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Post by j on May 30, 2012 18:35:51 GMT -5
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Post by chewey on May 30, 2012 22:16:25 GMT -5
how many times has Orton been suspended? I swear I thought he already had two strikes on him, but I remember one suspension for behavior, and another suspension where he was using female fertility drugs - and WWE had to change their rules so that suspended talent could continue to appear on television but would not be paid (a rule I might further add has never been used except for this time with Orton because he was so vital to their plans at the time).
Now the question is not just about this feud with Jericho they don't have to worry about, but whether WWE will ever trust him enough to put the title on him again.
Here's a post that I'm blatanly plagiarizing from Rick Scaia on his OnlineOnslaught message board.
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Post by swarm on May 31, 2012 8:32:35 GMT -5
I think Orton has achieved the point in his career where, barring anything totally crazy (Jeff Hardy), he pretty much untouchable. He'll serve his suspension, and return as a main eventer, and wear the belt again. If he gets suspended again, they won't fire him. It's their own policy, and no one can force them to uphold it. These are the perks of elite success and nobody should be upset with it. Special privileges come with uber success and I believe Orton achieved that status.
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Post by Vidtek on May 31, 2012 10:05:36 GMT -5
ON the one hand I can see where Swarm is coming from, but on the other I think that is a wrong attitude to have. Should he have unlimited chances even though the policy says three strikes, you're out? Is favoritism a positive thing? If he gets caught doing whatever he was doing again he should be fired, end of story. Will he come back still at the top of the card and given title chances and maybe even runs with a belt, sure. But I don't think an exception should be made to the wellness policy just because he's a big star and people like him. If they do that, why even have the stupid policy in the first place. It looks more like an excuse to get rid of guys they don't want anymore.
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Post by havoc on May 31, 2012 10:33:57 GMT -5
ON the one hand I can see where Swarm is coming from, but on the other I think that is a wrong attitude to have. Should he have unlimited chances even though the policy says three strikes, you're out? Is favoritism a positive thing? If he gets caught doing whatever he was doing again he should be fired, end of story. Will he come back still at the top of the card and given title chances and maybe even runs with a belt, sure. But I don't think an exception should be made to the wellness policy just because he's a big star and people like him. If they do that, why even have the stupid policy in the first place. It looks more like an excuse to get rid of guys they don't want anymore. It's not professional sports like baseball with their three strikes and you're out roid policy. They're in the entertainment business. They're in the business to make money. Randy Orton makes them money. They're not going to fire him so he can go to TNA and help them make money. Vince is all about crushing the competition. He's not going to help them out by delivering Orton on a silver platter. |
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Post by Pete on May 31, 2012 17:32:10 GMT -5
Orton makes them money? His last stint as champion on Smackdown was a ratings and live-attendance disaster.
The WWE has built itself up into a company where NOBODY is untouchable. That's the way they want it, and being a near-monopoly they can do it. The closest thing to an exception is Cena.
I don't see how Orton is a bigger star or moneymaker than Kurt Angle was, and TNA did in fact get him on a "silver platter." Same with Bret and WCW, going way back. Since we all know that TNA would have no clue how to utilize Orton properly or capitalize on his hypothetical presence, I'm not seeing how it's so vital that Orton sticks around.
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Post by Pete on May 31, 2012 17:44:57 GMT -5
The other issue with regard to Orton "earning" a double standard (aside from the dubious premise that he's earned anything by being this untouchable star, which I don't buy) is that a.) keeping him around opens the WWE up to a wrongful termination lawsuit from some other wrestler who gets released, and b.) if Orton pulls an Eddie Guerrero and drops dead, now the company has a contracted WWE worker's death on their hands rather than an ex-wrestler they've washed their hands of.
I'm not even accusing the WWE of a double-standard in this case. I'll wait for actual news to come out that he's earned a third strike before I do that, and despite all of Orton's other issues the consensus is that he hasn't done that yet. The point is, Orton is not untouchable and the WWE will barely miss a beat if he goes--and if the WWE thinks otherwise of him, that's a pretty risky and stupid move.
