Jump to content
DVDVR Message Board

WWE COVID-19 RELEASE MEGATHREAD


Recommended Posts

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2020 at 5:40 PM, The Natural said:

I'm thinking it's the post TLC 2011 RAW.

EVvNBL2X0AIp9zC.jpg:small

Daniel Bryan, World Heavyweight Champion.

Zack Ryder, United States Champion.

CM Punk, WWE Champion.

Edited by The Natural
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

WWE has replied to this story, denying the claims.

WWE Denies Public 'Employee' Complaint That They Are Being Forced To Work During Pandemic

Come on now.  Vince can't even complete the sentence "sports entertainers are completely safe and are welcome to go to HR with any issues without fear of reprisal" without laughing uncontrollably.

Meltzer had a great point a week ago when discussing how WWE and AEW both told wrestlers they were free to stay home, and how absolutely mind boggling it was that, after both companies made that edict,  AEW is working with a skeleton crew while WWE still has a mostly full roster.  So weird, that.  No idea what could cause that, really.

Edited by Technico Support
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Technico Support said:

Meltzer had a great point a week ago when discussing how WWE and AEW both told wrestlers they were free to stay home, and how absolutely mind boggling it was that, after both companies made that edict,  AEW is working with a skeleton crew while WWE still has a mostly full roster.  So weird, that.  No idea what could cause that, really.

WWE has access to to about 300+ wrestlers. Its not shocking at all that there are enough will to take the risk. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/21/2020 at 11:55 AM, Craig H said:

lol those bowling balls haven't been cleaned since HW Bush's administration.

And this is why I won't use a house ball and if I do my fingers aren't going near the holes. Think of everything people stick their fingers into, how little they wash their hands, and think about how many people tear up their thumbs with blisters while bowling. Now think of the finger holes in bowling balls being crusted up with decades of blood, skin, and who knows what else.

Fucking. Gross.

I want to go bowling now only so I can drop the phrase “using house balls” over and over.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Technico Support said:

Come on now.  Vince can't even complete the sentence "sports entertainers are completely safe and are welcome to go to HR with any issues without fear of reprisal" without laughing uncontrollably.

Meltzer had a great point a week ago when discussing how WWE and AEW both told wrestlers they were free to stay home, and how absolutely mind boggling it was that, after both companies made that edict,  AEW is working with a skeleton crew while WWE still has a mostly full roster.  So weird, that.  No idea what could cause that, really.

This reminds me of the scene in every James Bond movie where the head of the evil people group is like “anyone who disagrees with this plan feel free to speak up now” and then that person is eaten by an octopus.

  • Like 4
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Eivion said:

WWE has access to to about 300+ wrestlers. Its not shocking at all that there are enough will to take the risk. 

I think you may have missed the point?

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Eivion said:

WWE has access to to about 300+ wrestlers. Its not shocking at all that there are enough will to take the risk. 

I had to hire a couple people this week.  It wasn't hard.  With unemployment jumping to 15% in a matter of weeks and a lot of jobs hanging on by a thread, many people are more willing to work than you'd expect.  I expect that trend to continue as this drags in to May and June.

What are wrestlers making anyways?  Their downside guarantee?  No house shows to work and no merch sales, so I figure most of them aren't making the money they're used to.

Also, who isn't working.  Roman and Kevin Owens, right?  Kyle O'Reilly and Carmella are rumored to have immune deficiencies?  Who else is conspicuously absent?

(FYI: I haven't been watching the shows since they started the empty arena broadcasts.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Tarheel Moneghetti said:

I had to hire a couple people this week.  It wasn't hard.  With unemployment jumping to 15% in a matter of weeks and a lot of jobs hanging on by a thread, many people are more willing to work than you'd expect.  I expect that trend to continue as this drags in to May and June.

What are wrestlers making anyways?  Their downside guarantee?  No house shows to work and no merch sales, so I figure most of them aren't making the money they're used to.

Also, who isn't working.  Roman and Kevin Owens, right?  Kyle O'Reilly and Carmella are rumored to have immune deficiencies?  Who else is conspicuously absent?

