Is the empire crumbling before our eyes?

[Gramsci]

What kind of contract is the "rolling 90-day"? I don't know how it works in the US, are these type of contract usual? It means you are always working without a fixed term contract? Then, if the contract expires or you get fired you don't have to right to get the severance pay?

I don't care that much for Steen, but I wanted to see Zayn outside WWE, at one point in 2014 or 2015 he looked like he could have been "the next Daniel Bryan".

[NintendoLogic]

53 minutes ago, Gramsci said:

What kind of contract is the "rolling 90-day"? I don't know how it works in the US, are these type of contract usual? It means you are always working without a fixed term contract? Then, if the contract expires or you get fired you don't have to right to get the severance pay?

WWE contracts are officially for a fixed term. But WWE maintains the unilateral authority to terminate the agreement at any time for any reason, and they're only on the hook for paying the wrestler during the 90-day non-compete period. That's why the joke is that WWE contracts are 90-day deals that renew at WWE's sole discretion. And no, that's not at all the norm for American employment contracts, let alone for professional athletes. In fact, I'd bet that if the contracts were challenged in court, they'd be thrown out as unenforceable.

I don't know Sami's situation, but Owens has a family to take care of. For him, re-upping with WWE is a win-win. If he gets paid, great. If he gets the ax due to budget cuts, AEW will surely snatch him up. I doubt he pulled a Good Brothers and verbally committed to them only to leave Tony hanging when WWE started throwing money at him.

[sek69]

Dave also pointed out the smart play (for anyone in wrestling) is to take the shortest contract you can get since both WWE and AEW are likely to see big increases in their next TV deals unless disaster strikes.

[SirEdger]

2 hours ago, NintendoLogic said:

WWE contracts are officially for a fixed term. But WWE maintains the unilateral authority to terminate the agreement at any time for any reason, and they're only on the hook for paying the wrestler during the 90-day non-compete period. That's why the joke is that WWE contracts are 90-day deals that renew at WWE's sole discretion. And no, that's not at all the norm for American employment contracts, let alone for professional athletes. In fact, I'd bet that if the contracts were challenged in court, they'd be thrown out as unenforceable.

I don't know Sami's situation, but Owens has a family to take care of. For him, re-upping with WWE is a win-win. If he gets paid, great. If he gets the ax due to budget cuts, AEW will surely snatch him up. I doubt he pulled a Good Brothers and verbally committed to them only to leave Tony hanging when WWE started throwing money at him.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe Sami also recently became a father or is about to. But I could be wrong here so this probably weighed into the balance for re-signing.

[DMJ]

I haven't seen it reported, but does the WWE do signing bonuses?

That, to me, would be a smart move for any big name - like Owens or even Sami - to have their agent/lawyer ask for. Considering how lopsided the merchandise deal is, that would be a demand that'd be totally warranted.

I mean, I'm not sure how much of a cut ProWrestling Tees gets from CM Punk or Sting or whatever, but I can't imagine its the 80%-90% that the WWE takes. So, if you're Kevin Owens and you're basically guaranteed to sell thousands upon thousands of tee-shirts and going to get the lion's share of those profits, that has to play into your negotiations at this point. I mean, Hook just overtook CM Punk as the top merch mover of the week. One has to believe a new Kevin Steen or El Generico shirt would've earned them a pretty penny.

[Timbo Slice]

Think the downside guarantees are still bigger in WWE, yeah? Yeah, merch can move, but I think the idea of a steady baseline is worth it to them. 

[C.S.]

11 hours ago, NintendoLogic said:

I doubt he pulled a Good Brothers and verbally committed to them only to leave Tony hanging when WWE started throwing money at him.

That was the best thing that ever happened to Tony Khan. Likely deterred him from ever signing them, he still got to use them through the Forbidden Door with Impact, and he saw firsthand that Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakawaza were more entertaining and memorable in the same roles.

[Stiva]

I haven't seen much of WWE this year but, had he signed, would people want to Sami come to AEW and do a similar gimmick or would people want him to go back to El Generico? It seems like the latter would have been a bit of a regression considering how much he's come along as a performer.

[strobogo]

I don't want to see him go back to Generico, but boy am I sick of scum bag heel Sami.

[Timbo Slice]

Sami is doing this mainly because the mileage has piled up, yeah?

[Jmare007]

I would've loved to see a 6-10 month run of him as super babyface El Genérico that would've ended in him losing his mask in AEW's first lucha de apuestas..

[strobogo]

1 hour ago, Timbo Slice said:

Sami is doing this mainly because the mileage has piled up, yeah?

I don't know if that's the reason or not, but I'd have to assume the milage is catching up to him at this point. KO also seems like it's caught up to him but he's still taking crazy bumps all the time.

[sek69]

Seth announced he has COVID so him and Becky are out, and Roman has been pulled off house shows for obvious reasons with another round of people getting sick.

[Strummer]

Fightful is reporting that wwe will no longer require covid testing for the talent

[PeteF3]

29 minutes ago, Strummer said:

Fightful is reporting that wwe will no longer require covid testing for the talent

Yes, that's definitely the tactic I would take if my top guy was a cancer survivor.

[sek69]

This comes on the heels of them not having enough producers due to half of them testing positive. If I'm Roman, I'm going to Vince like "wtf are you trying to kill me?"

[PeteF3]

I could see moving in this direction if or when omicron cases hit a decline like they've seemingly done in South Africa--like it or not, that's the way things are going in terms of business requirements and mandates, and I think we could reach a point next year where asymptomatic wrestlers/players are allowed to go out there anyway. But fuck, can we at least get through January first and see where we're at?

[strobogo]

Can't be any cases if you don't do any testing has been Trump/various GOP governors' talking points for a year and a half now.

[El-P]

This company is a joke. If I'm Johnny Gargano, there's no way I re-sign with these irresponsible clowns.

[sek69]

Seriously, Roman came back to this company to be the only full time ratings mover and the company slaps him in the face like that. I wouldn't blame him if he pulled a Hansen and ran over the belt with his truck before mailing it back to Vince. 

[Strummer]

Roman is once again not at the SD house show tonight

[Rah]

7 hours ago, PeteF3 said:

I could see moving in this direction if or when omicron cases hit a decline like they've seemingly done in South Africa--

We are at our highest all time peak currently. Please don't let any numbers you might see fool you. Between holidays and people showing no regard for their responsibility, this is only getting worse. 

[sek69]

Toni Storm is no longer with WWE per Fightful

[gonzalez]

AHAHAHAHA wow

[Coffey]

Who knew that Nick Khan & Vince McMahon, Jr. didn't like cake? I mean, Vince is pretty old, so I reckon I can see that... but damn. How can you not market Toni Storm & her look in modern society?