More details have started to emerge about the recent developments in a turbulent weekend for WWE.
PWInsider has reported a rumour that one top talent from Raw has given notice, though nobody is named.
Tommy Dreamer is going to fill in for the recently-fired Mike Bucci in the WWE’s developmental system. Dreamer had previously been in the role, only to be replaced by Bucci, but he is not expected to resume the position for long. Val Venis and Ty Bailey are two names being banded about to take on Bucci’s role on a permanent basis. Bailey is an office executive who has been working with John Laurinaitis.
During Stephanie McMahon’s speech to the talent prior to the Smackdown/ECW tapings, when she informed them of new substances to be covered by the Wellness Policy, she said that 13 superstars were going to be suspended in all. She also said that Vince McMahon was looking forward to the Congressional hearings and had been joking about turning up for it dressed in a clown costume.
At the same meeting, Batista stated in front of everyone that he had never received anything from the online pharmacies and was very upset about his name being listed in the story. Stephanie advised him to discuss it with his personal attorney, which could potentially lead to a civil lawsuit seeking damages from media outlets that reported his name.
Finally, Triple H addressed the talent. He said that they were probably feeling down on the business and their involvement in it but that they should remember that it is a dream job. They get to make children happy and be involved in something that they grew up watching and loving. He said he was proud to be a professional wrestler and that as the entire business, not just WWE, was under fire it was up to them all to stick together and get through it.
Nick Dinsmore was very surprised by his release as he had been slated to take on more training responsibilities with young talent in OVW. He was escorted from the premises after being told he was fired, as was Chris Cage, a developmental worker who had previously been released due to drugs issues but was trying to land a new deal.
Also, Congressman Stearns has stated that he thinks “WWE does not have a drugs policy that’s worth a flip.” He brought up that WWE did not catch the online pharmacy, a district attorney in Albany did. He also said “We asked them for their testing information; what they came back with was not sufficient. We do not have a copy. We didn’t understand whether it was random, what the threshold level was, whether any of these wrestlers were getting post-dated prescriptions after the fact.” Congress is expected to hold their hearing with WWE later this month or early in October.
Credit: PWInsider, PWTorch
