The U word (“union”) came up again in the WWE as a mid-card wrestler stood up for what he thought was unfair pay. What happens when a WWE wrestler gets in trouble with management?
In the case of mid-card wrestler, JTG (real name Jayson Paul), he sent out a tweet expressing his frustration with his current place in the company roster and the recent pay he received for Wrestlemania. JTG cited the fact that no one wants to speak up because of the fear of losing their place.
According to The Wrestling Observer (subscription required), JTG was paid only $500 per night for his work on a tour of Central and South America. While the profits from the tour were not as expected, the payout for the undercard wrestlers could have been more. More recently, Wrestlemania 28 bonuses were only $2,000 for undercard talent despite the WWE’s claim it was one of the biggest revenue generating shows in its history. Granted, JTG was not on the show but did work the Wrestlemania week events.
As a result of his tweets expressing discontent with his payment, he was embarrassed on television by getting beat handily and Michael Cole (WWE announcer) mockingly referred to his tweets.
Payout Take: It’s the WWE’s method of discipline for insubordination. But, the WWE did address the issue by amending its bonuses for the Central and South America shows. The Observer reports there was talk of a union after the Wrestlemania payouts but, as the Observer noted, would be unlikely considering the need for a unified locker room if there would be a change for a union. It’s likely that the top guys would not want a union while most of the undercard guys would fear losing their job as a result. Obviously, this is the same concern in the UFC regarding unionizing. The top of the card guys getting PPV cuts and top pay would not want to rock the boat to help out the guys getting $6,000 for a fight. And for the guys getting $6K a night, most are just happy to get an opportunity to fight in the UFC to make an argument about pay.
This story may be over with the WWE’s make good for the international tour but this is a reoccurring theme with the state of the combat sports independent contractor.
I do not want t a union for MMA. But i think a Union in WWE is really needed. In MMA you control your destiny. Of course the UFC can control your match ups but in the end win or lose is up to you. In WWE you are a undercard wrestler only because they scripted you to be so. Skill and talent and hard work has little factor because they can write anyone in as a star or anyone in as a bum. They give you quotes to say that sell or they dont. They can give you 100 wins in a rown to make you like Goldberg or they have you lose all the time and you are the Brooklyn Brawler. You ar an actor and your pay is based on their script not your hard work or performance. MMA is a competition where you get what you deserve for the most part. WWE is not a compatition. The WWE created all these stars by scripting them to beat the undercard guys. So they are just as responsible for the success of an event and the company as the stars.
I agree BS. And it does seem like politics plays a big role in WWE. How does Sean Waltman (XPac) get anywhere in his career without HHH or Nash.
In the UFC, if you keep winning there will be pressure (bloggers, media, fans) to put you in bigger fights. In WWE, that doesn’t seem to matter.
Some people will argue that the stars have a charisma about them and the undercard guys dont. And that is really the skill and what pay is based on. I dont doubt there is charisma involved but i would argue that guys have had had it and not been successful too. If being a star was based on personality or an it factor. Why does it take these guys so many different characters to find success? Why wasnt Stunning Steve Austin as popular as StoneCold Steve Austin? Almost every stars required many many characters and storylines before getting lucky. This further proves the script is largely responsible for creating these guys. So the value of these guys are not much difference between a star and a bum. The difference is only there when the WWE passes out storylines and chooses who wins and loses.