Exclusive: Frustrated Talents + What They Want

Source: WZROnline.com

Just to recap, here are some exclusive bullet points on the current backstage frustration among mid-card talents in WWE. We’re going to be posting plenty more in the coming days on what’s going down backstage and what these guys plan to do about it if WWE doesn’t take action immediately.

* There are many talents in WWE right now that feel it would be in WWE’s best interest to take care of the mid-card talents who are very frustrated, especially with Linda McMahon’s ongoing senate run. As noted earlier, there is a large group (20+ talents) who are seriously considering trying to start a union if things don’t change. There are enough guys right now who would be willing to do so, but the issue is they just need a top talent “leader”, such as a Rock, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio etc. who would stick up for them and push management to fairly compensate them. All three of the guys just mentioned have “gone to bat” for talents in the past and are very open to getting a union in place.

* As noted yesterday here on the website, A.W. was fired Friday from WWE due to two major points: first, and most obvious, was his tasteless and very non-PG Kobe Bryant reference/joke on RAW recently. The second, and equally as integral in the company’s decision to fire him, was not as obvious and involved the tweet regarding Linda McMahon.

* WWE releasing talent over travel and pay issues obviously isn’t going to look good for Linda McMahon and her senate run, especially if WWE continues to announce the releases on WWE.com and then have talents lash out on social media sites on the real reason they were fired and why they’re so pissed off with the company right now. Obviously, $500 bonuses for overseas tours isn’t going to keep guys happy. These are all-time lows as we’ve been reporting. A $500 bonus check is also ridiculously low considering WWE is making millions per overseas shows which usually have sold out houses and large merchandise sales.

* The moral of the story is that If they continue to fire mid-card guys, it’ll reflect badly on Linda McMahon’s “job creator” senate campaign. Also, if her opponents hear about how their talents are being treated these days, they’re going to run with it and blast her non-stop. This is also part of the reason mid-card talents are speaking out right now.

* Two guys that are really frustrated right now are Santino Marella and Zack Ryder. Santino has a lot of money saved and also has a full grown teenage daughter. Lots of guys have money saved but they love their job and would rather not lash out and “play it smart”. They simply want to be paid fairly. As noted earlier, more talents may come out on social media in the coming weeks unless things change. These guys love what they do and would rather stay with the company but they can only take so much before finally taking a stand.

* One source told us: “Loving what you do and being manipulated for what you do are two different things.”

* As previously noted, agents/producers get everything paid for (private flights, limos to the arena, hotels, etc.) while mid-card guys and Divas sit in coach, rent their cars and pay for hotels and food.

* Many guys were applauding AW’s tweet on Linda McMahon, where he stated: “Creates jobs my ass!! I’m fired thanks to you and your campaign.” Many feel the exact same way.

* We can confirm that Santino Marella, Yoshi Tatsu, Jack Swagger, Zack Ryder, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins and numerous Divas are just a few of the names who are frustrated. Again, they all want to speak out but are “being smart about it.”

Once again, we have numerous exclusive reports forthcoming on what is expected to happen over the next few weeks and what the company has to do about it to avoid things getting even worse than they currently are. Stay tuned to WZROnline.com for that.