Loyalty to the WWE

[123NewChamp]

Hello Everyone,

A random thought popped in my mind I think a few days ago. I haven't had time to get on here. But I think it's a good question. I want to know at the end of the day, when the careers of today's WWE Superstars end, which Superstars do you think will stay and remain a WWE guy into retirement. When asking this question I'm saying, when their contract is up or if they were to retire, which WWE Superstar or Superstars won't leave WWE and wrestle for TNA, ROH, or any future wrestling organization?

There have been guys who have Wrestled just for WWE or came from a smaller organization and made a name for themselves in WWE and retired and never wrestled for WCW, ECW, or TNA. Like Shawn Michaels, Dave Batista, Edge, Hardcore Holly, Scotty 2 Hotty, and if more please feel free to add.

But the thing that got me making this thread is that I have seen numerous WWE Superstars leave WWE and go to another organization, get a new gimmick and just mess up their career. One great example is Ric Flair although he didn't get a new gimmick, he retired at the very top of his career after a match with Shawn Michaels and the retirement celebration afterwards.

But as for me I have to say out of today's active roster, the most Loyal WWE Guy or Guys that I can't see going nowhere else after WWE is (excluding
Rock and Undertaker) are John Cena, Kane, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, The Miz, and Mark Henry.

John Cena- He's been the face of WWE for many years, had many High Profile Feuds. Let's face it, WWE is going to use him up till he can't go no more. Although I can not stand the guy, His actions and in and out the ring speaks strongly about his loyalty towards WWE.

Kane- Behind the Undertaker is the longest tenured Superstar right now in the WWE. Since his days as Issac Yankem in 1995, Kane has proved very valuable to WWE officials. His ability to work the Midcard and to transition to the Main Event level is something very few can do.

Daniel Bryan[/B-Right now the easily the biggest draw for WWE and a great wrestler. His matches are off the chain. He will be around for a long while.

CM Punk-I just don't think Punk would be interested wrestling anywhere else.

The Miz-Very charismatic, and AWESOME All around. He's WWE go to guy to promote events. He's a huge PR Tool. And face or heel there is something you have to like about the Miz.

Mark Henry- Been around since 1996 and can't stay away from injuries. If WWE have not gotten rid of him by now then they won't get rid of him no time soon. He may of had his ups and downs in WWE, but he's loyal and do promotional work for the company as well.

So I want to know, who are your Loyal WWE Guys?

 

[Slash-LN]

Even though they didn't make names for themselves in WCW and were there only for a short time guts like Edge (only two matches so it doesn't really count) and Undertaker (for a year) technically did wrestle for WCW.

Guys like Hardcore Holly and Scotty Too Hotty didn't go to TNA but both wrestle on the indie circuit so it's not really fair to say they are retired.

Cena is definitely a WWE guy through and through.

Guys like Kane and Mark Henry who are really close to the end of their careers probably wouldn't end up anywhere else.

I couldn't see CM Punk going back to TNA or the indies. I'm pretty sure he said he doesn't want to be one of the old wrestlers who should have retired but decided to hang around.

Someone like The Great Khali isn't going anywhere else. Same with Sheamus.
I doubt Randy Orton will ever wrestle anywhere else.

It's really hard to say with some of the younger wrestlers because I would think someone like Dolph probably wouldn't want to go anywhere else but we never know what's going to happen.

 

[zigglerlover2002]

Im thinking of

Mick foley he had no problem putting the young guys over same with john cena

 

[Slash-LN]

Im thinking of

Mick foley he had no problem putting the young guys over same with john cena

Mick Foley went to TNA for 3 years though. Plus he wrestled in WCW and ECW before being in the WWE.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Chris Jericho made it clear that he will only wrestle for the WWE and sees TNA as a Minor League. He's also been done a lot of PR for the WWE including Larry King with Vince McMahon and Triple H so WWE has a lot of faith in him being one of the public faces of the WWE. I guess it also helps that you have super semi-celebrity status too.

