WWE 24/7 schedule

[MinistryofDeath89]

WHEN CM Punk stood in the ring on Monday Raw and confirmed his impending departure from WWE, my heart sank.
Over the previous 24 hours he had demonstrated why many industry experts consider him to be best all-rounder in wrestling today.

A cracking match with Rey Mysterio which was the highlight of an ordinary Capitol Punishment pay per view event was followed on Monday by an excellent Triple Threat involving the same two men, plus Alberto Del Rio.

As well as consistently providing the best in-ring entertainment — his match with Randy Orton is still my favourite match from this year's Wrestlemania — Punk is totally at home on the microphone and frequently supplements his matches and feuds with excellent promos.

The fact that he is leaving is a huge body blow to WWE. Not just because they are losing a major talent, but because it reinforces the image that WWE is no longer a hugely desirable place to work.

Within the last eighteen months, Chris Jericho, Batista and MVP have voluntarily walked away from the world's No1 wrestling organisation.

Add to this Shawn Michaels' and Edge's retirements, as well as Triple H and Undertaker taking a more withdrawn role, and Vince McMahon's company have lost a huge amount of star power and talent.

They have added to their ranks Del Rio, Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan in that time, while the likes of R-Truth, Christian and The Miz have stepped up, but it is hardly a fair trade.

The top tier of talent in WWE hasn't looked so thin in over a decade.

But the most worrying thing in all this is that so much seems to be WWE's doing.

The punishing schedule surely has to take the vast amount of the blame. Talents are asked to work relentlessly throughout the year.

Yes, they are well paid for doing so, but the mental and physical toll the constant touring and bumping has on the body and mind is huge.

At some point you have to feel that WWE will look at their roster and realise they have to do something to protect their future.

If bright lights like Punk — who is only 32 — have to take a breather, then something must be wrong.

WWE talents do not get mandatory time off — indeed it is often frowned upon should someone want to take some time to rest and recover.

But that is now really proving to be detrimental to the company. Mind you, this isn't a new phenomenon.

In 2004 Brock Lesnar turned his back on a lucrative contract and top position in WWE because he could no longer stand the schedule. He has gone on to a sterling career in MMA, becoming UFC champion and a major drawing card.

Lesnar has even said that he would consider a return to wrestling were it not for the schedule. So why have WWE not learned in the seven years since Lesnar, 33, walked away?


What are your Thoughts ???

 

[iwinulose]

-i completely agree with you, the wwe hasnt learned, they are losing top guys like crazy, givin triple hhh, undertaker, shawn michaels, jericho and batista are all in their 40's and wrestled for along time, your body gets weaker with age and they are getting up there but i do understand what you are saying.

-its VKM's fault, he loves money, he should care more about his wrestlers and make it mandatory that his top stars take time off to recover for maybe a month or so every year, something small like that would help wwe superstars out tremendously (despite how small), plus it would give newer guys a chance to work harder and impress people cause the reality is, that wwe's top stars are leaving, whether it be age, or the schedule, or their characters not being used properly and eventually they will run out of guys and sorry, but using HOF's isnt an option.

-the wwe should also make their travel schedule much smaller so that the wwe superstars arent always on the go, they should have some time to relax while being on the road. the smaller travel schedule could even, possibly get talent who are leaving cause of the schedule to return.

 

[LFC till i die]

I completely agree with you. I think its totally unfair how they are supposed to work for so many days in a year. I dont know how many days they work a year but im assuming its a lot considering live events and tours they do around the world. I know wrestling is fake and that they are "trained professionals" but what they do still hurts the body and would eventually takes its toll on the body. Vince should really give the wrestlers more time off than they are given. But unfortunately for them, all Vince cares about is money.

 

[16mikeytot]

I disagree with what you say. The wrestlers you named except for Punk are all in their forties. Jericho early 40's, Taker mid 40's, Michaels mid 40's, Batista early 40's, HHH early 40's. These I just named except for Batista have been wrestling for about 15 16 17 plus years each. Their bodies can't go like they did when they were in their 20's and 30's. You can't compare Cm Punk leaving to the other guys leaving. As a professional wrestler you know what you're getting into when you sign that contract with the wwe. You know the road ahead of you. I think Punk leaving wwe has more to do with him feeling like he's under used than him being burnt out.

 

[theHeadliner]

The schedule is nothing like it used to be. They work a lot lighter than the wrestlers in Bret Hart's/Shawn Michael's hey day worked. Back in the early/mid 1990s they worked like 25 days a month. Today, counting TV tapings I think they only work around 16 days a month. They don't need the live event revenue as much as they used to with so many other avenues. I think Punk is leaving more out of frustration and being underutilized even though he is probably one of the most talented in the company. He should be playing a bigger role, but seems to be getting bumped down. It reminds me of when Bret Hart would get a break, be on top, then get bumped back down. But back then, they didn't have the roster size that is there now so Punk has a lot more competition at the top.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

Okay guys, this isn't new in the business of professional wrestling. They've been having this type of schedule since at the very least the 70s when guys were on the road constantly. I understand the standpoint of the age, but remember that WWE started doing a youth movement, or at least they were supposed to, not too long ago. I disagree with the idea that Vince doesn't care about his wrestlers, because if he didn't, he wouldn't be in business, so that's just a falsehood that I wish people would stop saying. I'm not defending McMahon, but I'm just simply saying that he's no heartless bastard who could care less about the well being of the people who work for him. These are grown adults who choose to be in this field of work, and if it just so happens that their field requires them to work year round, guess what, it's their decision. Everyone works year round. Sure, they go through a whole hell of a lot more than the normal person, but they do get a chance to catch a break here & there. I think some times people leave the business in order to spend time with their families or seek out other things to do professional, it's not all just because they're old & broken down due to being on the road all the time. They've been doing it for ages, and they're probably not gonna stop anytime soon.

