After the news of a big change within the company was brought forward yesterday, WWE was a bit shook up today, when Dominic Pagliaro, a favorite of Stephanie McMahon, and a member of the creative team with limitations (he was known for his video production and limited input as far as creative was concerned) left the company. Apparently, he had given them a warning earlier this month, so it didn’t come as a surprise to the higher-ups. Pagliaro felt that his genius wasn’t appreciated, according to several sources. He had also recently passed his review in the company and was not given a raise based on what WWE saw in him. I guess that led to the final decision. Another tidbit to add to this main story is that Pagliaro had rubbed some of the wrestlers the wrong way by making poor comments about what they do, as well as bragging about his position. (Remember, he was a favorite of Stephanie McMahon). He was last a part of SmackDown, and he was giving his good-byes with the crew at Tuesday’s tapping. It’s not expected for too many people to be sad to see him go, since he wasn’t exactly someone the wrestlers would be “tight” with. WWE wasn’t really phased either, as they have immediately put up a link on HotJobs.com to fill in his position. See more here.
If you want my two cents on this, all I can say is that it is a shakey situation in the company right now, as far as the creative goes. Opportunity has arisen for a fresh change, and now is the perfect time to take action, especially on SmackDown. Things on the Thursday brand have gone pretty bad, and they can get nothing but better from here on. Hopefully, WWE will start making some better judgment when it comes to writing their shows. A good move would be to hire people who understand the business well, and are aware of the long-term impact the current storylines will have on the product. Therefore, yesterday’s news of hiring a “manager” could be a tremendous move. It’s my opinion that it will be even better if they let the new “manager” (who is supposed to be someone fond and knowledgeable of the business) to appoint his own replacement, as well as his own writers. The bottom line is that someone needs to be in charge, other than the McMahons, and serve as a link between the higher-ups and the writers in order to help everyone. Paul E. Heyman, where are you? (In an update on him, he hasn’t been interviewed for the position.)
In other big news of today, Jacqueline was released out of her WWE contract. The diva hasn’t been used at all in the past year or so, with the exception of her short run as the Cruiserweight Champion on SmackDown. She’s been used as a trainer to the developmental talent in OVW, alongside Ivory. Word has it that she may continue her work in Louisville for several more weeks, but she’s pretty much done with the company.
In a similar update, Paul Bearer is expected to end his current run with WWE after the Great American Bash PPV. Of course, take this for what it’s worth, as nothing has been made official. Bearer recently underwent a minor surgery and he is currently not in the best of health. Time will tell what his faith will be, but many feel that he’ll be done with the company shortly.
Agents at house shows continue to “play games” for learning purposes with talent. The RAW house show in Fort Myers, FL, had Val Venis vs. Tyson Tomko scheduled on the card. However, as soon as Val came out awaiting Tomko to go down to ringside, agents sent in Chuck Palumbo in the last minute. The purpose behind this was to see how the two will handle working “on the spot” without having called the moves before their match. This has been done a lot recently, although I do have to wonder why they’re doing it to Val Venis, or Chuck Palumbo, when neither is used in a storyline on RAW. At any rate, this is all a part of the mentality they’re trying to enforce on wrestlers that the match shouldn’t be completely called in the back, but rather created on the spot, as the feel of the crowd and environment adds to the repertoire of moves used. I do think that it’s a good move, and it’s great training for most of the talent, and hopefully agents talk to the wrestlers who go through it at house shows to give them pointers. Also, they’ve been trying to enforce the “slow pace” match more often, and that type of a bout allows for the improv routine.
It’s been some tough times for workers on the RAW roster, as far as injuries go. Matt Hardy managed to jam his already twisted knee this weekend, and although he’s been working with a brace, he’s now hurt more than before. Victoria ended up jamming her elbow, and suffered through some minor swelling, whereas Trish Stratus has been working with some horrible pains in her lower back, with some sources reporting that the pains are much worse than she’s trying to accept them to be (Trish is a real fighter it seems). All three are expected to work through their injuries.
Expect RAW’s Diva Search to get pushed through the sky. People within the company are very high on WWE’s version of American Idol, and they’re even attributing the jump in the RAW rating to the Diva Search contest. I, personally, found most of the segments throughout the show annoying, and I don’t see the Diva Search doing anything for WWE. I was also left scratching my head when they would dismiss girls who were in a great shape and could probably pick up some wrestling skills if they were taught to do that. Then again, we all know how the first diva search ended up, as winner Jaime is still sitting at home and her nude pictures are still sitting online.
The company felt well about the Chris Jericho angle they did on RAW, as they felt that many viewers believed he was actually knocked out during the match (he was indeed shook up as I reported yesterday, so it wasn’t completely illegit). Do they use injury gimmicks to go to commercial now?
Word has it that Steve Keirn has been doing a tremendous job as a WWE agent. He recently took on the position, and inside sources and wrestlers are reporting that he’s doing very well, and is very well liked, as he tries his best to be more than helpful to talent.
Gail Kim and Nidia attended the SmackDown taping this past week to catch up with friends. Word has it that Gail Kim is apparently dating Doug Basham. It’s been said that she got over very well with the people on SmackDown, and was even described as considerate and respectful. Nidia on the other hand had a real Diva attitude problem, and nobody had anything good to say about her after the visit.
RVD signed a new contract with WWE a few days ago. His current deal was about to expire this weekend. Word has it that the new one is for two years, but that hasn’t been made official by the company.
To the NWA-TNA end of things, the show held its big Second Anniversary PPV showing last night. Other than a non-finish main event between Jeff Jarrett and Ron Killings (which is also somewhat of a positive as Tenay made us tune in to Impact this Friday to find out what will happen), most of the attention went to Jeff Hardy‘s debut with the company. Hardy fought Styles for the X-Division championship in a match that ended in No Contest. To update you from yesterday, as it turns out, Hardy WILL be at the Impact tapings. It was previously thought that he had a one-shot deal. Now that he’s appearing on Impact, many are wondering if he had sign with TNA. I’ll keep you updated on that. As far as how does that affect his relationship with WWE goes, it doesn’t change much really. The reason the two separated was Hardy’s personal problem and the fact that he still refuses to recognize such a problem exists. It’s quite a situation, but before Jeff goes to therapy or proves to WWE that he has worked out his personal problem (I don’t see that happening, as he doesn’t even want to admit he has a problem), they will not use him anytime soon.
In other TNA news, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman and Joanie “Chyna” Laurer have been in talks with TNA about doing some shows with the company. The two were expected to come in earlier this year, but it failed through due to outside obligations.
That will do it for this update. I hope you are enjoying the addition of more analysis to the column. Feedback is welcomed at eddie@thebalrogslair.com. Thanks.
