By Jason Powell, Special to PWTorch

One of the most popular features of the Pro Wrestling Torch Weekly Newsletter, read by thousands of wrestling fans worldwide both in online PDF format, online text for VIP members, and via paper copy, is Jason Powell's "Page 2 Buzz" column where he breaks news not reported anywhere else first. The following is a sample of that column from the Feb. 21, 2009 edition of the PWTorch Newsletter (#1070). You can read Powell's column each week packed with his exclusive insider scoops and expert analysis on that news if you're a subscriber, either online via a VIP membership (where you have full access to all article in both online text and printable PDF formats) or via the traditional print copy subscription. CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS AND SIGN-UP INFO

TNA DECIDES NOT TO RENEW SOME CONTRACTS

TNA opted not to renew the contracts of Petey Williams, Lance Hoyt, and Jimmy Rave last week. There will also be other deals that are not renewed, but those are the first three wrestlers who were informed that they will not be used once their deals expire.

Technically, the wrestlers were not released. TNA doesn’t believe in releasing wrestlers when they still have dates remaining on their contracts. In fact, one of Dixie Carter’s pet peeves is paying out remaining dates on contracts as she’s had to do in the past, and she has lashed out at the creative team and head of talent relations Terry Taylor when those situations have come up.

A source who is familiar with TNA contracts notes that most of the deals are structured in a manner that allows the company to unload performers and get out of paying them for the dates remaining on their deals as long as they inform talent of their decision not to renew their contracts more than 30 days before the end date or rollover date. Carter has lost patience in the past because her executives failed to inform the talent more than 30 days out and she was stuck paying talent for dates that they didn’t work.

The decision not to renew Rave and Hoyt were hardly surprising. Hoyt hasn’t appeared on television in weeks, and the writing has been on the wall ever since the company pulled Christy Hemme from their Rock–n–Rave Infection act. Rave had carved out a nice niche for himself as the undercard performer who could be counted on to help new acts or younger wrestlers look good in the ring. However, the feeling always existed that he had a minor league look, and creative simply ran out of ideas for him.

The Williams decision took just about everyone by surprise because he’d been with the company so long. He was also considered a good hand who didn’t rock the boat and accepted whatever they gave him creatively (see the Little Petey Pump gimmick). However, creative apparently determined that they didn’t have anything for him and the decision was made to move on.

“Why they wouldn’t bend over backwards to sign a guy who doesn’t do drugs or drink, looks like he does while being able to pass a drug test, and works hard and never bitches I’ll never know, but I guess it’s just the way things were meant to be,” remarked source.

The company never made a formal offer to Williams, so this was not a case of him demanding too much money or even the company lowballing him. His deal wasn’t set to expire until March, but he finished with the company at the last set of television tapings. He reportedly shaved his head and goatee a short time after he worked his last match to abandon the Scott Steiner look.

More than one person has stated that Williams was vulnerable because he wasn’t tight with Jeff Jarrett. Although they weren’t enemies, Williams wasn’t the type to hang out at Jarrett’s table at the hotel bar and suck up to him like some of the hanger–ons. “They don’t know what to do with him because he’s not in Jeff Jarrett’s clique,” cracked one TNA insider.

There was speculation that Eric Young was being released because he teamed with Williams in the tag match that carried the loser leaves TNA stipulation, but the rule was that the person who took the pinfall was out of the company. “Eric Young will never be released because of Jeff,” said one insider. “No way. Anyone under the Jeff Jarrett umbrella is safe.” In other words, Young was not released.

There is growing resentment of Jarrett within the company. He has his share of defenders, particularly among the people he hired or had a hand in getting hired. The locker room is frustrated with the booking, but the bigger story is that there is a split amongst the TNA office staff. Those who were part of Panda Energy and don’t have ties to Jarrett are growing skeptical of his performance.

Dixie Carter, though, remains loyal to Jarrett. She questions creative decisions behind the scenes and has butted heads with him at times, but she is quick to shoot down or ignore negative comments regarding Jarrett or the performance of the creative team. The feeling is that if there are any management changes made soon, creative would be spared and others in the chain of command would play the role of sacrificial lambs.

The decision not to renew certain contracts is being positioned as a move to freshen up the undercard. Carter has been pushing for new talent for months. She was responsible for the hiring of Brutus Magnus. Whereas WWE was open regarding their desire to cut $20 million from the payroll, TNA’s talent changes are not considered budget cuts.


TNA RE–SIGNS ONE WRESTLER, OTHER CONTRACT ISSUES

TNA re–signed Robert Roode to an undisclosed contract last week. There was some WWE interest in Roode, but that never led to a formal offer from the company. The feeling in WWE is that there is something missing with Roode in the charisma department. However, TNA officials felt that he was a “must sign” performer, as they see him as one of the young stars of the company.

In related news, Stevie Richards debuted at the tapings last week. He is playing the role of Abyss’s therapist Dr. Stevie, and the feeling is that said role will lead to him working as a wrestler. Although Richards is generally well regarded amongst his peers, there was some head scratching going on over the company’s decision to hire someone with limited upside while not even making an offer to Williams.

A WWE employee didn’t remember his time working with Richards fondly. This person felt that Richards was a nice enough guy, yet he recalled that he hounded the creative team members mercilessly with ideas. “He’s like a bug in your face,” said the former WWE staffer. “He has horrible ideas. He has no tact or understanding of how it works. I’m not saying he’s a bad person, but he doesn’t know how it works. He’ll totally bombard you… He’ll never shit the bed in a match, but he’ll never get over in a match either. He’s not going to draw as much money as they’ll spend on a plane ticket.”

TNA officials are still negotiating with other performers whose contracts expire this spring. Among those with expiring deals are the Motor City Machine Guns. One source close to the situation says that while the duo has gone back and forth regarding the idea of leaving the company while talking with friends, they make more money in TNA than they could on the indy scene. As such, the source expects them to re–sign with the company.

There is some concern that Christopher Daniels’s deal will not be renewed when his contact comes up. Although Daniels has told friends that he’s heard nothing to make him believe he’s on the bubble, one insider noted that he needs one of the creative team members to come up with a role for him.

Daniels has rubbed Jarrett wrong in the past. There was some squabbling over the direction of the Curry Man character. Jarrett also held a grudge because Daniels went over his head to Carter and expressed frustration with the way he was being used creatively. There was speculation that he would return unmasked as part of the TNA Frontline after the Curry Man character was removed from television, but that has yet to happen.

WWE QUICK HITS

Rey Mysterio has officially re–signed with WWE. He recently inked a three–year contract that carries an option for two additional years. There’s no definitive word on whether the company or Rey has the option on the last two years of the deal. WWE senior vice president of talent relations John Laurinaitis pushed hard for a five–year contract, so my guess is that WWE has the option, but nothing is official.

D.H. Smith and T.J. Wilson are getting rave reviews for their work in WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. Smith is said to be an especially strong mat wrestler who has improved tremendously since the last time he appeared on WWE television. John Laurinaitis has pegged Smith as a blue chip prospect and future main eventer for at least two years now.

Wilson, who debuted as Tyson Kidd on ECW last week, was regarded as one of the top performers in the developmental territory. There was some talk of teaming him with Smith putting them together with Natalya as the new Hart Foundation, but the most recent buzz is that Smith could be added to the Legacy faction.

Meanwhile, there is ongoing concern about the attitude of developmental wrestler Eric Escobar (a/k/a Eric Perez), who has appeared on recent WWE house shows. He’s had a reputation for being a head case since he was teaming with Eddie Colon (a/k/a Primo) in developmental, and he still carries that stigma.

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