KawadaSmile Posted November 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 17 hours ago, SirEdger said: Roman has always been a team player but never stooped to the corporate stooge level Rollins has been lately. Roman can actually talk and motivate people properly. No wonder he was the de facto locker room leader. 16 hours ago, Burgundy LaRue said: He nearly got fired for being a PITA back then. He's a combination of HHH and HBK without the smarts, finesse or swagger. I need more details on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 He wouldn't listen to anyone in developmental until they were about to fire him. Then he became a corporate lapdog as a response to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 From the latest Observer: Absolutely pathetic. None of these losers deserve to be treated with a shred of dignity. At this point, I'm actively rooting for Vince to shovel shit down all their throats for the duration of their contracts. And even then, they'd probably re-up and come back for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 I would agree it's hard to give any of these guys any sympathy when they come off like corporate empty shells with no character whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 To be fair, this doesn't sound too dislike situations in many workplaces. In the heat of the moment, in this case when you're in Saudi Arabia and you feel like you've been abandoned and you're wondering when you're going to get home, you're probably going to say things out of anger. Your emotions are heightened. A couple days later, you're back in the US, the ordeal is behind you, people are making jokes and then the boss brings you into a meeting to talk about it and your attitude is different. To put it in terms that I use with my MD/ASD students, you've gone from the "Red Zone" (angry, yelling, mad) back to the "Green Zone" (calm, happy, "ready to learn"). Plus I would wager that Vince's speech began with a disarming pseudo-apology - something along the lines of, "I'm sorry there was confusion," which places some of the blame on the workers who were confused - and featured a line or two that put himself in the shoes of the talent ("What a weekend, huh, pals?" or anytime he used the word "we" to collectively describe an experience that he and his inner circle did not actually experience). Vince has been referred to as a Jedi Master. He certainly knows how to verbally disarm a lockerroom and present (false) empathy with his "the WWE is a family" bullshit. This is all before we even get to the intimidation factor of this guy being in control of your career and having a history of being punitive and very shrewd about how he can both overwork you and underpay you simultaneously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 50 minutes ago, DMJ said: This is all before we even get to the intimidation factor of this guy being in control of your career and having a history of being punitive and very shrewd about how he can both overwork you and underpay you simultaneously. Not to mention the infamous Vince Jedi mind trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 It's also basic psychology. No one wants to be the tallest blade of grass to get cut down first, so if you put everyone in the room and ask someone to speak up odds are no one will want to be the first one to do so. Especially since as the WON bit mentioned, it wouldn't have made any difference. So why cut your own throat for no reason? Most of these people have families and I'm sure saw the meeting for what it was and I can't blame them for not wanting to martyr themselves. Especially since with the nature of wrestlers, there was a pretty good chance anyone who did speak up would get hung out to dry by everyone else there. Hunter waiting until the end to call out Karl was a bitch ass move though. Comes off as a 100% "don't forget who has the biggest dick here" play. It's just amazing how a guy can hit the lottery personally and professionally and still constantly reveal himself to be the most insecure, petty motherfucker possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 All I'm saying is that if I were in that situation, I would have gotten fired. Of course, I don't exactly have a stellar track record of biting my tongue or considering consequences in the moment with previous employment. I've had the Cris Carter escorted out by security moment on more than one occasion. So it's pretty telling to me when a room full of wrestlers, that now actually have a lot of options in their industry, are completely silent when getting basically browbeat. I could never do that & it has been a hindrance in my past. So I don't know if I should condemn them for being pushovers or commend them for their restraint. Either way it doesn't paint a pretty picture. One thing is for sure though, this event is going to go down as a big wrestling question mark for a long time to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Wrestlers have been conditioned for the last 20+ years to not rock the boat and be in constant fear of unemployment, I'm sure that's some shit you just can't forget because there are more options. Plus you have to think the wrestlers are getting a constant stream of misinformation and FUD about all the competitors to make them not sure they really have a choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slasher Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Just because there's "options" now doesn't mean tanking your career just to voice a gripe is a wise business decision. First off, not everyone is going to be invited to AEW. Second of all, the