From the WWE Rumor Mill: Veteran industry expert denies WWE mass exodus
What’s the story?
As per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, rumours of a WWE mass exodus are largely false and way overblown.
He explained that no more than a handful of performers plan to leave WWE, with most of them looking to prove themselves in the indies rather than with the motive of earning more money.
In case you didn’t know…
The professional wrestling community has been rife with speculation of several WWE Superstars wanting to call it quits with the company, allegedly due to poor booking and unhappy with the promotion’s creative process.
Multiple performers such as Ryback, Neville, Austin Aries and Cody Rhodes departed from the organisation in the last year or so, with most of them publicly citing the aforementioned reasons.
The heart of the matter
In reference to speculation of a plethora of performers looking to leave WWE, Meltzer noted that unless these current WWE performers are young and don’t solely depending on wrestling to make ends meet for their family, they’d likely refrain from quitting the company and trying their luck on the indies.
Furthermore, he noted that Drew McIntyre (Galloway) and Cody Rhodes were a couple of rare performers who found tremendous success outside WWE, however, several things have to fall in place in order to succeed in the indies.
Besides, he also asserted that, as of this time, big-name non-WWE promotions such as NJPW and ROH are overloaded, and aren’t looking to add to their current roster.
What’s next?
The WWE is presently facing considerable competition from other promotions such as NJPW and ROH. However, as per the vast majority of trade pundits, the Vince McMahon-helmed company still remains the most financially successful in the sport today.
Author’s take
Well, I’ve got to agree with Meltzer here, as most performers would still prefer staying with WWE, despite being unhappy with their booking and the creative process.
However, I’m of the opinion that the WWE roster is indeed overloaded right now—much like NJPW and ROH—and could really benefit should the company let go some of the lesser known stars from its ranks.