Granted, it's the worst-case scenario, but a wrestler dying on WWE's watch is going to open up another look at the Wellness Policy, draw eyes from Congress again, and result in another media shitstorm if it turns out Orton skated on Wellness Violations. It would also pretty much sink any hope of a Linda McMahon Congressional run. There's just no upside that I can see for the WWE playing games with Orton and the Policy at this point. If he can't conform to the policy then there's no reason for him to stick around..
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Post by swarm on May 31, 2012 18:24:38 GMT -5
Not untouchable? Never made WWE money? How many other guys does WWE currently have signed to lifetime contracts? Why would they do that for a guy if he was a "ratings and attendance disaster"?
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Post by Pete on May 31, 2012 18:34:18 GMT -5
Not untouchable? Never made WWE money? How many other guys does WWE currently have signed to lifetime contracts? Why would they do that for a guy if he was a "ratings and attendance disaster"? I didn't say he "never" made them money--I was talking specifically about his last World title reign and only that title reign. I also can't find anything about Orton having a lifetime contract. He was given a 10-year contract in 2009 or thereabouts, before the Smackdown time period I was referring to. And contracts mean about as much to the WWE as they do to NFL teams. If they want to future endeavor somebody it's going to happen. (And as Brock proved, if the wrestler wants out there's not a whole lot that the WWE can do to stop them). I can ask the same question...why suspend a guy who's "pretty much untouchable"? If the policy doesn't apply to Orton why even announce this instead of sweeping it under the rug and keeping Orton on board? By doing this the WWE is practically forcing their own hand if Orton dies, freaks out, or gets named in another bust like he did with Signature Pharmacy. |
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Post by swarm on May 31, 2012 18:57:13 GMT -5
Not untouchable? Never made WWE money? How many other guys does WWE currently have signed to lifetime contracts? Why would they do that for a guy if he was a "ratings and attendance disaster"? I didn't say he "never" made them money--I was talking specifically about his last World title reign and only that title reign. I also can't find anything about Orton having a lifetime contract. He was given a 10-year contract in 2009 or thereabouts, before the Smackdown time period I was referring to. And contracts mean about as much to the WWE as they do to NFL teams. If they want to future endeavor somebody it's going to happen. (And as Brock proved, if the wrestler wants out there's not a whole lot that the WWE can do to stop them). I can ask the same question...why suspend a guy who's "pretty much untouchable"? If the policy doesn't apply to Orton why even announce this instead of sweeping it under the rug and keeping Orton on board? By doing this the WWE is practically forcing their own hand if Orton dies, freaks out, or gets named in another bust like he did with Signature Pharmacy. Without diving head first into the extremes, let's just consider for a moment that I'm not intending the word "untouchable" to mean he just run around freely and do whatever he wants. It means he won't be fired (again, barring anything completely over the top ala Jeff Hardy or Kurt Angle). I'm sure they will take the same measures with Orton as they do with all their stars who run into this kind of trouble, and offer to send him to rehab (if he even needs to). If not, he'll serve his suspension, but he won't be fired, and he won't be kept away from the belt imo, because of this. You're talking about him freaking out and killing himself. You're talking about Eddie Guerrero, and Linda McMahon etc...just whoa. Slow down. You don't even know what he was busted for. Could be that fake weed stuff. Could be juice. Could be a number of simple, harmless things. It's like you want it to be worst case scenario. I'll start worrying about Orton becoming a massive WWE liability when WWE does. As of right now, doesn't look like a big deal. Certainly not the shit storm you're painting it could be. Rey Mysterio just jusy got busted too, do you think he might freak out and kill himself? I don't. |
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?, his return from suspension has been delayed due to injury). That's a pretty solid record of not-very-good things happening to guys after they get 2nd strikes. 
