4. The WWE Network Is Going To Change The Bonus Pay Scale Of WWE Forever - CM Punk Leaving Ensures It This Will Never Change
If one were to speculate as to the final straw that made the idea of watching Dave Batista get the call to main event Wrestlemania not worth Punk's time and in-ring effort, consider that he likely had a clue of how the WWE Network would operate (and when it would launch) before everyone else did. Wrestlemania 28 was priced at $59.95, and numerous reports after the PPV surfaced of talents being underwhelmed by their Wrestlemania bonuses. Now consider the idea that the cost of Wrestlemania 30 *as a piece of the larger Network package* was $9.99, and that the company pushed ordering the Network more than PPV ordering leading into the show. If you thought talents were riled up over payouts beforehand, imagine when those checks could easily be one-sixth of their usual size. As well, there will likely come a day where WWE's physical DVD content will cease to exist and be rolled into Network-only content. Recent pieces like those surrounding the lead-in to Daniel Bryan's WWE World Heavyweight Championship win and the week of content dedicated to the Ultimate Warrior showcased WWE's dedication to this new process by which they intend to likely release content in the future. Big checks for headlining PPVs and getting placement on DVDs are soon to change.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
