Don’t believe me?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat
How is it "mindless internet spin" when that's what happened to all of their partners and would-be partners in recent years.
Partial list:
EVOLVE - Talent exchange of sorts that got worse for EVOLVE the longer their partnership with WWE lasted. WWE got to use any of EVOLVE's top stars whenever they wanted while the biggest name EVOLVE got to use on a regular basis was Kona Reeves. Got hit with the poison pill clause the moment WWE didn't bother to help them out early into the coronavirus pandemic and owner Gabriel Sapolsky pulling an ECW era Paul Heyman by bailing on the company the moment he got a job within WWE secured.
Stardom - Would have shut down and been absorbed into NXT Japan had they signed a partnership deal.
Pro Wrestling NOAH - Same fate as Stardom had they signed a partnership deal.
PROGRESS Wrestling - Talent exchange that was just as one-sided as EVOLVE's was but with the add caveat of WWE treating them worse than their actual rival in the UK, RevPro Wrestling. Not even AEW got treated as bad by WWE as what they did with PROGRESS pre-pandemic.
Rest of WWE's UK & European partners - All have poison pill terms in their partnership deals so WWE can buy out their companies in the end. If EVOLVE is any indication, WWE will just sit back when those companies are in very dire financial situations and just pick up some really cheap libraries and talent instead of maintaining a healthy relationship that would be beneficial to their partners.
Impact Wrestling - Never actually wanted a partnership. Just wanted their library and would have shut down the company had a deal been signed.
NJPW - Would have led to the end of all of their partnerships in the US and likely the end of their US expansion plans. Some rumblings that NJPW World might have been merged into WWE Network as part of the terms. Talent exchange that would have been very one sided and was speculated from those in Japan to just be WWE's way of getting easy access to top NJPW talent so they could sign them up later and get rid of the biggest rival for their NXT expansion into Japan.
CMLL - Similar type deal as NJPW that would have seen the end of all of their partnerships and just an easy way for WWE to snag CMLL's top talent and get rid of one of the two big rivals for a potential NXT Mexico.
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EVOLVE: Got plenty out of the WWE deal. Probably lent on WWE because of bad financial position. The promoter was also working for WWE and basically sold it off to them. This one happened. Is only bad if you wanted EVOLVE to continue to exist as its own entity.
STARDOM: This never happened. STARDOM still exists and never had a partnership with WWE. “They would have been absorbed into NXT Japan” is complete speculative fiction.
NOAH: The same fiction. There were bullshit rumors about the WWE looking to purchase them, because WWE loves acquiring Yakuza fronts. This wasn’t even rumored to be a partnership. And it NEVER HAPPENED. How can you call something that didn’t happen a fact? Or information. If my uncle had bought out Subway they wouldn’t make sandwiches anymore. So not a sandwich shop.
PROGRESS: Small-time British promotion that was basically acquired by WWE, right? UK’s scene madly inflated by newsletter peddlers trying to insist some sort of insurgence. The same people will say that Australia is hot. NO ONE gives a fuck about wrestling here. If PROGRESS had more to offer, it may have been more valuable. But “talent exchanges” that allow a company to stay afloat for longer than it should aren’t exactly a bad thing. Unless you’re expecting the main event of WrestleMania to be sent and a struggling promotion to stay alive based off that.
UK & Europe: So you admit it? These places need WWE more than they can actually offer assistance to them in a lot of cases. These places are staying off execution in many cases. WWE buying them when they can’t stay in business is...business? What is your major issue with this?
TNA: Didn’t happen. Also, TNA has been dead for years. The only thing slightly valuable about them would be lending WWE footage of some guys pre-WWE. Basically Joe and Styles.
New Japan: Another thing that didn’t happen and another case of “would have.” WWE has access to top New Japan talent. They have the opportunity to sign them when their deals are up like anyone else. New Japan World being part of the WWE Network would have been awesome for them. Way more exposure on Peacock now too.
CMLL: Didn’t happen. Also, isn’t this promotion basically dead? So when they’re on their last legs and work with WWE, it’s WWE’s fault. When they don’t work with WWE? WWE’s fault. Seriously, what is even your point?
So, out of a list of facts and information designed to prove that WWE are horrible partners, only two of the promotions you actually named worked with WWE. EVOLVE and Progress. Of those two, it’s a matter of perspective as to whether or not this has been “bad” or not. These promotions may not have lasted anywhere near as long as they did without WWE.