Former TNA production manager, Randy Ricci is claiming that Knockouts Champion, Madison Rayne has been forced to miss recent TNA house shows as she is unable to pay for travel to make it to the shows.
Ricci makes the claims on his blog, which you can see by clicking here.
All I can say is wow. It seems so absurd that it could be true, this is TNA after all. If true, and I do stress if, what does it say about the division that the Knockouts Champion can’t afford to travel to shows? Really unfortunate.
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Wrestling Observer has a report explaining why TNA doesn’t pay the Knockouts what they’re worth claiming TNA thinks all of them are inter-changeable and no fan would care if they released a Knockout and replaced her with a new one.
Technically speaking, is Madison Rayne really needed there if Lacey Von Erich is defending half of the championships now with Velvet Sky? It seems strange that Sarita and Taylor Wilde who have missed weeks, hell months worth of TV (and pay) would be able to travel for house shows but the Knockouts Champion wouldn’t — we’ll see how it pans out. Odd report and odd blog source.
WOW! Is the travel by plane or nearby? If it’s the latter, that is gobsmacking. I can’t believe this.
LMAO!
It has been reported numerous time that Madison Rayne is the lowest paid knockout on the roster, or at least used to be. Some sites reported something like 200$ per appearance. Naturally it’s hard for us to know wether that is all true, but it does explain why she was working at a bar when she wasnt wrestling.
IF it’s all true, she definately should get a big raise. Paying $200 is good enough for someone who is only used to job (like she used to do), but not for your champion.
Jordan18 wrote: “It seems strange that Sarita and Taylor Wilde who have missed weeks, hell months worth of TV (and pay) would be able to travel for house shows but the Knockouts Champion wouldn’t”
You can’t compare Sarita and Taylor with Madison.
Sarita is very succesful and populair in the indies, she works indy shows everywhere, so on a monthly basis she probably makes more than all 3 TBP members combined.
And Taylor Wilde works some indies in Canada, but she also goes to school, so i’m sure Taylor knows how to manage her finances efficiently. And most likely she has saved her money over the past few years so she can finance her education.
Meh, she’s not that popular, she only won the belt for the shock value, IMO she deserves to be the lowest paid, they’ve been pushing her forever and she’s not popular at all, she gets the least cheers out of all TBP. I do think all the Knockouts should be paid more though.
@SClub7, It’s not like Madison is the only TNA Knockout getting underpaid. I don’t even think she gets the lowest paycheck. All of the Knockouts get a paid a low amount, hence why Gail complained about that when she left and I believe even Tara brought it up before. They always paid their knockouts a low amount of money, despite it’s the Knockout division who most likely gets them their highest rating.
Wow; I knew TNA didn’t pay much. Sorry Madison lol.
WOW
They even pay their Knockours champion and tag team champion enough she buy her plane ticket?! I am liking TNA alot less as the weeks go on.
If I was the Knockouts
I’ll leave TNA, ASAP.
I see why Gail and Kong left
TNA cheap as$. If they only
make $100-$500 dollars what
the heck they can do with that?
They risk being hurt for $200 basically.
They can make more money with going back
to college and getting a 9-5 job.
That is so serious , when you have a Knockout that cant even pay for her own plane ticket then that is a problem! Isnt money the same reason Gail , Kong left for nw Tara is ???
omg!! no wonder the knockout’s are all leaving! this is appaling! the fact that tna dont think the ko’s are worth enough to the fans to pay them make’s me feel sick! im so fed up with tna now! wwe is lookin better and better! i hope victoria returns to wwe wen she leaves, atleast they know how to treat divas!
This is the reason why Gail & Kong left and why Tara is leaving. They get paid very little and are never given a raise. The thing these women bust their asses and bring in the ratings and get nothing out of it while Christy Hemme just stands backstage with a mic in hand and gets paid a whole lot more then all the other KO’s put together.
wow, just wow
maybe if they threw away some of they’re excess baggage like don west they could pay the knockouts, without the knockouts TNA’s ratings would be awful we all know they’re the ratings draw
I admit I don’t care for Madison but that is low. TNA probably pays Bischoff shitloads of money when he doesn’t bring a damn thing to the table. And what about Hogan and Flairs “Guaranteed to put you to sleep” promos? These people are what’s killing TNA yet they’re probably the highest paid on the roster. That’s ridiculous. They’re just milking the company before it goes out of business and I love Christy Hemme but she’s overpaid.
