PWTORCH.COM
VIP SIGN-UP JUMP TO VIP
CONTACT US VISIT MMA TORCH




Select Next Article by Category





TAKE PWTORCH
WITH YOU!

PWTORCH IPHONE APP
Get our iPhone App (FREE!): Click Here
Or enter "PWTorch.com" on your Blackberry or other Smart Phone browser for mobile-version of PWTorch.


KELLER'S TAKE
VIP - KELLER: Latest amendments to WWE Wellness Policy render it potentially pointless (PWTorch Newsletter #1013)
Feb 28, 2008 - 5:31:16 AM


By Wade Keller, Torch editor

Below the Bottom Line
By Wade Keller, Torch editor
Headline: How big are the loopholes in WWE's policy?
Originally Published: February 28, 2008
PWTorch Newsletter #1013


Partial preview of this week's feature editorial by editor Wade Keller in the latest PWTorch Newsletter...

WWE officials touted the company's Wellness Policy last year. They said it was evolving and being amended to make it stronger and to protect wrestlers. I wanted to see those amendments. I had the original policy, but I didn't know what those changes were. Recently, WWE put a link to the complete policy rather than the abridged "press release" version which contained just highlights that had been available on the main corporate webpage previously.

The policy has been amended four times since it was initially released. The first change, dated June 13, 2006, added a couple pharmaceutical drugs to the banned substance list.

The Second Amendment, dated Aug. 21, 2006, stated that talent that was suspended for either 30 or 60 days could be "required, in WWE's sole discretion, to work televised events and pay-per-views.

The Third Amendment, dated May 16, 2007, just over a month before the Benoit Family Tragedy put WWE's policy back on the media radar, added the following:

"In the event of an initial positive result for drugs prohibited by this Policy, the Talent shall be fined an amount equal to 30 days’ pay deducted from your downside guarantee on a weekly basis. The Company may, at its discretion, schedule the Talent to work selected televised events without pay, pay-per-views with pay, and non-televised live events with a $200 stipend per event during the 30 day suspension period."

In the case of a second offense, the same applied - adding a potential requirement to work house shows with a $200 stipend - plus noted that if an individual needed rehab, " the Talent shall not be assigned to work until the individual has successfully completed the drug rehabilitation program. However, regardless of the length of the program, the Talent’s fine shall be limited to 60 days’ pay."

The Fourth Amendment (the last to date) added marijuana to the list of substances that could be tested for, but excluded it from the standard suspensions, instead noting that talent would be fined $1,000 per failure, deducted from the talent's downside guarantee. There are no suspensions or potential termination tied to repeated failures. Previously marijuana was only tested for on a "reasonable cause" basis. Alcohol remains a "reasonable cause only" test.

Did you catch all of that? Basically, the drug policy boils down to this now: If you get caught taking banned substances three times, your contract will be terminated. Try not to let that happen. The first two times you fail, you may or may not be punished much; it's up to us.

There is almost nothing binding to the first two failures, and even the third failure requiring termination has one big loophole. Let's start with that.

If a talent fails three drug tests, their contract is terminated. Yeah. So? How long is it before that wrestler can be brought back? Two years? Six months? Two months? Two weeks? A day? Two hours? It doesn't say.

Just going by the wording of this policy, if a fictional wrestling organization adopted the same policy, and its owner felt drug testing was silly, steroids and supplements weren't that harmful, and nobody should be telling any adults what to do anyway, this policy would allow the owner - after terminating the contract of his top, massively muscular wrestler who was taking loads of steroids and failed the test three times - to rehire him after a two week vacation in Europe - with a raise!

How would anyone - media, fans, other wrestlers, stock holders, Congress - know whether that was happening? They wouldn't. There's nothing in the amendments to the policy or the policy itself stating that policy failures will be made public 100 percent of the time. WWE said they would do that last fall, but it's not in this policy, and for all we know WWE has or could in the future not reveal all suspensions. Without a public announcement of 100 percent of drug test failures, there's no way to be sure wrestlers aren't failing three times, having their contract terminated, and being rehired days or hours later with no one being the wiser.

Let's go back to the other amendments. WWE does not want drug test failures to get in the way of drawing money. They may argue it's to protect the fans from paying for one thing and receiving less. Either way, after a wrestler gets suspended the first or second time, they aren't really suspended at all. They can continue to work every single event they would have anyway - house shows, TV events, and PPV events. The Third Amendment granted them pay for working house shows. Just $200, which for all I know is to cover themselves legally should the wrestler get hurt while being forced to work for nothing during a suspension.

