It’s funny how things can change so much in just seven days, yet still remain very much the same. Since last Thursday, it’s been one bombshell after another. In the last seven days, both WWE and TNA have made, I’m sure what they consider to be ‘wise business decisions’, in releasing Mickie James and allowing Tara to slip through their fingers. It is odd to watch this as a fan, as we effectively need to readjust the way we watch women’s wrestling on national television and prepare ourselves to no longer see two women, who combined, have probably entertained us for some 12-13 years. When it rains, it pours, right?
I say that things still remain the same because though these two extremely popular women have moved on or are going to move on, the status quo remains unchanged and that status quo is that the women aren’t considered as valuable as the men. Who’d have thought that Mickie James, the heir apparent to Trish Stratus’ throne, would leave under any circumstance other than her own? James seemingly had a meal ticket for as long as she wanted and seemingly had a send-off somewhere between Trish’s and the then-Victoria’s whenever she did hang up her boots. Where did it all go wrong? I’m sure you’re reading much speculation on the Internet, but it baffles me that WWE would dismiss the fact that Mickie was the most popular Diva in the WWE with audience reaction far more than that of some of the men they seem intent on pushing to the moon. Perhaps Mickie’s release should have been foreshadowed when WWE pulled a similar stunt in February, releasing Maria Kanellis, also extremely popular as proven by the fact that she won a worldwide fan vote for ‘Diva of the Year’ in December. Are the women that expendable? Are they that interchangeable?
What is scary about this situation is that it sets a precedent — a new, all-time low benchmark for the Divas who give their lives to the company. Obviously there are hardships in life on the road and the likes of Trish Stratus, Lita and Victoria didn’t have it any easier in that respect to the women today, but they had rewards for their dedication. They often had T&A ‘fluff’ matches but they also had moments like main eventing Raw, great storylines, meaningful title wins. But most of all, they had the opportunity to leave the WWE with dignity — with their heads held high. WWE can’t even afford the same to the Divas of today. The present crop of Divas travel just as long and gruellingly as those aforementioned, yet their rewards for that dedication are a mere fraction of what the Divas once had. Maria Kanellis, in an interview with us, put it perfectly: these girls are paid a fraction of what a real actress in Hollywood would make for a similar acting job, yet they’re expected to travel 300 days a year, paying for their own hotels/cars and even when all is said and done, there’s no guarantee that they’ll even get to be on television. And if they are on television, it’s usually not for very long. What’s the point in that? And now comes this new precedent. The one thing that was classy about the Divas division was that some of these tenured workers got the same treatment as the men in one regard, they were allowed to leave the company on their own accord and with dignity. We can’t even afford them that courtesy anymore. It’s just like, “Thanks for five years and being our most popular Diva but we’re going to tell you to eff off now.” Who is to say that girls like Beth Phoenix or Melina won’t be treated the same way as Mickie? Discarded like trash instead of being given the dignity of a farewell.
Then we have Tara, one of the most respected women in wrestling over the past several years through her work with WWE. A veteran who has given us great matches and is truly a professional. I don’t know what the situation is for sure, but it seems to me that her situation is not unlike Gail Kim — top Knockout, want a little bit more money but they say no. Why? I don’t know. Maybe they saw dollar-signs when they heard Funaki and Slam Master J were released by WWE? But again, another situation where the status quo goes unchallenged. Is it more valuable to have a lower-tier guy who used to work for WWE or WCW than to have a top-card Knockout in a division that draws ratings? Tara’s financial situation with TNA is not unheard of — TNA has already been down this garden path with Gail Kim in 2008 and they also lost Awesome Kong earlier this year partly because of money issues too. How many top Knockouts need to leave the company before TNA gets it? They probably don’t even know what ‘it’ is.
Once again — are the women that expendable? That interchangeable? “We’ll just let our top Knockout walk out, we can get another one.” It is this attitude that pisses me off more than anything.
So yes, it’s been an interesting week and there’s been a lot of change — but when you look closer, have things really changed?
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53 Comments
I personally do not have any clue what either company is thinking. The TNA Knockouts usually draw more ratings then their men, isn’t their war with WWE one of ratings? You’d think they’d keep the top knockouts as happy as possible.
Mickie being released was not only ridiculous but disrespectful, this is a women who worked her ass off to get to the top of the women’s division, a 6 time champion. She had one of the most memorable rivalrys of all time and was the most over Diva in the WWE. You’d think they’d give her a slight bit of notice, a segment where she “announced her retirement.” They haven’t even acknowledged her leaving on television.
Mickie James was the female equivilent to John Cena, Tara the same to AJ Styles, imagine what a shitter both companies would be in if they were so flippant with their men.
