Opinion: I just took a second to shake my head

[Judge Fudge]

I heard last night that John Oliver took a huge cheap shot at the WWE and their lack of Union, Although they have the money for it.

This is nothing more than Bullshit. The only truth is the fact that their is no Union, which I'll touch on in a little bit, but the Wrestlers actually know what there getting into. This is not Ballet now.

They are also working on fixing the problem. He mentioned about wrestling Tragedies but what He fails to realize is the fact THAT WWE HAS A WORKING WELLNESS PROGRAM and THERE REACHING OUT TO FORMER WRESTLERS AND GETTING THEM HELP. Jake Robert's, Scott Hall, Sunny( but she is quickly becoming a lost cause) etc. The WWE reached up and got them help and fixed.

Take a look at the facts. Who was the last wrestler who died when working with the WWE??? I think it was 2007 and I dare someone to prove me wrong.

As for Unions. They can be hazardous especially for someone like the WWE, who rely on weekly programs to keep their base engaged, because they have the propensity to lose a vast amount of their fanbase because of a lengthy work stoppage.

In Closing, Mr. Oliver says he is a wrestling fan. I highly doubt that because this wrestling fan just blew every point he supposedly had into the water.

I want to know what you guys think. I'm thinking about giving this to someone in hopes of working as a Wrestling beat writer

 

[The Q]

What happened with sunny?

I saw she got engaged

 

[Judge Fudge]

What happened with sunny?

I saw she got engaged

DUI's and being a fugitive

 

[wildturkey]

I heard last night that John Oliver took a huge cheap shot at the WWE and their lack of Union, Although they have the money for it.

This is nothing more than Bullshit. The only truth is the fact that their is no Union, which I'll touch on in a little bit, but the Wrestlers actually know what there getting into. This is not Ballet now.

They are also working on fixing the problem. He mentioned about wrestling Tragedies but what He fails to realize is the fact THAT WWE HAS A WORKING WELLNESS PROGRAM and THERE REACHING OUT TO FORMER WRESTLERS AND GETTING THEM HELP. Jake Robert's, Scott Hall, Sunny( but she is quickly becoming a lost cause) etc. The WWE reached up and got them help and fixed.

Take a look at the facts. Who was the last wrestler who died when working with the WWE??? I think it was 2007 and I dare someone to prove me wrong.

As for Unions. They can be hazardous especially for someone like the WWE, who rely on weekly programs to keep their base engaged, because they have the propensity to lose a vast amount of their fanbase because of a lengthy work stoppage.

In Closing, Mr. Oliver says he is a wrestling fan. I highly doubt that because this wrestling fan just blew every point he supposedly had into the water.

I want to know what you guys think. I'm thinking about giving this to someone in hopes of working as a Wrestling beat writer

Eh, he's got more of a point then you're giving him credit for. The segment did show how shitty they were treated in the past but that was the point. To show you how bad its been and to the fact that they still don't provide health insurance and the language in their contracts of "independent contractors" is largely bullshit. Paying for drug rehab for a few people isn't the same as provided proper health care and adequate time off for injury rehab and rest to prevent injuries. His segment did leave out some of the steps (like the Wellness program) they've made over the last decade (though he did mention the concussion thing), but its still been baby steps, many of which came about with WWE kicking and screaming along the way (ie all the concussion lawsuits basically forced WWE to do at least something to cover their asses)

 

[Duffman]

Eh, he's got more of a point then you're giving him credit for. The segment did show how shitty they were treated in the past but that was the point. To show you how bad its been and to the fact that they still don't provide health insurance and the language in their contracts of "independent contractors" is largely bullshit. Paying for drug rehab for a few people isn't the same as provided proper health care and adequate time off for injury rehab and rest to prevent injuries. His segment did leave out some of the steps (like the Wellness program) they've made over the last decade (though he did mention the concussion thing), but its still been baby steps, many of which came about with WWE kicking and screaming along the way (ie all the concussion lawsuits basically forced WWE to do at least something to cover their asses)

Let's see. Get paid 6 figures a year(even for mid level guys though they're probably low 6 figures but still) and buy your own health insurance, or get paid drastically less but have WWE provide it for you. If I'm a performer I'm taking the former every day if the week.

Also as we saw in the HBO clip Vince believes he's not at fault, which I would argue he's partially right for 2 reasons,

1, the medical testing even back in 2006 was 100 times better than it was in 1976 so while things should be common sense to us it wasn't for 95% of the wrestlers back before Vince even bought the WWWF.

And the 2nd reason is not once in the entire piece did Oliver mention personal responsibility, everything was Vince's fault, Oliver never mentioned that maybe adults should act like adults and be held accountable for their own actions. Not saying they deserve death but literally hundreds of these wrestlers would do drugs like there's no tomorrow and yet somehow end up shocked that they paid for it later in life. I don't see Oliver covering the major drug abuse and deaths in Hollywood or the Music industry and those are far worst than what Vince has done.