The Third Amendment also now allows suspended wrestlers to work a pay-per-view event with pay. So the punishment now for being suspended is working a few house shows for $200 instead of the usual range of roughly $500 to $5,000 per event, but otherwise no missed TV time to promote and develop their character, no missed PPVs which accounts in the cases of top acts for huge chunks of their annual aggregate pay, and no public (or even backstage among colleagues) knowledge of the suspension - per the written policy. That's soft. Very soft. Especially when taking into account how WWE pays it wrestlers.

WWE wrestlers aren't paid like NBA players. NBA players, as in other pro team sports, receive a guaranteed salary for the season, with some having incentives built in. When an athlete is suspended, it's for a certain number of games, and their salary is deducted based on 1/82nd of their pay in an 82 game season. There is no way for that athlete to make up that lost income. Because of salary caps, a team can't "overpay" a star athlete next year or with his next contract because that could damage the team's ability to sign players to keep them competitive, and thus hurt their attendance and TV ratings. A suspended player absolutely loses substantial salary, plus potentially endorsement deals and fan adulation.

In WWE's case, it's totally up to WWE management whether that wrestler ends up actually punished by the end of the year. WWE salaries aren't public. So if a wrestler was receiving on average over the course of a typical month $2,000 per house show for six house shows, and is paid instead $200 per house show for six house shows in a "suspension month," the following month - after the suspension - WWE could pay that wrestler $3,800 per house show for six house shows, making up for the lost income the previous month......

The rest of this feature editorial from this week's PWTorch Newsletter is available only to PWTorch VIP members at the VIP website.


Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

For more BREAKING NEWS on WWE, TNA!
VISIT OUR AFFILIATE - PROWRESTLING.NET


For UFC & MMA NEWS & BLOGS:
VISIT OUR SISTER SITE - MMATORCH.COM

Upgrade to PWTORCH VIP: DETAILS & SIGN-UP INFO


MORE "KELLER'S TAKE" ARTICLES
KELLER BLOG: WrestleMania goes up to $55, all other PPVs $45 - let the pirate feed frenzy begin
KELLER BLOG: Dixie Carter asks wrestlers to step it up, but what does that mean? Shouldn't their goal to be winning matches and nothing else?
KELLER FLASHBACK: Review of Hulk Hogan's first autobiography - Hogan's political maneuvers evident in who he protects and buries
KELLER BLOG: Is a new Monday Night War imminent? Signs point that direction
KELLER: How TNA should utilize Hulk Hogan and how Hogan should utilize TNA
KELLER: Without Jeff Jarrett, Dixie Carter lacks the leader necessary to keep order and steer the ship
KELLER: Shane McMahon's WWE departure no surprise, admirable and brave decision
KELLER'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 5 YRS. AGO: Jeff Hardy main event, Beer Money on opposite sides of tag match, Hall & Nash mentioned
KELLER'S BLOG: Match the finish of the match to the actual match on last week's TNA Impact
KELLER BLOG: Thoughts on Monday night cable ratings, Ross's hat, ESPN-WWE coverage, Raw poll results, in-house notes
KELLER: WWE Hell in a Cell PPV last-second thoughts and questions
KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 9/18: Batista returns against Jericho, Undertaker kidnaps Long, Punk gloats and preaches
WWE Raw Results 9/21: KELLER'S report along with star ratings, analysis, and quotebook
KELLER: My Wish List for TNA's New Booking Team - Ten New Rules That Will Lead to A Better, More Successful Product
KELLER: TNA No Surrender PPV embodies everything that continues to be wrong with TNA's booking philosophy
KELLER BLOG: After Vince Russo works alone after Dutch and Jarrett depart, would a reunion with Ed Ferrara work?
KELLER'S UFC 103 BLOG: Random Thoughts in Chronological Order - Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort, Cro Cop vs. Dos Santos, Koscheck vs. Trigg (redirect)
KELLER: Randy Couture's next opponent a brilliant marketing move by UFC officials (redirect)
KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 9/14: Batista's big announcement, Hell in a Cell takes shape, DiBiase vs. Michaels one-on-one, Jericho challenged Bob Barker
KELLER'S WWE BREAKING POINT PPV REPORT 9/13: John Cena vs. Randy Orton, DX vs. Legacy, Miz vs. Kofi, Undertaker vs. C.M. Punk

(c) 1999-2009 TDH Communications Inc. - All rights reserved.