The women should ask to speak to Dixie in a group, express their concerns about this. They bring in more viewers than Hogan. They’re what people tune in for, its only fair to give them a reasonable pay.
There are two possible reasons for this:
- Madison is not good at Economy.
- TNA really pays even worst than what we thought.
Unfortunately I think that the second reason is the culprit.
“- Madison is not good at Economy.”
I think that COULD be an explation.
Madison appears every week on the show, thats 4 shows a month. Then she works like 4+ house shows a month (at least). Lets assume that the reports are true and she only makes 200/appearence. That means she makes at least 1600+ a month. Additionally she is also allowed to do a few indy shows, where she can sell autographed pictures for a nice amount of money. So in theory she SHOULD make enough to support herself. But if she still is unable to travel, then “something” is seriously wrong. Either the reports about this travel issue are completely bullshit (or just slightly exaggerated), or she just cant handle her finances responsible.
Mikas – well, that amount of money might seem enough, but hotels, rentable cars, plane travels and food can get very expensive. (Talking in a Portuguese perspective…I have no Idea about the prices in American hotels)
They might as well be paying most Knockouts with food stamps. What a disgrace! The pay issues are going keep popping up if TNA and Dixie Carter don’t do something soon. They’ve already lost two of their top females (Gail Kim and Awesome Kong) and in a few weeks Tara because of such mismanagement. I’m not saying TNA should be this benevolent charity, but the Knockouts are worth FAR MORE than they’re paid. And that probably even goes for TBP and Angelina Love who are the top draws of the division.
It’s BS like this that makes TNA look like bush league and ill-equipped to be a viable product. I thought they’d change their ways after Gail Kim quit, but it’s still the same…and it’s almost TWO YEARS since she left. Dixie needs to get her head out of the clouds.
If you’re pissed off about this, tell people. The more people who know, the more likely they are to be shamed into changing the situation. Tweet Dixie and Jeff and everyone else in manamanget to complain, go to Bischoff’s facebook and ask him why he doesn’t pay his fermale performers.
This story is an absolute disgrace, and it’s embarrassing to TNA for it to be out there.
My vote is that she can’t handle her money. I book shows in PA and work with TNA on occasion. The talent is structured strangely because in essence it is an independent wrestling company. Very few workers have guaranteed money. They have two types of contracts:
Guaranteed Money
Per Appearance
Now, with the guaranteed money contracts the wrestlers are paid one set fee per week regardless if they are on TV, House shows or sleeping. It is not contingent on them actually working. If someone like me wants to book them we have to go through TNA booking and Bob Ryder who manages travel. They have a set fee for what we pay their talent. The LOWEST paid worker last time I inquired was $425. They also go as high as $7,000 and beyond (especially now with Hogan and Flair). We also have to pay for their travel, transportation AND accommodations. That is in addition to the $425 or whatever and THAT $425 comes off of what TNA has to pay the worker. So if Daffney has a booking fee of $600 but her guaranteed money is $1200 a week I just paid her $600. This means TNA now only has to pay her $600 to meet their contractual obligations.
With that said it makes sense that Madison is on the OTHER deal which is per appearance. With that TNA has a set amount of money they pay the talent to show up and work a show like any other indie performer. Travel is not usually included but that would determined in the individual contracts. Stevie Richards takes his own bookings and is a per appearance worker and deals with his own travel. But he’s a great guy and VERY smart so he can handle his financed.
Daniels was released because he had a guaranteed money contract but now they want him on a per appearance basis. I think he’ll say no because he’s getting a ton of work in the indies with some GREAT companies.
This is Diva-Dirt so that $425 payday I mentioned WAS for a Knockout. :) ODB is one of the highest paid per appearance at around 1200 + travel.
