiate the contract then. The New Day should demand more compensation and expect it, becaseu they are top talent in the company.
I would also rather see AEW pick up new talent and not just people from WWE, Rusev being the latest acquisition. I have enjoyed them fining talent that I don't know much more than bringing over FTR....who I have not liked in either organization.
I would also rather see AEW pick up new talent and not just people from WWE, Rusev being the latest acquisition. I have enjoyed them fining talent that I don't know much more than bringing over FTR....who I have not liked in either organization.
NickFire
Member
It certainly does look and feel that way. And I find it rather incredible that they haven't been court ordered to treat them like employees. Maybe there's exceptions for artists / performers.
DKehoe
Gold Member
There’s not been a proper challenge to it for a few reasons. The biggest is that anyone who does it would be blacklisted from WWE and can say goodbye to any future opportunities with them. In the past so many people who had been let go from WWE basically just sat around waiting for WWE to call them up again, sure that they were going to get one last run or at least knowing it was their only shot at getting a big payday again. Even the guys who went to TNA seemed to still have a WWE return in mind. So then you end up with a situation like the previous lawsuit about this which was on behalf of guys like Raven and Buff Bagwell, where their time had obviously passed but by the time they were willing to take action on the classification the statute of limitations had passed and the lawsuit was thrown out. Now that wrestlers have more options outside of WWE, and you can make a decent career without it we might see more people willing to do something.
Another factor is that politicians just didn’t care about it. In the grand scheme of things it only affects a pretty small number of people. Also wrestling is something most people think is ridiculous, so you aren’t going to score yourself any political points by going after WWE. For as much as WWE desperately wants to position themselves as mainstream, they get away with a lot of shit because not many people care what they do. Andrew Yang seems to be a fan so he has a personal interest in it.
cryptoadam
Banned
Well OTOH if Zelina never was in WWE how many people would go on her twitch/IG. Then she would just be competing with all the thots out there. And I think Zelina is cute and all but the thot game is tough, much tougher than WWE. If she had no platform to promote herself and just posted sexy bikini pics how is that going to catch the attention of the other 1000's of girls doing the exact same thing, many with huge boobies or being asian?
Its a catch 22 because most of them can make money of twitch/pateron because of the game they built of beeing in the WWE. Which is where the rub is. I am not condoning what Vince is doing its dirty, but as a publically traded company you have to understand why they are doing it.
The need for growth and profits will never go away, and the money that the wrestlers are making off the WWE's IP is money the share holders are losing. When you can't make more money from TV, from house shows, and from Saudi's, you turn over every stone. Add in a pandemic which has killed live gates, WWE's options to keep profits growing are limited. There are only so many job cuts they can make.
As well OTOH with all the crazy stuff going on on social media, the recent #speakout movement I can see why WWE wants to control the social media of anyone using WWE IP. If Braun Strowman in character tweets I LOVE TRUMP REPUBLICANS RULE DONT WEAR A MASK that could bring down a shit storm on WWE. In all seriousness if a WWE guy is tweeting and then gets accused of rape on their WWE named account again, bad look for WWE.
So ya its scummy, but its what publically traded companies do. And AEW are acting like the good guys now, but at some point when the outrage dies down they will follow in the WWE's foot steps to maximize profits as well.
Dthomp
Member
And this would all be a different story if they weren't independent contractors. Yes they gain a platform to make a name for themselves, but they are the performer doing the work and if fans follow them after that work day is done, it's no different then any other sport. You don't see the Celtics trying to garnish Gordon Haywards Twitch wages, or any other star. Vince is a greedy fuck, that doesn't care about his performers outside of the top of the top guys.
Someone like Zelina was never going to be given the rub to become a real earner there, which in itself is another issue. Look at Ryder when he was hot, dude could have been pushed to the moon and sold tons more merch, but the machine didn't like him.