Remember what happened with Charlie Haas, before he was released? He was frustrated about not being used, and The E bent over backwards to try to keep him from jumping ship to TNA. Charlie Haas. Who hasnt been relevent since the days of Kurt Angle in WWE. But to hell with with Maria and Mickie. They are just chicks, right? So what if people love them? So what if they work hard? The lack of logic here is beyond me. Lets take the Lita Trish era, for example. Not only did the fans love them and make the WWE brand look superior. But they were making them MONEY. Trish, Lita, Torrie etc made them tons of money from endorsments and merchandising. Just like they are doing with Cena today. They are investing in him inside the ring and out, and it is making them a hell of a lot of money. The Divas and KOs will never get that sort of investment and care from the suits. No matter how hard they work. No matter how much they crave the respect. Look at the match between Melina and Michelle at NOC. They were told by the execs that their moves were too devasting. Isnt it ridiculous that the women that were actually in the match were so proud of what they achieved, but were stopped dead in their tracks because they believe that women are breakable little things. These women WANT to present a better product to the fans. But as long as jack asses like Mcmahon and Hogan are in charge we will have to put up with inferior product.
Unless TNA sign some new female talent for the Knockouts division, there might be no division left by the end of the year. I just hope this is a down phase and they pick up again. But with Dixie Carter acting like suck a giant mark for Hogan and Bischoff and think they can do no wrong, I fear for the worst.
Let’s see who’s gone since the start of the year: Alissa Flash, Traci, Roxxi (though I don’t think her’s was technically a release), KONG (big loss), soon Tara and possibly Taylor Wilde. By the end of the year, unless TNA gets its act together and starts showing the Knockouts some respect again, the only ones left will be TBP, Angelina Love and maybe Daffney. It’s so sad how TNA STILL haven’t learnt their lesson from Gail and Kong regarding lowballing their female talent. Dixie Carter should be ashamed of herself, someone who threw out all her principles just to suck up to the big names. And what has old fart Hogan brought to TNA? NOTHING. This week Impact hit an all-time low rating of 0.5! More people would rather see TBP or most Knockouts than him and Flair going at it.
Torrie Wilson Tweet:
must say this. @tnalisamarie is the LAST person on earth to ever be diff. to work with. A gem of an entertainer that deserves the moon! MMA!
I never thought I would say this but it’s getting to the point I’d rather watch American Idol.
When people talk about Dixie and called her a “dumbass”. I used not believe it, but now I do think Dixie is a dumbass. Why the hell they trying to kill the knockouts’ division? When the knockouts get more rating than the guys. The thing I don’t get about Dixie last year she was prasing how Hamada and Kong match was and saying female wrestling is this and that, but now she act like she doesn’t care about the girls since Hogan butt came there.
With Tara I read a lot of things about Tara and her backstage attitude(don’t know if it true or not) but if its true I don’t mind her leaving TNA. Tara is amazing in the ring, but if she doesn’t want to be there let someone else shine. Since she came to TNA it been about her the majority of the time. IMO, she’s the female version of Kurt Angle in TNA, she just get paid less(which is f*** up).
If TNA get rid of Taylor, Sarita, and Hamada the knockouts divison is dead. But I hope since Tara is leaving TNA that they can push more talent girls like Sarita and Hamada. I also hope that TNA signs new girls my pick are: Athena, Jessica James, Daizee Haze, and they can steal some talent from Shimmer like the new Japanese girls. I also hope that they can pick up Sara Del Rey.
But Dixie need to wake up and stop kissing Hogan butt and try to save the knockouts’ division. Also, like someone said last Monday the rating was 0.5 so TNA better get it together if not Spike TV would cancel it.
The divas division it is what it is with ‘em.
Melanie, youve sung out the frustrations of every knockout/diva fan in a few paragraphs…
On Mickie….I feel terrible for her, I really do. I think that theres ALOT more to this story than we fans know, its the first time I can remember in over a decade of watching womens wrestling that the top female draw in the company was simply ‘let go’. Like Melina said, the WWE would have had a reason, whether we like it or not, theres something that warranted her release in their eyes, and I truly belive it would have taken ALOT for them to do so.
On Tara….Im actually happy for her, she achieved so much in a short year with TNA and she’s been afforded a long and storied career that boasts some of the greatest womens wrestling in our time.
A glimmer of hope for us all is that the womens division in the WWE turns like the tide, while what were watching is nowhere near the level of a division we were treated to with Trish and Lita, its certainly no worse off than the days of ‘Harvina’ and the ‘Kat’ running around with gold around their waist in a snow filled plastic wading pool. With girls like Gail, Melina , Beth, Natalya and newer girls like Serena and Alicia are at the helm im sure we wont be revisiting those lows again…
PS Stephanie and Linda need to be looking at the example and precedent they are setting for women as women in their own company, Linda gets a HELL NO from me as far as her campaigning goes, im sorry but business has nothing to do with some of the blatant inequalities displayed in HER company, keep her away from politics please.
The girls need more money simple as that. The girls get the highest rating so why not give them more money they deserve it. Someone need to hit Dixie in the head with a rock.
I really believe in the couple more months the only girls going to be in TNA are: BP, ODB, Christy hemme, Chelsea, and Daffney.
