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WWE TV - 5/16 - 5/22/2022


Dolfan in NYC

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4 minutes ago, Infinit said:

If this is actually a shoot...given that Noami is married to an Uso....this could have some crazy repercussion, especially given how they buried Noami and Sasha on air.

I'm thinking shoot for what it's worth.

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4 minutes ago, Infinit said:

If this is actually a shoot...given that Noami is married to an Uso....this could have some crazy repercussion, especially given how they buried Noami and Sasha on air.

This is a bit of an underrated angle to this.  (If it's all legit.)  

The Usos are probably walking out of Friday as unified tag champs, or at least it seems that way. And they're a part of a huge AAPI public relations campaign, that we're smack dab in the middle of.  The undisputed champion is, at the very least, looking at the door and wondering.   

Them screaming at one of their wives 'fix your attitude' (hi johnny ace) is probably not going to sit well with any of them.   AND there's that story about Fox loving Naomi/Sasha and specifically wanting more of them.

So theoretically, all of this could blow up really, really quick if it's handled badly.  

I definitely don't want to be in Stamford today.  (or any day for that matter, Stamford is awful)

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38 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

This is a bit of an underrated angle to this.  (If it's all legit.)  

The Usos are probably walking out of Friday as unified tag champs, or at least it seems that way. And they're a part of a huge AAPI public relations campaign, that we're smack dab in the middle of.  The undisputed champion is, at the very least, looking at the door and wondering.   

Them screaming at one of their wives 'fix your attitude' (hi johnny ace) is probably not going to sit well with any of them.   AND there's that story about Fox loving Naomi/Sasha and specifically wanting more of them.

So theoretically, all of this could blow up really, really quick if it's handled badly.  

I definitely don't want to be in Stamford today.  (or any day for that matter, Stamford is awful)

As Meltzer mentions, it really depends on whether Roman Reigns sees this.  If Jimmy Uso stands by his wife which I figure he will and Roman stands behind the Usos then it gets really interesting.   For Naomi.  Eventually I think they have to cut with Sasha if gets too deep

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28 minutes ago, hammerva said:

I really hope this "Cody countdown" thing was just for one week because unless they are trying to turn him heel quickly this is a terrible idea to make people sick of him

 

He's never turning heel. He told us.

3 minutes ago, RunningFromAmerica said:

Probably his idea too.

Hopefully. 

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4 hours ago, A_K said:

Ha. They walked out of a television show they are paid to perform in, at the arena, on the day, where they had been booked as the signature attraction. I'd say that's pretty unprofessional as far as having a profession goes.

I take issue with this. Remember they are not employees. They are independent contractors. They are 100% in the right legally due to their classification. If WWE want employees that will listen to every command, then hire and classify your talent as fucking employees you shady fucking tax dodging tax cheats.

If I hire a plumber and tell him I want him to do all of his work while wearing a romper, he doesn't have to do it. He's an independent contractor. He's allowed to pick and choose how and why he does his work the way he wants to. And by definition that's why WWE wrestlers are. Independent contractors.

So I get reallllllll annoyed when I see the corporate boot licking stance of 'do yer jobbb you unprofessional fuck' when the legal definition of their job says they don't have to do anything they don't want to. That's not on them, that's on WWE trying to save money not matching benefits pay ins and insurance and taxes and shit.

 

4 hours ago, A_K said:

Its basically irrelevant. Unless the meeting had a discriminatory tinge to it or the contractual terms were broken (e.g. salary; contractually agreed presentation), you cannot simply walk out of your job -- or rather you can, but you can't dress it up under any form of 'professionalism' thereafter. Do the work you're paid to do, give the fans the respect they deserve, settle the grievance afterwards and if you need to part ways you part ways. The alternative is simply immature anarchy.

See above. Yes they can legally. If WWE wants employees then hire employees.

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2 hours ago, Pete said:

"Sure and it's the Ach-olytes Protection Agency! Hoot mon!"

