He ended up being in the same boat as Lars Sullivan in regards to whatever big plans they had for him got derailed due to an injury and being involved in an incident or two that didn't do him any favors.


From WWE's recent financial reports and him not being the only one who has been coming up with those numbers.

I'm sure he will get a good write off though :rofl:

Just saw that Cody posted a lengthy thing on Instagram praising Zack Ryder.....

Wonder where he is going to end up... :?:

Ryder is a good pick up for any company. Dude looks great, solid performer and a prolific work horse. Plus he still has his cult following online. Everyone should be going after him.

He's gonna go to AEW though.

I've never read a single WWE financial report that lists the wrestlers salary/contract, other then the executives like HHH who have their talent earnings mentioned in their total compensation.

If it's out there what was Ryder's or Rowan's salary? Meltzer either has copies of every WWE wrestlers contracts and added the amounts up for the ones let go, or he is utterly full of shit.

Outside of Rusev, his release is the one that stings the most for me out of everyone announced.

Did a lot to help WWE in terms of them becoming a lot more social media active and changing the negative perception they had of the internet. WWE's reward to him was to basically treat him like shit afterwards because he got over organically with fans and didn't need WWE's help to make it happen. His road to the US title and title victory over Ziggy in 2011 is still one of my favorite moments from WWE in the 2010s.

Even once managed to have a crowd hijack a Rock promo because they wanted him to show up instead.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The fans chanting “We Want Ryder” as The Rock tries to cut a promo in Madison Square Garden after the 2011 Survivor Series. <a href="https://t.co/sf3jtH109E">pic.twitter.com/sf3jtH109E</a></p>&mdash; Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryansatin/status/1250558925386051584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

100% right. As much as he made WWE finally embrace the importance of social media, Ryder never got enough credit from WWE for it.

Z True Long Island Story was a fun watch every week.

Then WWE made him start doing it for their YouTube channel and Ryder said that completely sucked the fun out of it for him.

That number doesn't come from him knowing what all the actual contract amounts are and instead is mostly from deducting the other expensive that were part of the cuts. Even WWE stated the bulk of that $4 million monthly savings was due to them halting construction of their new HQ.

He's not even the first to float around a low talent cost number since others were doing it earlier as part of them defending WWE online over the timing of these cuts.

Right, but he purports it as him having sources and "knowing". The fact that it's such a specific and random number is to further allude to that. If it was just an estimate, he would just say $700,000. $703,000 is just him slanting the narrative in a way to make it seem that he isn't full of shit.

This week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter probably will have more details on that talent cost number but its also entirely possible that was something mentioned by his sources and he confirmed it afterwards.

He's been doing other number crunching to figure out how much of an impact the coronavirus really will have on the company this year and came to the conclusion WWE still likely are going to rake in around $1 billion just from their global tv deals. Other major areas like house show and merch/licensing revenues dropping to zero for the rest of the year wouldn't impact that number nor needing the Saudis to bail them out with another Saudi show.

Meanwhile every other notable wrestling company probably going to need a miracle to make any profit this year and none have resorted to doing cuts to save money. Not even Impact and they've been on shaky financial grounds for years. Even Sinclair and their current money issues hasn't been a problem for ROH since they have been paying talent for cancelled shows.

yeah roh and aew will have to be write offs for the sinclare and tony. impact tapes shows anyway so no real loss. new japan may get gov help in japan they hope. don't know about mlw and nwa.

Oh I'm no way arguing that Vince isn't a complete asshole for firing anybody with the amount of money they are still bringing in. Just specifically that I think Meltzer is a joke of a reporter, and that he is full of shit most of the time.

Quoting $703,000 exactly, that's his typical bullshit style. He is either guessing or taking other general estimates and picking a specific number to portray that he has the scoop.

Meltzer is not full of shit most of the time. Stop.

Xrod, stop listening to bruce Prichard, you fucking hack.

I hate reddit.

MLW is likely in the same boat as Impact and ROH where this year is a loss for them but are getting some financial help from their tv deals during these times.

No clue on NWA although Corgan mentioned a while ago of them desperately needing a real tv contract if they wanted to survive for the long term.

4 more names from NXT were revealed to have been released.

