November 5, 2001 Observer Newsletter: Frustration in WWF, more
As business continues to fall, the WWF locker room and front office, one year ago considered almost a perfect business model, is starting to show more than just signs of frustration.
The wrestlers have started feeling the pinch for the past few months. Paid based on house show business and PPV business, those figures have decreased significantly since Wrestlemania with the exception of the monster Invasion PPV. A lot of the WWF side also had bookings cut back, which again cuts into pay for the mid and lower card wrestlers, because so many newcomers were brought in over the summer. This led to resentment of newcomers at the beginning and was a key factor in botching the potentially biggest angle in history, which lead to the fan frustration with the product that exists. This led first to smaller grosses on shows with more performers on them, meaning significantly lower pay per show for most regulars, combined with many regulars not being booked on as many house shows and big shows.
Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.