 

[Shilon006]

It's only matter of time more talent walks with the schedule they have. I've always thought the schedule was where tna would possibly snatch up a few WWE guys. I don't think they'd ever be able to get a Cena or Orton but let's say a Ziggler, Kofi, Christian (again), Mark Henry and Daniel Bryan all jumped ship tna could make some noise. Idk if any of those guys would ever leave I was just using them as examples. But get enough guys who are either 1.not being used the way they think they should be 2.hate the WWE schedule or 3.want to keep wrestling but want some sort of life to themselves and tna would hit the jackpot. If they can get a way to throw a little cash around, it'd help a lot. The WWE is showing how much of a toll it takes with talent leaving, doing things they reall want or going to other promotions. It'll hurt them in the end. But to WWE's defense it's no surprise that you gotta work a bitch of schedule. If you're working hard to get to the top they know they'll get less time out of the ring and have more on their plate.

 

[MrrrEricB103]

They say all the time that superstars are on the road 300 days a year. That is INSANE. I think it would be a great idea for Vince Mcmahon to reduce his non televised events, so that maybe the superstars would be on the road around 250 dates a year (just a ballpark figure, maybe a little less or more)with maybe superstars having the option of having time off for a significant amount of time every 1-2 years. I'm not talking just when a guy gets hurt, they should all get a significant amount of time in a calendar year off to just plain rest their bodies! Vince would hate to go backwards in terms of making money, but I think it is a necessary step to take in order to preserve the careers of his new generation of superstars, especially if he plans on keeping any of them around longer than a Brock Lesnar , or a Batista...2 stars he handcrafted to be part of the future of his business, and they bolt because of the hectic travel schedule that comes with being a wwe superstars. Not to mention the countless veterans who are deciding to hang it up because of the madness. Several legends have been quoted as saying todays generation of wrestlers doesn't have the "passion" of past generations....well if these guys don't have the passion that those of the past did, how many of these guys are going to stick around after years and years on the road?

 

[WWEIsLife2]

Okay guys, this isn't new in the business of professional wrestling. They've been having this type of schedule since at the very least the 70s when guys were on the road constantly. I understand the standpoint of the age, but remember that WWE started doing a youth movement, or at least they were supposed to, not too long ago. I disagree with the idea that Vince doesn't care about his wrestlers, because if he didn't, he wouldn't be in business, so that's just a falsehood that I wish people would stop saying. I'm not defending McMahon, but I'm just simply saying that he's no heartless bastard who could care less about the well being of the people who work for him. These are grown adults who choose to be in this field of work, and if it just so happens that their field requires them to work year round, guess what, it's their decision. Everyone works year round. Sure, they go through a whole hell of a lot more than the normal person, but they do get a chance to catch a break here & there. I think some times people leave the business in order to spend time with their families or seek out other things to do professional, it's not all just because they're old & broken down due to being on the road all the time. They've been doing it for ages, and they're probably not gonna stop anytime soon.

Amen to that Midnite.

So your blaming Vince for guys like HHH, HBK, Edge, Undertaker Retiring or reducing their In-Ring Schedule? Wrestling has always had a hectic schedule for years now this is not something that just popped up a few years ago. Guys like Shawn Micheals have been in the business for 25 years and they knew the risks of being on the Road and away from their Families. They do get breaks as well its not like they are doing full board and non stop all the time.

If they want to take time off I have no problem with that, they deserve the time off to do whatever they want. Then they can come back when the batteries are re-charged. Vince does care about the heath and well being of his guys. He is not as heartless as some people make him out to be.

 

[GameOver]

BLAH BLAH BLAH. 300 days a year woopie

get a grip, they work far less then the average person does in a 9-5 job. except maybe the main eventers

2 days a week taping TV and travelling/promotions for maybe another 1-2 days.
granted the travelling for world tours is grueling. But the everage match goes for 10mins, thats 10mins a night they are in the ring and a couple of hrs working things out and watching others. I work 6 days a week doing 12 hr shifts and get a total of 1 month off a year spread out over the course of the year, Sports entertainers get paid how much compared to the average worker?

The older generation were workhorses and there are a few within the current generation which probably resemble the remark, the rest just coast along for the money and are spoilt brats, the get paid big money and get exposure whether they earned it or not.

from a business point of view look at it this way, they are actors in a show and the show revolves around them being there as a pivitol character if they are in the upper mid card or higher, so for WWE to just say yeah no worries go do whatever you want and come back when you want and all will be hunky dorey is stupid. They spend money on promoting the guys only to have them go off and moonlight somewhere else or take time off. If you did that in your job you'd get the sack after a while. and they have signed a contract, if they don't like the dot points, don't sign it.

Should they get time off for personal issues, sure, and they do within reason, should there be an offseason? December or say September since those are dead months in terms of what's on TV. other then that no. Entertainment is a year long thing.