I have to disagree that the way Mickie left the WWE is a new low point. When Lita left she was purposfully humiliated and that Hog Pen nonsense when Vickie Guerrro wanted to leave was disgusting. I don’t like the way Mickie (or Maria) were dismissed but at least they were left with their dignity intact.
I disagree ^. Lita and Vickie were heels at the time and it is a “entertainment” company so you want to write them off in a demeaning way, however (and Lita especially), they could’ve turned them face (a la Victoria) for the last few weeks, months etc. and give them a good send-off. I would much rather be acknowledged on TV that I’m leaving than just be told to eff off, with none of the casual fan knowing. You realise how hurt the people become when they say “Where’s Mickie at, is she injured”, and then they find out their fave Diva has been released. That is why Mickie (and to an extent, Maria and Katie) hurt the most. They weren’t acknowledged. I mean Mickie [strike]is[/strike] was their most popular diva, and she was also the diva with the most title reigns at the time. It sucks horribly.
On the other hand, I don’t think Mickie cared to be honest. We all saw how her passion was ever-depleting and then she gained weight and it was pretty obvious she didn’t care as much as she did before. Maybe after her music career (and I use the term loosely), she’ll come back. Fingers crossed everyone!
I agree with ReyStyle94. Lita and Victoria at least got an announcement that its the last match and they got a speech. what did Mickie get? nothing, she lost in her last match to Layla.
It is sad…both of these Divas in the WWE gave their best and showed their best. Victoria first arrived in WWE as Trish Stratus stalker , she was a physco , she took us by storm competed in handicapp matches , street fights , she did that and only held the womens title twice ? After The Trish & Lita Era she Jobbed to Candice , Bellas , Kelly Kelly , Maria …r u kidding me…so much effor just to make them look good some of these divas put in thier work for this company only to be treated like SHIT! b cuz their not blonde…( No offense Trish STill love ya :) )
Mickie James same as Victoria , Came in as Trish’s PHysco Stalker , competed in posssible the best Womens Wrestlemania match , had some great matches with Melina , Victoria , Beth …. Only face diva to probably work the crowd over , always put in her all and just b cuz she had a few limpy matches … so she’s is a bad guy ? No if maybe these divas had time to do what they really wanna do then maybe u woudnt have to worry abt them giving u Limpy matches. Its efffing sad to see someone who helped wwe in so may ways , most of the fans in the arena’s dont come to see the male superstars…most of them r divas fans…but i guess wwe dosent see that..
TNA & WWE has had Knockouts & Divas talents being wasted & been wasted and thats the sad part of all this….I guess u dnt have to be a jobber or a 3rd rate star to be fired or unhappy huh ….smh…
Its all good b cuz one day both TNA & WWE r going to realize their lost , one of these days both companies TOP stars r gonna wanna retire , nd they r going to b lost b cuz each nd every week they build the show around the same people…then they r gonan b stuck… I seriously cannot wait for the day Taker , Cena , HHH , Jericho , Orton nd Edge decided to retire nd do something else. Im goign to laugh so hard…WWE would go crazy,,,b cuz thats all they build their company around…we r lucky for SWagger & Shaemus getting some tyme.
“If TNA get rid of Taylor, Sarita, and Hamada the knockouts divison is dead.”
Not dead, just “different”. Knockout division in late 2010:
- Madison Rayne (will eventually turn face)
- Angelina Love, Velvet Skye as the original TBP
- Lacey von Erich (as knockout champion)
- Daffney (she will continue to job)
- ODB (wwe and shimmer have no interest in her, so she will stay in tna until they release her someday).
- Maria (will join tna in 2 months)
- Mickie James (will be the centre piece of the knockouts, assuming she will continue in wrestling)
- Shelly Martinez, will be allowed to return because they are desperate for jobbers
- Ashley Massaro, she has the looks and name that the new TNA wants
- Candice Michelle, working tna once ever 2 weeks can be combined with her job as mother.
So the knockouts division wont die, it will just be different. And sadly enough, it will probably be more succesful. Just dont expect to see any “wrestling” ;-)
When the KO’s Division was born in 2007, it provided a new ray of hope for mainstream women’s wrestling. Backstage politics (pay mostly) and regime change is what will end up destroying it unless Dixie Carter grows a spine and stands up for them. TNA has bombed big time on Monday nights and aren’t competition for WWE at all. This Hogan experiement is a failure. The guy is a broken down has been at this point and isn’t drawing flies. Between his stupid reality show and all his personal family matters being aired pubically he’s a joke.
The Rock and Trish Stratus and maybe some other former big name wrestlers like Austin have ended up with clean noses upon leaving wrestling and doing stuff with their lives that isn’t embarassing. Hogan last year was touring half empty arenas in Australia and displayed his legacy….by depantasing Ric Flair.
Way to go Dixie.