It isn’t a coincidence that most of the knockouts have left because of money issues. Gail Kim, Awesome Kong, and now Tara. TNA needs to do something or they won’t have any knockouts left. And the thing that irritates me is that the knockouts are the most watched on the entire show. They have always been the best thing about TNA. I think they do deserve more money then they are getting. I don’t think it is being greedy at all. If I were with a company, and I was the most watched on the entire show, I would want a pay increase to. Madison Rayne is the TNA knockout champsion for crying out loud. You would think TNA would pay her more then most of the guys working there.
Don’t TNA take 20% of their indie money as well?
Meltzer made is sound incredibly depressing the observer: he even told the story of one nameless knockout (I think it was Angelina Love, but he didn’t say) who wasn’t making any money from TNA, and had to flight herself out (on her own dime) to conventions just so she could get a free table to sell some of her old ring gear and pictures.
why doesnt TNA find away of making more money….the only reason WWE make alot of money is because of merchandise i.e belts figures and more seats at tapings and live events also tna doesnt have many dvds in the uk the easiest place to find is in HMV or other the internet
The KOs bring in the highest ratings, but are paid pathetically. How much are they paying Ric Flairs old ass? How much did they have to fork over to bring in Bishoff and Hogan? This is pathetic. Gail Kim was heavily critisized for leaving TNA for financial reasons, but can anyone really blame her? TNA is really fucking up where the KOs are concerned. I wouldnt be surprised if they all walk out before the end of the year.
RedHotVixen: I don’t know why the hell they criticize her. Doesn’t soccer and football gamers go to where they are paid the most? That doesn’t make them greedy, that makes them valuable performers. If you are one of the best, you should make more money than the others. And even if you’re not so good, if another person is willing to give you more money, you should go there…simple has that.
Being mad for someone to choose to gain more is just stupid. Its like being mad for Mcdonalds to have more financial value than Burger King. Its the law of finance and economy.
If anyone, in any kind of job choose to do a job in a company that payed crap where they could go to another company and do the same job with a lot more money, they would call them stupid. I mean, it just doesn’t make sense.
Money does matter. Sure, love for the job is a big deal but at the end of the day it isn’t that who is going to pay the bills or afford a rather simple retirement without worries.
Smdh IF it is true then that’s a doggone shame and a half. Madison is more popular than some people might think. I’m not a fan but many people are.
“They might as well be paying most Knockouts with food stamps.” LOL!!!
“atleast they know how to treat divas!” This was funny in a different way. :)
Fact of the matter is, neither promotion knows how to treat women. Neither TNA or WWE is looking good to me right now – haven’t been for a minute, so I’m not going to be like “Oh, well, WWE is…(blah blah)” but still. Bigger paychecks from WWE? Alls that means is that they have more MONEY not that they necessarily CARE about or TAKE CARE OF their females better/more. WWE has problems, TNA has problems, else-wise we wouldn’t be complaining every week.
Thanks for the info, bobganome.
So, this article just says Madison was too broke to go to the show. It doesn’t say it is because of TNA. Why are people blaming TNA?
Then again, It doesn’t say it is because Madison can’t balance a check book. lol
madison was working houseshows earlier this month.. the story i’ve heard was that tara demanded madison be removed from the circuit as she doesn’t like her?
“So, this article just says Madison was too broke to go to the show. It doesn’t say it is because of TNA. Why are people blaming TNA? ”
it’s like i’ve always said, if you’re a wrestler who hapens to be broke, go get another part-time job like real people. or see a financial advisor. from reading her twitter in the past ,she likely still lives with her parents, if not has housemates. so her bills can’t be that extreme to begin with.
generation me are reportedly the lowest paid tna stars, they don’t need part time jobs and they have families to support (i know at least one of them is married), and they do okay!
Something that JR talks about over and over is the importance of wrestlers managing their finances practically.
“it’s like i’ve always said, if you’re a wrestler who hapens to be broke, go get another part-time job like real people. ”
Heck, her TNA schedule IS a part-time job. Someone said she could be making a rumor $1600 a month. I’d take a job in which I really only have to be around 10 hours a month and paid me that well. haha
But seriously, how many Indy women are or had part time jobs as waitresses? I can think of 10 off the top of my head.
Kaledrina wrote: “the story i’ve heard was that tara demanded madison be removed from the circuit as she doesn’t like her?”