 

[justanidiot]

Linda McMahon has been running the WWE for decades. She is currently the head of the small business association.

I am pretty sure she is more knowledgeable about the business than a guy that has to come to a different country to be famous, and only has enough material to do one show a week.

You know what independent contractors can do that regular employees cant? Say no.

 

[DefCONNOne]

I heard last night that John Oliver took a huge cheap shot at the WWE and their lack of Union, Although they have the money for it.

This is nothing more than Bullshit. The only truth is the fact that their is no Union, which I'll touch on in a little bit, but the Wrestlers actually know what there getting into. This is not Ballet now.

They are also working on fixing the problem. He mentioned about wrestling Tragedies but what He fails to realize is the fact THAT WWE HAS A WORKING WELLNESS PROGRAM and THERE REACHING OUT TO FORMER WRESTLERS AND GETTING THEM HELP. Jake Robert's, Scott Hall, Sunny( but she is quickly becoming a lost cause) etc. The WWE reached up and got them help and fixed.

Take a look at the facts. Who was the last wrestler who died when working with the WWE??? I think it was 2007 and I dare someone to prove me wrong.

As for Unions. They can be hazardous especially for someone like the WWE, who rely on weekly programs to keep their base engaged, because they have the propensity to lose a vast amount of their fanbase because of a lengthy work stoppage.

In Closing, Mr. Oliver says he is a wrestling fan. I highly doubt that because this wrestling fan just blew every point he supposedly had into the water.

I want to know what you guys think. I'm thinking about giving this to someone in hopes of working as a Wrestling beat writer

Outside of proof-reading and cleaning up the typos, this was a very good, well thought out post.

 

[ill]

have any of you actually watched Oliver's bit? I thought it was pretty spot on.

and I had never seen the interview where Vince knocks the papers out of the interviewers hands because he asked if he felt responsible for the young deaths of so many wrestlers. Vince knows he is taking advantage of these performers and will cast them aside the second they are done and he will find someone new.

They are disposable to him...just like NFL players are to the NFL. Just find someone else who will do the job.

 

[ill]

 

[DefCONNOne]

have any of you actually watched Oliver's bit? I thought it was pretty spot on.

and I had never seen the interview where Vince knocks the papers out of the interviewers hands because he asked if he felt responsible for the young deaths of so many wrestlers. Vince knows he is taking advantage of these performers and will cast them aside the second they are done and he will find someone new.

They are disposable to him...just like NFL players are to the NFL. Just find someone else who will do the job.

Don't need to. John Oliver is a hack who hasn't had an original thought in his life. Not surprised you think he's so great.

 

[ill]

Don't need to. John Oliver is a hack who hasn't had an original thought in his life. Not surprised you think he's so great.

whatever, man.

it was a good report and he seems to be a fan of the product. He just wants to look out for the performers, which I think makes sense.

weird that anyone would ever side with the Authority like you are now. Stone Cold would not be proud of you, Constance.

 

[wildturkey]

Let's see. Get paid 6 figures a year(even for mid level guys though they're probably low 6 figures but still) and buy your own health insurance, or get paid drastically less but have WWE provide it for you. If I'm a performer I'm taking the former every day if the week.

Also as we saw in the HBO clip Vince believes he's not at fault, which I would argue he's partially right for 2 reasons,

1, the medical testing even back in 2006 was 100 times better than it was in 1976 so while things should be common sense to us it wasn't for 95% of the wrestlers back before Vince even bought the WWWF.

And the 2nd reason is not once in the entire piece did Oliver mention personal responsibility, everything was Vince's fault, Oliver never mentioned that maybe adults should act like adults and be held accountable for their own actions. Not saying they deserve death but literally hundreds of these wrestlers would do drugs like there's no tomorrow and yet somehow end up shocked that they paid for it later in life. I don't see Oliver covering the major drug abuse and deaths in Hollywood or the Music industry and those are far worst than what Vince has done.

Paying them six figures shouldn't be a reason for WWE to not provide insurance. There's plenty of jobs that pay six figures while also providing health insurance and most of them aren't jobs that require you beating yourself up for 300 days a year. They could also do a better job of not "forcing" talent to work through injuries. I put "forcing" in quotes because while they don't technically do so, its more wink wink heavily implied that if you don't, you're gonna lose your spot, which should not happen. They use their own doctor which creates a possibility for bias. So if its heavily implied the WWE wants you to work this next tour despite your injury, how much do you really trust the WWE paid doctor that says "Well, you COULD work this show...wink wink". They have the resources to allow talent to heal, they have the resources to give talent time off in an "offseason" and not miss anything company wise*.