The Jenna Morasca experiment was more watchable than what Hogan has turned TNA into. And Bischoff is another slimeball that needs to be shown the door. He is a well known critic of women’s wrestling and will do anything to stop them from getting the spotlight. In WWE he was reportedly upset when Lita and Trish got main event spots and prominent roles on TV. Thankfully he couldn’t stop that as he was just an onscreen character.
About Mickie, you’re absolutely right. A couple of years ago no one would imagine that they would dismiss like this the most successful Diva since Trish Stratus. After all she has a total of 6 titles and was considered in 2009 the best female wrestler and Woman of the Year by PWI (even though PWI is a little biased).
Honestly, I don’t see this happen to other top divas like Melina, Beth and Mccool. Unless of course, they decide to have an outside wwe career. They never were troublemakers. Especially Melina, who a lot of times in her blogs and stuff is a little bit to nice about whats going on.
Its sad that Mickie didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. They probably were planning this for awhile. It would have been better for her to be released after becoming champion…with dignity, like what they did to Trish.
About Lita, who was mentioned in some responses, Im going to be honest: i LOVE Lita. To me she’s an inspiration. I don’t care that she cheated. I bet that if it was Matt Hardy the cheater, there wouldn’t have been any problems at all. After all, when a guy cheats, he is the big macho man, but when it is a woman, she’s always the slut. Sure, it wasn’t morally right for her to do that, but no one knows the problems they had, nor the events that make that happen. What angered me back then was also the fact that only Lita was insulted and humilliated. What about Edge? He also cheated in a way. He broke a friendship. But no…only women are the guilty in this. But hey, at least Lita said goodbye, even though it was in a disgusting heelish storyline.
But stopping the randomness about the WWE.
The TNA situation is way worst to me. Sure we criticize WWE for liking eye-candy more than talent and women don’t getting time on TV. But with the exceptions of some great Divas, WWE was always like this.
Now, TNA used to brag about being different than WWE and how they respected the women’s division and bla, bla, bla…Really, TNA? REALLY?
Instead of raising the knockouts payment, which they truly deserve since they draw the highest ratings, you decide to spend money on every single wrestler WWE dismisses. How are you different from the E, if you hire the same dudes? Sure some of them might have been good acquisitions, but anyways…its kinda hypocritical.
Apparently Kong made 400 dollars for match. For a high risking job in one of the top companies thats kinda low. But Kong was a top knockout. Now imagine what Hamada receives for match. Maybe 200/300 dollars? Since she only wrestles once in a month (or less) that makes her receive less than working at McDonalds. Way to go TNA! You’re talented female wrestlers make less money than what a dude could receive if he decided to play the guitar on the streets.
I’m going to stop now. This makes me so mad. The only thing that makes me more mad is that some soccer players receive millions in a year, yet a female soccer player is lucky to even get payed at all.
i just think both now think sexy outfits & sloppy wrestling is what fans want & restricting their move sets so they dont look better then some of the men…its annoying & hogan,flair & bischoff need to leave tna since most of their $$ would be on them then wit wwe Stephanie speak up for the divas to show more skill then skin & both would be better off…
This thread is full of great points, why the hell can’t these companies listen to us?
I haven’t listened to Mickie’s interview she conducted with some show the other day, yet I read that she didn’t know why she was released, but thought it may be because they are doing in a new Diva direction. She was obviously being nice. She could have easily slotted into their new outlook for the Divas. If what she is saying is true, then they released because she’s older. Oh wait, Michelle has been there forever too, so they should release her too? Oh no sorry, she’s banging The Undertaker.
The only reason Mickie was released was because she wanted to fulfill one of her childhood dreams, whilst still being a wrestler. Looks like WWE went against the Piggie James angle and decided that she isn’t allowed to have her cake and eat it (if thats the correct expression!) They basically made fun of her on national TV for months in order to push Michelle, only to drop her and chuck her away like rubbish when they decided her music career was going to start. Completely pathetic.
Onto TNA, the most hypocritical organisation in the world. Dixie Carter is just kissing arse and she needs a backbone. For someone who “loves the knockouts”, she has a bloody funny way of showing it. The company are bombing and treating the talent who get their highest rated segments like dirt. Remind you of anyone, oh yeah WWE. However at least WWE are handling Smackdown really well right now and are sort of rewarding the hard working women. TNA aren’t giving two shits at how hard their women work, they are just pulling stunts like the Lockbox showdown that are as ridiculous as the standard of the awful mens division they have going. WWE have went wrong with two Women recently, Mickie and Maria, by not allowing them to do stuff the men do. TNA (who aren’t anything like WWE) are acting even worse, by screwing ALL of their talent for various reasons (over pay, poor stories or just not using them at all.)