 

[ASKane]

It all depends on your age when you leave the WWE. If you are in your 30's or younger like Angle(not sure if he was that young im just making a point), Hardy, Anderson, Ray, Devon, Chavo etc and you want to continue a career and have a few more years wrestling of course you go to TNA. If you are in your 40's or later you will usually be at a stage where your happy to relax and maybe only wrestle a royal rumble for WWE. Mark Henry, Undertaker and Kane will obviously do nothing else in wrestling because they are too old but if they left WWE 5 years ago they may have done something else. I think this topic is more based on whether WWE keep a guy until is he too old to wrestle anywhere else. Also on Lesnar he may not have gone to another wrestling company but he did go to 1 of WWE's rivals in the UFC so he is not a loyal guy

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think the most obvious ones are John Cena, Triple H and The Undertaker. Cena has said multiple times that he won't wrestle anywhere but WWE. Cena's made a huge sum of money in WWE, WWE's obviously treated him like a king, he has a ton of influence and has a workrate that's unparalleled in wrestling.

Triple H literally married into WWE about 10 years back and he's someone who obviously cares about the company. Like Cena, he's made a huge sum of money, his influence in the company has been top notch long before he married Stephanie and he'll pegged to take over WWE once Vince steps down. Trips won't be going anywhere else.

The Undertaker is someone that's epitomized loyalty in WWE. He's been with WWE since 1990 and he was someone who was offered big money deals back in the mid 90s like Hall & Nash to jump to WCW but he stayed loyal. Even though he only wrestles once or twice a year, it's obvious he's not going anywhere. He's getting close to 50 and his body's about worn out. He'll be in WWE until he's just flat out not able to wrestle anymore.

After thinking about it while typing up these other responses, I think someone else that's extremely likely to remain in WWE until he retires is CM Punk. Punk has stated in numerous interviews that he's not gonna be one of these wrestlers who keeps on going long after it's time to hang it up, but who have to because they've squandered their money. If I'm not mistaken, I THINK I remember reading something once in which Punk said he wanted to retire by the time he was 40. Punk's current WWE deal is set to expire next summer and I think he'll ultimately agree to a new deal that will last until he's 40. Punk turns 35 next Saturday, I believe, so I ultimately see him signing one more deal with WWE before hanging up the boots.

 

[ner0]

Of the current roster the obvious lock-ins are Cena, Triple H, and Undertaker (his career is done once he decides he can't do Mania anymore).

The ones on the current roster more than likely would also include Big Show, Kane, Orton (if he doesn't violate the policy again), Henry, and maybe Sheamus if they keep pushing him.

Punk is a goal oriented person. If for some completely unknown reason Bryan was fired tomorrow the man will wrestle anywhere else because that's what he lives for. Neither were made stars by the company so they don't really have a reason for loyalty

Finally for some of the others you mentioned I kinda had to note quickly Edge (does he have a choice?), Hardcore Holly (wrestles on the indies and made his debut at TNA albeit for one night only at Hardcore Justice this year), Scotty 2 Hotty (currently on the indies). I'd think people better suited for this would have been bigger attitude era stars that remained WWE like Austin, Rock, Jericho, etc

 

[Howie Backpack]

Randy Orton is a WWE guy until the end i think. They've made him a continual main event guy despite his short comings that would have got other guys fired. I think he will definitely finish his career where it started, then go into the Hall of Fame very shortly after.

 

[Vintage]

Hello Everyone,


But the thing that got me making this thread is that I have seen numerous WWE Superstars leave WWE and go to another organization, get a new gimmick and just mess up their career. One great example is Ric Flair although he didn't get a new gimmick, he retired at the very top of his career after a match with Shawn Michaels and the retirement celebration afterwards.


John Cena- He's been the face of WWE for many years, had many High Profile Feuds. Let's face it, WWE is going to use him up till he can't go no more. Although I can not stand the guy, His actions and in and out the ring speaks strongly about his loyalty towards WWE.

Kane- Behind the Undertaker is the longest tenured Superstar right now in the WWE. Since his days as Issac Yankem in 1995, Kane has proved very valuable to WWE officials. His ability to work the Midcard and to transition to the Main Event level is something very few can do.

Daniel Bryan[/B-Right now the easily the biggest draw for WWE and a great wrestler. His matches are off the chain. He will be around for a long while.

CM Punk-I just don't think Punk would be interested wrestling anywhere else.

The Miz-Very charismatic, and AWESOME All around. He's WWE go to guy to promote events. He's a huge PR Tool. And face or heel there is something you have to like about the Miz.

