He'd have to be on TV in order to get taken off it.
Originally posted by CRZThis is usually the kind of thing that DOES get you back on TV....albeit for a long series of losses.
Considering that "long series of losses" have been given to Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, and The Miz...and are currently being given to Christian, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, and The Miz (again), I'm pretty sure "long series of losses" can be considered a step up from whatever JTG's doing now.
Assuming this isn't a work, I'm sure he'll be gone soon enough...and no one will notice.
The backstory is this actually wasn't about being on TV. The wrestlers just got their checks for WrestleMania*, and they were much lower than expected, lower than last year despite WWE just talking about the record amount of buys. For guys like JTG who aren't in regular positions, that's a huge chunk of their yearly income. According to Meltzer, all the wrestlers were upset about it, but it just hits guys at JTG's level much harder.
I'd guess JTG know he could've been fired at any moment, and at some point, the novelty of being a WWE superstar wares offwhen you're being paid so little. If you're going out, might as well go out shouting.
* - in August! WWE's system is so weird, partly due to PPV people
There was a point with Cryme Tyme when JTG was busting out new moves weekly. It's easy to look like a superstar when you're working with Shad, but JTG showed spark. I think he's a missed opportunity in the WWE. Not necessarily the next Bryan or Punk, but he could slide into the tag scene again easily at the very least.
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Originally posted by thecubsfanThe backstory is this actually wasn't about being on TV. The wrestlers just got their checks for WrestleMania*, and they were much lower than expected, lower than last year despite WWE just talking about the record amount of buys. For guys like JTG who aren't in regular positions, that's a huge chunk of their yearly income. According to Meltzer, all the wrestlers were upset about it, but it just hits guys at JTG's level much harder.
I'd guess JTG know he could've been fired at any moment, and at some point, the novelty of being a WWE superstar wares offwhen you're being paid so little. If you're going out, might as well go out shouting.
* - in August! WWE's system is so weird, partly due to PPV people
Apparently it's not just the Wrestlemania payday which some people are concerned about. According to an article on one of them dirtsheets, Zack Ryder is a top five merch seller, and is getting less than 10% of the sales (Cena and Rey get 40+). He was also told that either his Youtube show would get shut down, or it needs to move to the WWE channel. The downside with this? He's getting zero money from the show now.
Oh, and apparently he actually lives with a friend because he doesn't make enough to live on his own.
If this is the case with the lower-midcard guys, what happens with the folks at the very bottom? The people who are never on TV, never in dark matches or Superstars or even involved with NXT? I'm thinking of Mason Ryan and Big Zeke, or maybe some of the women...do they travel to every TV taping and house show for naught?
Originally posted by Spiraling_ShapeI'm thinking of Mason Ryan and Big Zeke, or maybe some of the women...do they travel to every TV taping and house show for naught?
Yes. They are required to be at TV and PPVs even if they don't get used. Other stuff happens at TV besides what we see on TV, like pre-show evaluations in the ring, backstage meetings with Vince, the agents, and Creative, photo shoots and interviews with WWE Magazine and wwe.com, etc. Even if they aren't used on TV, they still have to come to work.
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Originally posted by Spiraling_ShapeI'm thinking of Mason Ryan and Big Zeke, or maybe some of the women...do they travel to every TV taping and house show for naught?
Yes. They are required to be at TV and PPVs even if they don't get used. Other stuff happens at TV besides what we see on TV, like pre-show evaluations in the ring, backstage meetings with Vince, the agents, and Creative, photo shoots and interviews with WWE Magazine and wwe.com, etc. Even if they aren't used on TV, they still have to come to work.
Yeah I was pretty much aware of that, but compared to JTG & co's position in the food chain...if those guys are getting undercut like this, how does the very bottom of the roster fare lately?
It makes me wonder, what does a wrestler like JTG make in a year and can he do better somewhere else?
I assume all his travel, lodging and maybe some food are taken care of by the WWE. Going to the Indys as JTG doesn't seem profitable. He can't really headline shows. Maybe TNA pays him for a few shows, if he's lucky he catches on in the X-Division, but the advancement of black wrestlers in TNA seems to have really stalled there for whatever reason. Maybe there is money overseas.
Does JTG even bring home 50k a year?
I can see him wanting to get his shot and either make it or fail, but at the same time maybe he should hang on to his meal ticket a little while longer.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLoco Does JTG even bring home 50k a year?
I don't know what JTG makes, obviously, but Raven was pretty vocal about the fact that he was only making around $30,000 during his last run with the WWE. After he quit, he only had to work 2 or 3 days a month to exceed that sum. And that was back when the company was probably making considerably more money than they're currently bringing in, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone at JTG's level was making less.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoI assume all his travel, lodging and maybe some food are taken care of by the WWE. Going to the Indys as JTG doesn't seem profitable. He can't really headline shows. Maybe TNA pays him for a few shows, if he's lucky he catches on in the X-Division, but the advancement of black wrestlers in TNA seems to have really stalled there for whatever reason. Maybe there is money overseas.
If the list of salaries that went out a while ago is accurate, WWE doesn't pay for travel and lodging for lower-carders. That's generally in he contracts of main-eventers, though.
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Originally posted by drjayphdIf the list of salaries that went out a while ago is accurate, WWE doesn't pay for travel and lodging for lower-carders. That's generally in he contracts of main-eventers, though.
In one of Foley's books he mentioned how cheap he was on the road (I remember something about how he would not under any circumstances rent a hotel room if he needed to be awake in less than 6 hours or something) which would either imply that he wasn't getting paid by WWE for that stuff, or he simply pocketed the per diem that he received for it (like the thing where union actors have to be given business class tickets for work-related travel, but it's a common practice to downgrade the ticket to coach and pocket the difference).
I can't say for certain that he didn't show up backstage at some point, but neither our own WrestleMania recap thread or the Wiki entry of the event mention JTG at all. I tend to approve of things like the 2011 'talent contest' segment because I thought it's a way to get guys like Regal a WM payday.
So is JTG complaining about other guys' bonuses, or is the WM bonus sort of a catch-all yearly thing? Like a World Series share that anyone who was on the team that year gets one?
The list of salaries that was posted a while back was said to be wrong, though I don't remember if it was completely wrong or just some people's numbers changed.
JTG only worked the Axxess shows, not WrestleMania itself. My guess is the undercard guys thought they were going to be paid as if there was a prematch battle royal despite not having one (where they would've worked for 4 minutes.) WWE obviously could have done a much better job of letting them all know that wasn't going to be the case.
The WON has JTG and guys of his level making $2,000 for WM week. The guys were encouraged to bring in their families and live like a star that week, and lost money on the week if they did.
Cena's good for the subtle references in his raps, like this in regards to Benoit: "Dont you ever tell me who I can and cant respect! Youll wind up in surgery, with another broken neck.