I doubt thats true. If it was you would have an instant riot in the locker room. I cant believe Madison’s co-workers would ever accept that. Dont forget that Tara doesnt have the influence of a Triple-H, Hogan or Batista.
Lots of interesting pondering :) The $425 I was quoted for Daffney out of Orlando… GenerationMe was reported to only get $200 from TNA. That’s completely false. They have guaranteed money contracts and will be getting a push soon. They also make it a point to travel home after every show. They did a CHIKARA 2 weeks ago in Philly and I guarantee their payday was more than $200. Like I said – whatever YOU pay them comes off their TNA deal. If they make MORE than they’re contract states then that’s all gravy for them.
If a talent does their own bookings and are on a per appearance basis then TNA could take a percentage of non-TNA shows but I find that unlikely as the talent is responsible for their own travel.
As far as Tara goes there have been locker room issues since Kong left. These issues are about ego and non-talented workers going over talented ones as well as HUGE discrepancies in pay. Tara’s complaint is that she took a sizable cut from her WWE salary to work TNA so she could prove herself. Some of the other Knockouts were getting more than she was to such a degree it borders on absurd. As a booker I could get Christy Hemme to sit at a table and make money selling her 8x10s and I’d have to pay her $500 + travel. Sunny gets more than that and you have to flip the bill for her damn bodyguard lol.
Look at it like this because it will make sense. Each of those wrestlers in TNA from Bischoff down to SHark Boy are all independent contractors. Even WITH guaranteed money they are responsible for taking out taxes and expenses themselves not including whatever TNA or me as a booker pays to get them somewhere. Rayne most likely no-showed and came up with an excuse. If her money situation is dire then it is most likely her own damn fault. TNA creates contracts per employee. They are fairly standard unless they include merchandise, appearance fees and all that junk.
I seriously doubt the story that Tara demanded Madison be removed from the houseshow circuit. Tara has little power in relation to a high star like Triple H as Mikas said.
I think Madison is definitely on the pay per appearance deal, but its definitely not enough. However I do feel this report may be slightly exaggerated.
The Tara – Madison situation is getting a little bit bad explained. She didn’t want Maddie (xD) to be removed, she just APPARENTLY didn’t wanted to work with TBP at a house show and thats where it comes the rumor of her being hard to work with. The story I have, is this one (according to Wrestlezone):
“PWTorch.com is reporting that TNA Knockout Tara, real name Lisa Marie Varon, has backstage heat with The Beautiful People which is the root of recent reports that she is “difficult to work with.” Apparently, Varon has issues with the fact that the BP will not take certain offensive moves of hers during matches and that she is not a fan of their in-ring ability.
It’s being reported that Varon has aired these complaints to TNA management several times, and even requested to work with ODB on a recent house show tour as opposed to the BP. This was seen as a sign of disrespect by the BP, as backstage protocol is usually to go to talent with any issues you might have rather than going to management behind the talent’s backs.
It should be noted that Varon was reportedly very easy to work with in WWE and apparently had none of the issues in that company which she now has in TNA. Varon has apparently been telling people close to her that she wants to return to WWE when her current TNA deal expires.”
This could be a lie, but even if its true, I kinda understand and agree with Tara. They’re in ring-work is not the best and it must sometimes be frustrating to better knockouts (not only Tara) to work with them and even though I think the other knockouts should try to help them get better, I also understand the frustation of being a clean worker who has to face not so good competitors that “stain” the matches. Its kinda harsh, but Its the true.
I’m fairly sure the 20% thing is true, and has been wildely reported for a while.
It was also pretty well known Taylor Wilde had a side job at a sunglasses store, and what are these stories about Madison working in a bar Kong even said this week she made more money before TNA than while she was in it. So ,either the pay is crap, or all these women just happen to be really terrible with money.
I’ve heard the story about Madison making $250 per appearance a few places. And not just newz sites, pretty good news sources. If that is true, then this story about her not being able to afford to go on the road could easily be true (no way will such a paltry amount cover all your expenses.)
Or someone could just ask Madison.
