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Post by Pete on May 31, 2012 20:12:30 GMT -5
Well, Orton may or may not have attempted suicide once before, depending on who you want to believe.
I'm not "hoping" for anything, just very cynical. I've reached a point where almost anybody dropping dead in a hotel room isn't going to shock me anymore. Okay, maybe if CM Punk Len Bias'd himself in a pile of cocaine, that'd be a surprise...
But...if stars dropping dead or other worst-case scenarios weren't a legitimate concern, then we wouldn't have the Wellness Policy in place to begin with.
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Post by chewey on May 31, 2012 21:49:06 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 sure the first scenario would hold much water as legit legal argument since WWE is an at-will employer. In response to Swarm's earlier reply to my post, I see the point that WWE may have made their own wellness policy, but they are a publicly traded company and the whole purpose of the whole wellness policy in the first place was to restore its public image in the wake of Eddie's death. I think the WWE has to now be concerned about the position that they're in because even if they did decide not to fire Orton after three strikes, if the public sentiment was so bad that WWE thought they would lose more business by keeping Orton on than by firing him, then you can certainly bet they'll fire him the next day. Public outrage has gotten people like Daniel Bryan and Muhammad Hassan fired before, and someone like Matt Hardy a job that he otherwise would not have gotten back. I'm not so certain we'll see Orton with the belt any time soon though, partly because we haven't seen Orton or Cena with either of the top belts since last summer/fall anyway. WWE does feel pressure to create more "top guys" I think, and Orton's current violation probably stresses that need. It's certainly not a situation WWE is happy about, as I'm sure they are scrambling to weigh the options of what they can or cannot do, and have thought of every scenario that any of us could come up with in this thread. Nobody wants to see Orton "Madusa" the belt on Impact, but to blatantly contradict their own wellness policy that brag about at every opportunity would not do much good for the company either. Once TMZ picks up on a story like that, I'm sure other news outlets would follow suit. When Jeff Hardy left WWE, people wondered if Hardy came back in the future, would he still have two strikes against him? I think this is the likeliest scenario with Orton should he get to that third strike... WWE may release him for a while and then rehire him later down the road. |
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Post by floydthebarber on May 31, 2012 21:58:03 GMT -5
Solid points from both Swarm and Pete. In my opinion, I think the WWE is in love with Randy Orton, and with good reason, and will, as Swarm has said, continue to give him every opportunity to 'get over' whatever he's dealing with. He's got too much talent. Outside of being a little weak on the mic compared to some of the 'big boys', he's a 5 star talent, and has earned a 4th or 5th strike in their eyes.
However, I don't agree that Pete is insinuating that Randy would have to flip out to lose his job if WWE feels that 'other' factors now outweigh their love for Randy Orton the WWE Superstar.
I think the fact that Randy has been kept, for the most part, on the periphery of the Title picture for what seems like forever, despite his obvious talent and his abilty to develop great feuds with key guys (CM Punk for one!) was telling me that WWE didn't fully trust him. Now this happens and you've got to wonder...
I don't expect Randy to get fired and turn up on TNA in 90 days because of this, but at the same time, I don't think he's got as many 'get out of jail free cards' as you might think Swarm. The WWE has made some significant changes in the past few years to 'clean up' its image and its product...both for business, and because of outside political influences...and may be a little more likely (albeit a little more) to give up on someone who continues to slip up.
Again, Swarm makes a good point about how this 'could' be for anything...but given his history, and the length of the suspension, its fair to suspect that its another 'strike' against him, and that's just not good news. I'm a big Randy Orton fan, so I hope he's OK first, and that he comes back good as new!
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Post by Pete on May 31, 2012 22:37:15 GMT -5
However, I don't agree that Pete is insinuating that Randy would have to flip out to lose his job if WWE feels that 'other' factors now outweigh their love for Randy Orton the WWE Superstar. Definitely not. The point (or one of them) was, if Randy is going to flip out or die, the WWE doesn't want it to be on their watch. It's the reason Angle and the Hardyz were let go despite ostensibly still having something to offer to the company. And no, I'm not saying Orton is as big of a mess as Angle or either Hardy is now. |
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Post by Mr. Jimmyface on Jun 2, 2012 6:08:05 GMT -5
Here's a question I don't know the answer to - Does the WWE have a therapist or psychologist on staff? I can only imagine the stresses that professional athletes and entertainers go through, but in that environment, I'm sure there are even more stresses that go along with that. I know that there is a wellness program, and I know that there is rehab offered. But I don't know if they have an in-house/on-site therapist who can help these men and women with some issues that are affecting their lives.
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Post by swarm on Jun 2, 2012 14:05:26 GMT -5
Everybody can relax. Hearing he was busted for Dianabol, one of the oldest known steroids to man. Won't make him freak out, kill himself or anything other than get stronger, bigger muscles, and maybe some bloating. Definitely not something that would put his job in jeopardy. Nothing to see here.
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Post by E-Ternal on Jun 2, 2012 14:13:03 GMT -5
Yup that sums up my view on the WWE as a whole...not just the Randall situation. |
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Post by Mr. Jimmyface on Jun 2, 2012 19:41:04 GMT -5
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