Ask the Editor
Ask the Torch: Frustrated with WWE/TNA, TNA wrestler pay, Chavo Guerrero's status
May 12, 2006 - 4:50:00 PM |
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PWTorch.com reader Richard Huang asks: I was wondering how most TNA wrestlers got paid and if it affected TNA's status. If TNA wrestlers go paid by match, I would understand TNA trying to add as many matches as possible onto a PPV or Impact card, opposed to having more segments on a card. If TNA wrestlers not paid by appearance however, wrestlers should ask for more segments per show.
WK: My understanding is TNA has paid wrestler by the match, with a certain minimum number of matches per year guaranteed. When wrestlers are kept off a show, they see it as one less chance to make more than their "minimum." It was a blow to morale when Buff Bagwell, Lex Luger, and Rick Steiner were brought in for the last TV taping while a number of lower-card regulars were told to stay home. Bagwell, Luger, and Steiner were just brought in for one-shot, though, and it probably had more to do with TNA cutting back the number of actual matches it features on each edition of Impact. If a wrestler is brought in to a TV taping and doesn't wrestle, but does appear on camera, obviously they also get paid. But I don't believe a wrestler on a paid-per-match deal gets more money if they wrestle a match or if they wrestle a match and also appear on camera for an interview or an angle.
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PWTorch.com reader Dave Marsh of Audubon, Pa. asks: What happened to Chavo Guerrero? Did he really become a real estate agent?
WK: He is being held off of TV for several weeks to drive home the storyline that he quit wrestling. He is scheduled to return within a few weeks, though, and as noted in a WWE News update earlier, a source says it will stir some controversy because it will continue to involve mentions of the late Eddie Guerrero.
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PWTorch.com reader D. Wayne Wilson of Frankfort, Ky. asks: As a follow up to the question asked by Bale Bates I have this: So Jeff Jarrett is an egomaniac who's obsessed with his image, so Vince McMahon is obsessed with his image. So neither one of these figures are concerned with the overall product. So wrestling continues to drag the bottom of the barrel looking for a breath of fresh air. So nothing ever changes. So we get rehashed gimmicks and feuds. So no one looks at the 'net as a reference to what true wrestling fans want. So Ric Flair is made a doormat for Triple H's quest to overtake his 18 time world champion title status. So what? Short of stop watching, which many fans claim to WANT to do but don't because they're loyalty to the sport prevents them, what is the average fan supposed to do? TNA has the power to usurp Vince, but Jarrett's ego prevents him. Vince has the power to revolutionize the sport, but his ego prevents him. The fan suffers over and over (cause there’s no other national outlet to see wrestling in its pure unego form) from dynamics. As Axl Rose said... where do we go now?
WK: You didn't mention Ring of Honor, and if you are frustrated with WWE or TNA, but don't have an indy group in your area to satiate your appetite, by all means give Ring of Honor a try (ROHwrestling.com). I strongly recommend their DVD series as a great substitution or supplement to monthly PPVs from WWE and TNA. We review each ROH DVD in-depth in the Torch Newsletter and have a huge ROH DVD Review section online available to VIP members here. They offer the most consistent string of world class main events and is the promotion that makes the wrestling matter the most, but it's not void of angles and personalities, either. As for your characterization of Vince McMahon, he could revolutionize wrestling if he wanted to, but he already has at least once, and he's doing pretty well financially. It's tough to tell someone who promotes the top rated year-round weekly series on all of cable who just watched his Raw and Smackdown TV events earlier this week sellout, and is anticipating another 1 million-plus buy tally for his annual WrestleMania that he is ruining the industry or not serving the fans. TNA is having just enough success that those with power can defend and keep their positions, but they could be doing so much better with improved booking.
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PWTorch.com reader Jon of O'Fallon Mo. writes: I recently started watching TNA because of all the hype I've been hearing and my question is why are the TNA writers so bent on bringing back ex WCW stars like Buff Bagwell, Rick Steiner, and Lex Luger to their brand that has homebread (or guys that have been there since the beginning) stars like A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, and AMW? Don't they understand that it was these guys who destroyed WCW five years ago and the fans don't really seem to care about seeing these guys again?
WK: I think it was a mistake to feature Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, and Rick Steiner on TV in any situation because the stench of their past can really work against TNA's supposed goal of being a new, progressive alternative to WWE. The situation was, Sting wanted to get his pals in need a payday and thought of a way to incorporate them into a take-off on the hot game show "Deal or No Deal." Lex, Buff, and Rick were brought in only for that one-time appearance, but I think it sent a message to fans that TNA was living in the past - a past dated 1999 that they seem too often to go back to because that's what Jeff Jarrett remembers best because that's when he was a main eventer for WCW. I think TNA would be better off disassociating themselves from anything that resembles WCW Thunder.
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Background on Torch editor Wade Keller: Torch editor Wade Keller founded Pro Wrestling Torch in September 1987. He has been interviewed as a wrestling expert by dozens of TV and radio stations across the country; he has also been quoted in dozens of major newspapers and magazines across the world. Media entities that have featured Keller in stories covering wrestling include National Public Radio, Fox News Channel, ESPN Magazine, the New York Post, Entertainment Weekly, the All-News Channel, the Associated Press, and the Washington Post. He also hosted his own weekly two hour wrestling talk show on KFAN sport radio in the '90s. Over the past 17 years Keller has also interviewed, one-on-one, wrestling's top names for in-depth "Torch Talks" and feature articles including powerbrokers such as Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, Jerry Jarrett, Bill Watts, Jim Cornette, Jim Crockett, Jim Herd, Paul Heyman, Ed Ferrara, Terry Taylor, Kevin Sullivan, Jim Ross, and Vince Russo; top wrestling stars such as The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Rick Steamboat, Jerry Lawler, Bill Goldberg, British Bulldog, Road Warrior Hawk, Jesse Ventura, and Hulk Hogan; and legends such as Lou Thesz, Gordon Solie, Bruno Sammartino, Roy Shires, Terry Funk, and Verne Gagne. He is also host of the nationally distributed Ultimate Insiders DVD series.
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