Ask the Editor ASK THE EDITOR: Why does WWE keep Val Venis types around instead of using local jobbers? Mar 13, 2008 - 4:54:53 PM

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By Wade Keller, Torch editor

PWTorch.com reader Matt Roberts asks: Why does WWE still use guys like Val Venis, Super Crazy, Charlie Haas, and others as jobbers for guys? You would think paying someone six figures and travel expenses would add up when you can get local talent from indy promotions for less. Using locals would also be more affective as a showcase. I think it sends mixed signals when they use Venis as a jobber when five years ago he was an IC champ. Is this good booking?

Once a decision is made that someone like a Val Venis or Scotty 2 Hotty or Super Crazy isn't worth pushing in a prominent spot, they have two choices: (a) release them; (b) use them as "utility players" who can give them reliable squash matches. I think they make the right choice by keeping them on board. I miss jobbers. One of the great pleasures of being a wrestling fans in the 1970s and 1980s was the weekly squash matches with memorable jobbers who each had their own special way of being weak and pathetic (and use that term endearingly).

It's a tough call with someone such as Val because he's so big, he can make an average sized WWE wrestler seem ordinary. Crazy is a good jobber to have because he can take good bumps, he's not too big, and the spurts of offense he's occasionally given are exciting and there's a sense of hope created that he might pull off an upset.

It is probably more expensive to use Val Venis as a jobber than it would to use a local indy wrestler, but WWE has become protective of their backstage area. Bringing in local indy wrestlers means someone not part of the promotion is granted full access to the operations. Even more so, it's a risk for WWE to put contracted talent in the ring against a local indy wrestler who may or may not have been properly trained and could end up hurt or hurting someone else. The hassle of finding someone local that they know is reliable and competent is more trouble than it's worth.

It was easier to have a regular group of jobbers when the promotions were more regional and the same jobbers could be relied on time after time. WWE travels all over the U.S. and the world for TV events, so I understand their decision to pay a few reliable veterans to be on hand for squash matches.

If you have a question you'd like me to answer or a subject you'd like to hear my opinion on, send it here.

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 20 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.