As Scottish athletes Nikki and Piper will naturally turn on each other in time.

As Groundskeeper Willie taught us “brothers and sisters are natural enemies, like the English and the Scots, or the Welsh and the Scots, or the Scots and other Scots! Damn Scots! They ruined Scotland!!!”

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1 hour ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

I take issue with this. Remember they are not employees. They are independent contractors. They are 100% in the right legally due to their classification. If WWE want employees that will listen to every command, then hire and classify your talent as fucking employees you shady fucking tax dodging tax cheats.

If I hire a plumber and tell him I want him to do all of his work while wearing a romper, he doesn't have to do it. He's an independent contractor. He's allowed to pick and choose how and why he does his work the way he wants to. And by definition that's why WWE wrestlers are. Independent contractors.

So I get reallllllll annoyed when I see the corporate boot licking stance of 'do yer jobbb you unprofessional fuck' when the legal definition of their job says they don't have to do anything they don't want to. That's not on them, that's on WWE trying to save money not matching benefits pay ins and insurance and taxes and shit.

 

See above. Yes they can legally. If WWE wants employees then hire employees.

This is utter gibberish. Do they, or do they not, have contracts for a set duration of time for an agreed amount of money? Or maybe I'm crazy, and you also pay your plumber upwards of a six-figure 'retainer' with a contract that they have chosen to sign with you for a set duration of time and set number of appearances for him to then pick and choose when he wants to work, and that if having paid for that duration of time you, too, would be happy for him to walk off the job? Obscuring talent simply walking out of a situation that they have contractually signed up to perform in is weak, weak, weak. If they don't want to be there, don't sign the contract - simple - and likening being asked to perform usual acting-duties in a televised main event in a role they were hired to do to "hiring a plumber and then telling him to wear a romper while he works" is simply ridiculous.

Edited by A_K
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I have no idea what to think. Either shoot or work, Sasha and Naomi just became the hottest duo in wrestling in years. 
 

My opinion is that if something is on TV, it is a work. It just is. But not knowing for sure is the magic of wrestling.

If it is a shoot: Good on them. Sasha seems like she has been a pain in the ass for some people before, but she’s one of the best workers of her generation and knows it. 
 

Naomi is really interesting because she has always gotten a “kinda push” before. She won a title at WrestleMania, had some fun stuff with Team BAD, and a bunch of other good moments. I remember her being so awful around the era of the AJ Lee pipe bombshell. She clearly took getting better serious and became an actual wrestler. She is really good on the mic, solid in the ring, and if she is calling her shot, good on her. 

I fully agree with the whole “independent contractors” argument. I have done freelance work and told the person writing the check to fuck off if I was not comfortable with what they wanted. Give them benefits and don’t make them pay for travel (I assume they still do that) and then we can talk. 

Either way, I am excited for whatever is next.

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1 hour ago, A_K said:

This is utter gibberish. Do they, or do they not, have contracts for a set duration of time for an agreed amount of money? Or maybe I'm crazy, and you also pay your plumber upwards of a six-figure 'retainer' with a contract that they have chosen to sign with you for a set duration of time and set number of appearances for him to then pick and choose when he wants to work, and that if having paid for that duration of time you, too, would be happy for him to walk off the job? Obscuring talent simply walking out of a situation that they have contractually signed up to perform in is weak, weak, weak. If they don't want to be there, don't sign the contract - simple - and likening being asked to perform usual acting-duties in a televised main event in a role they were hired to do to "hiring a plumber and then telling him to wear a romper while he works" is simply ridiculous.


They do have contracts for a set time duration. But not for a set amount of money. There's all this funny math that is up to the discretion of WWE. As in sure they have a base number they get at worst, but there is no theoretical topside number. Meaning how they are portrayed creatively is very important to their earning potential. So it's 100% within their rights to refuse to do things that they feel will hurt their income. Again if WWE want sheep to sit on the conveyor belt of mediocrity, hire employees. Ones that get paid the same amount of money whether treated well on screen or not.

