WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world, there’s no denying that. Most wrestlers aspire to join WWE at some point in their career, but not every wrestler gets a good run with the company after they sign a contract.
The Young Bucks are a team that has managed to find success outside of WWE, and they seem to be doing pretty well for themselves financially. The team recently spoke to CBS Sports about their success, and they claimed that WWE stars have been reaching out to them to ask about life outside of WWE.
Nick: “Oh yeah … It seems like a lot of the guys these days in the WWE talk to us. They ask us questions and want to see how we’re doing, and they see that we’re doing well. So, I think that it opens up their mind like, “hey, there’s life after WWE.” If, for some reason, they get fired or they want to go away, they know there’s a place to go where they can make a good amount of money.”
Matt: “Back in the day you used to have WCW and even ECW to go to. Now, we don’t really have those options. I guess New Japan is a viable option, but nowadays it’s not necessarily one company. It’s betting on yourself and working for yourself and being independent. The fact that we’re two of the guys at the forefront, steering the ship, and telling the boys there are other options. If you’re unhappy then quit and make yourself happy and more valuable. Bet on yourself. A guy like Cody Rhodes is a great example, because he wasn’t happy the way they were using him, and he left. Now he’s more valuable and over doing what he’s doing now than when he was on TV every week.”
The Young Bucks make a pretty good point when it comes to Cody Rhodes. He obviously had a lot more to offer beyond the Stardust gimmick, but apparently WWE officials didn’t see it that way. In any case, he’s in control of his own career at the moment, and he’s the current Ring of Honor World Champion.
Matt Jackson went on to add that he thinks most wrestlers have tunnel vision when it comes to WWE, and their only goal is to work for Vince McMahon.
Matt: “In my opinion, most of the boys don’t think ahead. They have tunnel vision. My opinion is that 99 percent of the boys just go, “okay, okay, whatever it takes to get to Vince [McMahon] to work for WWE. I don’t care what I have to do to get there, I don’t care if they change my name or own my name, I’ll sign anything over. I’ll even sign for the lowest figure as long as I have WWE’s logo on my check.” I think the boys are all marks for the Fed. That’s a problem, because when more and more marks sign with them for low wages then WWE knows they can sign anybody and give them anything. That makes it tougher for guys that want to negotiate with other companies.”
Which wrestlers do you think could do better for themselves outside of WWE? Sound off in the comments below.
Tye Dillinger could be a huge star for ROH or NWA:TNA/IMPACT/GFW