If Dixie Carter wants to preserve any dignity, she needs to get rid of Hogan, Bischoff, Russo, BTLS and any other of those morons.
btw im glad maria is gone she was never good & wasted 5 yrs of wwe $$ that could have gone to someone else,since all she had was sloppy matches & showed alot of skin to get over…
With the wwe, I think it was very disrespectful with how they treated Mickie James. They could have let her give a goodbye speech on Monday. After all, raw was in her hometown. But they didn’t seem to care. Trish Stratus is the only diva who got a decent sendoff. And I know Lita got to give a goodbye speech, but her last match with the company was very disrespectful. She spent years with the wwe and her last match, was cryme time having a hoe sale. I am sorry but that is wrong on all levels. Just proves that the wwe doesn’t give a shit about their female atheletes. Mickie James was one of the few diva’s that had personality and could wrestle. It is a shame that they fired her. I don’t care what the reasons are. So she was late for a bus. Dear god :/
With tna, I find it funny that more then one knockout are leaving because of money. The knockouts are the highest rated segments in the entire show. I think they deserve to get paid more then some of the guys who work there. Why spend your time with a company that won’t pay you as much as the guys. I think that is wrong and pretty sad. I lost all respect for Dixie Carter when she brought Hogan and Bischoff to tna. I would love for some person to tell me what help it has brought to the company.
I’ve written on the subject of Mickie James’ departure as well, and I have my own thoughts regarding what is inevitable for the Divas of today. I wouldn’t mind submitting it to the site if the topic isn’t considered old news already.
Also, I wouldn’t say Lita and Victoria left on the same note as Trish. Whereas Trish was lavished in adoration and majesty, Lita was subjected to one of the most undignified denouements in WWE history. As for Victoria, they were so grateful for her hard work they cut her farewell to the fans on her last show.
TNA seems to recycle WWE’s waste, which is great for women like Tara, who have something to prove, but on the other hand it doesn’t loan distinction to a division that’s reputed to be more than fluff. There are too many WWE minds in TNA right now.
It turns out that Mickie James was released thanks to the steroid faggot Batista, he didn’t like her & said he would quit if she wasn’t fired!! Also Katie Lea was due to be drafted to SD! and her release was unexpected
xAzureSkye: Really? Where did you read that?
For what we know about Batista, he doesn’t seem the type that dislikes a Diva…
I apologize for the repeated sentences in my previous post about Chyna. I could have sworn I cut it down. We need an “edit post” option. Or maybe its there and I just can’t see it since I usually use the mobile version with my Cliq Phone.
When I read it I thought “Oh noo..what did she do now?” She broke out into a wrestling assault in real life? She probably wishes she was still a wrestler. So sad her story..sigh..
Yea Trish Stratus got a fairytale ending. I reckon she was the hottest woman to ever be in WWE. Though some might argue that Sunny, Sable and Candice were hotter in their prime. Trish Stratus was the total package. She was well behaved and was a decent wrestler by the time she retired. Not in agreement with putting her over on the way out but it is what it is.
Lita by far was the worst. She got humiliated. There’s an interview on youtube, “Lita talks about Trish” which tells how she felt about the whole thing. She compares it to Trish’es exit as well.
Also a tidbit-Beth Phoenix sent out a tweet on the release of MJ.
“I am broken-hearted! Mickie James is irreplaceable.”
Well put Glamazon! =)
“It turns out that Mickie James was released thanks to the steroid faggot Batista, he didn’t like her & said he would quit if she wasn’t fired!!”
I doubt thats true, because Batista is also as good as gone from WWE, and they knew about his possible departure a long time ago. So it’s highly unlikely that Batista had a say in it.
Btw the only thing i read about Mickie’s love affairs in WWE, was that she couldn’t handle in professional waay a supposed break up with Cena and that’s why they move her to SD! This might be fake however, since they did a storyline together and a lot of people tend to confuse real life couples with tv couples. They also claimed that she made advances on Randy right when she started in WWE and that he turn her down.
As far as we know this might all be lies to turn her into the bad one in the middle of this. Especially since the only official romance she had (that I remember) with a wwe superstar was with Kenny Dykstra (i think she also dated Mercury, but I’m not sure)
Can you guys please stop advertising for “gay wrestling” basically (thunderarena.com). Not all your viewers are female.
Melanie Reply:
April 29th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
pourquoi-bitch — We don’t control the advertising, please feel free to send a complaint to Google Adsense. I’m not happy about it either but there’s nothing I can do. Perhaps if enough people complain they’ll remove the ad from their cycle.
And Ana_Nattie_rules… of course that is fake, lol Cena is married.
porquoi-bitch – being married never was an issue to a lot of men who had other girlfriends, especially if said men are famous. But like I said, I kinda don’t believe this rumors. They’re just trying to make Mickie look bad.
There wasn’t talks like this when she was on the roster, like there wasn’t talks about Tara being difficult to work with. This is just resentment and a way to try to justify the unjustifiable.
I am truly saddened to hear Tara is leaving TNA. Just when the feud between her and Angelina was getting good! I hope with her leaving TNA goes after Mickie James and brings her in. I think having Mickie in TNa could bring a spark back to the now dwindling KO division!
jjay91274: Do you really want Mickie to go to a show where she’ll job against TBP and will be payed crap? Katie is justifiable: after all she was a “low-card” Diva, so she would probably gain the same in TNA, but to Mickie, it would be a big financial blow.
