The WWE has been cleaning house for “budget” reasons, and as such some of their talent have refused new contracts for the opportunity to wrestle elsewhere and possibly have their dream matches.
One of the most resent of these was Johnny Gargano as he’s reportedly seriously considering signing with AEW as soon as he can.
Part of his reasoning, aside from what will undoubtedly be a solid contract, is the opportunity to face Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson as they’re at the top of his dream match wish list.
Since they both work for AEW, it’s understandable why it’s believed Gargano will sign with them. He’s a top talent any company would be lucky to have and he has his pick.
This news isn’t fun for hardcore WWE fans, and it seems to have perplexed Booker T.
Different points of view
On his Hall of Fame Podcast, Booker T recently talked about Gargano and others wanting to leave the WWE for their dream matches and why it doesn’t make sense.
Special thanks to @the_wrestling_news2 for the transcript.
“When I hear these guys say ‘I want to leave a company, and I cannot wait to go and have a match with x and y, I just cannot wait to have a match with this wrestler. The match with this wrestler is going to be a five star match.’ When people start thinking about the matches more than taking care of their own family and how much money they can make when they walk away from wrestling because it is not going to last forever – it just simply baffles the hell out of me. It becomes about a damn match. I loved every match I was in, every performance I gave. But none of it surpassed me taking care of my family.”
We completely understand where Booker’s coming from as making sure one’s family is secure is important. But walking away from large contracts to be happy and start elsewhere isn’t anything new.
Jim Ross did that when he left WCW for the WWE in the 90s, and many others did so as they moved back and forth.
Creative drive
To paraphrase Tommy Dreamer, wrestlers are artists and artists like to create. There are collaborations in music, animation, and other avenues all the time.
The difference is contracts that don’t allow the individual’s creativity to flourish or prevents them from working with other companies is similar to the old studio system where stars worked where they were told to.
There’s a reason that system died off in the 1970s and was replaced with actors being able to work whenever they want to.
There are valid points to both arguments and it comes down to a wrestler’s personal choice and what they feel works best for them.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below.
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