Mark Henry- Been around since 1996 and can't stay away from injuries. If WWE have not gotten rid of him by now then they won't get rid of him no time soon. He may of had his ups and downs in WWE, but he's loyal and do promotional work for the company as well.

So I want to know, who are your Loyal WWE Guys?

Flair didn't retire at the top of his career. For him to have done that, he should have retired when WCW folded, or after Evolution broke apart. He didn't become a mockery of himself but it was clear his better days were in the rear view mirror.

I think Cena would jump if he was treated poorly enough as I believe deep down inside he has something he wants to prove that he'll never accomplish while in the WWE.

Kane has been part of the machine too long to ever work elsewhere. Same goes for Henry, but in his case he's been locked into 1 long term contract after another, jumping ship wass not really an option for him.

I can see Daniel Bryan leaving, he never wanted the life he's living in the spotlight.

CM Punk I can see working elsewhere part time as long as there are good matches for him.

The Miz, for someone who took being a pro wrestler so seriously, they have him doing anything but wrestle. He's just collecting a check for the most part and I'd think he'd go elsewhere to legitimize himself.

It's hard to walk away from getting paid to sit at home and do nothing, I think that has a lot to do with why so many people haven't already left. It's too easy to make money without having to earn it there. There is a list a mile long of straight up jobbers the likes of Khali that you can throw in the same WWE guy boat that wouldn't be welcome anywhere else.

 

[thebowtiekiller]

undertaker is the first to come mind it doesnt really need explaining why

cena pretty much symbolizes wwes familly friendly image they have gone for the last few years hence been the face of the company cenas wwe all the way.

kane is hard to even imagine wrestling somewhere else at this point in his career especially as he would probally need to be repackaged due to the gimmicks strong links with undertaker.

the rock i think is 100 per cent wwe loyal imo acting is his main priority now but when he does wrestle its not gonna be for anything other then wwe.i doubt any other company could even meet his demands.

onto punk and bryan although these guys clearly enjoy working for wwe due to its perks and the fact it is the number one wrestling company in the world.but i get the impression these two are not actually big fans of the wwes way of doing things in general i think they would jump ship in a second if there was somewhere they could get as good of a deal as they do in wwe

 

[theshadowranger]

There is no loyalty in the wrestling business. Guys are loyal to WWE because no one else has the money to pay them more.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

I perceive a good amount of so called "loyalty" in wrestling to be based on several factors beyond just what we think we know about from the "dirt sheets". He's my take on the this.

I love The Undertaker, great performer, a top ten favorite of mine...totally. But the reasons, I don't think he ever left WWF to go back to WCW, is that he never owned the Undertaker name, and with a strong identity like that, not being able to bring that persona to WCW with him, I feel had a strong factor in him staying in the WWF. That's not to say there still isn't a sense of loyalty there, but at the end of the day this is a business, and I'm sure Mark Calloway's business motives weighed heavier than anything else in his decisions on whether he should have stayed or gone when it came to his WWF/E stint. For that though I am grateful, because during my most active time as a viewer I couldn't imagine a WWF/E without The Undertaker.

Some performers of course took the gamble and left WWF without their very successful WWF personas like Razor Ramon and Diesel, they chose to go by their birth names. That was a gamble that obviously worked out very well for them. I can't say with confidence that would have worked for Undertaker.

Anyway, loyalty in the wrestling business is a laughable concept by and large, I don't fault or begrudge performers like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, Jesse Ventura and a host of others who owned their ring names and the most important parts of their personas to go elsewhere when better offers came their way. Yes, the WWF made these guys' established acts even bigger and better, but these men were just as responsible for pulling their weight. Make no mistake, like any other business WWE is only loyal to a degree itself.

That's why I'll agree that individuals like Punk, Cena, and Orton will stay put. The only one who TRULY is as close to a shoe-in for staying in the promotion is Triple H, considering how well tied into the family he is for obvious reasons. But, who knows what tomorrow brings, the only big factor that I think keeps Punk, Cena and Orton in WWE is the fact there is no WCW these days. Therefore there's not a lot to pick from if you want to be a relevant name in the mainstream wrestling scene, and like it's been discussed before, working in Japan isn't always in the best interest of other performers.

