Week in Wrestling #39
Wrestling News From the week of
April 9th- April 15th, 2016
April 9th- April 15th, 2016
John Cena to Host the Espy's
John Cena announced today that he would be the host of this year's ESPY awards on July 13. The ESPY spot is his biggest breakthrough when it comes to exposure within mainstream sports, and is a significant coup for WWE to get one of its performers so prominently placed before that audience.
The ESPYs are ESPN's fan voting awards for a number of different sports categories, aired on their main network and treated like other major award shows with a red carpet, celebrities from all walks of entertainment, pre-show, etc.
John Cena announced today that he would be the host of this year's ESPY awards on July 13. The ESPY spot is his biggest breakthrough when it comes to exposure within mainstream sports, and is a significant coup for WWE to get one of its performers so prominently placed before that audience.
The ESPYs are ESPN's fan voting awards for a number of different sports categories, aired on their main network and treated like other major award shows with a red carpet, celebrities from all walks of entertainment, pre-show, etc.
WWE Returning Stars
As pointed out by Vince McMahon on last weeks Investors call, returns of injured stars John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt and Neville as well as Brock Lesnar and theoretically Paul Heyman should help give the WWE their most talented roster in many years. And in theory, the ratings and numbers should increase do to the new talent they have been building, being intertwined with the returning established stars.
Cena is back on 5/30 and right now Rollins, who started training in Orlando after the completion of the movie “Temple,” is likely for around a week later. That would figure to both as part of Money in the Bank. Orton at last word was going to be ready about a month after that.
Cena claimed to TMZ that right now he’s at 70 percent strength of his pre-shoulder surgery levels right now. He also said that he felt 70 percent was pretty darn good.
As pointed out by Vince McMahon on last weeks Investors call, returns of injured stars John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt and Neville as well as Brock Lesnar and theoretically Paul Heyman should help give the WWE their most talented roster in many years. And in theory, the ratings and numbers should increase do to the new talent they have been building, being intertwined with the returning established stars.
Cena is back on 5/30 and right now Rollins, who started training in Orlando after the completion of the movie “Temple,” is likely for around a week later. That would figure to both as part of Money in the Bank. Orton at last word was going to be ready about a month after that.
Cena claimed to TMZ that right now he’s at 70 percent strength of his pre-shoulder surgery levels right now. He also said that he felt 70 percent was pretty darn good.
WWE Extreme Rules
We have a full preview of the show here.
The seven match main card, particularly since all seven bouts look good, is enough to fill the three hours. But if they need a filler or buffer, other programs in the company that can be late adds include R-Truth & Goldust vs. Tyler Breeze & Fandango (who easily could be thrown out for a quick match) or Becky Lynch vs. Dana Brooke (which seemed to be a direction on Smackdown).
The show should provide good matches, but far more important is how the pieces are put into play coming out of the show.
We have a full preview of the show here.
The seven match main card, particularly since all seven bouts look good, is enough to fill the three hours. But if they need a filler or buffer, other programs in the company that can be late adds include R-Truth & Goldust vs. Tyler Breeze & Fandango (who easily could be thrown out for a quick match) or Becky Lynch vs. Dana Brooke (which seemed to be a direction on Smackdown).
The show should provide good matches, but far more important is how the pieces are put into play coming out of the show.
Vince Sells 2 million in Shares
For the first time in 34 years, Vince McMahon owns less than 50 percent of WWE. With a sale of 2,191,894 shares on 5/16 for approximately $36,165,921 of WWE stock in his trust account, as well as a transfer and eventual sale of another 1,547,372 shares, McMahon is left with 46.8 percent of the company stock. The sales represent about 4.9 percent of stock. But McMahon still controls 86 percent of the voting power of the company, so it’s not like there is any risk to his losing power by going under the 50 percent mark.
McMahon sold his stock at an average price of $16.50 per share, which was below the market value of the stock that was going for $17.91 per share at the end of closing that day. In an SEC filing where the sale was announced, McMahon said that aside from possible additional sales of the 1,547,372 shares still left in his trust account, that he has no plans to sell anymore stock. He also said that he intends to continue on as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Vince McMahon, 70, said in the filing that the sale was for liquidity, family planning and diversification objectives.
