Papa Shango

Who else do you think is in line for release?

there are plenty of people doing very little on the active roster at the moment... People like Lance Storm, Tommy Dreamer, Shannon Moore to name a few.

Also is it right to release these people when they have name value (However little that may be) yet still bring up more new faces from OVW only to put them on Velocity for months on end?

Creature of the Night

Well Storm has retired and Dreamer is pretty much a road agent right now (I think).

I think you can get near enough anyone over if theyre booked right. Take a look at Paul Heyman and some of the things he did with guys in ECW for proof of that. There, Spike Dudley was in a very watchable feud with Rhyno over the TV title, and he WON and it didnt look silly. I think name brand definitely helps a wrestler because it shows what theyre capable of. People dont make names for no reason.

I think part of the reason why OVW talent is called up due to them being able to mould fan perception of them exactly as they want. Hiring people from other companies meant that you had to basically destroy the reputation they had there and work back up in the WWE image, or build on their name brand without burying everyone around them for the sake of the gimmick. It swings both ways I guess.

Papa Shango

When you put it that way sir I think the benefits outweigh the drabacks.

WCW wrestlers have do be 'WWE-ized' and get used to working the WWE style.. where of course OVW guys are learning it from the bottom up. It is a shame though that 90% of non WWF Talent ends up being released or horribly misused.

Steveo

sorry if you liked him guys but grandmaster sucked. I think they could stand to lose Scotty and Rikishi too. Also Bradshaw is one of the luckiest SOBs in the world right now because I guarentee he was close to that chopping block and I'm also sorry to say it again but I bet hes gonna end up on Velocity duty real damn quick after Judgement Day. The Hurricane and Rosey also have their balls close to the bandsaw. I bet Hurricane is competeing in the X division in TNA within 6 months. I can also see Ryno getting cut too unless Heyman has some power to keep him around.

Dr. Giganto

Regardless of my opinions of them, I think Rikishi and Bradshaw have been around too long to get fired. Vince probably sees them as "his boys", and thats why they keep their jobs and keep getting pushes, even if more entertaining wrestlers get the pink slip

I can see Rosey and Rhyno getting the axe, but not Hurricane. I dont know why, but I get the feeling WWE management likes him

Y2J The King Of The World

I am not surprised by GMS's release - though I thought he would've held out at least a couple of months before WWE realized that he's not over. He was getting zero fan reaction on Raw in his few matches since his return, as his character was stale, and - let's face it - Too Cool was all about Scotty, not him.

As far as other guys who could get released soon, I think that pretty much anybody who hasn't had anything booked for them in the last two months is up for grabs. On Raw, that could be Test, Val Venis, Scott Steiner (in spite of his injury), Tommy Dreamer, A-Train, Chuck Palumbo, Jon Heidenreich, and Rodney Mack (again, in spite of his injury). On Smackdown, Kidman, Johnny Stamboli, Orlando Jordan, Paul London, Shannon Moore, and Ultimo Dragon. Does this mean that I think it's a good idea for WWE to release all of these guys? Of course not! But, history tells that if creative doesn't have anything for you, your job is in jeopardy. Of these guys, I think it'd be a shame to let go of Venis (who needs a new gimmick), Steiner (who needs to be on Smackdown), Kidman (who needs a consistent push), and London (who I think is the most underused talent on their roster today). The rest, sure they're talented, but there's a reason why they aren't over, and creative's not in a hurry to get them over.

And, lastly, do I think it's wrong for WWE to release talent, only to call up OVW guys to take their places? No. That's the only way that WWE can get fresh faces in its company (short of raiding TNA's roster). If WWE didn't call up guys from OVW, the product would be so stale. Plus, if they didn't release guys whose tenure had run its course, then we'd have the same guys who aren't over at all shoved down our throats every week. Just like with any business, there's a price for progress, and while talented guys (and gals) sometimes are at the expense of that progress, that's how the world works. At least some former WWE talent who got released due to creative's inability to push them got a new start in TNA (e.g. Ron Killings, Jerry Lynn, D'Lo Brown, Raven), so there's always life after WWE.

Papa Shango

Ultimo Dragon abandoned ship on his own terms shortly after Mania I do believe