Also, the story I heard about Tara not wanting to work with the beautiful people seems to be that she didn’t want to work with them, and then it all worked out because Madison couldn’t make the shows anyway (due to cash) so they replaced her with ODB.
Um … I’m calling bullshit! What live event tour is he talking about, Madison Rayne has been working most if not all of the recent live events:
01-08-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky lost to Sarita & Taylor Wilde
01-09-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Sarita & Taylor Wilde
01-10-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky lost to Sarita & Taylor Wilde
01-14-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky lost to Hamada & Awesome Kong
01-15-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky lost to Hamada & Awesome Kong
01-23-10: Not Booked (Hamada vs. Taylor Wilde)
01-25-10: Not Booked (Hamada vs. Sarita)
01-26-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Sarita & Taylor Wilde
01-27-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky lost to Sarita & Taylor Wilde
01-28-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Sarita & Taylor Wilde
01-29-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Sarita & Taylor Wilde
01-30-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Sarita & Taylor Wilde
02-04-10: Not Booked (Tara vs. ODB)
02-05-10: Not Booked (Tara vs. ODB)
02-06-10: Not Booked (Tara vs. ODB)
02-11-10: Madison Rayne & Lacey Von Erich lost to Tara & Angelina Love
02-12-10: Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky, and Lacey Von Erich lost to Tara & Angelina Love
02-19-10: Not Booked (Angelina Love vs. ODB)
02-20-10: Not Booked (Angelina Love vs. ODB)
03-12-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Sarita & Taylor Wilde
03-13-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Sarita & Taylor Wilde
03-14-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Sarita & Taylor Wilde
03-18-10: Not Booked (Tara vs. Daffney)
03-19-10: Not Booked (Tara vs. Daffney)
03-25-10: Madison Rayne lost to Angelina Love
03-26-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky lost to Tara & Angelina Love
04-08-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Tara & Angelina Love
04-09-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Tara & Angelina Love
04-10-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated Tara & Angelina Love
04-16-10: Madison Rayne appeared, but didn’t wrestle (Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky)
04-22-10: Not Booked (Tara vs. ODB)
04-23-10: Not Booked (Tara vs. ODB)
04-30-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated ODB & Hamada
05-01-10: Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated ODB & Hamada
This is not the first time this douche bag has posted negative comments bout TNA Wrestling on his blog. He is a bitter former employee who posts false information, that has been proven wrong in the past by other former TNA employees.
“Tara’s complaint is that she took a sizable cut from her WWE salary to work TNA so she could prove herself. ”
Tara also has a life outside of pro wrestling now thanks to that pay cut.
I don’t see why so many people totally ignore the fact that TNA doesn’t go on the road 300+ days a year. If Madison had a WWE schedule, based on the reports of her TNA salary, she would make about $60,000 a year. Which is the same amount as a low tier WWE worker would make.
So, like I said, why is everyone jumping on TNA? Realistically, Madison is making a dang good amount of money for only working about 5-10 minutes a show. If she goes to 4 house shows, that is barely an hour a week.
I am not saying I agree with how much she is getting paid considering she is the main title holder and is a part of a big ratings draw for TNA. However, just think about how little work she is actually doing. Even Kevin Nash aka Big Lazy does more on the shows he is on than Madison.
NO, NO, NO. Madison couldn’t be at the house shows because she didn’t have the money. Tara told management she wanted ODB instead of Madison because she was too inexperienced.
TNA already went through bad PR with not giving Kong a raise, but it would have been horrific if it came out that their paying a member of TBP figuratively minimum wage. So when negotiations between Tara and TNA broke down, they used it to smear her and to cover their asses and the real story. Madison was dumb taking a shot at Tara on twitter the same day Tara responded to the rumors. Plus, they bashed Tara while she is still a contract employee with TNA. That’s the textbook definition of ‘creating a hostile work environment’. Nice job TNA. Allow me to break it down.
Oooh, Tara didn’t like to be hit, but she been training to be, in all intends and purposes, a ‘cage-fighter’ for the last year and a half.
Oooh, Tara wants a reduced schedule to concentrate on her car shop, yet they’re mad because her shop (which she was running during her more hectic schedule in her WWE days) is so successful she probably doesn’t need the wrestling money; yet Madison can’t afford to get to work (which is cheap-assed TNA’s fault).