For the first time in 34 years, Vince McMahon owns less than 50 percent of WWE. With a sale of 2,191,894 shares on 5/16 for approximately $36,165,921 of WWE stock in his trust account, as well as a transfer and eventual sale of another 1,547,372 shares, McMahon is left with 46.8 percent of the company stock. The sales represent about 4.9 percent of stock. But McMahon still controls 86 percent of the voting power of the company, so it’s not like there is any risk to his losing power by going under the 50 percent mark.
McMahon sold his stock at an average price of $16.50 per share, which was below the market value of the stock that was going for $17.91 per share at the end of closing that day. In an SEC filing where the sale was announced, McMahon said that aside from possible additional sales of the 1,547,372 shares still left in his trust account, that he has no plans to sell anymore stock. He also said that he intends to continue on as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Vince McMahon, 70, said in the filing that the sale was for liquidity, family planning and diversification objectives.
Raw Ratings
Raw on 5/16 against very tough competition did a 2.26 rating and 3,174,000 viewers (1.47 viewers per home), down two percent in viewers from the prior week’s second lowest number outside of holidays and football season since 1997. The rating was identical to last week as the second lowest in that category.
The only episode of Raw that did worse outside of football season was the 4/25 episode that did a 2.19 rating and 3,116,000 viewers. Raw was third on cable, trailing only the NBA game and postgame show.
Still, the number isn’t that bad given hours two and three went head-to-head with the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder conference final game that did 8,706,000 viewers on TNT, up 28 percent from the similar game last season with the Warriors in game one of the conference finals.
Raw on 5/16 against very tough competition did a 2.26 rating and 3,174,000 viewers (1.47 viewers per home), down two percent in viewers from the prior week’s second lowest number outside of holidays and football season since 1997. The rating was identical to last week as the second lowest in that category.
The only episode of Raw that did worse outside of football season was the 4/25 episode that did a 2.19 rating and 3,116,000 viewers. Raw was third on cable, trailing only the NBA game and postgame show.
Still, the number isn’t that bad given hours two and three went head-to-head with the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder conference final game that did 8,706,000 viewers on TNT, up 28 percent from the similar game last season with the Warriors in game one of the conference finals.
Emma Injured
Emma suffered a herniated disc in her lower back. She hadn’t wrestled since a 5/8 house show in Rio Rancho, NM, and I believe that’s where she got the injury. She underwent surgery on 5/17. With surgery like that, she’s likely out of action until late in the year at the earliest. The timing is never good, but in this case it was worse because they were just starting to put Emma & Brooke together as Team End and because the company really likes Brooke, they were likely to be kept strong and used decently well.
Emma suffered a herniated disc in her lower back. She hadn’t wrestled since a 5/8 house show in Rio Rancho, NM, and I believe that’s where she got the injury. She underwent surgery on 5/17. With surgery like that, she’s likely out of action until late in the year at the earliest. The timing is never good, but in this case it was worse because they were just starting to put Emma & Brooke together as Team End and because the company really likes Brooke, they were likely to be kept strong and used decently well.
Enzo Amore Update
There are different beliefs regarding his injury, both the idea that he was first knocked silly by a knee a spot before his head whiplashed on the middle rope, and that he was knocked out twice, or that it was the head whiplashing that knocked him out, and led to his head hitting the apron. The impression we have is Amore believes it was the latter.
There are different beliefs regarding his injury, both the idea that he was first knocked silly by a knee a spot before his head whiplashed on the middle rope, and that he was knocked out twice, or that it was the head whiplashing that knocked him out, and led to his head hitting the apron. The impression we have is Amore believes it was the latter.
Luke Harper Update
Harper is targeting August or September for his return after knee surgery. He did a video on his rehab and noted that the knee popped and he collapsed throwing a punch, and it felt like he had been shot. He thought he’d been hit but there was no contact. Then he thought he broke his leg. He had a dislocated patella and a MPFL tear. He thought it was something waiting to happen as he dislocated his other patella in 2011. He said there was a bright side to this as he was able to spend time at home with his young son, and he expects to return as an improved athlete from the rehab work.
