Flash
The Great One 
Posts 3464
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Ontario, Canada Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 5-24-2017 at 01:31 AM |
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The Evolving WWE
So I was reading an excerpt from an interview Cena gave and part of it caught me a bit off guard as some of it is not stuff that makes the news:
"What I admire about the WWE nowadays is that even though the way we are set up, as independent contractors, they take care of us as if we are
family. They offer financial assistance, onsite healthcare if you get injured. We get injury pay now. They offer secondary education. They offer a
second language program. The depth that they go to make sure we are protected is� they don't need to do that and they do it anyway. It's a
great testament to how much they care about their current talent and talent of life after the [pro wrestling] business."
Now you go back and your read like Mick Foley's autobiography (the first one) and he describes getting stitches/massage from a kind of backstage
guru the WWE kept around in the late 90's and compare that to them having a genuine MD on staff and at ring side all of the time... big
improvement. You could even look at how with even a drip of blood the refs are instructed to glove up- a big difference as guys rolled around in one
another blood for years.
I know there is a lot of scepticism about the Wellness program, but if you actually read the thing over (it's publicly available) there is
actually quite a bit stuffed in there and they seem to build on it all of the time having just recently introduce baseline and concussion testing. You
can also look at the offer sent out to all former talent for help with rehab if required.
They are sinking millions each year into NXT and the performance center to develop talent in a safer environment- this includes specially made
training rings for high flyers.
The further education thing is legit; Paul Burchill and Maria were two recent recipients of the $5000 per calendar year award for former talent.
Not sure how the injury pay thing works as I had always understood it that they got their down side, but maybe that wasn't exactly correct.
The second language thing is kind of a neat one... definitely an investment in their own product having talent they can trot out in front of the
cameras for local ads when they do a tour of (insert country here).... still, nice bit of investment that will help talent to some extent in their
post WWE careers.
So curious; is there any area where the is still falling down? Like I know maybe a pension or something like that would probably be the cherry on top,
but given the short shelf life some of these guys have keeping them as independent contractors probably makes sense, and it wouldn't altogether
surprise me if the WWE doesn't set these guys up when they get signed with a financial planner. I also get that there is probably some overt or
at least some hidden pressure to come back from or work through injuries sooner than guys would in a perfect world. Alternatively to them falling down
what would be the next evolution for the WWE in terms of developing talent, taking care of talent, or adding something to the business that makes it
better?
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CCharger
The Great One 
Posts 3630
Registered 7-21-2010 Member Is Offline Mood: Covfefe
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| posted on 5-24-2017 at 09:18 PM |
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Wow, you mean a multi-billion dollar company actually gives its workers a modicum of respect and security?
Sorry, for the snark, Flash. It ain't you.
I'm just cynical that we live in a world where a huge corporation like the WWE can pay its employees a fair wage, provide adequate health care,
and useful benefits like college funding. Like, that's what their SUPPOSED to do. The fact that Vince and Co. underpaid wrestlers, broke union
organizing efforts, and turned a blind eye to substance abuse and chronic injuries for DECADES is now being lauded for doing the right thing.
It's like someone marveling at the father who feeds the baby, changes diapers, and rocks it to sleep at night so his wife can get some sleep.
"Oh, he's such a great father." No, motherfucker, he is just doing what father are fucking SUPPOSED to do.
It's about time the WWE got around to realizing that their employees are not chattel, but actually human beings.
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted."
"The powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned."
--- Stephen Miller, Trump senior White House advisor, Feb. 12, 2017
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Paddlefoot
Rocco Rock of Jabroni 
Posts 7668
Registered 1-19-2008 Location Stupid Idiot Section Member Is OnlineMood: ChinceMcMahon
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| posted on 5-24-2017 at 10:33 PM |
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Yeah, it's a bit difficult to slap them on the back and say "great job!" when they finally get around to treating people somewhat decently.
Still lots of problems though in that company, as vividly illustrated by the harassment of Mauro and others by members of the in-crowd.
