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Post by Agent P on Sept 27, 2012 0:48:38 GMT -5
To this day one of the most amazing things about ECW was that all those guys continued to work, despite most of them being behind on pay and going to work with the knowledge that you probably won't get paid that week regardless of whether you show up or not.
My question to you is, knowing that you probably won't get paid (and if you did get paid, having the fear that your check will bounce), would you have still went and wrestled every weekend (or every other weekend or whatever ECW's schedule was)
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Post by liveatbirdland on Sept 27, 2012 1:51:13 GMT -5
I have a feeling most people would answer no, and I can't blame them, especially in this economy, and given the potential to be seriously injured, but none of us helped build ECW from the ground up or did the little things to keep it going...it's easy to say that guys like Dreamer or Little Guido or were fools for working for no money, but, at the same time, those guys were so emotionally invested in the company that I can't in good conscience mock them or rip on them for believing that things were going to turn around and get better, especially with the TNN national TV deal (although it wasn't quite what was expected)
Also, for the record, as much as I love Paul Heyman as a creative mind, he can go fuck himself for lying to the workers and telling them that "things were going to get better" and "he was going to Los Angeles to work out a new deal" and such when he was going to film Rollerball or agreeing to go work for WWE and be on Raw. Be a man and tell the boys (and girls) that things were going bad...they'd probably respect being told the truth (for once) than finding out you were doing commentary instead of Jerry Lawler...
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Post by PIANO RIFF WOOOO on Sept 27, 2012 2:13:41 GMT -5
nope
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Post by JMA on Sept 27, 2012 3:59:56 GMT -5
Nope. People deserve to be compensated for their work. Period.
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Post by nPo Wolfpack noleafclover1980 on Sept 27, 2012 6:10:59 GMT -5
Fuck no, I wouldn't stay at ANY job if they got behind in paying me.
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Post by Kaladin on Sept 27, 2012 6:29:53 GMT -5
If it was fun enough and I had no family to support, probably.
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Post by The O-Man on Sept 27, 2012 7:45:30 GMT -5
If Paul Heyman blew Joey Styles in front of me, maybe.
Realistically no, I'm a stickler for pay, I once threatened to walk off the job because my boss was fucking me around on my pay, and when I also slowly work shittier when my pay doesn't seem apparent. Being broke sucks.
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Post by silentstranger on Sept 27, 2012 9:08:23 GMT -5
Fuck no, if I dont get paid, I sure as hell aint working.
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Post by TheRavishingOne on Sept 27, 2012 9:10:49 GMT -5
Depends.
I knew I wouldn't be getting paid, but if I had no other options, at least I would have some exposure.
If I had other options, I would be out of there.
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Post by Gigolo's gone. Again. on Sept 27, 2012 10:05:42 GMT -5
Fuck no.
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Post by Guest on Sept 27, 2012 10:13:11 GMT -5
Of course not. I've been in that situation while working in hospitality. In the 2 jobs I had in 2006 (Kitchenhand and waiter) I was always owed money. Its a terrible feeling to work and work and wonder if your getting paid.
One resteraunt still owes me money.
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Post by The5thHorseman of being a f**k on Sept 27, 2012 10:18:23 GMT -5
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Post by silentstranger on Sept 27, 2012 12:12:27 GMT -5
Depends. I knew I wouldn't be getting paid, but if I had no other options, at least I would have some exposure. If I had other options, I would be out of there. Dude, NEVER go for that "exposure" crap, thats what companies say to get unpaid work done from creators and performers. |
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Post by Dragon Sucks on Sept 27, 2012 15:13:01 GMT -5
Probably not.
If I had some money saved up and it was fun and I had been in ECW for a while or since the beginning, maybe.
But if I was a broke wrestler hell no. People should be paid for work. I know this as a struggling writer.