Harper is targeting August or September for his return after knee surgery. He did a video on his rehab and noted that the knee popped and he collapsed throwing a punch, and it felt like he had been shot. He thought he’d been hit but there was no contact. Then he thought he broke his leg. He had a dislocated patella and a MPFL tear. He thought it was something waiting to happen as he dislocated his other patella in 2011. He said there was a bright side to this as he was able to spend time at home with his young son, and he expects to return as an improved athlete from the rehab work.
WWE Audience
Here is an updated look at the current WWE audience based on figures the company just released this week.
When looking at this, keep in mind these variations of the main television shows. Total Divas is heavily skewed to women and reaches a very young audience. Smackdown has generally more women by percentage than Raw, but also reaches generally an older audience (average viewer mid to late 40s). Raw is in between, getting a mid-level average audience (average age early 40s) but far more men by percentage than the other shows.
Putting all three together, and since Raw draws the highest, it would have the most influence on these percentages, it’s 63 percent male, and the average WWE television viewer is 41.3 years old. When WWE was at its popularity peak in 1999-2001, that number was 23 years old.
The actual breakdown is 18 percent of WWE’s television viewers are under the age of 18 (during the peak of the promotion in the late 90s this figure was 38 percent, you know when they were not marketing to kids and it wasn’t family friendly, and keep in mind that’s 38 percent of seven million viewers at peak as compared to today’s 18 percent of 3.3 million viewers, so “family friendly” equals a kids audience dropping from 2.66 million to 595,000); 23 percent is 18-34, 21 percent is 35-49 and 38 percent is over the age of 50.
Here is an updated look at the current WWE audience based on figures the company just released this week.
When looking at this, keep in mind these variations of the main television shows. Total Divas is heavily skewed to women and reaches a very young audience. Smackdown has generally more women by percentage than Raw, but also reaches generally an older audience (average viewer mid to late 40s). Raw is in between, getting a mid-level average audience (average age early 40s) but far more men by percentage than the other shows.
Putting all three together, and since Raw draws the highest, it would have the most influence on these percentages, it’s 63 percent male, and the average WWE television viewer is 41.3 years old. When WWE was at its popularity peak in 1999-2001, that number was 23 years old.
The actual breakdown is 18 percent of WWE’s television viewers are under the age of 18 (during the peak of the promotion in the late 90s this figure was 38 percent, you know when they were not marketing to kids and it wasn’t family friendly, and keep in mind that’s 38 percent of seven million viewers at peak as compared to today’s 18 percent of 3.3 million viewers, so “family friendly” equals a kids audience dropping from 2.66 million to 595,000); 23 percent is 18-34, 21 percent is 35-49 and 38 percent is over the age of 50.
Stephanie Book
Stephanie McMahon will be publishing an autobiography through Regan Arts books. The book is aimed at a women’s audience in particular, and in internal memos on key selling points of the book, the comparison was made in marketing to the Rousey book. The book talks about starting as a receptionist and becoming Chief Brand Officer, successes and failures in the business world and advice on balancing family life with work demands. The book is scheduled for a 9/27 release date.
I would expect this, as the first autobiography of a McMahon family member, to be pushed heavily on television. This makes it pretty much a lock that Stephanie will be portrayed on television for the time being as the all-knowing smartest person in the room, one step above everyone else. The company’s goal for some time has been to make Stephanie the business face of the company.
Stephanie McMahon will be publishing an autobiography through Regan Arts books. The book is aimed at a women’s audience in particular, and in internal memos on key selling points of the book, the comparison was made in marketing to the Rousey book. The book talks about starting as a receptionist and becoming Chief Brand Officer, successes and failures in the business world and advice on balancing family life with work demands. The book is scheduled for a 9/27 release date.
I would expect this, as the first autobiography of a McMahon family member, to be pushed heavily on television. This makes it pretty much a lock that Stephanie will be portrayed on television for the time being as the all-knowing smartest person in the room, one step above everyone else. The company’s goal for some time has been to make Stephanie the business face of the company.
