spd10000
05-19-2004, 12:28 AM
When someone gets released (or fired) from the WWE, the general feeling amongst fans is that the worker somehow "deserved better." No, you know what? That's not always the case.
Lance Storm and Tommy Dreamer recently announced they're finished. They're no longer wrestling for the WWE, and many people are very upset. They said these guys "deserved better." You said the creative team sucks, for not finding these two a good program, and for not appreciating them. You think they missed the boat. The same thing was said about Kanyon, and so many others.
My question is this - Why should the WWE have made these guys superstars in the first place? Don’t get me wrong. I have the utmost respect for these men, and their accomplishments in the ring, but the question still remains. How come they deserved better?
In his years with ECW, Tommy Dreamer, if I am not mistaken, was the biggest advocate against the WWE. He would lead the chants of WWE sucks and was the ‘revolutionist’ to get fans to hate the WWE and their product. Why should the WWE make a guy who spent the majority of his active career bashing and belittling the WWE product into a multi millionaire? Tommy is a decent wrestler but he certainly was never going to be a megastar in the WWE with his limited wrestling ability. Was the WWE capable of using him more proficiently? Yes, but again why push a wrestler that was never complimentary of your product and now wants a paycheck from it?
I fully understand that Tommy was doing the “company thing” by promoting the hell out of ECW so that it received mainstream notoriety but that does not mean that WWE should just let that be water under the bridge. WWE was big enough to even employ Dreamer for the last three years and are now willing to even give him a position of management in the company he tried to vanquish, so is that not enough to please all Dreamer fans out there? What was it that Dreamer deserved in the WWE a World title reign? Being the big fish in the small pond of ECW is not enough to warrant a guaranteed title reign in the WWE.Again do not misconstrue what it is that I am saying because I was a huge fan of ECW and never wanted to see it end.
Lance Storm is also a wrestler that is being said deserved better than what he got in the WWE.Lance has basically wrestled for around fourteen years and only the last two and a half were spent in the WWE.Whan Lance gets asked what was his favorite company to work for he immediately responds with ECW.Again why is the WWE at fault for not pushing Lance Storm to the moon when it is clear that if ECW was still around he would never even be in the WWE in the first place. Of course Lance liked the atmosphere better in ECW, when all Heyman had to write for was twenty wrestlers and of those twenty, four were main event wrestlers where special attention could be given to everyone on the roster. WWE employs around eighty wrestlers and not all of the talents on the roster can be involved in the main or semi main event. That is the equivalent of working at Ma and Pa’s bed and breakfast then moving on to the Hilton. Of course Ma and Pa could give you more attention because of the nature of its business.
Point is that when you watch sports like baseball or football there are players that are called second stringers. These players are on the team and in some cases even get paid rather handsomely but the role is to be a backup. Bit players are vital to the company in a ‘just in case capacity’. These type of players will get opportunities to play and even get extended playing time if they exceed expectations but usually these player will settle into their role as a bit player or backup. Certainly Lance and Dreamer had glimpses of a push but that was all WWE had in store for them and nothing more. Again WWE owed these wrestlers nothing more than the pay that they agreed to upon signing their contracts.
Now the only other thing I hear is that almost every bit player should quit the WWE and join TNA because TNA is all about giving everyone on the roster a fair chance to succeed. TNA does not discriminate against size, age, years in the business, or even company loyalty. TNA will push whoever is getting over with the fans, as TNA is a fan friendly company. As much as I agree that TNA does give opportunity to wrestlers that probably would never stand a chance in the WWE my big question is this, will it last? With the upcoming national cable TV deal with Fox Sports, where ratings rule the land, will TNA be willing to keep pushing wrestlers who may be non-draws? Currently Panda Energy is willing to cover the losses that TNA accrue weekly because Panda wanted to get onto free TV before they pulled the plug, hence giving TNA a fair chance at success.
Once TNA are on free TV, I have to think that the feeling with Panda Energy would be that TNA either sink or swim with a limited time frame to accomplish success. If the ratings tank quickly I highly doubt Fox will keep them on their lineup and at that point why would Panda continue to back TNA when they reached their pinnacle and failed? So before everyone praises how much TNA pushes a myriad of different talents remember that at this point in time they can without consequence. Will that trend continue remains to be seen but I won’t praise TNA until I see their game plan in effect and being effective.
Bottom Line:
Before everyone crucifies the WWE for forcing retirement upon wrestlers that saw the writing on the wall understand that that WWE just prolonged their livelihood. Ask yourself the question would Tommy Dreamer really be better off going to TNA and trying to find a spot with a company who is currently trying hard to find an identity? Would Lance Storm be better off getting interjected into the Gilbertti vs. Diamond feud that has lasted forever or wrestling Raven every week? I am by know means knocking TNA but they are not accountable for the same things that WWE are so trial and error is far less costly when errors are covered with corporate dollars.
Fans have clamored for fresh faces for the longest time and I really do not think that wrestlers that have been in the business for fourteen years are fresh faces. Is it the WWE’s problem that these wrestlers spent twelve of those fourteen years elsewhere and now no longer have options for employment? I do not want to come across as I think that everything that WWE does in this industry is acceptable but I do believe that WWE gets flack from fans and fellow columnists because of their own bias towards certain talents. So I ask the question do all bit players deserve better than their WWE careers afford them or is it that what they received was their lot in life with the company?
I think that when you look at WWE like a business at times and not just the entertainment aspect you will see that sometimes those types of things are just part of business and nothing more. What any wrestler deserves upon joining WWE is a paycheck, anything after that is open to subjectivity. Until next time that’s just my view. As always feedback is appreciated.