Current Top Ten Staff Picks
Staff Picks
TNA News: Ratings are in for Thursday's Impact - did TNA retain the audience from last week's Hulk Hogan Impact?
WWE News: Major update on 2010 PPVs - price change, PPV name change, WWE addresses PPV criticism (w/Detailed Analysis)
WWE News: WWE announces details on three-hour Raw featuring Slammy Award Show and special guest host Dennis Miller
WWE News: Report on WWE's conference call with investors - serious discussion of WWE TV, Vince McMahon: "This is not a Family Business"
WWE News: WWE announces third quarter 2009 earnings results - revenue up due to int'l, PPV business weak
WWE News: Raw TV ratings are in - how did the Osbournes fare as guest hosts?
WWE/TNA News: Hulk Hogan claims he taught Vince McMahon the wrestling business, talks more about his role in TNA
WWE Raw Results 11/2: KELLER'S rundown of all matches and segments, plus analysis, star ratings, quotebook
TNA News: Ratings are in for Hulk Hogan Impact - did the publicity help TNA?
WWE News: Hulk Hogan knocks WWE Hall of Fame ring and Vince McMahon in mainstream interview


TORCH QUICK-CLICK REFERENCE LIST
-CLICK TO FOLLOW PWTORCH ON TWITTER!
-CLICK FOR OUR FREE PWTORCH IPHONE APP

-CLICK FOR OUR FREE PODCAST (#1 in iTunes!)
-CLICK TO GET INFO ON BECOMING A VIP MEMBER
-CLICK TO VISIT MMATORCH.COM
-CLICK TO VISIT PROWRESTLING.NET

-CLICK TO EMAIL PWTORCH EDITORS




PWTORCH READER POLL

How will WWE's price raise to $44.95 per PPV event affect you?
I buy many PPVs a year and will continue to do so regardless
I buy a few PPVs a year and will selectively continue despite the price raise
I will cut back somewhat as it seems a little pricey
I will cut back drastically as this feels like gouging
Out of principle and protest, I will stop ordering any other than maybe WM
They had previously priced me out of the market, so this affirms my non-ordering habits
I will order any and all WWE PPVs because price isn't an issue for me
Price doesn't matter. I've been watching pirate feeds for a while
  

VOTE IN OR SEE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS POLLS

ARE YOU VIP? SIGN UP NOW FOR $7.50 A MONTH FOR INSTANT ACCESS TO AD-FREE, BENEFIT-PACKED VIP VERSION OF PWTORCH.COM (see screen capture)
PWTORCH VIP HOME PAGE

INFO ON SUBSCRIPTION TO AD-FREE VIP SITE

INCREDIBLE BENEFITS!
Over 50 full-length audio updates per month (iPod compatible)... New weekly award-winning Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (text and printable pdf versions) with latest exclusive insider news, new Torch Talks, great columns, Keller's cover story, much more... Hundreds of full-length back issues of PWTorch Newsletter from late-'80s to today... Ad-free access to PWTorch.com's Main Listing... VIP Forum with interaction with other subscribers and Torch staff... Torch Talk Library with text and audio of hundreds of interview installments from last 20 years... Great layout... Deepest archives on pro wrestling history anywhere... Keller's PWTorch Today PDF Bulletins with email alerts... VIP Email reports on major PPVs and TV shows... Staff Roundtable Reviews (text and audio) followiing major events... The best staff of writers and world class reporting since 1987... We'd love for you to join us and experience the most entertaining, authoritative, experienced staff of professional reporters and commentators in the business...

SIGN ME UP NOW!

Compare the value of four or five months of PWTorch VIP content to the price of just one PPV. Can you cut 25 cents a day from your budget to make room for PWTorch VIP?

AND NEW FOR 2009!
Monthly "Vintage Audio Torch Talks." We are releasing for the first time ever audio versions of our text Torch Talk updates, the historical first series of insider interviews ever. Wade Keller's newsmaking in-depth interviews with wrestling's biggest names are now being made available exclusively to VIP members. But you must be a member each month, as these are not archived, so they are replaced with a new one each month! This debuted in January 2009 with a 68 minute interview with the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Who's next? Hulk Hogan? Eric Bischoff? The Rock? Goldberg? Jeff Hardy?

SIGN ME UP NOW!