NXT Takeover Special
What is likely the blow-off match of the Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor feud over the NXT title, at least as far as Takeover specials go, will be a cage match on the 6/8 show from Full Sail University. The company announced after a pull-apart brawl between the two at the 5/14 house show in Portland, OR, that Regal would be announcing a new stipulation. This would be the first cage match in NXT history. It’s expected to be the blow-off of the feud and the loser would go to the main roster. One would think there’s a ready-made angle with Balor, Anderson and Gallows with or without Styles.
The entire show should be evident later this week since they are taping TV on 5/19, with the first hour being the go-home show. It’ll be a tricky taping and they may do swerves to the audience that can be edited out (they like to do that) since they will be taping shows for after Takeover. The other matches that seemed to be set up at the last tapings were Asuka vs. Nia Jax for the women’s title, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries and possibly another Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs. The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) for the tag titles.
What is likely the blow-off match of the Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor feud over the NXT title, at least as far as Takeover specials go, will be a cage match on the 6/8 show from Full Sail University. The company announced after a pull-apart brawl between the two at the 5/14 house show in Portland, OR, that Regal would be announcing a new stipulation. This would be the first cage match in NXT history. It’s expected to be the blow-off of the feud and the loser would go to the main roster. One would think there’s a ready-made angle with Balor, Anderson and Gallows with or without Styles.
The entire show should be evident later this week since they are taping TV on 5/19, with the first hour being the go-home show. It’ll be a tricky taping and they may do swerves to the audience that can be edited out (they like to do that) since they will be taping shows for after Takeover. The other matches that seemed to be set up at the last tapings were Asuka vs. Nia Jax for the women’s title, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries and possibly another Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs. The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) for the tag titles.
Total Bellas
For the TV show “Total Bellas,” the storyline is that Bryan Danielson and Brie Bella have moved in with Nikki Bella and John Cena. The idea is that Danielson lives simply and has little concern for money as compared to most people (which is why losing pro wrestling was so hard on him) and is being moved into an elaborate mansion and living with high-living Cena and Nikki. The claim is that one of the four had a mental breakdown because Cena & Nikki are neat freaks and Danielson is not.
There is also a wedding (that would be John Laurinaitis and Kathy Colace, the mother of Nikki and Brie) and a pregnancy during the season (that’s actually Brie & Nikki’s brother J.J. Colace-Garcia, whose wife is pregnant and he and his wife will be part of the cast so the pregnancy becomes a storyline).
Nikki said the bone in her neck is fusing well after surgery but she won’t know until July if she’ll be able to return. Her goal is to be back for SummerSlam. When she had the surgery, the word was that she was likely to be only able to work selected dates as opposed to a full schedule if she could return.
For the TV show “Total Bellas,” the storyline is that Bryan Danielson and Brie Bella have moved in with Nikki Bella and John Cena. The idea is that Danielson lives simply and has little concern for money as compared to most people (which is why losing pro wrestling was so hard on him) and is being moved into an elaborate mansion and living with high-living Cena and Nikki. The claim is that one of the four had a mental breakdown because Cena & Nikki are neat freaks and Danielson is not.
There is also a wedding (that would be John Laurinaitis and Kathy Colace, the mother of Nikki and Brie) and a pregnancy during the season (that’s actually Brie & Nikki’s brother J.J. Colace-Garcia, whose wife is pregnant and he and his wife will be part of the cast so the pregnancy becomes a storyline).
Nikki said the bone in her neck is fusing well after surgery but she won’t know until July if she’ll be able to return. Her goal is to be back for SummerSlam. When she had the surgery, the word was that she was likely to be only able to work selected dates as opposed to a full schedule if she could return.
Upcoming Wresting shows
There are a number of major dates in pro wrestling for the month of June, one of the biggest for significant shows of the year:
There are a number of major dates in pro wrestling for the month of June, one of the biggest for significant shows of the year:
- June 4 - UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
- June 5 - AAA's Victoria World Cup men and women's trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
- June 7 - New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
- June 8 - NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE's match of the month.