 

[dtroppe]

To quote the Million dollar man, everyone has a price. Anybody in WWE would go wrestle in another organization if the price was right. Would John Cena wrestle one time in TNA for a million dollars, probably not as it would make him look minor league and could potentially damage his earning future in WWE. But if they offered him 20 million, I am sure he would do a match. Loyalty in wrestling is simple, you look at for yourself and your family.

 

[bioshock]

I'm not sure they are loyal or if that has anything to do with it. I think at the end of the day it comes down to money & a job. Cena is a guy who could always be "loyal" for his post WWE career maybe because of the amount of money he will have made from WWE and outside of WWE (movies, tv, merch ect..) so I don't think Cena would need to wrestle somewhere else, now if per say he has a wife who takes him to the bank, or he still wants to be in wrestling and WWE doesn't want him or doesn't want to pay him enough, like Hogan I could see him go somewhere else.

The guys who do stay "loyal" I think its all cause they have the good paying job with WWE, or they want a good paying job with WWE into retirement like as a agent, trainer ect.. Like what Road Dawg does now working for WWE backstage. Same with Arn Anderson, you could say hes been loyal since joining, but again I think its cause he has a job.

And long as Undertaker, Cena, Kane, Punk ect.. all draw in money and viewers, then WWE will want them to stay with the company, so I really don't think being loyal has anything to do with anything.

But to your topic, and for the sake of it. I would say Kane and Cena will end up being most "loyal" to WWE, I could see both either having a role back stage with WWE or even on tv after their career in ring is done, if not they wont have anything to do with wrestling like Edge, Cena will mostly likely just go away or get into tv & movies, Kane most likely will get into politics or movies. I don't see either guy ever working for another company wrestling. Guys like Punk & Bryan, I don't see them as being "loyal" they seem like the type that might still be trying to wrestle somewhere into their late 40s like Flair and Sting, not sure WWE will still want them by then.

 

[mlp420]

There is no loyalty in the wrestling business. Guys are loyal to WWE because no one else has the money to pay them more.

There you go. All this pro-WWE crap you hear from some of these guys is only because they're the only game in town. A lot of the fans are the same way. It's all nonsense. Any of these guys would at least consider leaving if there was a serious alternative. If you think these guys will stay because WWE is such a wonderful place you're fooling yourself.

 

[CanYouDigIt98]

Cena is probably the most 'Loyal' to Vince and Co but this is fuelled by the fact Cena has been the face of the company for the past few years and is the 'Family Favourite' which means more money for Vince.

Orton has to be up there, I think this is helped by his Family's legacy in Pro Wrestling and also is probably helped by the fact he was in The Main Event picture with Evolution, Winning titles from the start of his Career.

Both Orton and Cena will be Hall of Famers once they retire and rightly so. They also earn HUGE paycheques from WWE which am sure helps more than anything.

I think the lower down the Roster you go, The more loyalty show's trough. Most of them realise the opportunity they have been given. Don't forget either, These are the guy's who are 'Fillers' in gaps in shows. They travel across the world not knowing wether they'll be fighting or not. That's loyalty.

 

[FlairFan2003]

The biggest thing about "Staying WWE for life" is money. Mick Foley, Hulk Hogan, and Kevin Nash all wanted to work and WWE either wasn't interested or wasn't matching the money TNA offered so they all did TNA. Nash these days takes occasional Indie Bookings but he would go back to WWE if they called (because they would pay him). Foley did TNA for 3 years until the Hogan Regime came in, then he returned to WWE.

Undertaker probably wont wrestle anywhere else because WWE will pay him well to be a part timer, probably as much if not more than TNA could afford too. Taker at this point is a 50 year old man finding it increasingly difficult to wrestle his style of match due to various injuries. Right now he essentially does nothing except WrestleMania, which may include a handful of other matches but not much else. He could easily get a deal from WWE when he does finally retire to remain in a PR or backstage role. Some wrestlers like Arn Anderson have made a second living working behind the scenes for WWE in recent years. That kind of deal wasn't on the table for Nash and Foley and reportedly TNA is willing to pay Hogan more than WWE at this time.

Cena, like Taker, can likely reduce his role and probably augment his salary (or earn a new one in retirement) with a PR job. He is well spoken, always handles PR work well, and his commitment to Make A Wish Foundation is well documented.

