With the current system of being paid (one lump salary proportional to their success in the past), a lot of wrestlers (Kevin Nash being a prime example) think to themselves "What's the least amount of work I can do to avoid getting fired?" After all, if you're being paid enough so that you can retire on your current contract's salary alone, then what's your motivation to bring your A game every night?
Supposedly, cutting the guaranteed base salary in half, and in exchange, offering the wrestlers a portion of their merchandise sales and autograph signings would encourage them to bust their asses every time they're in the ring, but then, they'd probably think only of themselves, and to hell with putting younger guys over. This would essentially lead to more Hulk Hogan vs Jeff Jarrett lay-down matches, putting the bookers between a rock and a hard place, since they need to either make stupid angles (like Jarrett laying down for Hogan) or fork over tons of extra money to encourage them to do this.
Instead, what if the wrestlers received shares of stock in the company they work for, owned, not by the wrestlers themselves, but by the roster spots that they occupy? This way, they're encouraged to work for the greater good of the entire company, because the better the company does, the bigger the dividends are, the better they do.
On the Independent Circuit, this wouldn't be plausible, but it wouldn't be necessary, because the Indies don't pay enough for people like Kevin Nash or Hulk Hogan to show their stinginess and greediness, so we can ignore them.
So, I think if promotions like WWE, TNA, AAA, or NOAH were to offer wrestlers only about $500 to $1000 a night (enough to make it technically a "salary"), combined with about fifty to a hundred shares of stock, would be the perfect middle ground. That way, guys like Nash and Hogan could still make their fat salaries, but they'd have to earn their keep in order to do it.
What do you think?
Supposedly, cutting the guaranteed base salary in half, and in exchange, offering the wrestlers a portion of their merchandise sales and autograph signings would encourage them to bust their asses every time they're in the ring, but then, they'd probably think only of themselves, and to hell with putting younger guys over. This would essentially lead to more Hulk Hogan vs Jeff Jarrett lay-down matches, putting the bookers between a rock and a hard place, since they need to either make stupid angles (like Jarrett laying down for Hogan) or fork over tons of extra money to encourage them to do this.
Instead, what if the wrestlers received shares of stock in the company they work for, owned, not by the wrestlers themselves, but by the roster spots that they occupy? This way, they're encouraged to work for the greater good of the entire company, because the better the company does, the bigger the dividends are, the better they do.
On the Independent Circuit, this wouldn't be plausible, but it wouldn't be necessary, because the Indies don't pay enough for people like Kevin Nash or Hulk Hogan to show their stinginess and greediness, so we can ignore them.
So, I think if promotions like WWE, TNA, AAA, or NOAH were to offer wrestlers only about $500 to $1000 a night (enough to make it technically a "salary"), combined with about fifty to a hundred shares of stock, would be the perfect middle ground. That way, guys like Nash and Hogan could still make their fat salaries, but they'd have to earn their keep in order to do it.
What do you think?