ECW Talent Getting Screwed

Some numbers were released this week that make you think, how the hell is Vince McMahon and company are getting away with this?

Most of the ECW "originals" that were signed to contracts back in the spring agreed to very low downside guarantees. In other words, how much they'd be paid even if they weren't used.

The downside guarantee for most mid to low card workers is about five hundred dollars a week, or twenty six thousand a year. That's just brutal. To put it in perspective, the WWE currently has talent in both OVW and DSW making more. A lot more.

Now, some people might say - so what? They agreed to the deal, let them live it. Ok, but I'm sure when the deal was struck, people like Tony Mammaluke, Danny Doring and CW Anderson weren't expected to have little or no prescence on the weekly tv show.

I'm sure at the time they didn't think tv time would be absorbed by guys like the Big Show, Test, Bob Holly, Bobby Lashley, Matt Striker and Rene Dupree.

Now, you could make the arguement, that the ECW guys not being used on TV will still find work on the weekly house shows. Not quite. ECW house shows are being phased out immediately and will become part of the SmackDown! house shows. Even them, only the upper portion of the card will be used.

As if that's not bad enough, these contracts the WWE has with these individuals prevents them from seeking out third party bookings. They must be completely exclusive and loyal to the company that is just telling them to sit at home.

I guarantee you, most of these guys could pull in more than 500 a week in indy bookings alone.

This brings to mind another question. Should the WWE restrict mid and lower card talent from seeking out third party bookings? Isn't it a win-win for both sides.

Let's use an example. How about Tony Mammaluke. If Tony was allowed to augment his ECW salary by picking up extra bookings when the company wasn't using him, then he'd be continuing to work on his craft. Each week he'd be polishing and getting better, instead of collecting dust. He'd have the opportunity to work out new gimmicks or charcater ideas the office wanted him to sample first. The office could control all third party bookings like they did back in the 90s and pick up a chunk of the action.

WWE wins financially.
The worker wins financially.
The indy promotion wins financially.

Why is this not happening right now?

For all his talk about "competition breeds success" Vince McMahon does everything in his power to monopolize every resource he can. Why did he sign Justin Credible? Just to keep him out of anyone else's hands for a short time I guess. PJ eventually got sick of that crap and stopped reported in.

A whole other issue tied to the ECW worker being screwed is the contractual language regarding intellectual properties.

I spoke to a current ECW worker this week that confirmed for me that his contract states that the WWE would own the rights to all intellectual properties brought forth to any programming. It goes on and on, and this person stated that it could be read that the WWE will have control over all gimmicks and ring names once they release these guys.

This is not unlike the clause that TNA has put into their deals. TNA takes ownership of all ring names once you appear for them. This was one of the things that caused so much heat for Kanyon. He published a copy of that contract on his MySpace asking fans if they thought it was fair. That's the same reason why Low Ki is now Senshi.

Kinda makes you wonder what the motivation is for being a member of the ECW roster at this point. The locker room is divided, guys aren't being used, and aren't able to make a decent living.

Talk about paying your dues.

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