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Post by anorexorcist on Sept 27, 2012 17:00:59 GMT -5
I would have wrestled despite the fact pay was not always certain. As a musician I have done many gigs where after paying out van drivers I have come away with hardly any money or taken a loss. I love playing live and I am guessing pro wrestlers feel the same about their jobs. So getting odd jobs on the side or going without much food for a while just so that you can do something you love is worth it. Also getting yourself out there and getting seen each week is vital if you want to move on to bigger things. I guess it would depend on the situation. If i had a family to care for then I would have to rethink everything and probably be forced to quit wrestling so I could find a better paid job but if I was just responsible for my self and only had myself to care for then I would definitely have continued wrestling until the end.
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Post by Guest on Sept 27, 2012 17:31:30 GMT -5
This is what I think of the Attitude era:
ECW Pro - decent ring time, great atmosphere. Con - little or no money
WWF Pro - Massive exposure, good pay. Con - political BS, easily killed off due to stupid gimmick.
WCW Pro - Best money, smallest schedule. Con - no chance on improving your spot, Unhappy lockeroom.
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Post by Invisible Dubya on Sept 27, 2012 18:25:51 GMT -5
I agree with Tor. I am of the belief that if I had no family or financial obligations, I would have stayed for the comradery, even if the pay was slim to none. However, nowadays, it would be harder for me to say that. I can understand both sides of the argument.
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Post by Gigolo's gone. Again. on Sept 27, 2012 21:02:30 GMT -5
I'm not putting my body through wear and tear, especially ECW style, just for comraderie for free when I will have huge hospital bills later for it.
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Post by Guest on Sept 27, 2012 22:36:21 GMT -5
I'm not putting my body through wear and tear, especially ECW style, just for comraderie for free when I will have huge hospital bills later for it. Exactly, besides anyone who could, was bailing on ECW as fast as they could |
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Post by EvanBourne4:20 on Sept 28, 2012 3:41:18 GMT -5
Well its easy to say no in hindsight, but I have a feeling I might have.
At the time, with WCW not offering contracts, and WWF being overloaded with talent (and doin little or nothing with ex-ECW talent), plus ECW being a tv deal away from being financially viable added to the fact they had been on the cusp of going out of business so many times before and survived, I think its a tough call.
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Post by liveatbirdland on Sept 28, 2012 4:08:06 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, Gigolo, let me ask you this (since I wouldn't expect you to work for ECW under any circumstances, even during the years they paid the talent on time and made money) ;D Would you work for the AWA in the late-80s, despite the fact it was fairly obvious that the company wasn't long for this world? Yeah, you'd probably get paid, but would you really want to be attached to a promotion that was going down the tubes? |
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Post by Gigolo's gone. Again. on Sept 28, 2012 5:36:42 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, Gigolo, let me ask you this (since I wouldn't expect you to work for ECW under any circumstances, even during the years they paid the talent on time and made money) ;D Would you work for the AWA in the late-80s, despite the fact it was fairly obvious that the company wasn't long for this world? Yeah, you'd probably get paid, but would you really want to be attached to a promotion that was going down the tubes? I probably actually would work for ecw as long as I was getting paid. Hell if the deal was right I'd work for any promotion. Doesn't mean I have to be a fan of any promotion.  |
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Post by Dragon Sucks on Sept 28, 2012 13:11:47 GMT -5
It's interesting that in the political threads on this forum there's some rancor against rich people and the Romney/tea party attitude but here pretty much everyone has said they want to make money. Not criticizing anyone but it shows deep down we all love money whether we want to admit it or nor. We need it to survive the way the system is set up.
I always wonder about how wrestlers on the indy scene who barely make any money handle hospital bills. Wrestling's a dangerous career that often tends tend to pay peanuts. My heart goes out to them. How do they manage that?
And yeah there's the exposure factor. I can tell you as an artist you'll do crappy jobs or assignments just to put on your resume and get attention from bigger things. In my mind ECW was basically an indie record label with decent name value that promotes a band (wrestler) until they sign a record contract with Warner Bros or whatnot (WWE).
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Post by PIANO RIFF WOOOO on Sept 28, 2012 13:20:48 GMT -5
they get side jobs
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Post by Gigolo's gone. Again. on Sept 28, 2012 13:51:08 GMT -5
No one is going to do any kind of job for free. Would you guys like to come mow my lawn, take out my trash, and wash my dishes for free?
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