WWE to young wrestlers: stay away from ROH and TNA...

[Reflecto]

Jun 11, 2015 11:08:20 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

The way I read it, it wasn't saying, "hey, sign with ROH and you can just f*** off." The tone was more, "if you are a young worker, know what you are signing and the like because it could affect your availability in the future." Granted, that's still a pretty paranoid stance if these toys aren't even gonna be sold in the same markets but I think that's reasonable. Just seems like more of the "think before you act" mentality that WWE is pushing for prospective talent.

Now, maybe I'm just totally wrong and the tone actually was don't sign with ROH. In that case, I don't agree with it at all.

Even with that, the fact the ground is Kevin Owens will defeat the whole purpose of this ever working for WWE- we know for a fact that, even if Owens became one of the best talents in North America by the time he signed- it was the fact that Steen was a huge star in ROH that took him from "talented performer and cult hero, but WWE can live without him" to "WE MUST HAVE HIM!" level of performer. It's the same for guys like Sami Zayn, or Daniel Bryan, or Chris Hero when he was there- it's safe to say if they never appeared for ROH and became stars there, even if they became standouts in PWG/other comparable indies, then WWE wouldn't have given them a second look.

This move won't stop people like your Adam Cole/ACH's that we know WWE covets from ROH from getting a chance to make it to WWE- and it won't stop lesser-known up and comers who may have a couple of aesthetic flaws like, say, War Machine or Dalton Castle from going to ROH to make names for themselves and hope they get to that point WWE HAS to have them. The most it'll hurt ROH is taking guys like, say, a Moose or a Donovan Dijak who are up and comers, but also have the look that WWE would like from signing on to ROH, since they'd know even without ROH they'd still have a good chance of making it to WWE.

[James Fabiano]

I can name a couple other companies I'd wish for young wrestlers to stay away from...

[Deleted]

It's all part of the master plan to annihilate the indies with NXT.

[Ruthless Pessimism]

Jun 11, 2015 10:43:29 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

Jun 11, 2015 5:46:24 GMT -5 Ruthless Pessimism said:

Haha, no. But you don't let someone f*** with your money.

It isn't their money; ROH had the deal first, them's the breaks.

And like others said, the ROH figures aren't even competition for them; they won't be sold in the same stores or aimed at the same audience or anything like that. This isn't much different from ROH releasing a best of Kevin Steen DVD as Steen hits it big in WWE; the only difference is Mattel isn't involved with the DVDs, so WWE doesn't get their dander up about that.

The much, much, MUCH bigger part of this story, anyway, is the "it's not in your best interest to sign with those guys" angle the write-up is suggesting WWE is putting out there. That's potentially industry-shaking.

It will help funnel guys into the WWE system. Nothing wrong with that.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Jun 11, 2015 15:44:36 GMT -5 Ruthless Pessimism said:

Jun 11, 2015 10:43:29 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

It isn't their money; ROH had the deal first, them's the breaks.

And like others said, the ROH figures aren't even competition for them; they won't be sold in the same stores or aimed at the same audience or anything like that. This isn't much different from ROH releasing a best of Kevin Steen DVD as Steen hits it big in WWE; the only difference is Mattel isn't involved with the DVDs, so WWE doesn't get their dander up about that.

The much, much, MUCH bigger part of this story, anyway, is the "it's not in your best interest to sign with those guys" angle the write-up is suggesting WWE is putting out there. That's potentially industry-shaking.

It will help funnel guys into the WWE system. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm....really just gonna let others refute why this is non-sense. Short version...it's insanely unethical and bad for the wrestling business as a whole in the long term.

[Ruthless Pessimism]

Jun 11, 2015 15:48:21 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Jun 11, 2015 15:44:36 GMT -5 Ruthless Pessimism said:

It will help funnel guys into the WWE system. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm....really just gonna let others refute why this is non-sense. Short version...it's insanely unethical and bad for the wrestling business as a whole in the long term.

M'kay.

[Johnny Flamingo]

Jun 11, 2015 15:48:21 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Jun 11, 2015 15:44:36 GMT -5 Ruthless Pessimism said:

It will help funnel guys into the WWE system. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm....really just gonna let others refute why this is non-sense. Short version...it's insanely unethical and bad for the wrestling business as a whole in the long term.

There is really nothing unethical about that. WWE has business partners that provide them with a significant source of income and advertisement and as such they have to do what they can to protect their interests. It won't be bad for the business but will require wrestlers to be smarter about who they sign likeness deals with.

The great wrestlers will still get to wrestle with the better promotions and the better promotions will still do well. It makes perfect sense that WWE doesn't want another company potentially profiting off of their talent by producing merchandise based upon that talent.

No unethical or even bad for pro wrestling, its simply just business.

If you have a goal to get to WWE it is best to understand how certain things may affect the business side of things and potentially avoid those things. Nothing new as WWE, and every other promotion, have had things they ask people to avoid if they want to work for them for years.

Wrestling will be fine.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Jun 11, 2015 15:56:13 GMT -5 Johnny Flamingo said:

Jun 11, 2015 15:48:21 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

I'm....really just gonna let others refute why this is non-sense. Short version...it's insanely unethical and bad for the wrestling business as a whole in the long term.

There is really nothing unethical about that. WWE has business partners that provide them with a significant source of income and advertisement and as such they have to do what they can to protect their interests. It won't be bad for the business but will require wrestlers to be smarter about who they sign likeness deals with.

The great wrestlers will still get to wrestle with the better promotions and the better promotions will still do well. It makes perfect sense that WWE doesn't want another company potentially profiting off of their talent by producing merchandise based upon that talent.