LOL, I thought wth is with that advert, good it’s been brought to light! I haven’t clicked it but I don’t want porn littered on my screen, where can we complain?
I really wish they woulda at least given her one more match with Beth after her release and a chance to speak with the crowd and her fans to say goodbye. Thats what I wished so hard for with Lita But, at least she came back at the Raw anniversary to a huge pop, things seemingly forgiven. Mickie, I hope, also gets a one night comeback (maybe like a guest host?) Because she was one of their most popular divas ever.
“For what we know about Batista, he doesn’t seem the type that dislikes a Diva…”
This isn’t the first time he has gotten into a spat with a Diva…If I’m not mistaken he had a spat with Shelly Martinez around 2006-2007…while she was working on their version of the ECW brand
IfYouSeekRay: I was kinda joking, but I didn’t remember that problem. I didn’t read backstage gossip back them, though XD
Btw, what AzureSkye said is right, well according to some news on Wrestlezone.com. It gives information about all the WWE releases and also states that Katie’s release wasn’t planned as creative had planned to move her to Smackdown!. So annoying that they didn’t give her the chance. :(
Katie Lea is the perfect person to bring credibility back to the knockouts. She’s a great wrestler that has not reached her full potential. Mickie James will simply be Mickie James in TNA. Katie Lea though, would seem fresh since she was not given a chance to shine in the WWE.
I don’t want to sound like I hate Mickie, but this article is a little bogus. The “heir apparent” to Trish? Sorry, that was never the case. Titles mean very little in WWE anymore. So her holding six belts is pretty insignificant. Edge is a nine time world champion, and nobody considers him some mega star. If they didn’t count some stupid house show screwup, Mickie would have only be a four time woman champion, if you are being technical. You also have to look at the era Mickie was a part of. It followed Trish and Lita, and is considered a pretty big joke by most people. Name one feud from 2007-2010 that produced memorable moments and matches that people really talk about? Outside of her getting embarassed via “Piggy James”? She’s just the most popular diva of a mediocre era, which isn’t saying much.
Trish was working with every major male star, main eventing shows, appearing on magazine covers all the time, and had her own line of merchanidse. Mickie never came close to any of that. She can’t touch Trish in terms of star power. And you want to know why? Somebody compared her to Rock, and it’s true. Trish is still a big name outside of wrestling, and her reputation is clean. WWE would have never gotten behind Mickie all the way because she has plenty of skeletons in her closet. She’s not the type of woman Vince wants representing his company. Expect more info to leak out on her in the coming days, as WWE will expose what a nuisance she was behind the scenes. The reason she didn’t leave on her own terms is because she wasn’t half as valuable as you pretend she was.
it boils down to this:The modern male writers have no sense of history and these idiot
sexist attitudes are one of the reasons why right now not just womens wrestling but
wrestling in general is is going down the tubes again. With Bischoff who calls himself a visionary but has the most dinosaur POV about wrestling that i’ve ever heard.if tara
were deciding to leave wrestling give her a sendoff that she deserves!! Mickie James did the job for Trish Stratus in Trishes last match why couldn’t they give mickie that same respect…..sad.
Ana Nattie Rules; I heard it on another wrestling website, and you’re right he aint popular with the Divas *cough* Ariel
This article is spot on! So much yet so little has changed, it’s quite amazing, actually. I wish both all the best, because they truly are two great assets for any company that takes them!
What has the KO divison turned into? It saddens me seeing such great talent going or being misused. If only TNA listened to their fans. It seemed to be going down hill since Eric and Hogan came to TNA…
Anybody wish the days of Gail Kim and Awesome Kong were back?
“The reason she didn’t leave on her own terms is because she wasn’t half as valuable as you pretend she was.” – justbringit
THANK YOU. I would quote more, but plagiarism is immoral. haha
To be honest, no real lost for either company.
Why exactly will Mickie be missed? She was lazy and really regressed in the ring the past two years. She’s had bad matches with Lita, Maryse, Alicia, Beth, Rosa, Layla, Michelle, Beth, Melina, Katie, and Jillian. You can’t blame it all of Mickie’s opponents. Not when there’s so many of them. And for everyone saying she was the most “over”, where the heck were the heels’ heat each time she got her head kicked in? Where was her merchandise? Justbringit, again, THANK YOU.
What exactly has Tara done in TNA that makes her an asset? She managed to get a superior push and do everything she can do in that division before a year’s time.. And proved that she wasn’t the right gal. None of her feuds matter. None of her title reigns felt like a big deal. People complain about the ex-WWE people burying TNA’s homegrown talent? Well, that is exactly what Tara did, but I don’t know why people ignore it.
I dont really know what to say with this much, but I got to tell you the both of them are popular. Not a fan of Mickie James but she has great comeback skills when she is on the mic/ I give her big props for that and she left a big mark in the pro wrestling industry. She bust her ass to get to where she is at. I wish the best of luck with her music career.