Out of those 4, Conti is the most notable one considering she was the first person in NXT to have a match or segment beat out AEW in viewership. WWE rewarded that achievement by basically not having her appear on NXT shows for some time afterwards.


Edit: Add Tino Sabbatelli to the list as well since Fightful reported he got released.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As reported on Fightful Select, Tino Sabbatelli was among the releases</p>&mdash; Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1251279717644275712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Aliyah lives to fight another day....

Meltzer says that main roster released wrestlers have a 90 day non-compete clause, so can't sign anywhere until July 15.

NXT wrestlers have 30 day non-competes.

Conti is hot. That's what I am choosing to add to this at the moment.

Seems plans for NXT Japan are dead for now since WWE's cuts are also expected to start impacting those who have signed on with the project over there.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tokyo Sports about NXT Japan: &quot;The aftermath of the mass layoffs by WWE is likely to extend to Japan.&quot; The article quotes not further specified &quot;people invovled&quot;: &quot;It is likely that this will make it difficult for the company to expand to Japan.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/IWQOW5tkqi">https://t.co/IWQOW5tkqi</a></p>&mdash; Eastern Lariat (@EasternLariat) <a href="https://twitter.com/EasternLariat/status/1251067499573108736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tino Sabbatelli’s another one where you know he’s the drizzling shits if Vince has no use for him.

I thought his team with Moss had potential, really.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If this ain’t one of the best t-shirts you have seen in your life, somethins wrong with ya. <a href="https://twitter.com/PWTees?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PWTees</a> <a href="https://t.co/JWJnnYjIUN">https://t.co/JWJnnYjIUN</a> <a href="https://t.co/8kcTPBbPQ7">pic.twitter.com/8kcTPBbPQ7</a></p>&mdash; Heath Slater (@HeathSlaterOMRB) <a href="https://twitter.com/HeathSlaterOMRB/status/1251267489922715650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hell yeah

eric young needs to get out his old don't fire eric shirt

Love Heath so much.

NXT had a guy called Mars Wang and they didnt immediately put the belt on him? Sheer incompetence.

Being rumored that Killian Dain was released as well for NXT cuts.

That would be REAL shitty by them. Yes they fired Sarah Logan while Erik still has his job, but she is American at least.

Killian Dain would lose his visa even though his wife is still working in the States.

Lol, it is not a one or the other kind of thing, not much of a fan of either truthfully.

I thought Conti quit a few months ago?

Looks like I picked a few of these before they happened. That will be $11.99 per month...

*FYI, PLANS CHANGE, AGAIN $11.99 PLEASE :rofl:

Never got into Tanynara Conti. I liked Tino as a tag guy or as someone’s heater (a more competent Alex Riley maybe).

Really hope Zack Ryder ends up in AEW and really has a good run with the company behind him. The fact he got as over as he did all by himself back in 2011 is amazing. Also amazing is how badly WWE didn't capitilize on it. They could have made a lot of money with Ryder if they'd even gotten just a fraction behind him.

Guy with that much passion and ingenuity is the kinda guy I'd wanna employ.

Rusev and Ryder are the 2 hot tickets for sure. Slater will have a following as well.

PWI reporting that Kassius Ohno got released along with a bunch others from WWE's PC.

AEW signing Ryder to be a Shawn Spears type but on the babyface side is fine. But let's be honest, likeable as he may be, he's been booked like a fucking loser his entire run minus a few blips on the radar. They can't push him seriously without looking bush league about it.

Rusev on the other hand should be a priority. A grossly misused talent who's at last had relative recent success. He and Hager also have some history they can play off of.

Considering they haven't really pulled a TNA with any of their recent signings from WWE, doubt that is going to be an issue if they signed Ryder or anyone else from these cuts.

TNA's problem never was them signing a bunch of "WWE Rejects" but them cutting the legs off of pushes and momentum from their own homegrown stars in favor of whoever new they signed from WWE.

Had WWE treated him better, Ryder could have ended up like The Miz in terms of being a very reliable hand and popular midcard star to lean on whenever needed. 2011 Ryder was pretty raw in terms of star talent and power but also showed a lot of potential of becoming an even bigger star had WWE just stayed on course with his star development.