No unethical or even bad for pro wrestling, its simply just business.

Wrestling will be fine.

Saying "Don't sign with this company because then we won't do business with you" isn't ethical? As the leader in your industry? What they're basically attempting to do is make ROH an unattractive employment prospect for young indy guys, choking off ROH's supply of future talent once WWE decides the current "crop" are ready to be signed.

[lionheart21]

I can totally understand TNA, but I'm curious as to why they don't want them in ROH.

[Deleted]

Jun 11, 2015 16:08:55 GMT -5 lionheart21 said:

I can totally understand TNA, but I'm curious as to why they don't want them in ROH.

Read the OP again.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

WWE once fired Daniel Bryan, who they had been interested in and keeping an eye on for years, all to appease Mattel. This doesn't surprise me in the least, and I totally get why they are doing it.

[lionheart21]

Jun 11, 2015 16:14:58 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

Jun 11, 2015 16:08:55 GMT -5 lionheart21 said:

I can totally understand TNA, but I'm curious as to why they don't want them in ROH.

Read the OP again.

I get the reason now.

[whatevernext]

It sounds like pretty decent advice to me.

["Magic" Mark Hurr]

As a toy buyer, having more than one option on a character is awesome. But at the same time I understand WWE's concern.

I just want to see what the finished product of the ROH toys look like. If the overall sculpt and articulation is great then that's a good kick in the ass when comparing the two figures.

It will definitely make the Kevin Steen figure a colletcors item for me.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Jun 11, 2015 16:28:26 GMT -5 whatevernext said:

It sounds like pretty decent advice to me.

"Don't try to work here in case we, some day, might possibly want to maybe talk about possibly signing you to a potential contract to MAYBE get on tv. And if you DO work there, definitely don't try to supplement your income just in case we want to do the same. We're not making you an offer now, but we might. Do you really wanna f*** that up?" Solid advice, sure. Or you could post the honest version: "Don't work with them, or you're f***ed". Also known as a threat.

[Johnny Flamingo]

Jun 11, 2015 15:59:07 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Saying "Don't sign with this company because then we won't do business with you" isn't ethical? As the leader in your industry? What they're basically attempting to do is make ROH an unattractive employment prospect for young indy guys, choking off ROH's supply of future talent once WWE decides the current "crop" are ready to be signed.

Just a standard non-compete clause that is pretty common across the board regarding business.

There are still multiple options to make a good living without going ROH or TNA. If you look at the reasoning for advising this is makes perfect sense and if someone is talented enough they will find good work.

If you want to work for WWE one day and also ROH then it would be best to make sure you don't sign over your likeness.

This is a really standard practice that is done by multiple businesses. There was article about Disney doing the same thing (much worse in my opinion). I feel WWE is being quite ethical as they are letting people know about this now instead of just dropping it on someone who may have a shot.

if you are interested in reading about it: dailycaller.com/2015/06/09/disney-blacklisted-displaced-american-workers/

[Apricots And A Pear Tree]

Playmates would not pull this kind of shit.

[Johnny Flamingo]

Jun 11, 2015 17:34:40 GMT -5 "Cane Dewey" Johnson said:

Jun 11, 2015 17:06:23 GMT -5 Johnny Flamingo said:

Just a standard non-compete clause that is pretty common across the board regarding business.

There are still multiple options to make a good living without going ROH or TNA. If you look at the reasoning for advising this is makes perfect sense and if someone is talented enough they will find good work.

If you want to work for WWE one day and also ROH then it would be best to make sure you don't sign over your likeness.

This is a really standard practice that is done by multiple businesses. There was article about Disney doing the same thing (much worse in my opinion). I feel WWE is being quite ethical as they are letting people know about this now instead of just dropping it on someone who may have a shot.

if you are interested in reading about it: dailycaller.com/2015/06/09/disney-blacklisted-displaced-american-workers/

But isn't WWE the Disney of wrestling? I fail to see the difference between the two in terms of monopolizing and hurting the industry. And with WWE struggling to get 3.5 million people to watch Raw every week, and with the company month-after-month basically giving the network away for free (to those who know how to exploit loopholes), potentially hurting the business 5, 10, 20 years down the road for a guaranteed quick buck now seems like a bad idea.

If they would do the Disney thing and prevent wrestlers from gaining employment I would say yes. Right now they are simply telling guys to protect their likeness due to an investor.

I don't see this hurting the business right now or in the long term as wrestlers still have options to apply their trade (including ROH). For the wrestling indutry to grow as a whole in the US you will need people willing to invest large sums of money into wrestling to get it back out into the mainstream.

WWE is doing quite well from the business standpoint and the Network was a pretty good idea in regards to staying ahead of the game. I believe the network, NXT and the developmental deal will provide for them quite well in the future. Problem with wrestling in the USA isn't WWE its that their is no one near that level willing to invest in the sport any more.

[corndog]

Jun 11, 2015 4:51:55 GMT -5 Oh Cry Me a Screwball said:

I should point out that WWE actually did this to TNA, when they used Hogan for the WWE All Stars video game during his TNA run.

They also released a Hulkamania DVD during his time in TNA.

[SUPES]

Meltzer:

--In regards to the story in the new issue of the Observer on why WWE is looking at getting word out to prospective wrestlers that they aren't going to be interested in talent that appears going forward in TNA and ROH, that also includes WWE at least talking about a deal with WWNLive (Evolve). As noted on last night's radio show, the deal was not signed, at least as of yesterday afternoon and could easily fall through. Until the deal is completed, it's not fully known what the deal would entail past obviously some form of a working relationship.