Matter of Opinion... Roster Cuts

November 5th, 2004

No, it’s not the pro wrestling version of The Apprentice, (although Vince McMahon is the guy who made the term “You’re Fired” famous before Donald Trump even got an offer from NBC). It’s not even the elimination on Tough Enough. No, it seems like the WWE is finally doing what they should have done months and months ago. They’re cleaning house. As of this writing they had released 10 superstars this week with more expected to come.
 
In my opinion, this is long overdue. They have way too many people on the roster, too many for even two different brands. So, why now? Why at this time of year?
 
Look at the ratings, like at the PPV buys, look at the gates, look at the merchandise sales. WWE has finally realized that it made a huge mistake by killing of it’s competition. With no competition, you really don’t know who good you can be. The competition helps keep things fresh.
 

Now all the released talent, which consists of some really good talent, can go and find work elsewhere, namely TNA. This will definitely help TNA secure a TV deal, with all the newly released WWE names. I guarantee you the TNA offices are over the moon right now, salivating at all the new and great talent they have to choose from. This will only help any promotion looking to move forward.

 
Now with the amount of talent widely available, Ted Turner may get off his checkbook and start this new rumored promotion. Either way, I believe the financial strain of unused talent is a small factor, but the bigger factor being that they need competition.

Rodney Mack and Jazz have not done a whole lot as of late, so that is no surprise.
 

I am however surprised that Test was released while being injured as this is unlike WWE (except for Sakoda earlier this year). Test was always a good hand and when he recovers he will be a major player in some other promotion. Billy Gunn is not surprising. I like Billy and we got along just great at WWE, but he could never get over to the liking of WWE. Billy was a little disgruntled at times, kind of like Bob Holly (who I think may also get released soon). With the additional problems reported everywhere, Billy would be a sure fire guess.   Chuck Palumbo, former tag partner of Billy Gunn, is another one that just got shuffled around and really never had a spot on the roster. Same thing goes for his former F.B.I. team mate Johnny Stambolli. Both of these guys are decent workers and will definitely make a nice addition to any roster. Rico was a surprise as he had just come back and it seemed like his “Gorgeous George” persona was finally starting to get over. Rico is not the youngest guy on the roster and is probably more prone to injury than most. But, as always, we don’t know everything about the releases, but this is still a surprising one for now.

Nidia and Gail Kim are both surprising. Both women look very hot on TV. Nidia, who’s former protégé Jamie Knoble was released a month ago, has a real  sexy look, good wrestling ability and seemed to be up for doing anything, plus she is a result of WWE’s Tough Enough. Gail Kim is a great wrestler and she is hot, two things hard to find in a WWE female, excluding Trish Stratus. While I’m against just putting on pointless Diva contests, you still want the female managers and wrestlers to be sexy and somewhat decent. A-Train is not a surprise. Not matter what WWE tried, pure Baldo could just never get over. I have never thought of A-Train as a talented wrestler, just a big brawler. Hell of a nice guy, but if it was based on personality, then everyone would be over.

 

As a talentless ape would say, “Who’s Next?”. Only time will tell. Either way, WWE is justified in cutting back on talent. The company transports so much talent that they never use and still pays them. I don’t know any other companies that would do that. Comments: pete@irishpete.com