At the end of the day, no matter profession, they don't own you when you go home. NOW, if they want to rework everybody on the rosters contract and specifically say they are not allowed to use Twitch/Patreon whatever then I could live with this, but this is them targeting lesser paid people that are easy targets and trying to take their income. Where is the corporate takeover or firing of Xavier Woods/Kofi? They use the same platforms and Vega. Just don't think there is a place to add something like this on an existing contract (Not that their contracts aren't basically made of toilet paper), give your talent the option to renegotiate this stuff or walk if they are like Vega who makes more from that then the WWE downside
Someone like Zelina was never going to be given the rub to become a real earner there, which in itself is another issue. Look at Ryder when he was hot, dude could have been pushed to the moon and sold tons more merch, but the machine didn't like him.
At the end of the day, no matter profession, they don't own you when you go home. NOW, if they want to rework everybody on the rosters contract and specifically say they are not allowed to use Twitch/Patreon whatever then I could live with this, but this is them targeting lesser paid people that are easy targets and trying to take their income. Where is the corporate takeover or firing of Xavier Woods/Kofi? They use the same platforms and Vega. Just don't think there is a place to add something like this on an existing contract (Not that their contracts aren't basically made of toilet paper), give your talent the option to renegotiate this stuff or walk if they are like Vega who makes more from that then the WWE downside
DKehoe
Gold Member
They announced record profits in their last earnings report.
azz0r
Banned
Fedsim version 9 has gone live with some cool changes: https://www.fedsim.io/
GM Mode
Plan the months worth of shows, move back and forward in the calendar and look at your federations history, drag and drop championships, wrestlers and ppvs onto the calendar to give it character
Tutorials
Tutorials on every important page to point out all the features available to you
Manage area
See overviews of wrestlers matches, championships reigns, brand etc. You can manually updated brands, wrestlers, ppvs, championships, reigns, ppvs, and more, its all customisable
New league and draft page
Add and remove championships contenders and easily move wrestlers from one brand to another
New Rumble Rumbles are now stored and play through in a rule based system with eliminations happening based on weighing wrestlers points
Simulate
Simulate page improvements for performance, watch as random wrestlers get a push
GM Mode
Plan the months worth of shows, move back and forward in the calendar and look at your federations history, drag and drop championships, wrestlers and ppvs onto the calendar to give it character
Tutorials
Tutorials on every important page to point out all the features available to you
Manage area
See overviews of wrestlers matches, championships reigns, brand etc. You can manually updated brands, wrestlers, ppvs, championships, reigns, ppvs, and more, its all customisable
New league and draft page
Add and remove championships contenders and easily move wrestlers from one brand to another
New Rumble Rumbles are now stored and play through in a rule based system with eliminations happening based on weighing wrestlers points
Simulate
Simulate page improvements for performance, watch as random wrestlers get a push
cryptoadam
Banned
Classicrockfan
Banned
Poor Drew Mcinfart.
Bullet Club
Banned
I saw that trending on Twitter before which seemed a bit weird, so checked it out.
Alrighty then.
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
Vince must have gotten off the juice. Doctor probably told him he can't do that shit anymore lol.
ManaByte
Member
Last edited:
Dthomp
Member
Sheamus does not get the credit he deserves. I've always been a fan, but like most foreign guys they just get treated like evil foreigner for most of their careers. Him firing truths while just shoot fighting with Riddle is more fun then it should be
Bullet Club
Banned
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
Report: IMPACT Wrestling Agent Bob Ryder Found Dead In His Home
Ryder was a longtime agent for IMPACT Wrestling who continued his duties working for the company from home. According to a tweet from Dave Meltzer, police found him in his home today. According to a report, he was last in contact with IMPACT last night.
www.mandatory.com
Oh, man. I remember listening to him all the time on WCW live. One of the pioneers of wrestling coverage on the internet and podcasts in general if you think about it. I'm also pretty sure he's the only guy who still worked for Impact since its founding. RIP.