(FYI: I haven't been watching the shows since they started the empty arena broadcasts.)

Carmella is back now so the only ones that are missing (that I know of at least) are Reigns, and the two KO’s you listed. There could be more, but I’ve not noticed them. 

Actually come to think of it Adam Cole hasn’t been “live” on NXT since this started either. He’s had pre-taped videos almost every week from someplace he’s supposedly vacationing at, but he’s not been at the PC. 

As far as money goes I think they’re still making a little off of merch as WWE shop has been running fairly constant sales, but nothing like they’d normally make. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wrestlers are people.  People need to make income.  People generally can be wasteful with money and run short and don't have something to cover their asses if a disruption happens no matter what they make.  I have not missed a day of work since this started since we are considered an essential service and were told we could take an unpaid leave of absence or a furlough and try to apply for EI or the CERB the government is offering.  1 person took it because they have child care to worry about.  The rest of us are washing our hands like mental patients, have people taking tempratures doing what we can to be safe and working because we want income.  Wrestlers are no different.  Highly unlikely anyone is being forced to work now.  Thing is most are probably scared too because they fear a lack of push after or being a victim of out of sight out of mind

Edited by Serious Darius Bagfelt
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Serious Darius Bagfelt said:

Highly unlikely anyone is being forced to work now.  Thing is most are probably scared too because they fear a lack of push after or being a victim of out of sight out of mind

So if they don't wan't their push to go away they sort of have to work?  Like, they are being sort of forced? I mean, no one has a gun to their head and is  marching them to the performance center. I guess it depends on what "forced" means in this context.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/18/2020 at 12:21 PM, AxB said:

See, his last WWE gimmick was that he wanted to be the Wrestling Genius and he was refusing to use any strikes in his matches. At all. So it was completely hold-counterhold, in seven minute WWE TV matches. Not the place to do that, and not enough time to do it right.

Admittedly, I'm far from caught up on NXT UK (and have zero intention to be), but that wasn't my understanding of the gimmick. Wasn't it more he'd go down that road as long as he could until he looked foolish, and then he'd take some cheap strikes as a shortcut and push his weight around like a hypocrite and a bully? Which I think works better as a gimmick, even in a short TV match. 

On 4/18/2020 at 11:42 AM, AxB said:

The only recent matches I saw Ohno in were on NXT UK television. He seemed passionless, and not quite able to take himself seriously. But that's the nature of NXT UK tv matches.

I disagree with him seeming passionless. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't, but that wasn't my read. Then again, it's hard for much to pop on that TV show. 

Regardless, Hero will be an asset wherever he chooses to apply his talents and I look forward to seeing where he lands. 

Edited by West Newbury Bad Boy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, joseph2112 said:

So if they don't wan't their push to go away they sort of have to work?  Like, they are being sort of forced? I mean, no one has a gun to their head and is  marching them to the performance center. I guess it depends on what "forced" means in this context.

Different than any job in what way?  I now report to a guy with 5 years less senority, not a better work or attendance record than me, less education than me but he is a smoker like the top manager and they hung out everyday on the smoking deck.  When the requirement came up for someone to oversee our shift came up who was asked?  I'm not saying this will kill anyones push.  I am explaining a potential mindset a segment of the talent may have right now.  A bit of I am doing this now to help you so don't forget who bailed you out when times are better.  Besides no one likes sitting around the house.  The talent wants to do what they do because it is what drives them.  

Edited by Serious Darius Bagfelt
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Serious Darius Bagfelt said:

Different than any job in what way?  I now report to a guy with 5 years less senority, not a better work or attendance record than me, less education than me but he is a smoker like the top manager and they hung out everyday on the smoking deck.  When the requirement came up for someone to oversee our shift came up who was asked?  I'm not saying this will kill anyones push.  I am explaining a potential mindset a segment of the talent may have right now.  A bit of I am doing this now to help you so don't forget who bailed you out when times are better

Completely different than any of that. A situation that you work in a company with a well known history of putting "the brand" first, and you do anything to support the brand because that's what you do. and if you get sick or sneeze, much less ask for time off, your weak. You completely understand that if you "ask" for time off, you might very well might get sent packing. You are being forced to come to work, because of you don't, you understand through the history of the leadership of your company it's a bad thing.

