As you have read by now Test was let go from WWE. Today I read this over on PWInsider.com:
We have more information on the firing of Andrew “Test” Martin by WWE earlier this week. Test was released while he was still out rehabbing his neck after having extensive surgery in June. He is still looking at least six more months of rehab on the neck but was still let go by WWE. Releasing someone while they were rehabbing a work related injury is something that they rarely did in the past. Martin received the news via a phone call from John Laurinaitis, who told him that it was not his decision but that of Vince McMahon. When asked why he was being let go, Laurinaitis told him that for what he was being paid, WWE could sign six developmental talents and it was purely a financial decision. When Test asked Laurinaitis what he was supposed to do for the next six months when he was not able to work, a source close to the situation told me that he was told by Laurinaitis, “I had hoped that you saved some money” or words to that effect. Laurinaitis then told Test to give WWE a call when he’s healthy again about maybe coming back to work, which he reportedly said “no thanks” to.
I am not a big fan of Test by damn telling him to call when he is healthy after firing him just seems to be a real crappy way of handling things.
Its a kick in the balls for a guy. I guess he could live off of Stacy's paycheck. Also, Test could have been a huge deal if they booked him as an equal in the main event spot in 1999-2000 instead of Steph's bitch. He was getting good pops and the fans could relate to him, but once again HHH/Steph kill another potential star. He never really recovered from that storyline.
I do think he will come back, but damn, couldn't they do what they did with Edge. Give him a column, he takes a bit of a pay cut and comes back. Plus, the six potential stars they could get probably won't be worth a dime after the OVW training.
Originally posted by A FanPlus, the six potential stars they could get probably won't be worth a dime after the OVW training.
Well, Test ain't worth a dime now (or when he'd come back), so it's a wash in that regard.
Yeah but regardless of what you think of the guy, he got injured working for them. At least wait until he's healed and can find work somewhere else.
"When did they pass a law that says the people who make my sandwich have to be wearing gloves? I'm not comfortable with this. I don't want glove residue all over my food; it's not sanitary. Who knows where these gloves have been?" - George Carlin
You think they should pay him to NOT work, so that when he is healthy they can release him and let him go work elsewhere? Doesnt make sense. Of course, if they could pay SIX developmental guys with his salary, that tells me that he is getting WAY too much cash to begin with, for the level of work he put out.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeYou think they should pay him to NOT work, so that when he is healthy they can release him and let him go work elsewhere? Doesn't make sense. Of course, if they could pay SIX developmental guys with his salary, that tells me that he is getting WAY too much cash to begin with, for the level of work he put out.
How much were they paying HBK each time he was gone from the company?? Yet I believe he still got paid.
I believe if they had cut HBK the day he came back, they still made a profit from the "FROM THE VAULT" sales vs his paychecks.
I dont see a clamor for those awesome Test matches any time soon. Like I said before, when your greatest match ever was against Shane McMahon, you probably havent got a lot going for you as a wrestler.
Well, I think that since Test was injured working for WWE, he ought to be kept on the payroll until he is physically able to work elsewhere. Even though they're independent contractors and probably make good money, it's a shame a guy has to go six months without working.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeYou think they should pay him to NOT work, so that when he is healthy they can release him and let him go work elsewhere? Doesnt make sense. Of course, if they could pay SIX developmental guys with his salary, that tells me that he is getting WAY too much cash to begin with, for the level of work he put out.
First, he broke his neck working for them, it's the decent thing to do. Second, if you're worried about him making money for another company when he gets healthy ... why are you releasing him? If he's such an asset, why let him go? In other words, do you really think Jeff Jarrett vs Andrew Martin is going to rocket TNA into a competitor?
"When did they pass a law that says the people who make my sandwich have to be wearing gloves? I'm not comfortable with this. I don't want glove residue all over my food; it's not sanitary. Who knows where these gloves have been?" - George Carlin
Originally posted by StaggerLeeAre you actually equating the two?