Bullet Club
Banned
Last edited:
Bullet Club
Banned
GardenOfAbbylon
Member
So, I finally got to watch the new episode of Dynamite yesterday. Fun show but you know what stuck out the most to me? After the SCU/Inner Circle match, Inner Circle had a backstage segment. Part of the way through Jericho talking, I looked behind him and noticed Jake Hager just standing facing the camera, head turned to the side, and (what I thought was) starting off into the distance. I chuckled. I got even more amused when the camera zoomed back slowly, and it was revealed that Hager was staring at Wardlow, who was staring at him. I don't think either blinked much (if at all) the whole time. No one acknowledged it though. No other Inner Circle members, not even the announcers. I know they're planting the seeds for an eventual blowout between them but the fact that it was such a background detail and ignored by everyone just killed me.
Bullet Club
Banned
We're back on Tuesday nights! #NWAShockwave, our new limited series, presents NWA matches produced in conjunction with the United Wrestling Network. Matches never before seen on YouTube!
Tonight:
Eli Drake vs Jordan Cruz
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis vs Mike Bennett
https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/1333833364214853636
Bullet Club
Banned
RIP Pat
BertleTheTurtle
Member
Stings theme fucking slaps.
Bullet Club
Banned
Dthomp
Member
AND NEW!!!!! AEW Champ, KENNY OMEGA!.
Tune into Impact Wrestling to find out why LOL. Love it.
-I hope people keep expectations for Sting extremely low, the dude is 61 and almost died in the ring a few years back. Cody needs to fuck off with reliving his WCW Fantasy Booking glory days.
Tune into Impact Wrestling to find out why LOL. Love it.
-I hope people keep expectations for Sting extremely low, the dude is 61 and almost died in the ring a few years back. Cody needs to fuck off with reliving his WCW Fantasy Booking glory days.
Last edited:
brap
Banned
AEW really is TNA
Bullet Club
Banned
They'd only be TNA if they bring Orlando Jordan & Val Venis in.
Having Tony & JR calling it made it pretty awesome.
Bullet Club
Banned
cryptoadam
Banned
Sting is ok but dudes old. I hope he isn't going to do any actual wrestling. Teaming him with Darby in some sort of mentor role and give him a rub could work. But we don't need to see him in the ring.
Why IMPACT, thats like the kiss of death. Whats the advantage of going to one of the lowest rated wrestling shows around from one of the higher ones? Does anyone really care to see some sort of IMPACT invasion storyline? Unless this winds up with NJPW not a good move.
Could we see Sammy's face turn next week? Maybe IC turns on him and kicks him out. They have been in a way letting him act kind of babyface lately.
At least the Mox era is over. I see him taking some time off from AEW probably working some NJPW dates and dropping his belt eventually. He should form a WWE stable and grab guys like Miro and Lee and a couple of rejects and fight the IMPACT guys Kenny will team up with LOL.
Why IMPACT, thats like the kiss of death. Whats the advantage of going to one of the lowest rated wrestling shows around from one of the higher ones? Does anyone really care to see some sort of IMPACT invasion storyline? Unless this winds up with NJPW not a good move.
Could we see Sammy's face turn next week? Maybe IC turns on him and kicks him out. They have been in a way letting him act kind of babyface lately.
At least the Mox era is over. I see him taking some time off from AEW probably working some NJPW dates and dropping his belt eventually. He should form a WWE stable and grab guys like Miro and Lee and a couple of rejects and fight the IMPACT guys Kenny will team up with LOL.
Bullet Club
Banned
Giving Impact a bit of a boost is a good thing. Get a few more people watching it. Not really interested in an invasion angle though.
cryptoadam
Banned
Only good thing that might come out of this is Kenny with Gallows and Anderson again, BC reunited. Unless IMPACT have them "turn" on Kenny.
Just odd that they would lower themselves to IMPACT. Nothing good really ever comes out of the TNA stink but we will see what AEW can do with it.
I am rethinking a bit and maybe Jerhico turns face next week? What if MJF gets the rest of the IC to turn on Chris and we could get the MJF/Jerhico feud instead of MJF/Sammy.