You know, everyone says it's not supposed to make sense, like that's the whole point, dude. And I'm just saying, you know,
that's like an excuse for lazy storytelling. Just don't sell me shite and tell me it's gold, all right? I might be stoned, but
I'm not high. You know what I mean?
- Cassidy from Preacher, commenting on The Big Lebowski and/or professional wrestling
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Cherokee Jack
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1489
Registered 2-24-2009 Location New Orleans, LA Member Is OnlineMood:
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| posted on 5-24-2017 at 11:04 PM |
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Yeah, for starters they could drop the whole "independent contractor" charade, accept that these are employees and offer them the benefits that come
with that (health insurance, a retirement plan of some sort, etc).
I'm Cherokee Jack!
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salmonjunkie
Best There Is Was or Ever Will Be 
Posts 11847
Registered 6-25-2002 Location Sunny Seattle, WA Member Is Offline Mood: Authoritized
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| posted on 5-25-2017 at 01:41 AM |
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This conversation reminds me of Chris Rock.
quote:
A nigga will brag about some shit a normal man just does. A nigga will say some shit like, "I take care of my kids." You're supposed
to, you dumb motherfucker! What kind of ignorant shit is that? "I ain't never been to jail!" What do you want, a cookie?! You're not
supposed to go to jail, you low-expectation-having motherfucker!
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royberto
Showstopper
Posts 663
Registered 2-27-2014 Member Is Offline Mood: Troll Detector
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| posted on 5-25-2017 at 03:22 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by CCharger
Wow, you mean a multi-billion dollar company actually gives its workers a modicum of respect and security?
Sorry, for the snark, Flash. It ain't you.
I'm just cynical that we live in a world where a huge corporation like the WWE can pay its employees a fair wage, provide adequate health care,
and useful benefits like college funding. Like, that's what their SUPPOSED to do. The fact that Vince and Co. underpaid wrestlers, broke union
organizing efforts, and turned a blind eye to substance abuse and chronic injuries for DECADES is now being lauded for doing the right thing.
It's like someone marveling at the father who feeds the baby, changes diapers, and rocks it to sleep at night so his wife can get some sleep.
"Oh, he's such a great father." No, motherfucker, he is just doing what father are fucking SUPPOSED to do.
It's about time the WWE got around to realizing that their employees are not chattel, but actually human beings.
Unions are corupt
outfits. It's good there is no union. You don't need unions to achieve fairness for workers.
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Flash
The Great One
Posts 3464
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Ontario, Canada Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 5-25-2017 at 06:19 PM |
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Look, I'm not saying we should all line up and blow Vince for finally doing better by his employee's, I just mean that it looks like in
the last couple of years the WWE has come up by leaps in bounds in terms of their treatment of their employee's...
In saying the above, it could also be argued that Vince wasn't exactly pioneering the who disposable employee thing in wrestling; he just never
did anything to change the system that was in place for years before he came along despite making more money than... well probably the combined
amounts of all that promoters that came before him.... Not better, just the difference between him say being a union breaker who eroded
employee's benefits they had before.
I know the whole independent contractor thing is something that's been bandied about in the past as a problem; but I don't know how you
could really get around that... The fact that they don't have guaranteed interacts probably means the WWE is apt to take more chances on hiring
guys, and wrestling isn't exactly a job for life kinda career. The pay the guys get is probably in lieu of a pension... like I know most major
league sports have players pensions, but I think in almost every case it's administered by their unions, not the leagues. I guess the WWE could
give them a drug plan; but given the level of abuse in the sport I can also see why they avoid anything like that... plus; again the money they make
and the availability of private health care plans it's probably seen as a wash from the POV of the WWE.
The next innovation I'd like to see the WWE take on is a seasons model; give guys a month or two off (with the exception of a few cases) and
bring them back in for fixed storylines with a beginning middle and end... the two brands could even give you a chance to experiment with this a
bit... if you ran say 3 seasons a year you could even use guys on their "down" time for your foreign tours or something like that.
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