TNA also had like every person they signed cut a promo immediately about how the place they were before sucked and how they joined TNA because it was the real big promotion

How Colt Cabana is being used is how they should use Ryder should they sign him.

In regard to where some of the guys end up...

It's looking like The Good Brothers are likely to go back to work for NJPW, perhaps they will also sign deals with ROH as well, let's not forget that relationship (ROH/NJPW) is still active.

Ryder seems like a lock to sign with AEW as Cody's love seems to always equal opportunity and I can see Tony being a mark for Ryder.

Miro (Rusev) is the most interesting. Does AEW need another big WWE star? If they do he would be a great choice. I can't see him working long term anywhere else unless he decides to work NWA and all the Indies instead of sign a major deal. I remember at times NJPW fans saying they'd like to see him there. I would too but also wherever he goes he's got to bring out a new character. Probably the most interesting release to watch on the list.

Lio Rush ... I'm not sure he will continue wrestling but people seem to think he will work NJPW, forgetting that he has a lot of heat in ROH and they will likely prevent that contact from happening.

Chris Hero ... If he doesn't sign with AEW I'd say he is fine working for Gabe and Evolve and all of the Euro and US Indy bookings. Though he should probably be a priority for AEW.

Drake Maverick, if he is really released I can see him anywhere. Likely Impact and AAA but possibly NWA. He would be a great manager there.

EC3 likely would be best in Impact. Why would AEW want him when they have MJF? It would be cool to see him takeover the Dynasty stable in MLW if that was where he wound up.

Rowan should get signed to a contract. He's not much of an ROH type but he'd be a giant there. He could also be really effective in NWA. However with his close friendship to Brodie Lee I wouldn't be surprised or mind to see him in AEW. He was improving a lot this past year.

Heath Slater... Really one of the all around best. Never really been highlighted as a great wrestler but he has it in him. I'd really like to see him be reinvented in ROH and have a big main event run there before returning to WWE within 2 years jacked as fuck to take the WWE Championship thus fulfilling the 3MB Monkeys Paw theory.

Rusev would actually work great in the NEVER division as Suzuki-gun's new bruiser.

Somehow NXT UK managed to be the only brand not affected by WWE's roster cuts.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just spoke to a source who has confirmed that WWE NXT UK will be making no cuts to its roster at this time. Also the roster are getting paid in full and will not be furloughed as they are all self employed!</p>&mdash; Tony Quant (@TopRopeTony) <a href="https://twitter.com/TopRopeTony/status/1251807188689043456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Also turns out whatever fear Vince had regarding WWE's tv deals ended up being unfounded since FOX and USA Network reportedly told WWE they don't need to run live shows for contractual reasons during the coronavirus. Makes these cuts look even worse if they had any relation to Vince's tv paranoia.

Think the NXT UK guys earn peanuts in comparison to the main rosters.

They also work in a country with stricter labor standards and that "independent contractor" shit might not actually fly.

Seems WWE is considering rehiring Sarah Logan due to a lot of people within the company have been fighting to get her job back.

She's probably the one being mentioned as someone who was fired showing up on raw tonight

Sarah Logan fucking sucks.

I know some of those releases asked for it, but WWE really should rehire a few of the cuts.

Maverick
Slater
Gallows and Anderson
Ryder and Hawkins
And I'm cool with Sarah Logan being rehired too because they don't have that deep of a woman's division.

That said, if any of them have a better opportunity like Ryder to AEW, then they should tell Vince to go to hell.

None of the releases are really surprising. I’d say maybe Gallows & Anderson, who we’re basically sweeteners for AJ, but I guess them getting run off by Taker in the main event of Mania night one is kind of a farewell.

The agents contained the most “surprises,” but apparently they could be brought back. Planning out matches in this environment might suck, and there could be geographical issues with a Lance Storm, or health issues/personal time requested for guys like Finlay or Kurt Angle. It might be somewhat “voluntary.” Take one for the team now and be brought back when things are back to running. But they could also just be cycling some guys out that aren’t working in a role or whatever. Lance Storm has been doing awesome work though, so I find that surprising, I guess.

Yeah Gallows and Anderson caught me off guard too. But the one that shocked me the most is still Rusev. Lana is still there and Rusev is going to be a boon for their competition. Even if they had nothing for Rusev I am surprised they didn't hold onto him anyways like they always do with people.