Am I equating the two? Oh hell no. But if one guy gets hurt on the job and still gets paid to not wrestle why not the other. I think they should have waited the 6 moths or at least give him so $$$ that he might have earned for those 6 months.
Is it a nice thing to do? No, but this is a business, and a PRO-WRESTLING business on top of that. It's not a charity. They paid the guy plenty to sit at home when they had nothing for him to do. Didn't he ever wonder "Hmmm, they haven't even wanted me on tv for the last 4 months... maybe I should start saving my money in case they decide to let me go..." Apparently he didn't. Hell, for all we know they DID offer him different things to do like Edge's column and he turned them down.
Is anyone going to take up the side of "Well, when Test was healthy but they had nothing for him to do, he should send back his (larger than any of us will ever see) checks to Vince because it's the nice thing to do" ?
Test has gotten plenty of money for not a whole hell of a lot over the past few years. It's not like we're talking about Kurt Angle hurting himself after carrying the company for two solid years and making Vince shitloads of money and then gets cut because he needs another surgery.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroHey some of you guys are retarded
Which ones? Just wondering.
I can't believe this debate. If I get injured at work, and therefore can't work anywhere else, of course they should pay me. I got hurt working for them. They are taking away his money when their work environment is the very reason it is impossible for him to do any other work. It's not about this being a charity, it's about ethical business practises.
I'm not the biggest Test fan in the world, but this is one of the worst things Vince has ever done. This is what I was speculating on in the other thread. And the Shawn Michaels comparison is very accurate, because despite a decade of time being invested in Michaels he was never a big draw for the company. With him on top, he drew only slightly better than Nash. Check out the PPV buys of '95 and compare them to '96. If it's "a business" as it relates to Test, it ought to be a business as it relates to Michaels, so who was better in the ring is irrelevant. It's a business, not community theatre.
Oh, and does anyone think that juuuuuuust maybe you could hire 6 developmental workers for Vince's performer bonus from last year? Or maybe Steph's? Methinks you could. They're willing to fuck over people who broke their necks for the company, but they don't cut their own bonuses when they're already worth $700 million? That, my friends, is the very definition of what we in the middle class community, call assholes.
Hot Virgins-The World's Most Steadily Shrinking Commodity
Aw nuts, if I leave it open-ended then I haven't been rude to anyone specifically. Anyway, suffice it to say it, I agree with you, wholeheartedly.
"They're willing to fuck over people who broke their necks for the company, but they don't cut their own bonuses when they're already worth $700 million?"
Furthermore, who are the people responsible for the massive declines in revenue across the board from year to year that's the impetus for every cost-cutting measure to maintain profitability? HINT: not the wrestlers for not working hard enough or wearing the wrong clothes.
Originally posted by Johnny Ace, to Test“I had hoped that you saved some money”
That was one of the least classy things I'd ever heard. Thatp's rude, unfair, and crass. If I was losing respect for McMahon earlier, I lost all respect for Ace right that moment.
Releasing someone if they're not needed, well...that can happen, and obviously has happened, but such releases shouldn't occur when the said wrestler is in rehabilitation for an injury he sustained at work. And Ace's comments were totally uncalled for. What a dick!
I hope NWA:TNA gets better and bettter, and that they continue to grow and eventually kick Vince's ass. THis is deplorable.
Originally posted by Johnny Ace, to Test“I had hoped that you saved some money”
That was one of the least classy things I'd ever heard. Thatp's rude, unfair, and crass. If I was losing respect for McMahon earlier, I lost all respect for Ace right that moment.
Releasing someone if they're not needed, well...that can happen, and obviously has happened, but such releases shouldn't occur when the said wrestler is in rehabilitation for an injury he sustained at work. And Ace's comments were totally uncalled for. What a dick!
I hope NWA:TNA gets better and bettter, and that they continue to grow and eventually kick Vince's ass. THis is deplorable.
(edited by SOK on 4.11.04 0703)
However, like anything else you read like this, it probably didn't even happen that way.
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