- June 12 - TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
- June 12 - Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- June 19 - New Japan Dominion, one of the company's biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
- June 19 - WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
- June 24 - ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title
- June 25 - Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
- June 26 - Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Tournament
The company announced this week that every tournament match will be airing on New Japan World, with seven shows live, including the last four. The other seven shows will air shortly after completion on a short delay. Both members of the Young Bucks are out of the tournament, due to injuries suffered seconds apart on the 5/11 ROH TV tapings in Toronto.
Right now the A block has Gedo, Bushi, Rocky Romero, Ryusuke Taguchi, Matt Sydal, Kushida, Kyle O’Reilly and whoever replaces Matt. The B block has Ricochet, Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Bobby Fish, Volador Jr., Will Ospreay and Trent Baretta plus whoever replaces Nick.
The schedule is similar to last year’s G-1, with A block night and B block night alternating.
The company announced this week that every tournament match will be airing on New Japan World, with seven shows live, including the last four. The other seven shows will air shortly after completion on a short delay. Both members of the Young Bucks are out of the tournament, due to injuries suffered seconds apart on the 5/11 ROH TV tapings in Toronto.
Right now the A block has Gedo, Bushi, Rocky Romero, Ryusuke Taguchi, Matt Sydal, Kushida, Kyle O’Reilly and whoever replaces Matt. The B block has Ricochet, Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Bobby Fish, Volador Jr., Will Ospreay and Trent Baretta plus whoever replaces Nick.
The schedule is similar to last year’s G-1, with A block night and B block night alternating.
Best In The World PPV
As things stand right now, the lineup for the 6/24 Best In The World PPV is Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley for the tag team titles, Bobby Fish vs. Dalton Castle for the TV title and Steve Corino vs. B.J. Whitmer in their grudge match that was originally supposed to happen at Final Battle are all official. Other matches that either are considered or official but not yet announced include Roderick Strong vs. Mark Briscoe and ACH vs. Silas Young. There are other matches still in the planning stages.
A Friday night show, which is tougher to draw than a Sunday, plus no New Japan talent makes this their toughest PPV to draw this year, although they are hoping to be able to get Katsuyori Shibata to debut (this depends on when his visa issue is taken care of) and Kamaitachi is also a possibility.
As things stand right now, the lineup for the 6/24 Best In The World PPV is Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley for the tag team titles, Bobby Fish vs. Dalton Castle for the TV title and Steve Corino vs. B.J. Whitmer in their grudge match that was originally supposed to happen at Final Battle are all official. Other matches that either are considered or official but not yet announced include Roderick Strong vs. Mark Briscoe and ACH vs. Silas Young. There are other matches still in the planning stages.
A Friday night show, which is tougher to draw than a Sunday, plus no New Japan talent makes this their toughest PPV to draw this year, although they are hoping to be able to get Katsuyori Shibata to debut (this depends on when his visa issue is taken care of) and Kamaitachi is also a possibility.
TNA Impact Replay Cancelled
The Saturday replay was canceled after only four weeks, so TNA is down to just one airing at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays. In theory that hurts because TNA’s deal with Pop was a revenue sharing deal but there really has been very little revenue from advertising to be shared (a 30 second spot on Impact goes for $335), and less than little for the replay show so it’s not really a financial hit. It’s a minor exposure hit but it’s not like TNA is doing anything with its exposure.
The scary part is more just how quickly Pop nixed the show after moving it. The whole idea of the replay show is to hit the West Coast audience in prime time. Destination America last year had multiple replays and ended up canceling them early, but always kept the one replay even after the decision was made to cancel the show.
There was a story going about how Pop TV did its upfront presentation for the 2016-17 television season, there was no mention at all of TNA, which is true, but Pop’s upfronts were in late March. So at least dating back to that time they already had no plans to promote TNA as key programming on the station going forward.
The Saturday replay was canceled after only four weeks, so TNA is down to just one airing at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays. In theory that hurts because TNA’s deal with Pop was a revenue sharing deal but there really has been very little revenue from advertising to be shared (a 30 second spot on Impact goes for $335), and less than little for the replay show so it’s not really a financial hit. It’s a minor exposure hit but it’s not like TNA is doing anything with its exposure.
The scary part is more just how quickly Pop nixed the show after moving it. The whole idea of the replay show is to hit the West Coast audience in prime time. Destination America last year had multiple replays and ended up canceling them early, but always kept the one replay even after the decision was made to cancel the show.