Rusev, EC3, Lio Rush, The Revival, Mike and Maria all asked for their releases at various points last year.

Gallows and Anderson indicated they were content to let their contracts expire last year before WWE gave them giant contracts and promised them another AJ run.

While the talent who had asked for their releases might not have all have wanted to lose their jobs during a pandemic, it's clear that factored into some of WWE's decisions on who to let go.

Someone in Creative apparently forgot Sarah Logan was released and not furloughed since she was originally booked to be on last night's RAW before those plans got scrapped.

Meltzer speculated that despite the releases, WWE might still try and squeeze a few more appearances by those let go during their 90-days no compete clause.

If so, it likely would be with people who haven't hit their downsides yet since PWI reported a few days ago that WWE doesn't actually have to pay talent for those 90 days if a talent already earned their guaranteed downside before the release. Was something that got revealed from The Revival's contract situation earlier.

Apparently WWE's trademark of Erick Rowan has verbiage indicating that the name represents Joseph Ruud (his real name). Normally that verbiage is used only for guys like Karl Anderson, EC3, Eric Young who came to the company with "known" names and provided consent for WWE to trademark it for usage in merch, games, etc but because their names are tied to them specifically, it allows them to keep those names when they leave the company.

Most WWE ring name trademarks have the verbiage saying "this trademark does not represent a specific individual" which effectively blocks the name from being used elsewhere. It's also why for the longest time, everyone got re-named.

Might mean Rowan snuck in at some point when the original trademark lapsed and now he'll get to just keep the name if he wanted.

Apparently Kendo Kashin thinks his release from WWE as part of last week's cuts had to do more with him recently going public with how the coronavirus was affecting his job at the PC.

Also revealed he currently does not have health insurance due to his release.

https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/k...he-was-cut-wwe

Rusev I had figured to leave anyway. WWE have also seen what AEW did with Brodie Lee. They know Rusev’s personality and probably know he won’t be able to stay away from the bad comedy and will probably go in as a hairdresser or something. Because remember he got the unapproved haircut? Hey...hey...

“Asking for your release” doesn’t necessarily mean you want to get released, often it’s a “use me or release me” deal. Definitely in the case of someone like Bennett.

I think that's true, but I think at some point Bennett would have just wanted the fuck out, lol.

I watched an interview with him the other day. He basically says he never wanted to go, he wanted to work, and if wanting to work means having to go then...

He said after his request for release “they worked it out”, I’d imagine that was the point that they did the “Who’s Maria’s Baby Daddy?” angle that never got any payoff, and the 24/7 stuff, which eventually fizzled out again. He also said Maia never asked for her release.

But yeah, he’d definitely want out eventually to go work somewhere that actually wanted to use him. Back to ROH or Impact would have been good moves for him. Maybe spots in Japan, though difficult with a young family. He’d be a shoo-in as a Bullet Club guy (if the BC is still going).

Has anyone ever been in the ‘main event’ (night one of WrestleMania last match so classifying this as main event) of WrestleMania and then been released before appearing on TV again?

Lawrence Taylor

Not Mania, but Warrior was fired after being in the main event of Summerslam. That was in 1991 I believe.

Sid only made a couple appearances after WM13

lol I'm not even saying this to be cheeky, but WM is right before softball season.

Also, didn't Sid leave immediately after headlining Wrestlemania 8, probably for the same reason?

<iframe width="1129" height="635" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pTTiQ6K_kbE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My dream match

I remember he Scorpio, Furnas and Lafon all got into a fairly bad car accident shortly after. Sid of course played it up and the WWF got tired of Sid being Sid

Dunno why, but I thought Sid looked even more badass and "legit" with the age. Just the way he carried himself and was chewing gum the whole time.... dunno, it worked for me, especially compared with the other legends who were coming back, it was like "whoa, this guy could come back right now and I'd buy him as fully legit"

But what about WM8 @ Gertner?

He's kept himselfin great shape and he looks grizzled and worn, which only adds to his psychotic leader of the world gimmick. I love Sid.

Sid could have been an incredible draw in the WWF if he wasn't such a fucking Sid. That late 1996 run was the fucking tits.