And let's not act like this is some grand fuck you to the fans there last night. This match was literally announced at the beginning of Raw. No fan in attendance was bait and switched from an advertised match they were looking forward to. This company doesn't promote things like that ahead of time. That would be treating their contractors as stars and get fans attached to them. That's not what they want. They want a brand full of robots that will keep churning out content. They want the fans excited to come see WWE, not specific performers.

Here's the thing about professional wrestlers. We're all human beings. Ones that want to feel valued and appreciated. The way WWE books is opposite of that. They don't treat very many performers as valuable. It's all interchangeable cogs outside of the top 6 or 7. So when the office tells you 'hey we're going to make you guys the tag champs and really get behind you and women's tag wrestling in general' and then gives you no tag team story for 2 months and now want you to put over the single's champs and make the tag titles worthless (again)... you're not being valued or appreciated. So it's time to walk away until they do value & appreciate you.

And to answer your question, no I don't put a plumber on a retainer in the six figures. That's just fucking stupid right? Well welcome to the inherent hypocrisy of exclusive contracts for independent contractors. If someone is exclusive to you and your company, by definition they are no longer independent. Yet we all just sort of accept that this is okay. It's not.

Edited by NoFistsJustFlips
Removed a phrase that wasn't productive
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4 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

 Well welcome to the inherent hypocrisy of exclusive contracts for independent contractors. If someone is exclusive to you and your company, by definition they are no longer independent. Yet we all just sort of accept that this is okay. It's not.

Few things...

1) the bootlicking stuff isn't really helpful if we want to actually have a productive discussion

2) While I agree completely that an independent contractor should not have an  exclusivity clause on their contracts, I seem to think that this was decided by a court/arbitrator back in the 2000s when a bunch of people sued over it.  Maybe Raven was involved?   I could be completely wrong.  

3) Wrestlers need a union and an iron-clad CBA. 

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4 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Two things...

1) the bootlicking stuff isn't really helpful if we want to actually have a productive discussion

2) While I agree completely that an independent contractor should not have an  exclusivity clause on their contracts, I seem to think that this was decided by a court/arbitrator back in the 2000s when a bunch of people sued over it.  Maybe Raven was involved?   I could be completely wrong.  

3) Wrestlers need a union and an iron-clad CBA. 

1) Fair enough, I will pull back on using that phrasing. My bad.

2) I believe that case was dismissed due to statute of limitations. So the court never ruled on the merits of the argument. They just ruled that you took too long to argue this case.

3) Could not agree more. Is wrestling just a sport? Not really. Is wrestling just acting? Not really. Do all pro sports and all actors have unions and CBAs? Yeap. Wrestling shouldn't be left out just because they are in the grey area between the two.

Edited by NoFistsJustFlips
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Wrestlers are dramatic stuntmen. They act and also get physically hurt. It is maddening that they never unionized. But such is America, where one Starbucks or Amazon warehouse unionizing is a national story.

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4 hours ago, Ultimo Necro said:

As Scottish athletes Nikki and Piper will naturally turn on each other in time.

As Groundskeeper Willie taught us “brothers and sisters are natural enemies, like the English and the Scots, or the Welsh and the Scots, or the Scots and other Scots! Damn Scots! They ruined Scotland!!!”

It will be revealed one is a Celtic fan and the other is a Rangers fan. (Or Hearts/Hibernian)

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1 hour ago, Greggulator said:

I remember her being so awful around the era of the AJ Lee pipe bombshell. She clearly took getting better serious and became an actual wrestler.

I believe this is the period where WWE was offering little training to women so not entirely her fault it took so long to improve.

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6 hours ago, hammerva said:

I really hope this "Cody countdown" thing was just for one week because unless they are trying to turn him heel quickly this is a terrible idea to make people sick of him

 

 

 

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