UPCOMING EVENTS LISTING

Articles Grouped by Category
Torch Today
TORCH MONTHLY AWARDS: List of the 2009 Torch Monthly Award winners through October
TORCH MONTHLY AWARD VOTING: Results for Best/Worst in pro wrestling for October
TORCH MONTHLY AWARD VOTING: Polls OPEN for best/worst in pro wrestling from the month of October (Part 2 of 2)
WWE News
WWE News: "Target" of Chris Jericho's drunken slur turns the incident into a joke (w/VIDEO)
WWE News: Raw guest host wins NASCAR race in WWE vehicle; WWE receives plenty of publicity during race coverage
TORCH TALK DAILY with Eric Bischoff: The first of a series of questions pushing for answers on Bret Hart's lackluster run in WCW - "Montreal was a life-threatening wound"
TNA News
TNA News: Ratings are in for Thursday's Impact - did TNA retain the audience from last week's Hulk Hogan Impact?
TNA News: Next week's TNA Impact - Sting reappearing to talk Hulk Hogan, A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe
TNA News: Watch TNA president Dixie Carter's "Love it or Leave It" speech to the roster from Impact (w/VIDEO)
ROH News
ROH News: Jim Cornette officially begins as ROH executive producer at today's ROH TV tapings (w/VIDEO)
ROH News: Ring of Honor receives positive press for ROH TV taping this weekend
ROH News: ROH TV episodes now available on DirecTV's Video-On-Demand service
Other News
Hogan News: Can Hulk Hogan wrestle again? Hogan needs help walking during TV interview (w/VIDEO)
DGUSA News: Gabe Sapolsky predicts the wrestling industry will die without new TV wrestling stars
Hogan News: Hulk Hogan cracks the Top 15 of a Best-sellers List
PPV Reports
RADICAN'S DGUSA "Untouchable" PPV review - Doi vs. Danielson, Shingo vs. Richards
10/25 WWE Bragging Rights Results: KELLER'S detailed match-by-match PPV report - Cena vs. Orton Iron Man match
CALDWELL'S WWE BRAGGING RIGHTS PPV REPORT 10/25: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Cena vs. Orton, Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown
TV Reports
WWE SMACKDOWN ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS 11/6: Donofrio, Mezzera, Parks rate and review
WWE SUPERSTARS ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS 11/5: Caldwell, Donofrio, Parks rate and review
PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11/6: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Batista vs. Hardy
Arena Reports
11/6 WWE in Brussels: Undertaker vs. Punk casket match, Christian vs. William Regal, Cryme Tyme vs. Hart Dynasty, of course
11/4 WWE in Dublin, Ireland: John Cena vs. Jack Swagger WWE Title match, DX vs. Legacy, Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston
10/30 Dragon Gate in Germany: Young Bucks, CIMA vs. Mike Quackenbush, El Generico
MMA / UFC Coverage
Strikeforce News: Fedor vs. Rogers Fight Results - Exciting fight lives up to expectations live on CBS
FEDOR VS. BRETT ROGERS - Keller's detailed report, analysis, star ratings of CBS live MMA fight card (redirect)
FEDOR vs. BRETT ROGERS on CBS Saturday Night - Torch Team Coverage (redirect)
KELLER'S TAKE
KELLER BLOG: WrestleMania goes up to $55, all other PPVs $45 - let the pirate feed frenzy begin
KELLER BLOG: Dixie Carter asks wrestlers to step it up, but what does that mean? Shouldn't their goal to be winning matches and nothing else?
KELLER FLASHBACK: Review of Hulk Hogan's first autobiography - Hogan's political maneuvers evident in who he protects and buries
MITCHELL'S TAKE
MOJO MITCHELL'S RAW 11/2: Stream of My Fourth Grade Hero and The Mid-Card Kicks Main Event Ass
MITCHELL FLASHBACK #4: In 1993, after Hogan first left the WWF, he had a lot of career choices
MITCHELL FLASHBACK #3: Hogan's autobiography review - insight into his world
MCNEILL'S TAKE
McNEILL BLOG: The Big Questions About Hulk Hogan in TNA
Fight For Your Right to Bragging: McNEILL Previews WWE Bragging Rights!
Glory, Glory, Hallelujah! McNEILL Previews TNA Bound for Glory 2009
CALDWELL'S TAKE
CALDWELL'S BLOG: Vince McMahon is officially delusional, plus Vince's hidden message to Stephanie McMahon
CALDWELL'S TUESDAY CHAT w/GREG PARKS: Raw & Smackdown discussion - Orton-Kofi build-up compared to Rey-Batista, DX dissension, Sheamus stands out
