WWE/TNA/Etc Spoiler Thread

[MoFlo]

Bryan says he wants to begin a new era on RAW the night after WrestleMania:

“I’d like to go out on Monday Night Raw on the day after WrestleMania and start a new era with guys who can go out in the ring and perform. John Cena and Randy Orton are great performers, but so are Cesaro and The Shield. It’s time to give some new guys some new opportunities.”

Please let that happen...

We noted before that Charles “The Godfather, Papa Shango” Wright is staying at the WWE hotel in New Orleans. It turns out he was flown in by WWE. Two other name that were brought to New Orleans are Lanny Poffo and Danny Davis. This is the first time in a long time that WWE has used either Poffo or Davis.

Partial source: PWInsider

Very interesting... For those who don't know, Poffo is Macho Man's brother..

Courtesy of dailywrestlingnews.com

 

[The Voice]

DDP is in town as well.

 

[MoFlo]

DDP is in town as well.

I don't think this has as much to do with the actual show as it does the fact that 2 of the guys he's taken under his wing & helped out tremendously are getting inducted into the HOF.

 

[MattyFos.]

So apparently CM Punk was at the HOF last night. Which would explain why they never showed AJ during Lita's speech. Lita was AJ's inspiration. You have to assume Punk was sitting with her. Idk. I'm just ready for Punk to get back to work

 

[Derek]

So apparently CM Punk was at the HOF last night. Which would explain why they never showed AJ during Lita's speech. Lita was AJ's inspiration. You have to assume Punk was sitting with her. Idk. I'm just ready for Punk to get back to work

Crazy theory/Fantasy booking time:

It'd be great to see Punk interfere, seemingly on Bryan's behalf, but end up attacking him and siding with the Authority. Bryan would still overcome and get his moment on this night, but it would set up Punk as a mega heel feuding with Bryan.

 

[Juice is Loose]

Also, I saw someone posted a picture of Sting getting on a flight to New Orleans. Possible he might show up tonight.

 

[Anglefan]

I'm 100% positive that Punk was not in the building last night and almost as sure that he's not in New Orleans. That doesn't mean he can't fly in today, but I seriously doubt it'll happen.

I think if Sting appears on TV, it'll be tomorrow night. They typically don't do debuts on WrestleMania, especially ones that should be hyped.

 

[MoFlo]

-We noted before that The Rock was backstage at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony last night. WWE’s website has an article up wondering what The Rock might do at WrestleMania XXX tonight. The Rock tweeted after arriving in New Orleans:

“I’ve missed you New Orleans… #HomeAwayFromHome #GumboAndTequila #ElectrifyWrestleMania”

F4Wonline.com reports that Rock was rehearsing for something to take place at tonight’s pay-per-view. PWInsider reports that word going around is that Rock will be involved in “something special” at WrestleMania tonight.

-Rob Van Dam was backstage at the WWE Hall of Fame last night. He’s officially in town for WrestleCon but spent some time with the WWE crew.

-The latest internal match listing for tomorrow’s WrestleMania XXX pay-per-view had The Shield vs. Kane and The New Age Outlaws kicking off the show, followed by “stuff in the middle”; John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt; Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker, the Divas Invitational, Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H and then the WWE World Heavyweight Title match.

-At one point, there was a plan for a Sting promo to air during WrestleMania XXX and then have him debut the next night on RAW, similar to how they debuted Bill Goldberg. No word yet if that’s still planned.

Source: F4Wonline.com

-There’s talk of adding a stipulation at the last minute to the Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan match at WrestleMania XXX, possibly making it a Submission Match or No Disqualification.

Source: F4Wonline.com

-Steve Austin recently spoke with The Boston Herald to promote WrestleMania XXX. Austin commented on the CM Punk situation:

“Punk’s fed up with not main-eventing WrestleMania.”

Austin also commented on a possible match between the two:

“I could get more out of that guy than anybody else walking Planet Earth. He could have that ultimate ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting with me. Punk’s been around for a long time and he’s a smart guy, but he never stepped into a damn squared circle with the intensity of a guy like Stone Cold Steve Austin.”

-We noted before that Charles “Godfather, Papa Shango” Wright was brought to New Orleans by WWE this week. For what it’s worth, two fans who ran into him outside of the WWE hotel claim that Wright said he would be appearing live on the WrestleMania XXX broadcast. There has been speculation online that WWE may have Papa Shango appear to do some voodoo to tie-in with the New Orleans theme.

-Newsday.com recently spoke with Roddy Piper and while he was tight-lipped about his involvement at WrestleMania XXX, he did tease a physical role. Piper said:

“All I can say is that somebody’s getting in my way in New Orleans, and I will be in a limousine. And it will be plaid.”

-We’ve noted how Bray Wyatt is the favorite to defeat John Cena at WrestleMania XXX on Sunday. A win over Cena for Wyatt is seen as a big elevation and the hope is that Wyatt will be able to work as a top guy going forward. Wyatt is not guaranteed to go over but his stock has only gone up throughout his first WrestleMania program.

One WWE creative source suggests that WWE is considering doing a stretcher job with Cena being taken out after a loss to Wyatt.

-It’s no secret that WWE is still grooming Roman Reigns for a big babyface singles run once The Shield splits up. While the split has been postponed due to the current babyface run, they are still working on future plans for Reigns.

One source says that we can expect Reigns to be “booked huge” in the six-man match against Kane and The New Age Outlaws at Sunday’s WrestleMania XXX pay-per-view.