I love Victoria and she is def one of the best women wrestlers we have today! but if she is leaving TNA it is her personal choice/ I wish her the best of luck in all her endeavors.
The both of them left a huge mark in the wrestling industry.
@Justbringit, you don’t want to sound like you hate Mickie,uhh too little too late buddy.
And its no secret Mickie James was not as popular as Trish Stratus, and definitely not close to the mega-over Lita. But using your reasoning, look at the era Mickie James had to work with. You point out the talent Trish was allowed to work with all the while ignoring the fact that the women of today barely get any TV time as it is.
So how the hell do you expect some memorable angles when your given shit to work with?? And don’t give me the whole “But Lita and Trish made their two minutes their own” bullshyt because clearly, they were allowed to get away with more. The interaction with the guys, well thought out angles, ect.. You’ve said it yourself, they’re different eras, different directions and you have to look at everything before you try and demean her contributions. Nobody in their right mind is going to deny Trish Stratus the more popular diva of the two, I think your missing the point though.
And we’re back to the double-standard with men and women and how they represent the company. Its been discussed enough how the guys get away with more crap than the women ever have, yet they’re given a slap on the wrist or somekind of suspension. Because Mickie James is a woman its easy to say she had it coming, she got sloppy, she probably did something really bad. Orton, Batista, and AJ Styles complain too, I don’t hear anyone saying they’re acting “difficult.”
@Ebmich-You keep bringing up her poor quality matches and we could argue over that until we turn blue. The truth is people have different opinions on what’s good and what’s sloppy. You can say she was bad, but others(not just myself) can argue otherwise. Its the same with me thinking Madison Rayne sucks. And I still think she’s bad. Actually I just saw her match again during the Impact replay and my “opinion” still stands. Anyway, a couple of people have insisted to me that she’s a good wrestler. I however, do not see it. I honestly don’t see it. You see where I’m going with this? Unless your Ashley Massaro, this debate on wether she was sloppy and lazy and whatnot, is irrelevant.
“None of her title reigns, felt like a big deal.”
And about Tara and how her run in TNA was handled. You can blame their creative department on that. Excluding Tara’s own run, there were/are plenty of storylines they could have done a million times better. Where do I begin? Most of their shows are a mess. Its beginning to look like WCW all over again. With Hogan and company in charge, don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Tara is one of many who’s storylines are dealt with badly so your argument there is pointless too.
there is a big gap in salaries in wwe but some divas come out looking pretty gof on the pay side most don”t make six figures but a few do this is back from 04 or 05 Ashley Massaro: $131,000
- Batista: $813,000 (First class flight tickets paid for every week)
- Big Show: $1,000,000 (Base salary)
- Bob Holly: $217,000
- Booker T: $375,000
- Candice Michelle: $64,000
- Carlito: $319,000
- Chavo Guerrero: $206,000
- Chris Benoit: $488,000 (First class flight tickets paid for every week)
- Chris Masters: $253,000
- Christian – $396,000
- Danny Basham: $130,000
- Doug Basham: $126,000
- Eddie Guerrero: $372,000
- Edge: $704,000
- Eugene: $189,000
- Funaki: $124,000
- Gene Snitsky: $292,000
- Gregory Helms: $277,000
- John Cena: $1,743,000 (First class flight tickets, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation paid for every week)
- John Layfield: $786,000 (Five star hotel accommodations paid for every week)
- Jerry Lawler: $204,000 (First class flight tickets, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation paid for every week)
- Jillian Hall: $52,000
- Joey Mercury: $134,000
- Johnny Nitro: $143,000
- Jonathan Coachman: $175,000
- Kane: $ 851,000 (First class flight tickets paid for every week)
- Ken Kennedy: $133,000
- Kid Kash: $62,000
- Kurt Angle: $1,023,000 (First class flight tickets paid for every week)
- Lance Cade: $118,000
- Lilian Garcia: $90,000
- Lita: $286,000 (Mostly downside paid due to lack of wrestling)
- Maria: $41,000
- Mark Henry: $300,000 (Base pay)
- Matt Hardy: $322,000 (Missed over $70,000 of pay due to firing)
- Matt Striker: $43,000
- Melina: $155,000
- Mickie James: $72,000
- Nunzio: $186,000
- Orlando Jordan: $145,000
- Paul London: $177,000
- Psicosis: $122,000
- Randy Orton: $711,000 (First class flight tickets paid for every week)
- Rene Dupree: $289,000
- Rey Mysterio: $414,000
- Ric Flair: $508,000 (First class flight tickets paid for every week)
- Rob Conway: $186,000
- Rob Van Darn: $220,000 (Only received downside and royalties due to injury)
- Rosie: $105,000
- Shawn Michaels: $1,045,000 (First class flight tickets, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation paid for every week)
- Shelton Benjamin: $366,000
- Simon Dean: $132,000
- Stacy Keibler: $178,000 (Only downside paid during absence)
- Steven Richards: $94,000