None of this is a reach, in any way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Eivion said:

WWE has access to to about 300+ wrestlers. Its not shocking at all that there are enough will to take the risk. 

This. They’re not working a skeleton crew, but they’re relying heavily on guys like Austin Theory and Angel Garza and squash matches with people who don’t even make NXT tv, and Raw featured like five womens matches.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, joseph2112 said:

Completely different than any of that. A situation that you work in a company with a well known history of putting "the brand" first, and you do anything to support the brand because that's what you do. and if you get sick or sneeze, much less ask for time off, your weak. You completely understand that if you "ask" for time off, you might very well might get sent packing. You are being forced to come to work, because of you don't, you understand through the history of the leadership of your company it's a bad thing.

None of this is a reach, in any way.

Maybe you are lucky, but I have learnt that a lot of businesses handle it like you described. 

My company has given possibilities to stay at home (home Office, paid/unpaid Vacation, taking accumulated extra hours etc), yet it is frowned upon by every superior. You won't get fired because of it (neither did Reigns and Owens until now), but it seems to Impact future evaluations and the like. 

It should be noted that is happening in Germany (pretty decent labour laws), with all of our department being employees and with permanent contracts. Our head of department literally said we'll keep the Office open until someone with authority closes us down, using the chance to downplay the whole pandemic and indirectly badmouthing those who stay at home. 

Btw, we call our company "family" aswell, albeit we aren't about putting smiles on people's faces, but about keeping people secure. I should add that we are by no means an essential business. 

Our company has around 280 people, around 100 I'd guess showing up (on their own account, partly being happy to have the chance to leave the house, partly afraid for possible backlash). WWE has a huge, bloated roster, it is entirely possible for contractors to be willing and happy to go to work despite the pandemic, while some might actually fear for their jobs aswell. 

I guess my point is that it is shitty what happens in WWE, but in relation, the same does happen to a lot of contracted workforce, even around the globe. 

Also, so far nobody got released from WWE because they refused to show up. What I found way more scary is that I remember some of the people who got released signing five year deals of 500 000 Dollars or sth and get released a year later. Someone call Big Show's agent... (... it was him with that on-air "iron-clad" contract a few years back, right?) 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Serious Darius Bagfelt said:

  The talent wants to do what they do because it is what drives them.  

So....AEW talent are not as driven?  No.  The issue is that talent with both companies understand exactly who they work for.  I don't know why this is hard to grasp for some.

My hope is that, between the absolutely heartless, unnecessary layoffs, and the de facto forced work, that many WWE workers finally see this company for what it is around contract renewal time.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

See this Drake Maverick push they're doing now? How is the WWE having the audacity to try to have the company be a babyface in all of this? Think of the Stone Cold push. A lot of why the audience sympathy he had came from blue collar fans identifying with him, because WCW fired him over the phone. That really resonated with a lot of people, the fact that he was angry all the time and didn't trust anyone, the people understood. It helped babyface the WWF and heel WCW during the Monday Night Wars. And also helped get Vince over as a heel with his whole evil boss (not) gimmick.

So now Spud gets fired, not even over the phone, but by text message. Model employee, did everything they ever asked him to a standard higher than they would have expected. Clearly didn't deserve to lose his job, yeah? But he's fired anyway. But they keep him on TV after firing him, and Jake Atlas beat him clean in the middle and is giving him a post match pep talk about believing in yourself and chasing your dreams ON WWE'S OFFICIAL SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS! Do they not see the fucking contradiction here? I can't be the only one who thinks this whole thing seems like an Am I The Asshole post from an undiagnosed sociopath, can I?

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Technico Support said:

So....AEW talent are not as driven?  No.  The issue is that talent with both companies understand exactly who they work for.  I don't know why this is hard to grasp for some.

My hope is that, between the absolutely heartless, unnecessary layoffs, and the de facto forced work, that many WWE workers finally see this company for what it is around contract renewal time.

