What's the appeal?

[Hobby Drifter]

I came into wrestling during the Attitude Era. This was, perhaps, the biggest boom in wrestling history. When I first learned about what WWF wrestlers had to go through, I was shocked. Being on the road something like 250 days per year, having pay for their own flights/rental cars/hotels, etc. It sounded like a brutal lifestyle, but I could understand it. Everyone in the WWF was pretty damned over; everyone had an action figure; everyone had merch; and everyone seemed to be making some unbelievable cash. I could see people having little trouble with the brutal travel schedule for a decade or so for a million (or much more) per year.

But now... WWE is not nearly as booming as the WWF was. The smaller guys are usually just cannon fodder. If you're not in the main event picture, you probably don't even have a storyline. The undercard comes and goes so quickly, that a lot of dudes don't get action figures in every series of toys or even T-shirts. The "downside guarantees" for these people are still more than most people make in a regular 9-5 job, but is it enough to go out and hurt yourself 250 days out of the year? Is it enough to be away from your family/friends almost all of the time. Is it enough to deal with driving possibly hundreds of miles a day?

Sure, WWE's top guys and "company men" are well taken care of. They seldom drop out of the main event scene and are always involved in some storyline or another. Their pushes are never just killed. You rarely see an Attitude-Era hold-over turn into a jobber.

But what does WWE have to offer new talent? Guys like American Dragon, Samoa Joe, Brian Danielson, etc have flat out refused to sign with WWE. I think this is the first time where wrestlers prefer to stay on the indy scene or with smaller promotions like ROH or TNA. What has WWE done for its new guys? Who was the last new (indy) guy who "made it" in WWE? CM Punk was on his way, but apparently his push has been killed because the wrong ex-booker backed him. Everyone that's being pushed today is either a veteran or a monster.

So indy guys have started to think twice about signing with WWE. Their iron-clad contracts guarantee that, if it doesn't work out, they won't be working for three months (or, in Brock Lesnar's case, TEN YEARS.) They will probably be fed to the bigger guys sooner than later. They have to travel year round, even when they're injured, sick, etc. The money isn't that much better than TNA offers. And, of course, an increasing number of wrestling moves are banned in WWE.

Exposure aside, does WWE have anything to offer their new indy talent?

[Loki]

Many new talents prefer a lighter schedule even though they make less money. As simple as it is.

It may be lack of confidence/trust in WWE, or maybe because they're just more comfortable playing the big fishes in a small bowl rather than taking the chance of being one of the "faceless" curtain-jerkers in WWE.

And from a merely "effort/money/result ratio" standpoint I can't blame them.

Travelling 200+ days a year, making more or less the same money they'd make in other places, AND still being stuck on Heat or jobbing to Khali on RAW (if lucky) doesn't look very appealing.
But on the other hand, after years of hard work, how can't they have the desire of getting a shot to the Major League?

[KingPopper]

professorsmooth said:

But what does WWE have to offer new talent? Guys like American Dragon, Samoa Joe, Brian Danielson, etc have flat out refused to sign with WWE.

American Dragon and Brian Danielson are the same person.

[emoney3265]

kingpopper said:

professorsmooth said:

But what does WWE have to offer new talent? Guys like American Dragon, Samoa Joe, Brian Danielson, etc have flat out refused to sign with WWE.

American Dragon and Brian Danielson are the same person.

I was about to say that.

Anyways... TNA pays it Xdivision stars supposedly low around $300 a week and they have to pay for hotels, cars etc. I'm sure it isn't that bad though as they all probably have jobs in their hometowns.

I don't know how to react to this topic... It's early morning so yea.

[Bram wants to 'urt you]

professorsmooth said:

Exposure aside, does WWE have anything to offer their new indy talent?

You hit the nail on the head right there. It's all about exposure.

WWE is a global concern, broadcasting to and touring all over the world.

Hogan once said that the best wrestler in the world is the one who makes the most money for the least work, and that's the opportunity that the E offers: the chance to get your face on as many TV sets and in front of larger live audiences than anywhere else.

Despite the quality of the current product, the WWE is still regarded as the biggest fed out there and as such is seen to be the 'promised land' for wrestlers the world over.

The way the business seems to be, there is a constant stream of new talent always bubbling under, waiting for the chance to appear on the big stage. And for every indie wrestler who thinks that the E is too much pain for not enough gain, there are a dozen more who think that their time may be just around the corner.

The WWE is run like a giant garage sale of wrestling talent; whatever they happen to have 'in stock' at any given time, is what they offer to the fans. And if the fans don't like whats offered to them, then the E simply jiggles the card week in week out until they find a mix that works. All of this sounds awfully unfair on the wrestlers themselves, but that's the point.

The E simply offers you, as a wrestler, the opportunity to go out there and sell yourself to a wider audience. And with that, there's a possibility that you may just climb to the main event and make a lot of money.

It's all about the maybe's rather than the definites.