- Torrie Wilson: $260,000
- Trevor Murdoch: $48,000
- Triple H: $2,013,000 (Allowed the personal use of company jet (10) times per year. First class flight tickets, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation paid for every week)
- Trish Stratus: $618,000 (Receives 20% of all Trish Stratus merchandise sold)
- Tyson Tomko: $127,000
- Undertaker: $1,811,000 (First class flight tickets, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation paid for every week)
- Val Venis: $210,000
- Victoria: $275,000
- Viscera: $130,000
- William Regal: $225,000
mickie and melina were new hereand had just debuted and ashley had won the diva search so that diva search money is included i think
Below is the World Wrestling Entertainment talent roster payroll that was taken from October of 2004 until February of 2006. The shown dollar amount beside each wrestler is the grand total that they earned from World Wrestling Entertainment in a one year period (downside guarantees, bonuses, and merchandise shares). Some wrestler’s were given special privileges and bonuses in their contracts which can also be seen beside their total pay. All wrestler’s contracts begin and end at different months of the year, there for each shown amount is what that particular wrestler earned in a 365 day time period between October 2004 and February 2006 (or however long they have been with the company). All dollar amounts were rounded up/down (Example: $244,766 would be $245,000)
now this in tna 2008
A.J Styles $115,000
Alex Shelley $82,000
Angelina Love $60,000 (expected to rise)
Awesome Kong $90,000
BG James $115,000
Black Reign $80,000
Booker T $556,000 (First class flight tickets paid for to arenas, hotel & transportation)
Chris Sabin $75,000
Christian Cage $376,000 (First class flight tickets paid for to arenas)
Christy Hemme $157,000 (First class flight tickets paid for to arenas)
Elix Skipper $45,000
Eric Young $88,000
Gail Kim $105,000
Hemandez $90,000
Homicide $90,000
Jacqueline $60,000
James Storm $90,000 (expected to rise)
Jay Lethal $75,000 (expected to rise)
Jimmy Rave $65,000
Johnny Devine $50,000
Kaz $86,000 (expected to rise)
Karen Angle $75,000 (First class flight tickets paid for to arenas)
Kevin Nash $126,000
Kip James $123,000
Kurt Angle $600,000 guaranteed (First class flight tickets paid for to arenas, hotel & transportation)
Lance Hoyt $75,000
Matt Morgan $90,000 (expected to rise)
ODB $85,000
Petey Williams $76,000 (expected to rise)
Rellik $62,000
Rhino $140,000
Robert Roode $90,000 (expected to rise)
Roxxi Laveaux $90,000
Salinas $60,000
Samoa Joe $156,000
Scott Steiner $133,000
Shark Boy $70,000
Sanjay Dutt $85,000
Sting $673,000
Tomko $110,000
Traci Brooks $83,000
Velvet Sky $60,000 (expected to rise)
with the wwe name comes the cash but i love how back in like 2005 trish was making more than almost all of the tna stars
Some of these TNA salaries don’t make sense. Karen Angle was getting paid more than Jacqueline who was breaking her teeth during hardcore matches with Gail Kim! That’s messed up.
Well in anycase they get paid decently anyway. They don’t travel as often as the WWE wrestlers so the company’s revenue won’t be as big. I hate to think of how much these newcomers are getting paid. Hogan, Flair, Bischoff, Hall, and Xpac.
Though I do agree that releasing Mickie James was a terrible move made by the WWE, at the end of the day, fans of the WWE are going to continue watching the WWE and it’s multiple shows. So releasing James, despite it being a terrible move in my opinion and probably in other WWE fans opinions on here, won’t drop the ratings. As said in this piece, the Divas of the WWE, aren’t as valuable as the men in the business. That’s been obvious since women were wrestling for the WWE. For the WWE, it won’t be that difficult finding a pretty face to take Mickie’s place, even though some would argue filling her shoes is difficult. At the end of the day, people are going to continue watching, making their opinions worthless in a sense. I stopped watching the WWE, as well as TNA, before these two were released because it was obvious where the women’s division was going. And now, it’s even more clearer that women can easily be released, and replaced. Whereas the men, aren’t nearly as replaceable – more importantly the main eventers, in both the WWE and TNA’s opinion. Clearly, or else we wouldn’t see this constant release of what we call ‘valuable’ players in this uneasy women’s division.
@appleman58: That least has been floating around the internet for a long time, originating from some obscure gossip site, and have never been confirmed by the (somewhat) credible dirtsheets. A lot of those numbers CANT be true, simply due to the fact that a lot of TNA wrestlers (most?) are paid on a ‘per appearance’ basis.
For a select few knockouts there might be special contracts (christy hemme, tara, and maybe Angelina), but you can safely assume that knockouts make between $200 and $400 per appearance. Naturally thats pure speculation, but it is more realistic than the numbers on your list. I think some of the top indy workers (male) make like 350-400 per appearence. Naturally this varies between promotions, but its a rough estimation that should be reasonable accurate (compared to other entertainment gigs).