What’s the story?
One good thing about ever signing a contract in the WWE is that one has just about a lifetime of residual income. From merchandise sales, to appearances on the WWE Network, there is some kind of paycheck that a former employee can receive as a result of performing for the company. The downfall of these royalty checks, though, is that it dwindles down to a very small amount as time progresses.
Via Twitter, Baretta showed that a recent check amount he received from WWE. Dated 12/22/16, he was issued a check for the amount of 73.89. Baretta commented on the matter rather sarcastically.
“I’m really happy those [WWE] guys are doing so well for themselves and have found happiness in money.”
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I have had many discussions with my friend former WWE Tag Team Champion Rico Constantino about this. He explained to me that at one point, the checks were in the thousands from WWE every month, and it really helped him out with paying his steep amount of medical bills. However, the amounts started to decline, and be next to nothing. Another example of this has recently occurred with former WWE tag team star Trent Baretta.
The heart of the matter
This comment received a firestorm of replies by both fans, and fellow wrestlers. Popular independent wrestler Jigsaw told Baretta that “people are mad.” Another popular independent wrestler, Chuck Taylor, told Baretta how he had a great time reading through all the replies. Current independent and former TNA star Joey Ryan jokingly asked Baretta if he ever considered working for the WWE after a fan said that Baretta is lucky to get 74 dollars because he never seen him in anything.
Young Bucks member Nick Jackson warned Baretta to proceed with caution, because he sent a tweet comparing Undertaker to Santa Clause, stating that they only work one day a year. This received a response from a fan stating that his kids must be embarrassed and “want to kill themselves for having a pathetic father like you.”
What’s next?
This is just another tweet from Baretta that is done from satire. It does show, that former WWE employees should not hold their heads high on expecting anything substantial after they depart from the company as time progresses.
Sportskeeda’s Take
It is quite fascinating how this one tweet can elicit such a strong response from fans. It is even more fascinating that WWE is sending out 74 dollar royalty checks with a clear conscience.
