What do you make of rumors that virtually every WWE talent with the exception of Roman Reigns has reached out to AEW in some capacity to see gauge interest/earning potential?
If that is true, what the heck is wrong with Roman Reigns? This is a business and why wouldn’t a talent explore all of their options? AEW was not in existence when most current WWE Superstars signed their deals, so it only makes good business sense to assess their options. Stuff like this makes for great headlines and but it should not surprise anyone. It does not mean several WWE Superstars are unhappy and want out, it means they want to make sure they maximize their earning potential. Now I’m sure there are some people who are legitimately unhappy with the company and want out but right now is not the best time leave unless there is something else guaranteed. There are some who want you to believe people are lining up to exit WWE but that is just not true.
Do you think the days of WWE creating stars such as John Cena, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar are over?
Vince McMahon likes to book talent in a way where they are not “bigger than the brand.” There are exceptions and you mentioned three of them but gone are the days where talent are completely unleashed to be built up as megastars. We can only speculate as to why this is done. Does Vince want to prevent talent from getting so big they can go to Hollywood? Does Vince want to protect WWE from investing too much into one particular star? Regardless, WWE will build and groom stars depending on the level of talent. Take Roman Reigns for instance. We can argue he has been elevated to the level of Cena or Orton with signature wins over protected talent such as Triple H, Undertaker and Cena. It is a mix of talent, context and situation. The bottom-line is both Vince McMahon and Triple H understand the need to create new talent and will continue to do so.
With WWE doing AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy on SmackDown, do you think it’s off for SummerSlam? What about Kevin Owens?
The WWE SummerSlam card currently has eight confirmed matches. WWE could always look to add one or two more so truly, we won’t know the confirmed lineup until closer to Sunday. Obviously the main storylines and matches are set so I would not expect too much even if WWE repeats Styles vs. Hardy at the show on Sunday. The reason Kevin Owens does not have a program is he was originally set to program with Seth Rollins but when Rey Mysterio decided to re-sign, WWE continued things with Dominik.
On his YouTube channel on Saturday, Chris Jericho shamed WWE for firing referee Mike Chioda and timekeeper Mark Eaton. Why does Vince McMahon do things like this?
I have covered the pro wrestling business since 1999 and there are some things I cannot even begin to explain why Vince McMahon does them. Releasing loyal employees who have been there for decades that still do their jobs well yet are cut for “new blood.” I don’t get it. We could speculate Vince thinks “nothing lasts forever” but it’s hard to fathom how Chioda, one of the top referees in the history of the business, could end up on the unemployment line after the resume he established. It could be a power thing for Vince to show “no one is untouchable” but it really is bizarre.
The next installment of Ask WNC is scheduled to run on Tuesday, August 18, 2020.
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