CALDWELL FLASHBACK: TNA Year-End Review 2005 - Must-read flashback to when TNA became a choice for wrestlers in an era very, very similar to 2009
RADICAN'S TAKE
RADICAN: Daddy's little girl V 2.0 debuts on Impact
RADICAN: Wolfe-Angle follow up displays typical warning signs of danger from creative standpoint
RADICAN: TNA finally straps a rocket on the right ass
The Specialists
11/7 WWE Smackdown Hits & Misses: Mysterio vs. Knox, Punk vs. Truth, Batista vs. Hardy
PARKS BLOG: Chris Jericho should know better
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE - TNA Impact 11/5: TNA = The Office, What Vince Russo was thinking during Dixie Carter's speech, Desmond Wolfe and Duran Duran, Highlander spotting, Numbers - Titleholders since 1990
Guest Editorials
GUEST EDITORIAL: Disgruntled TNA fan says he's done with the promotion after today's Impact taping (Contains SPOILERS)
GUEST EDITORIAL: The ultimate irony - Hulk Hogan appears on TNA Impact and pre-taped TV sitcom promoting WWE on the same night
GUEST BOOK REVIEW: Hulk Hogan provides strong defense of his public image in new autobiography
Torch Feedback
WWE PPV Price Increase Reax #1: Outrage expressed over WWE's latest PPV price raise - could the backlash cause WWE to second-guess decision?
TNA Impact Reax #3: "The build for the PPV matches somehow featured Hulk Hogan despite him yet to show up on TV"
TNA Impact Reax #2: "I'm tired of non-stop talking. This isn't a Broadway play; it's professional wrestling and the best stories are told in the ring"
Ask the Editor
Ask the Editor: Wouldn't incorporating MMA-style holds into pro wrestling matches just be trying to be something it's not?
ASK THE EDITOR: Have the Michaels-Batista promos crossed a line with use of insider terms, references to "jobs"?
ASK THE EDITOR: Why do wrestlers in WWE refer to wrestling as "the business" and not "the sport"?
DVDs - VGames - Books
VIDEO GAME REVIEW - Smackdown vs. Raw 2010: WWE's latest video game called best since the No Mercy measuring stick
RADICAN'S ROH DVD REVIEW SERIES: 7/24 DBD VII: N1 - Hero & Richards vs. Storm & Steen
RADICAN'S CHIKARA DVD REVIEW: 5/24 "Anniversario Yang" - The Colony vs. F.I.S.T, 8-Man Tag
Torch Flashbacks
TORCH TALK FLASHBACK with Hulk Hogan: Hogan talks to PWTorch editor Wade Keller about Eric Bischoff, the demise of WCW
TORCH TALK FLASHBACK with Hulk Hogan: Hogan talks to PWTorch editor Wade Keller about his relationship with Ric Flair
TORCH TALK FLASHBACK with Hulk Hogan: Hogan talks to PWTorch editor Wade Keller about his relationship with Vince Russo
VIP Exclusive Features
5+ HOURS: Definitive all-new Eric Bischoff "Torch Talk" available exclusively to PWTorch VIP members
11/7 Bruce Mitchell Audio Show: Reader questions on Goldberg's Winning Streak, Zbyszko's HOF Credentials, Overrated Matches, X-Pac Sucks Chants, Test's Name, Paul Ellering's Story (44 min.)
11/6 Bruce Mitchell Audio Show: Why Vince McMahon said WWE isn't a family business, Hulk Hogan-TNA analysis, Dixie Carter's last-gasp speech (65 min.)
Torch Trivia
TORCH TRIVIA 2/28: Which wrestler backed out of a WWA PPV in February 2002?
TORCH TRIVIA 2/27: Who said this quote about Hulk Hogan's athleticism 11 years ago?
TORCH TRIVIA 2/25: What said this quote about WWE's mid-1990s drug testing policy?
Torch Instant Polls
INSTANT POLL: How will WWE's price raise to $4.95 per PPV affect you?
SMACKDOWN POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/6 Smackdown if you saw the show?
TNA IMPACT POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/5 Impact if you saw the show?
PWTorch Free Podcast
11/4 Nostalgia Audio with Brian Hoops: Format change to the show, new guest host, upcoming shows
FREE FOR ALL: 10/27 Bruce Mitchell Audio Special: Hogan-Bischoff-TNA story from all angles including Monday Night War II possibilities (32 min.)
6/23 Nostalgia Audio with Brian Hoops: Former WCW rapmaster PN News joins Brian Hoops to preview upcoming Midwest shows (10 min.)
Annual Obituaries
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 1999 - Muchnick, Rick Rude, Owen Hart, Renegade...
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2000 - Solie, Albright, Duncum, Tsuruta, Blue Demon, Al Costello
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2001: Johnny Valentine, Terry Gordy, Chris Adams, Bertha Faye, Helen Hart