If CM Punk was released by WWE today he would wrestle in Japan or TNA, or anywhere else that could make him a nice deal. He's too young and talented to stop working out of some "respect" for WWE if they decided to release him. He'd be in the same boat as Nash & Foley, and would likely do the same thing. Angle wanted to keep working too and he was WWE to the core, Angle actually gave an interview last year where he stated that he had asked Ric Flair about joining WCW in the mid 90s when he was first considering breaking into the business and Flair encouraged him to go to WWE instead and he was glad he did, attributing his success to WWE. He's put them over publicly before, but he wanted to keep working when they released him so he went elsewhere.

Flair made a bad business decision. His in ring days were close to done when he officially retired, but WWE made him an offer for around the same base salary he had previously ($500,000) to stay in a PR role, with the caveat he might be used on screen if a story needed it, but not as an active wrestler. He declined that offer because he wanted more freedom over his bookings (if your under contract to WWE they obviously have to approve any non WWE work you do). In retrospect that was a mistake, his endorsements with Coke and NC Lottery have paid him enough he could quit TNA where he reportedly wasn't happy (or used well, at least towards the end) but he would have been better taking the WWE deal, and picking up endorsements with their permission if available (the original dispute came over WWE cancelling an appearance he booked at a Legends Convention of sorts because video of the event was going to be sold and WWE would get no commission from Flair's appearance, a bad business decision on his part).

Bottom line, any guy who either needs to earn a paycheck or wants to continue working will seek work elsewhere if WWE lets them go. Hogan and Brett Hart, two guys who owed tremendous dues to WWE, both proved that.

 

[Hitman80]

I find this word loyal to WWE a bit strange... All the names mentioned as "loyal" are all guys on top of the card, why would they go elsewhere? It is also a different business these days as there only one big name player, TNA are just above indies and not progressing.
I don't believe in this loyalty concept, you mention the big names but how about the stars that were loyal but the WWE didn't return that loyalty? Hardcore Holly, Billy Gunn, etc.

Let's see how loyal these big names are when they are not being pushed... Austin said it best when he said at the end of the day you're just a cog in the wheel and can be replaced, that's the right attitude to have.

 

[DarksideEric]

One person, who isn't one of the giant names you all are listing, that I think *wants* to stay with the WWE until the end is Cody Rhodes. Dusty of course was all over the place, hitting WWF, WCW, etc, and Dustin (Goldie) probably made his biggest mark in WWF/E as Goldust and I think will remain in WWE until he no longer wants to be a part of wrestling and/or retires. So I think Cody is fairly likely to be a lifer for WWE in my opinion.

 

[Mustang Sally]

CM Punk-I just don't think Punk would be interested wrestling anywhere else.

Hard to say. After the business with him threatening to leave two years ago, I don't know that I'd call him loyal to WWE. Possibly, he's loyal to the money he makes, an amount that he couldn't earn anywhere else if he intends to continue as a professional wrestler. For that matter, after he told us in 2011 that he had one foot out the door, he might have surmised that he couldn't earn that amount in any other profession, either. Neither of those cases equate to loyalty.

Then again, one might argue that money isn't a factor at all with Punk.....which would lead me to ask why he signed a new contract with WWE two years ago if he hated it so much.

 

[DarksideEric]

Hard to say. After the business with him threatening to leave two years ago, I don't know that I'd call him loyal to WWE. Possibly, he's loyal to the money he makes, an amount that he couldn't earn anywhere else if he intends to continue as a professional wrestler. For that matter, after he told us in 2011 that he had one foot out the door, he might have surmised that he couldn't earn that amount in any other profession, either. Neither of those cases equate to loyalty.

Then again, one might argue that money isn't a factor at all with Punk.....which would lead me to ask why he signed a new contract with WWE two years ago if he hated it so much.

I think it's a somewhat fairly easy answer:

"You won't change a damn thing sitting on your couch."

Punk, either for real, kayfabe or both, wants to "change" things. He wants it to be more about wrestling and less about "entertainment" in his words.

Going somewhere else like TNA or back to RoH won't give him anywhere near the platform nor audience size he needs to "change" things.

 

[shalliin]

surprised no one brought up jbl. dave otunga, because he wont be in wrestling much longer.

punk and bryan might do some small runs with roh, as a nod/thank you to their fans.

miz because honestly, he's nothing in the biz and no other company would want him.