WWE are pretty good about finding ways to keep you even if they want to screw around with you. You hear stories of time being added to contracts or things like that. If it was that easy, Luke Harper would have been gone by now. But he is still there, despite being quite clear of his feelings on the matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 I would argue that going to Saudi Arabia is not a wise business decision. At least not for the individual. If money is the only thing that matters -- since why else would you not opt out -- then you could hope for a Luke Harper situation where you get paid to NOT work. Isn't that the dream? Get paid to stay at home. Take zero bumps. Still pay your bills. Heal up. Like Kevin Nash or Lanny Poffo did for WCW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Not everyone wants to sit at home and collect a paycheck for nothing, to get to the point WWE is interested means they have ridiculous levels of drive and I can't imagine 95% of the roster content with Ferris Bueller-ing their prime career years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slasher Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Not everyone wants to sit at home, paid or not. Shockingly enough, there are plenty of guys who actually wants to do this for a living and to ply the craft they have worked so hard and long to develop careers in. All the bumps they took as young wrestlers, all the jobs they have done to further their standing in the industry, all the work they put in developing their characters and the way they work, that wasn't so they could just sit at home while still in the physical peak of their lives, because they wanted to badmouth an unfortunate incident that is 100% the company's fault. Edit: Sek beat me to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted November 9, 2019 Report Share Posted November 9, 2019 Vince has a history of showing far more respect to those with the guts to stand up to him than those who try to blow sunshine up his ass. But even setting that aside, what are they afraid he'll do to them? Firing them is obviously out of the question, and burying them through booking isn't much of a threat since most of them could hardly be booked worse. Seriously, what more could they possibly do to Rusev? If Vince's reality distortion field has prevented them from seeing what's plain as day to anyone with an Observer subscription, then their plight isn't worth caring about. There's far too much genuine suffering in the world to shed tears for those who bend over backwards to allow a psychopathic billionaire to humiliate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted November 9, 2019 Report Share Posted November 9, 2019 Well, if one of those motherfuckers gets their goddamn head chopped off for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time over there, I hope them "plying their craft" was worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted November 9, 2019 Report Share Posted November 9, 2019 On one hand, yes they're all big boys and girls and at the end of the day they have the right and ability to tell Vince to GFY if they want to. On the other hand, the imbalance of power is real and I can't really be too mad at someone not wanting to the the first one to fling themselves under the bus. It's like when free agency happened in baseball: it was a godsend that changed the balance of power from owners to players, but the guy who made it happen (Curt Flood) had his career ended in the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slasher Posted November 9, 2019 Report Share Posted November 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Coffey said: Well, if one of those motherfuckers gets their goddamn head chopped off for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time over there, I hope them "plying their craft" was worth it. I hope you realize you are coming across like a dude who doesn't understand the unique workplace dynamics that are in place here. The wrestlers most likely have responsibilities to tend to, that they can't afford to take stands out of principle here, because like mentioned, they have nearly no leverage here. Most of those guys signed with the WWE before the Saudi Arabia deal came about. They didn't know what they were getting into, but at this point they've become dependent on the WWE paychecks. AEW isn't picking everyone up for the same money they're getting with the WWE. Neither is New Japan. Sure as hell ain't gonna be RoH or Impact either. You talk about heads getting cut off (way to go over the top here by the way) but they got through this ordeal, and we're talking about a meeting in US. Now if they agree to go back to KSA after this, I certainly would have less sympathy for them if this happened again and they didn't speak up, but as things stand now, there's no reason for them to scorch their own Earth just to make a point. That's like ramming their cars into the police vehicle because they were upset they got pulled over for speeding in an emergency situation. It helps nobody here. And considering the fact the boss's son-in-law and potential future heir to the company called out a wrestler for a tweet, the reality is there's gonna have to be A LOT of Curt Floods for things to change here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted November 9, 2019 Report Share Posted November 9, 2019 so the Andy Messersmith in this scenario will be somebody that gets overshadowed by history, but ends up working for Turner for a few years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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