True Story Behind One Of WWE's Darkest Days
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows and Mike Kanellis had signed five year contract extensions with vastly improved terms last year.
Under WWE's salary structure, the argument was that WWE significantly overpaid for their services, given their low position on the card. Every WWE talent is profoundly underpaid. Regardless, WWE perceived this a significant investment aimed to suppress the rise of All Elite Wrestling, and to a lesser extent Ring of Honor and the independent scene; an "overpayment" they would not have offered at a different time. Now that AEW is unlikely to recruit en masse, if at all, and no other promotions have the gall and negligence to run, they were canned unceremoniously.
They weren't "overpaid" for their talent, but for how another promoter might maximise their talent. They were the toys removed from the earnest grasp of an infant by the little bastard of a five year-old who wasn't remotely interested before.
This crushingly obvious truth was brought into harrowing focus yesterday. Gallows and Anderson were among the first on the block. It was such grim f*cking capitalism. Some piece of sh*t looked at the books, at the highest to lowest salary in descending order, wondered what they were paying them that much money for, remembered, laughed, and got rid. It was very, very savvy, too. Releasing the OC represented a potential political risk. They are very close friends of AJ Styles, one of the top stars WWE will rely heavily on in the months to come. This can't have pleased him, at all, but guess who else signed a long extension last year?
CONT'D...(3 of 5)