Lance Storm and Tommy Dreamer recently announced they're finished. They're no longer wrestling for the WWE, and many people are very upset. They said these guys "deserved better." You said the creative team sucks, for not finding these two a good program, and for not appreciating them. You think they missed the boat. The same thing was said about Kanyon, and so many others.
My question is this - Why should the WWE have made these guys superstars in the first place? Don’t get me wrong. I have the utmost respect for these men, and their accomplishments in the ring, but the question still remains. How come they deserved better?
In his years with ECW, Tommy Dreamer, if I am not mistaken, was the biggest advocate against the WWE. He would lead the chants of WWE sucks and was the ‘revolutionist’ to get fans to hate the WWE and their product. Why should the WWE make a guy who spent the majority of his active career bashing and belittling the WWE product into a multi millionaire? Tommy is a decent wrestler but he certainly was never going to be a megastar in the WWE with his limited wrestling ability. Was the WWE capable of using him more proficiently? Yes, but again why push a wrestler that was never complimentary of your product and now wants a paycheck from it?
I fully understand that Tommy was doing the “company thing” by promoting the hell out of ECW so that it received mainstream notoriety but that does not mean that WWE should just let that be water under the bridge. WWE was big enough to even employ Dreamer for the last three years and are now willing to even give him a position of management in the company he tried to vanquish, so is that not enough to please all Dreamer fans out there? What was it that Dreamer deserved in the WWE a World title reign? Being the big fish in the small pond of ECW is not enough to warrant a guaranteed title reign in the WWE.Again do not misconstrue what it is that I am saying because I was a huge fan of ECW and never wanted to see it end.
Lance Storm is also a wrestler that is being said deserved better than what he got in the WWE.Lance has basically wrestled for around fourteen years and only the last two and a half were spent in the WWE.Whan Lance gets asked what was his favorite company to work for he immediately responds with ECW.Again why is the WWE at fault for not pushing Lance Storm to the moon when it is clear that if ECW was still around he would never even be in the WWE in the first place. Of course Lance liked the atmosphere better in ECW, when all Heyman had to write for was twenty wrestlers and of those twenty, four were main event wrestlers where special attention could be given to everyone on the roster. WWE employs around eighty wrestlers and not all of the talents on the roster can be involved in the main or semi main event. That is the equivalent of working at Ma and Pa’s bed and breakfast then moving on to the Hilton. Of course Ma and Pa could give you more attention because of the nature of its business.
Point is that when you watch sports like baseball or football there are players that are called second stringers. These players are on the team and in some cases even get paid rather handsomely but the role is to be a backup. Bit players are vital to the company in a ‘just in case capacity’. These type of players will get opportunities to play and even get extended playing time if they exceed expectations but usually these player will settle into their role as a bit player or backup. Certainly Lance and Dreamer had glimpses of a push but that was all WWE had in store for them and nothing more. Again WWE owed these wrestlers nothing more than the pay that they agreed to upon signing their contracts.
Now the only other thing I hear is that almost every bit player should quit the WWE and join TNA because TNA is all about giving everyone on the roster a fair chance to succeed. TNA does not discriminate against size, age, years in the business, or even company loyalty. TNA will push whoever is getting over with the fans, as TNA is a fan friendly company. As much as I agree that TNA does give opportunity to wrestlers that probably would never stand a chance in the WWE my big question is this, will it last? With the upcoming national cable TV deal with Fox Sports, where ratings rule the land, will TNA be willing to keep pushing wrestlers who may be non-draws? Currently Panda Energy is willing to cover the losses that TNA accrue weekly because Panda wanted to get onto free TV before they pulled the plug, hence giving TNA a fair chance at success.
Once TNA are on free TV, I have to think that the feeling with Panda Energy would be that TNA either sink or swim with a limited time frame to accomplish success. If the ratings tank quickly I highly doubt Fox will keep them on their lineup and at that point why would Panda continue to back TNA when they reached their pinnacle and failed? So before everyone praises how much TNA pushes a myriad of different talents remember that at this point in time they can without consequence. Will that trend continue remains to be seen but I won’t praise TNA until I see their game plan in effect and being effective.
Bottom Line:
Before everyone crucifies the WWE for forcing retirement upon wrestlers that saw the writing on the wall understand that that WWE just prolonged their livelihood. Ask yourself the question would Tommy Dreamer really be better off going to TNA and trying to find a spot with a company who is currently trying hard to find an identity? Would Lance Storm be better off getting interjected into the Gilbertti vs. Diamond feud that has lasted forever or wrestling Raven every week? I am by know means knocking TNA but they are not accountable for the same things that WWE are so trial and error is far less costly when errors are covered with corporate dollars.
Fans have clamored for fresh faces for the longest time and I really do not think that wrestlers that have been in the business for fourteen years are fresh faces. Is it the WWE’s problem that these wrestlers spent twelve of those fourteen years elsewhere and now no longer have options for employment? I do not want to come across as I think that everything that WWE does in this industry is acceptable but I do believe that WWE gets flack from fans and fellow columnists because of their own bias towards certain talents. So I ask the question do all bit players deserve better than their WWE careers afford them or is it that what they received was their lot in life with the company?
I think that when you look at WWE like a business at times and not just the entertainment aspect you will see that sometimes those types of things are just part of business and nothing more. What any wrestler deserves upon joining WWE is a paycheck, anything after that is open to subjectivity. Until next time that’s just my view. As always feedback is appreciated.