Not sure who could be next for Omega but I guess we have to get a Mox rematch since the way he lost was a bit screwy or at least thats how they are playing it up.
Just odd that they would lower themselves to IMPACT. Nothing good really ever comes out of the TNA stink but we will see what AEW can do with it.
I am rethinking a bit and maybe Jerhico turns face next week? What if MJF gets the rest of the IC to turn on Chris and we could get the MJF/Jerhico feud instead of MJF/Sammy.
Not sure who could be next for Omega but I guess we have to get a Mox rematch since the way he lost was a bit screwy or at least thats how they are playing it up.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
Wow without roids look at Randy and his voice
GeorgPrime
Banned
Sting was great 
and i expected Omega to become Champion. They are building something up there.
Vince McMahon will now tell you "Who is Sting? I dont know such a old useless wrestler"
and i expected Omega to become Champion. They are building something up there.Vince McMahon will now tell you "Who is Sting? I dont know such a old useless wrestler"
Last edited:
NickFire
Member
I haven't watched last night yet. Will tonight, but have read spoilers.
WTF is AEW doing? They crowned a new champ on TV, which I think was a really good and smart move. But why would they bring Sting in for that particular show? I thought he was great in the 90's, think he could still have a place with a limited role, and think bringing him in is a positive thing. I just can't fathom why they wouldn't save that for a show when the top title does not change hands.
And cross promotion stuff with Impact? Are they kidding now? Did they buy it for some reason? Why would they cross promote their rising star of a show with that albatross. No offense to anyone who loves Impact, but if impact was not a train wreck there would be no such thing as AEW.
WTF is AEW doing? They crowned a new champ on TV, which I think was a really good and smart move. But why would they bring Sting in for that particular show? I thought he was great in the 90's, think he could still have a place with a limited role, and think bringing him in is a positive thing. I just can't fathom why they wouldn't save that for a show when the top title does not change hands.
And cross promotion stuff with Impact? Are they kidding now? Did they buy it for some reason? Why would they cross promote their rising star of a show with that albatross. No offense to anyone who loves Impact, but if impact was not a train wreck there would be no such thing as AEW.
Nikana
Go Go Neo Rangers!
The TNA stuff is more interesting than Sting in terms of the wrestling world imo.
It doesn't really matter when you bring in Sting imo. Its clear they are trying to push the Sting has returned on TNT angle, which honestly I dont think matters. Could they have saved it for a different show? For sure, but I am not sure if it really matters.
But the TNA stuff is indeed weird. Seems very random and out of nowhere. I dont think its a merger but its clear they want to do inter-promotional stuff which I feel like just never works out for most people involved.
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
Nice to see other people talking about impact besides me. Even if in a negative fashion lol. It makes sense to me. Impact is the only na based promotion with any sort of worthwhile roster besides the e of course. Their women's division alone is far superior to aews. I wouldn't be suprised to see impact folded into aew someday. They have an extremely valuable tape library.
Nikana
Go Go Neo Rangers!
I was an avid TNA guy during their height(went to a few lockdowns and Bound for Glory PPVS) but they lost me when they lost a ton of people, wrestlers and fans, and I just have never gone back. I have to say I dont even know how to watch their content at this point.
Last edited:
Bullet Club
Banned
Bullet Club
Banned
cryptoadam
Banned
Sting is cool it was only a matter of time. Angle probably shows up at some point.
IMPACT? Well they cant all be winners.
I was thinking ROH but its fallen too.
All though if Tony bought TNA and ROH that would be interesting.
IMPACT? Well they cant all be winners.
I was thinking ROH but its fallen too.
All though if Tony bought TNA and ROH that would be interesting.
Dthomp
Member
I actually like the Impact crossover for the time being. This lets Kenny move further into the heel character and lets Don build himself up as an evil mastermind, I'm sure this leads to more stuff on the Impact side. Kenny showing up and hanging with Gallows and Anderson will be neat. Mox being a face that was playing a tweener just beat everybody on the AEW roster, and due to the one sided booking the champs all have there, there really isn't a contender to challenge Kenny outside of the inevitable rematch with Moxley at Revolution.