-There has been a lot of speculation online among fans on whether or not the WrestleMania XXX main event will end up being a Fatal 4 Way with Batista, Randy Orton, Triple H and Daniel Bryan.

A source confirms that this isn’t just speculation among fans and that scenarios have indeed been pitched for the main event to become a Fatal 4 Way. It’s not confirmed yet that this change will make the final script but it’s something creative is exploring and not just something being thrown around by fans.

-You can always count on WrestleMania to have some sort of surprise and word came down a few days ago that Vince McMahon talked with the WWE creative team over the course of the past week and a half about coming up with something to surprise the fans with at WrestleMania XXX.

It likely won’t be anything major or a big swerve, just something people can say they didn’t see coming. No word yet on what that could be.

-Both Vince McMahon and Triple H have been high up on Sheamus for a while now and Sheamus is someone that has been labeled as one of Triple H’s “guys” but it’s said that Vince has soured on Sheamus as a babyface and wants to turn him heel.

Vince is also ready to turn Roman Reigns as a top babyface but Triple H wants to leave The Shield in tact for now. We’ve noted recently how Triple H and Vince are differing on different angles, which translates to confusion on WWE TV and in the storylines. This doesn’t mean there is a behind the scenes feud between Vince and Triple H, as they actually get along fine.

-As seen on Monday’s RAW from Brooklyn, the smart crowd really got behind Luke Harper and The Wyatt Family in Harper’s rematch against John Cena.

There is a lot of concern among WWE officials that the smart crowd at WrestleMania XXX will turn on Cena, more than usual, in his match against Bray Wyatt. The talk at Monday’s RAW was that the crowd reaction was “just a taste” of what’s to come at WrestleMania.

Courtesy of dailywrestlingnews.com

 

[MattyFos.]

Can someone explain to me how the superstars are paid... I assumed they sign a contract like pro athletes. But after watching the network and hearing about buy rates and drawing money etc.. I'm not sure. For example. The talk about the Battle Royal on the Internet is that it's a way to get as many people on the card as possible for the pay day. How does PPV buys affect pay for people?

 

[DJTJ]

Can someone explain to me how the superstars are paid... I assumed they sign a contract like pro athletes. But after watching the network and hearing about buy rates and drawing money etc.. I'm not sure. For example. The talk about the Battle Royal on the Internet is that it's a way to get as many people on the card as possible for the pay day. How does PPV buys affect pay for people?

Your big name players get larger ppv shares/bonuses for being on the card like a boxer would. If you miss PPV's, you're getting your base pay. A guy like Cena or Orton gets a bigger share than someone like The Miz, obviously. It's the point of being a "draw". When you're a big name, you get a bigger cut plus your pay. Indy guys, though, and I think TNA does it too, get paid per appearance.

 

[MattyFos.]

Your big name players get larger ppv shares/bonuses for being on the card like a boxer would. If you miss PPV's, you're getting your base pay. A guy like Cena or Orton gets a bigger share than someone like The Miz, obviously. It's the point of being a "draw". When you're a big name, you get a bigger cut plus your pay. Indy guys, though, and I think TNA does it too, get paid per appearance.

So how do they decide who's a bigger guy? I believe there for awhile Dolph was selling more merchandise and getting louder pops than Orton... so does Orton still get a bigger cut because he's in the main event. Or does Dolph because there are more Show Off shirts in the crowd and less boos when his music hits.

 

[Anglefan]

Each performer has what they call a "downside guarantee", which means that if your arm gets cut off and you can't wrestle, that's what you make. Most main eventers are at a $1 million downside. Cena probably makes around $3 million per year. They are paid based on live attendance, PPV revenue, merchandise sales, and royalties (video game and DVD). If a guy is lower on the card than his downside, he will be paid very close to the minimum. Someone like Daniel Bryan who is probably only guaranteed in the mid six figures per year will make more when they are shot up the card. He will make close to $1 million just from tonight. So if he breaks his neck in a month, he won't be paid for the rest of the year (other than merchandise and royalties unless he makes non wrestling appearances).

 

[DJTJ]

So how do they decide who's a bigger guy? I believe there for awhile Dolph was selling more merchandise and getting louder pops than Orton... so does Orton still get a bigger cut because he's in the main event. Or does Dolph because there are more Show Off shirts in the crowd and less boos when his music hits.

Merch and cut are different. Totally separate.

To clarify the cheer/boo factor, they don't really matter. Historically, Orton is more over either way for an extended period of time. When a belt is on Orton, more people watch weekly and at PPV's than if Ziggler. Same with why, while Fandango got hot, he isn't getting shit for rub. Your big name guys are proven workhorses who represent the company on tv, and off of it really, really well. Daniel Bryan is just now STARTING to be a big draw. Like, within this WM Season, he is finally drawing. The problem is, unlike Cena or Orton, Bryan can't draw against midcarders. If Bryan feuded with Wyatt going into Mania, it would be a CONSIDERABLY smaller weekly tv share than Cena. Cena is the guy because people watch. They tune in and watch. He wouldn't be if they didn't. No one misses Ziggler except for marks. No one cares about Fandango except for marks. And marks don't buy ppv's. We get our shit for free.

 

[MattyFos.]

So what's the pecking order for draws
Cena
Show
Punk
Orton
Bryan

 

[DJTJ]

So what's the pecking order for draws
Cena
Show
Punk
Orton
Bryan

Cena
Taker

Punk (when he existed)/Hunter

Orton
Bryan

Heyman/Lesnar

Show doesn't even show up. He's around because of his size.