Oooh, Tara doesn’t like to work with TBP. Tara worked the show in place of the injured Angelina and ODB worked the show in place ‘poor’ Madison.
The truth is coming out about how absurd that story was about Tara. I think that someone who wasn’t a ‘Tara hater’ did some digging after Kong, having Tara’s back, stated in interviews that she was a professional and there was no evidence that she was a troublemaker; and you never heard anyone from the WWE bad mouth Victoria when she was there and after she left. Kong’s word is not only respected but golden and the gospel, and it’s helping to clear Tara’s name and reputation.
From a Lisa Marie Varon fan, THANK YOU KONG. I hope that Victoria rises from the ashes, and helps to lead them back to when it was when she was there with Trish, Lita and her trainer Molly. If she does go back, not only could she be a ‘winning’ PROFESSIONAL wrestler, but she could be a mentor to some of the Diva’s; being a legend and having wrestled championship matches at the big events, (i.e. WrestleMania). Plus it wouldn’t hurt if she could convince Vince (or con-Vince, lol) into bringing in Kong and have one on Raw and one on Smackdown, and give the KO’s a real run for their money (well they don’t have any money). Right now, between the releases and injuries, they could use them.
Later.
As far as the source is concerned: He is a disgruntled ex-employee, clearly. But that doesn’t gurantee he’s lying. He’s been complaining about the knockouts being under-paid for years, and from what I understand, most of the figures he talked about ($200-400 per appearance) have turned out to be accurate.
It’s a crying shame that those women are two steps away from doing it for free. They put their careers, and their lives, on the line every time they get into that ring. Look what happened to Daffney not too long ago.
They really should boycott TNA until they get a raise, but knowing Dixie she’ll probably fire all them and hire Maria and the Kat for replacements.
However, this does not excuse them for trying to deflect the truth by besmirching and lying on a co-worker.
He is lying, he claims that Madison Rayne had to pull out of recent live events because she didn’t have money to work them. I just post ALL the live event results for 2010 and that is clearly not the case. As of May 6th, there have been 34 live events and Madison Rayne has worked all but 9 of them. Since March alone, there have been 15 live events and Madison Rayne worked 11 of them. There is no way this guys story is adding up.
I would like to know why people are bringing Tara into this. No one knows if the stories about her is true. I find it a little ironic that these stories about her are coming out now. And what a shocker, it is around the same time that she is leaving the company. Don’t you find that just a little to fishy?
suebenden: It is fishy, and that’s why I don’t believe it. But its always interesting to see what people are ready to do in order to make others look bad.
I pose a question to everyone: if the pay in TNA Wrestling is so bad, then why do the Knockout’s keep resigning with TNA, instead of returning to working multi-indy dates or seeking out employment in WWE?
I did a little math, and say Madison Rayne makes $200 per appearance, then she would have made $5,000 for live events alone (before taxes) so far in 2010 alone. This does include pay for television tapings, pay-per-view (which is higher then normal appearance pay), and merchandise pay.
TNA used to put on better wrestling matches, but that’s the only thing they did that was better than the divas. Even then, it was just wrestling that was better. The Knockouts’ backstage dialog was all similar, all the knockouts sounded the same. There was no attempt to build a unique persona for any of them. In retrospect, they likely did that on purpose so the knockouts could be interchangeable. ODB had her gimmick from before TNA, so we can’t give them credit for that. The WWE on the other hand tries to give each diva her own unique persona. The WWE builds stars. Sable, Sunny, Trish, Lita, Natalya, Serena, Melina, Beth, Maryse, Lay-cool… all have very unique personas. They also all have unique ring attire that goes with their persona. Each diva looks like an individual. Even the jobbers have some type of gimmick going, like Jillian. They try to give each diva her own look and persona. Look at Maryse, she has her own look, gimmick and is on her way to become a memorable WWE superstar. In TNA, there’s no attempt to do that. They just put the knockouts out in similar outfits and tell them to wrestle. They are not even trying to build female stars. When you look at everything they do, the divas are miles ahead of the knockouts.