As for the drug stuff, I think you're missing a major point here. They didn't choose to use drugs for the hell of it recreationally. These guys got hooked because of pain. Pain that was a direct result of having to work a demanding, grueling wrestling schedule. And like was addressed in the piece, if they weren't there for that schedule, they had no job. With no health care or proper rehab, pain pills and narcotics are a cheaper and more available option to push through it. But that has devastating results. And in spite of those results, we know from stories over the years that that path was basically accepted as ok by WWE. They didn't care. Perhaps even encouraged depending on what stories you believe. Just get the show done was all that mattered. Like I said earlier, Oliver didn't mention (he should have) that they did change some in this respect by instituting the Wellness Program which has been a positive. It is different nowadays in that respect. But that program also doesn't cover the damage done to your overall health for those performers from that time. It'll cover rehab if you're still addicted (like how they've paid for treatments for X-Pac, Scott Hall, etc) but then once sober, you still see guys like Piper, Roberts, etc that still have no option for their medicals. And the way its set up right now, current stars still don't have a lot of options. That's the overall driving point of the segment. There's a lot more that could be done to protect the performers and in the long run would be beneficial for all. It just hasn't happened because WWE doesn't feel any pressure to do it. They essentially have a monopoly so there's no competition to fight for better conditions. So the only other option for pressure would be putting knowledge out to the public and seeing if public pressure would be enough to make changes, which it has been in the past (ie the Wellness Policy, concussions, etc)


*easily could be done considering how large their roster is. You could rotate people in and out. Not only would it be better for the wrestlers health, it would also keep things fresh since you wouldn't have so much talent sitting around basically doing nothing.

 

[Toadman005]

Don't need to. John Oliver is a hack who hasn't had an original thought in his life. Not surprised you think he's so great.

Co-signed.

 

[DefCONNOne]

whatever, man.

it was a good report and he seems to be a fan of the product. He just wants to look out for the performers, which I think makes sense.

weird that anyone would ever side with the Authority like you are now. Stone Cold would not be proud of you, Constance.

Another lie. John Oliver is just so full of them. Example: Everything on his show are his thoughts and his thoughts alone. Pay no attention to the team of writers over there!

 

[StanMarsh51]

Paying them six figures shouldn't be a reason for WWE to not provide insurance. There's plenty of jobs that pay six figures while also providing health insurance and most of them aren't jobs that require you beating yourself up for 300 days a year.

And supposedly, many of them are on the hook for a good amount of their own travel, so those at the lower end of the payscale aren't taking home much.


If you recall Tyler Reks from a few years ago, he said this about his pay in an interview a while back:

People assume you once you're on TV you make a load of money and drive Lamborghinis and stuff, and that's just not the case. Here's a perfect example: I hate to spill my salary on the internet, but when I left I got a bump to $100,000 a year. But a third of it goes to road expenses. The only thing they pay for is your flight. You pay for your own hotel, and car, and food. Could you imagine trying to eat out five times a day? As a body guy, you have to maintain your physique and that means eating five times a day. Spending all your money trying to maintain that? Good luck. Then Uncle Sam takes 20%-30%. You guys do the math and see how much I walked away with, which was next to nothing. I was making more money fresh out of college as an engineer fresh out of college in an entry level position than being on TV.

 

[ill]

Another lie. John Oliver is just so full of them. Example: Everything on his show are his thoughts and his thoughts alone. Pay no attention to the team of writers over there!

if you aren't going to watch the report, you shouldn't be responding

 

[ill]

And supposedly, many of them are on the hook for a good amount of their own travel, so those at the lower end of the payscale aren't taking home much.


Tyler Reks had this to say a few years ago about his pay:

People assume you once you're on TV you make a load of money and drive Lamborghinis and stuff, and that's just not the case. Here's a perfect example: I hate to spill my salary on the internet, but when I left I got a bump to $100,000 a year. But a third of it goes to road expenses. The only thing they pay for is your flight. You pay for your own hotel, and car, and food. Could you imagine trying to eat out five times a day? As a body guy, you have to maintain your physique and that means eating five times a day. Spending all your money trying to maintain that? Good luck. Then Uncle Sam takes 20%-30%. You guys do the math and see how much I walked away with, which was next to nothing. I was making more money fresh out of college as an engineer fresh out of college in an entry level position than being on TV.

on top of that, there is no offseason, so some of these guys are probably hoping for an injury so they can take a damn break. These guys are out there getting the shit kicked out of them nonstop with no health insurance in an industry where you think they would want to protect the wrestlers, which the WWE claims to be the most important part of the WWE.

 

[ellupo]

My sisters company got sued recently by a disgruntled employee. They were required to be independent contractors but the company would dictate the days they worked and the hours. They were allowed to work for other companies but that didnt matter, they won. Backpay was ordered for all involved to cover full time pay back years.
If sued the WWE would lose.

 

[wazzu31]

A union would hurt wrestlers more than help them and would basically lead to the end of the industry.

 

[DefCONNOne]

My sisters company got sued recently by a disgruntled employee. They were required to be independent contractors but the company would dictate the days they worked and the hours. They were allowed to work for other companies but that didnt matter, they won. Backpay was ordered for all involved to cover full time pay back years.
If sued the WWE would lose.

Well, that's like...your opinion, man.