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BRYAN DANIELSON RETIRING?, DREW'S INJURY, WHY TALENTS STAYED LOYAL TO THE END OF ECW, THE SHOCKMASTER AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2024-06-06 10:00:00

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What do you think will be the future of Bryan Danielson when he retires at the end of the year?

Bryan Danielson isn't retiring.  He's never stated he would.  Danielson said this would be his last full-time year as a professional wrestler.  That just means he will wrestle when he wants to wrestle, on a part-time basis.  He could still sign a new deal with AEW (or elsewhere) when his current deal expires.  But, he's not retiring.

With sports betting increasing in the US and now with being able to bet on wrestling itself, What would happen if a wrestler made a bet on himself/herself to win/lose a match? Is there something in there contracts about it? Do officials, crew and others who work for WWE or AEW have it in their contract too?

There's nothing in contracts about this yet, because the amount of money one can wager on this is very low in comparison to other sports gambling.  WWE, before Endeavor purchased the company, had looked into getting themselves on grander betting platforms with the idea that finishes would be kept to a small circle and not revealed to the talents until the last minute, but it never really went anywhere.  I think it's premature to worry about the problem, especially since most would look at pro wrestling as something that isn't on the up and up to begin with since it's a worked sport.  

You wrote Drew McIntyre had a fractured elbow?  I thought he was dealing with a hyper extended elbow?

McIntyre was initially diagnosed with the hyperextension, but he told us during an interview a few weeks back that it was determined to be a fracture.  He returned to the ring in White Plains, NY.

Is the Shockmaster helmet from WCW ever going to be sold as a prop replica?

Well, considering it was a Stormtrooper helmet replica from Star Wars that was re-painted, I am sure there's no way anyone could ever legally have the rights to produce it.  My suggestion would be to repaint one yourself.  I don't see Disney ever signing off on an official one.

Where is Don Muraco?

Muraco is living in Hawaii.  

With the A&E Biography coming up, I've been priming myself by watching a lot of the older ECW documentaries and this is what I don't get - if these guys were owed so much money, why didn't they just walk out and be done with it.  I don't understand how you don't get paid but still show up for the next shows?

There are a few reasons.  One was Paul Heyman.  While he was a tremendous motivator to the point he instilled a lot of loyalty at the time, there was also a feeling that if ECW fell apart, he would end up in WWE, which was correct.  So, the belief among some of the wrestlers at the time was that if they weren't loyal and things went to hell, Heyman could block them from getting a WWE job down the line, whether there was truth to that or just paranoid on their parts.  With the future of WCW looking bleak at the same time, guys saw WWE as the only other place to go. 

You also have to remember that the crew at the end of ECW were for the most part, pretty young and truly wanted to be part of ECW and were trying to suck up the bad times hoping things would get better.  There was a sense of price and family amongst that locker room.  That crew legitimately wanted to be there and they were legitimately going to work believing they were fighting to keep the company alive.  Other than Rob Van Dam, none of them walked out over money issues.  That was because of their love for ECW and whether it was the right call in hindsight, they made those decisions because they wanted ECW to survive and wanted to be part of it.

 

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