 

6 hours ago, AxB said:

See this Drake Maverick push they're doing now? How is the WWE having the audacity to try to have the company be a babyface in all of this? Think of the Stone Cold push. A lot of why the audience sympathy he had came from blue collar fans identifying with him, because WCW fired him over the phone. That really resonated with a lot of people, the fact that he was angry all the time and didn't trust anyone, the people understood. It helped babyface the WWF and heel WCW during the Monday Night Wars. And also helped get Vince over as a heel with his whole evil boss (not) gimmick.

So now Spud gets fired, not even over the phone, but by text message. Model employee, did everything they ever asked him to a standard higher than they would have expected. Clearly didn't deserve to lose his job, yeah? But he's fired anyway. But they keep him on TV after firing him, and Jake Atlas beat him clean in the middle and is giving him a post match pep talk about believing in yourself and chasing your dreams ON WWE'S OFFICIAL SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS! Do they not see the fucking contradiction here? I can't be the only one who thinks this whole thing seems like an Am I The Asshole post from an undiagnosed sociopath, can I?

Well, and to add to all of this, WWE posted a big profit. Cool company.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Serious Darius Bagfelt said:

Different than any job in what way?  I now report to a guy with 5 years less senority, not a better work or attendance record than me, less education than me but he is a smoker like the top manager and they hung out everyday on the smoking deck.  When the requirement came up for someone to oversee our shift came up who was asked?  I'm not saying this will kill anyones push.  I am explaining a potential mindset a segment of the talent may have right now.  A bit of I am doing this now to help you so don't forget who bailed you out when times are better.  Besides no one likes sitting around the house.  The talent wants to do what they do because it is what drives them. 

I do think this is an under-discussed aspect of this whole thing.  Athletes are a bit of a different breed when it comes to things.  Me?  I adore sitting around the house doing nothing.  But when you're an athlete (And I'm talking about like 95% of them, there are always some outliers), being stuck in your house is something akin to torture.  If AEW said tomorrow: "You can come back to work, there will be no fines or persecution. we have goverment-approval, we'll try to social-distance etc.etc." I'd wager just about everyone would be back to work right away.  Like, when it comes to the NHL, Sweden hasn't imposed much (any) restrictions/lockdowns so a bunch of NHL players are skating in public arenas, despite the fact that the league was wanting them to stay home.  When you program yourself a certain way all your life, it's pretty hard to just stop.

It's like when everyone attacked Miz for showing up to tapings sick, and I understand that line of thinking, but I also think you have to have some understanding/allowance of the athletic mindset, too.  You've got in the Miz who has had it drilled into him for YEARS now "Show must go on, you don't have time to be sick or injured." that it's easy to dismiss feeling sick and going "I can work through this."  Sure, he shouldn't have, but he's probably worked through so many injuries/illnesses over the years that he probably figured it was no big deal.  

Yeah, I'm pretty sure there are wrestlers who are (justifiably) afraid that if they stay away, it will hurt them push-wise on the return to WWE but Meltzer's thing about how both companies told talent they didn't have to work and AEW having just a skeleton crew while WWE has a full roster seems a little facetious, honestly.  He seems to wilffully ignore that AEW has a much smaller roster in general than WWE and most of the guys who aren't working right now are based far away from AEW (quarantine) headquarters: Page, Bucks, SCU, Triangle of Death, P&P etc. etc.  If any, maybe all, of those guys lived near where they're taping, they would be on the shows.  Most of WWE's guys were already in town for Wrestlemania, so they just stayed around or live in the area, anyways.  I don't think you can really make the call Meltzer did about guys being afraid to NOT work for WWE without talking to them and WWE's insular corporate struture/training means that talking to them and getting honest answers is impossible, so it's really just baseless speculation.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This might be simplifying too much, but just because a junkie lives next to a trap house doesn't mean he should go get drugs from there. 

We can't forget that the whole reason for ALL of this is saving other people from illness and death. Not ourselves. That is what these "protesters" (yeah right, give me a call when you got guns pointed at you) don't care about. That is why neither company should be running right now. 

EDIT: And TNA. I did it again, goddammit

Edited by Curt McGirt
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...