It's too soon for Page to be a real main event guy, Cody is midcard trash, and they have failed to really make any of the WWE guys they brought in believable. If a Kenny turn was the plan, Miro could have been built up like a mega Superstar babyface instead of boring heel hanging out with nerds.
Kenny will challenge dudes below him and make short work of them while becoming more and more hated, I like it. It's 100x better then the weekly Mox coming through the concessions Shield entrance to cut the same boring "I"m a great Pro Wrestler" Promo that he keeps cutting, even though he's below average at best in the ring....and honestly just overall overrated to me. There is a reason he was the least used Shield guy.
Seth reinvented himself a few times since then and manages to stay over. Roman is the biggest heel they've had in years (Proper heel, not Xpac Heat heel like Corbin). What has Dean done? Changed his name and is still the same boring character except with thumbtacks.
Just dug through Impacts roster, there is no way this is anything other then Kenny beating up some goobers over there while Don sings the praises, and like the NWA deal I think we see some tag teams and women come over and wrestle on the AEW show. Good Brothers or MCMGs vs. Bucks? Any of the women would be an upgrade over every woman on teh AEW roster outside of Shida.
It's too soon for Page to be a real main event guy, Cody is midcard trash, and they have failed to really make any of the WWE guys they brought in believable. If a Kenny turn was the plan, Miro could have been built up like a mega Superstar babyface instead of boring heel hanging out with nerds.
Kenny will challenge dudes below him and make short work of them while becoming more and more hated, I like it. It's 100x better then the weekly Mox coming through the concessions Shield entrance to cut the same boring "I"m a great Pro Wrestler" Promo that he keeps cutting, even though he's below average at best in the ring....and honestly just overall overrated to me. There is a reason he was the least used Shield guy.
Seth reinvented himself a few times since then and manages to stay over. Roman is the biggest heel they've had in years (Proper heel, not Xpac Heat heel like Corbin). What has Dean done? Changed his name and is still the same boring character except with thumbtacks.
Just dug through Impacts roster, there is no way this is anything other then Kenny beating up some goobers over there while Don sings the praises, and like the NWA deal I think we see some tag teams and women come over and wrestle on the AEW show. Good Brothers or MCMGs vs. Bucks? Any of the women would be an upgrade over every woman on teh AEW roster outside of Shida.
Dthomp
Member
I'd be interested in a NJPW partnership, but mainly so Kenny can return to the GOAT theme Devil's Sky. Actually I like alot of their roster, but man digging through the roster pages of ROH and Impact....I'm not sure more then a couple would even be worth being on AEW Dark, let alone Dynamite.
cryptoadam
Banned
Really only interesting name is Anderson and Gallows and thats because of the Bullet Club association.
IMPACT just has negative value at this point. And there show is sad. Its worse than no crowd NXT.
Kenny appearing there just makes AEW look low rent. Imagine your champ wins the title and his first appearance is on a no name channel for a company with no viewers in a cheap dinky no crowd show.
Not sure why anyone is cool with this. Its like going from a super hottie to Elliot Page and acting like its some huge step up.
IMPACT just has negative value at this point. And there show is sad. Its worse than no crowd NXT.
Kenny appearing there just makes AEW look low rent. Imagine your champ wins the title and his first appearance is on a no name channel for a company with no viewers in a cheap dinky no crowd show.
Not sure why anyone is cool with this. Its like going from a super hottie to Elliot Page and acting like its some huge step up.
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
I'd be curious to know if you've actually watched the program in years. Their women's division alone is superior to AEWS. Do you deny this? Swann, Gallows, Anderson, Eddie Edwards, Chris Bey, Callihan, Willie Mack, Moose, Motor City Machineguns, Eric Young, The North. On top of the aforementioned superior women's division. Not sure how all that could do nothing for you.