Based on WWE's financial report earlier today, WWE releasing a sizeable portion of their roster and furloughing a lot of staff looks even worse than before.

Still made over $100 million in revenues for the fiscal 1st quarter compared to last year.

Even WWE's dividend ended up being higher than needed if WWE was that desperate to save money for coronavirus reasons. Meltzer mentioned earlier in the week that WWE could have cut it in half and used that saved money to easily pay all the talent they released for at least the next 2 years.

I guess the argument is that WWE has always been pretty ruthless with cutting people, no matter the circumstances. There's a reason they tell people to have other avenues for their career path before getting into wrestling.

Not condoning Vince's actions (I think they're repulsive and that he's repulsive), but these people should know who and what they're dealing with. If they're crying injustice, my sympathies only go so far, since this isn't what I'd call a blindside. Times are tough for everyone right now, but wrestling has proven that it's not the kind of career that's there for you when the chips are down. To think otherwise would show painful levels of naivety.


Even paying people to sit at home wasn't done to "take care of them," but done as a business move to hurt the value of said wrestlers and other companies that could use them. In wrestling, you are nothing more than a commodity, especially in the WWE. It has always been that way and will always be that way.

I've seen a lot of the rumor mongers speculating there are some big names going to be released soon. We're talking Roman Reigns, among others. Although in fairness they say its because Roman is going to pull a Rock and go Hollywood. He wasn't the only big name they were talking about though. I'll believe it when I see it.

Yeah I doubt it. Pretty sure the whole point of these cuts was to trim off the people who get stuck in catering while keeping the known talent.

Exactly right, they didn't release anybody who wasn't low card or already on their way out other than Gallows and Anderson.

They got big contracts, probably the most Vince ever paid for a tag team, almost entirely based on AJ wanting to have a real run with them in his faction.

It's still surprising they got released so soon after signing that big contract, but that doesn't mean Vince is gonna release any big names.

Certainly not Roman Reigns. Vince will keep him on payroll the same way he does Rock, Vena, etc. Even is Roman retired today, Vince is gonna keep paying him just to ensure he is always at least attached to WWE.

What’s the deal with pay for Anderson & Gallows? Do they get paid through their 90 day no compete? Or do they get the downside of the contract? Or immediate dismissal with no further pay?

Most likely get paid the remainder of what was guaranteed considering they signed new contracts last year for 5 years in length.

With the Revival, them not getting paid was more due to both guys being in the last year of their deals and had already hit the guaranteed amount owed to them.

I really doubt they're going to get paid the full five years of their deal. WWE always has out clauses and the like.

And I really doubt any big name stars are going. Rusev was probably the biggest, but he's been off TV anyway, which was a good indicator that he had made it pretty clear he was not going to re-sign. The rest of the talent were sadly guys that were the Main Event crew and stuff.

The only "big names" I can actually see being released are Bobby Lashley and Sheamus. Bobby looks great, but he's getting up there in age and it's not like he's going to change the game if he goes to AEW or anything. WWE have survived him being elsewhere in the past. Sheamus has his spinal issues and is probably more likely to take it easy and call it a career if he gets released, come back for shots, do some sort of workout show on the WWE Network down the line, etc. Might try and do some more acting.

MAYBE Jeff Hardy if he's made it clear he wants to go and work with Matt in AEW, because the Hardys aren't really a threat when they are left to their own devices. There's still value in Jeff, but that value is in him being Jeff Hardy in the WWE. They might decide they want it, but they might decide to cut the costs there too, since I'm sure he's making a pretty penny.

Ones I could see but would also surprise me, to a degree, are Cesaro, Nakamura and Fandango. Not that Fandango is a big name or anything, but he does the Southpaw Wrestling stuff, which is why I think he survived this round. Cesaro is the sort of guy that you wouldn't want wrestling anywhere else, but if he goes to AEW what is he actually going to do? Join The Dark Order? That's not going to change business. Nakamura seems like a guy they like, but to say that he's gotten tremendously over and is an irreplaceable act in WWE is a bit of hyperbole.

I really don't think they are going to release Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar or anyone like that lol.

From his recent posts, it's safe to assume that Noid has a raging hardon for Fandango.