There was a story going about how Pop TV did its upfront presentation for the 2016-17 television season, there was no mention at all of TNA, which is true, but Pop’s upfronts were in late March. So at least dating back to that time they already had no plans to promote TNA as key programming on the station going forward.
TNA Deal Update
Movement has been slow regarding any deals to influx new money to the company, nor have any of the key people been signed to the new deals they’ve tried to get them to sign. The good news is they are advertising tapings in Orlando from 6/13 to 6/15, after the 6/12 PPV show, which means they did have the money for at least the deposit for holding the date. The plan is to tape a One Night Only show and an Xplosion show on 6/13, and then tape two shows on 6/14 (the semi-live show and the 6/21 show) and two more on 6/15 (for 6/28 and 7/5).
But there’s an interesting note regarding costs from what they have. The original plan was to tape on both 6/16 and 6/17 and be taped through the first week of August. The last two dates being canceled seems to indicate that they don’t have the money for the expenses of those last two shows right now. Since pay for a lot of the talent and everyone in production is by appearance and date, that it saves 33 percent of the non-trans costs by cutting two of the six dates. However, in the long run it would cost more because they now have to schedule a taping in July that they wouldn’t have needed, and it’ll cost the same for production and talent, but they have the added transportation costs of flying people in again that they wouldn’t have had. In other words, by saving money in June, short-term, they are costing themslves more in the long-term.
Movement has been slow regarding any deals to influx new money to the company, nor have any of the key people been signed to the new deals they’ve tried to get them to sign. The good news is they are advertising tapings in Orlando from 6/13 to 6/15, after the 6/12 PPV show, which means they did have the money for at least the deposit for holding the date. The plan is to tape a One Night Only show and an Xplosion show on 6/13, and then tape two shows on 6/14 (the semi-live show and the 6/21 show) and two more on 6/15 (for 6/28 and 7/5).
But there’s an interesting note regarding costs from what they have. The original plan was to tape on both 6/16 and 6/17 and be taped through the first week of August. The last two dates being canceled seems to indicate that they don’t have the money for the expenses of those last two shows right now. Since pay for a lot of the talent and everyone in production is by appearance and date, that it saves 33 percent of the non-trans costs by cutting two of the six dates. However, in the long run it would cost more because they now have to schedule a taping in July that they wouldn’t have needed, and it’ll cost the same for production and talent, but they have the added transportation costs of flying people in again that they wouldn’t have had. In other words, by saving money in June, short-term, they are costing themslves more in the long-term.
TNA Behind on Pay Again
A few production people are once again behind on pay, including some behind by several months. There was an article in Pro Wrestling Torch on the situation. From what we’ve been able to find out, most of the production people who worked the last tapings were paid in full. The paying of the production people is the responsibility of Aroluxe, which TNA pays for the production work, so it’s kind of a middle-man thing. At the last tapings, it was said that there was some sort of an “error,” and checks for eight people weren’t there at the end of the tapings. Under Aroluxe, the production crew had been paid at the end of the tapings. It wasn’t the months behind stuff like when they were waiting for checks from TNA last year. Don Harris, who heads the crew, told the eight people that they would have their checks at home on 4/26. But as of this past week, nobody had gotten the checks and attempts by those to contact people to find out what’s up had gone nowhere as of last word.
A few production people are once again behind on pay, including some behind by several months. There was an article in Pro Wrestling Torch on the situation. From what we’ve been able to find out, most of the production people who worked the last tapings were paid in full. The paying of the production people is the responsibility of Aroluxe, which TNA pays for the production work, so it’s kind of a middle-man thing. At the last tapings, it was said that there was some sort of an “error,” and checks for eight people weren’t there at the end of the tapings. Under Aroluxe, the production crew had been paid at the end of the tapings. It wasn’t the months behind stuff like when they were waiting for checks from TNA last year. Don Harris, who heads the crew, told the eight people that they would have their checks at home on 4/26. But as of this past week, nobody had gotten the checks and attempts by those to contact people to find out what’s up had gone nowhere as of last word.