Think they still would get the guaranteed downside amount remaining since their deals had 4 years left. WWE could pay them less but that would require them to not issue the non-compete clause which they did.

Need to check up on the percentages since I think it got revealed some time ago but think its around a third for the downside so Gallows and Anderson liekly would still be getting a hefty amount back.

Of course, but at the same time, even getting a fraction of what they were owed would be a substantial amount.

There are times when I wish WWE had to say how much they sign someone to, almost how like pro sports leagues did it.


"Randy Orton was signed to a 5 year 12 million dollar deal with an opt out after year 4"

There’s got to be something in there that benefits the talent surely?

We’re signing you to an exclusive contact that means you can’t work anywhere else but you’re still an “independent contractor”. We can hold you every day of the contract and extend it if you miss a period of time due to injury caused whilst performing your duties as a non-employee of our business. You do not have the right to end the contract earlier, and if you request to do so we will hold you to the full length of it whilst we try to devalue your worth elsewhere. But, we can end the contract whenever we like without any financial ramifications for us. Oh, and once we’ve done that, you can’t work elsewhere for 90 days.

I get how that *could* be the case as WWE have all the power, but it stinks.

Used to be thought that if WWE ever had to go to court over their definition and treatment of "independent contractors", they'd easily lose and open the door for talent to actually be treated as employees. Its why WWE usually caved when someone threatened a lawsuit over this issue like Del Rio did years ago.

That theory took a serious hit when UFC managed to emerge victorious in a legal case last year over the same issue with their talent.

Personally, I think talent that want out should fight it. But I wouldn't sign with the WWE under those initial terms either.

Gerald Brisco ended up being among those released according to the Observer.

Also means WWE lost one of their top scouts since he was the guy responsible for grabbing notable talent from the amateur and college wrestling scene.

Cain Velasquez lasted one match in WWE

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WOR: Cain Velasquez gone, Gerald Brisco, RAW, more! <a href="https://t.co/pX4fYTWPI7">https://t.co/pX4fYTWPI7</a> <a href="https://t.co/Cxj3zJzdwW">pic.twitter.com/Cxj3zJzdwW</a></p>&mdash; Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) <a href="https://twitter.com/WONF4W/status/1255054910501969920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

At least it was a 5 star classic.

Velasquez was really impressive in his initial AAA debut. That budding athleticism and potential upside would've been/was being wasted in wwe. I'm glad he'll get to show back up in Mexico when things get better.

So they ended Kofi’s six month title reign in a ten second squash to set up Brock/Cain, which lasted two minutes, and it was ultimately for nothing.

lol

I don’t think Kofi vs. Brock was just to set up Cain vs. Brock. They had the match there and dangled it. Brock didn’t need to be the champion for it, and Kofi was really a placeholder champion. Brock was always going to get the belt to drop it to the guy they wanted to knight at Mania.

Having Kofi as champ was way more interesting. He seemed 'beatable" and also didn't throw out the same 3 moves every time in a 5 minute shitfest.


Brock is Brock. For me, Brock is boring.

I don’t think having a guy who “seems beatable” as world champion is a good thing. Why should anyone care about who wins the title if they constantly drive home the point that you don’t need to be top tier to win it?

They should still get the downside guarantee. Even if WWE didn't enforce or G&A refused to adhere to the 90 day non-compete, then WWE would still be in breach for failing to pay the downside, and theoretically WWE would still owe them the downside guarantee less the value of the non-compete. However, WWE could also argue that the monetary value of the non-compete to WWE is greater than or equal to the downside too and so G&A are also in breach and actually owe WWE money instead or that G&A are owed nothing for WWE's breach. Not a great position either way. Much simpler to just pay them off.

I guess it seemed more "interesting" in that it was less predictable maybe? I didn't watch regularly, but the match ups seemed to be more of "Well this guy might actually beat the champ"


vs


"A hundred suplexes, an F5, or 2" and its over. Brock became too boring to me, reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally fast.

If it were "real" I can see why someone unbeatable would be ideal. This is scripted, so it doesn't matter does it?

I was big into the Kofi story, and loved his moment of winning.... but then afterwards it just felt like "oh.... wait. Kofi Kingston is WWE champion and this just seems so... out of place. Like it just doesn't belong with him"