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What do you do when people demand title runs?


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I have a worker, one of the top on my roster, demanding a Main Event title run to re-sign with me. The problem is I don't like bouncing my Main Event title around like it's meaningless; I was not planning on this person getting the belt.

 

What do you do when your top people make such demands? Give in to them? There is no way around it from what I'm seeing, not even offering them more money.

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If you want to, you can make a main event title just for them to win. It could work as a sort of Booker T/Legends Title thing I spose or you could just dump the title. Another way around it is making a tournament title or having them win an existing main event tournament title. Personally, I just plan far ahead when I sign their contract to give them a run with the belt sometime before their contract runs out.
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Depends on how long the contract is for and how set I am in my plans. I try to leave some flexibility in my plans, to accomodate something like this.

 

If I couldn't accomodate it, I would probably find a creative way of making a title that suited the requirement. Maybe createing a gimmick title - like the Milion Dollar belt - that was at the main event level. Or win a tournament title set to that level. Or even just some creative booking - have the champion drop it to the contractually obligated guy, and have him immediately drop it to who actually want as champion. Whether its using a Money in the Bank type title shot or just an impromtu challenge, its kinda hot-shotting but for an intended purpose.

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I'll say this... try to avoid paying for travel expenses. It's one of the most money-sucking aspects of the game. Just give them a boost in Merchandise or PPV, or maybe even a boost in the base wage. You save money long term.

 

On house shows and travel expenses... I don't know, but I assume they do. They have to travel to the event, right?

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I try to avoid travel expenses, but the people that are demanding them are already making like $30,000 a month, so upping it means going to $35,000 a month, which is less than the travel expenses for five shows. Also, it seems like nothing will get them off the travel expenses crap. Also, people from other areas always demand it without any chance to reject it from what I've tried. I've tried bumping up wages one level, stuff like that, but nothing ever seems to work.

 

I guess I'll take those people off the shouse show rotation.

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Also, people from other areas always demand it without any chance to reject it from what I've tried. I've tried bumping up wages one level, stuff like that, but nothing ever seems to work.

 

People always demand travel expenses when you're asking them to work in an area that they're currently not in. However, once you've signed them, they ARE working in your area. So, if you can grab them on a non-written contract, you can renegotiate immediately, and eliminate the travel expenses. Is it a cheap tactic? Sure. But if you want to exploit some loopholes, there's one for ya.

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I know I've had guys who just debut in the game not sign with me because I won't give into travel expensives. Amazing Fire Fly wanted 100 dollars an appearance plus Travel, wouldn't even sign for 1,000 dollars an appearance with no travel so he was not signed. I'm searching for a way around this as well, I will figure it out, I will!!!
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If it's something I am really, deeply opposed to, I tell them to screw off.

 

On one hand, I like to have relatively stable title runs (3 months minimum, normally) it can sometimes help to "hotshot" the title really quick, just to show the consequence of being flippant with your title run. Or I hire a new guy, and he's like, twice as popular as anyone else on my roster, and I'm like "I can't have him just not get a shot, but I can't have him going down to just anyone." Though it does help that I have a heel champ...

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Most of the time I just let them go and see how they feel about a title run in six months. Then again, I love the challenge of changing booking plans at the last minute like that. On the very rare occassion I don't want to let somebody go, my go to belt in this situation is the tag team titles. Either a regular partner/ally they have, or whoeever they're fueding with like the WWE does so often...and it's pretty realistic for them to only hold the titles for a week or two in a situation like that.
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I wind up with a ludicrous percentage of my roster demanding title runs to re-sign, which on PPA contracts means a lot of title changes to satisfy them all.

 

I try to swap titles around a bit, and preferably to give them tag title runs so I can do two at a time, but it's frustrating.

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It's not a problem for me at all.

 

All of my titles besides the two primary brand World titles are floating. Two of my titles that would be considered midcard belts have B- prestige and can be given to main eventers. I also have a 6-way match that I put on in December that's a main event tournament title. Being MAW turned WCW in 2020 I've been able to build up the Rip Chord Invitational quite a bit over the years and that's a main event tournament title in January.

 

If a worker with the personality of Big Smack Scott wants a title run I refuse to sign them - I can do without. But if someone like Troy Tornado who I signed away from TCW wants a main event title run and my original plan was to just job him? I realize that he truly deserves the title run and I can actually make it work in my favor because he's an excellent worker.

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Or re-sign them in the knowledge that they're never going to re-sign when they're contract comes up again. Think you're leaving this company as a Main Eventer? Think again!

 

Probably gives you another 18 months of use out of them - only the last six months of which you need to start treating them like dirt.

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If someone asks me for a title run, I always say I'll do it. Whether I'll actually follow up on that title run is another thing entirely.

 

And this here is the stereotypical real world wrestling booker! :)

 

Honestly, because I tend to have more titles than I need, it doesn't take much for me to follow through with the promise. My tag titles are often floating and usually with really high prestige and since I tend to have TONS of alliances (even those of convenience), it doesn't take much to put the tag titles on two workers with promises, have them flaunt it for a month, then lose them to a real team.

 

I even run the age old 'top star holds ALL titles in the promotion' storyline quite a bit.

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Also don't hesitate to use this trick. I just did this. I had a wrestler who holds one of my tag belts(and has a PPA contract) and he got an offer from another promotion. So to be safe I wanted to sign him to a full contract. Anyway during the negotiations I felt he was asking for too much. So I dropped the amount of $ he was asking for and told him that he would get to hold a midcard title at some point if he signed the contract. He actually signed it lol. I guess he wasn't smart enough to realize he was already holding that mid card title.

 

If anything in the future games, champs in that position should use their titles as leverage to get MUCH more money out of their contracts and threaten to take the belts with them. Ric Flair or Jeff Jarrett style.

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Also don't hesitate to use this trick. I just did this. I had a wrestler who holds one of my tag belts(and has a PPA contract) and he got an offer from another promotion. So to be safe I wanted to sign him to a full contract. Anyway during the negotiations I felt he was asking for too much. So I dropped the amount of $ he was asking for and told him that he would get to hold a midcard title at some point if he signed the contract. He actually signed it lol. I guess he wasn't smart enough to realize he was already holding that mid card title.

 

I'm pretty sure an existing title reign does not satisfy the contract obligation.

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I recently did the Drew McIntyre solution.

 

Guy wins title, has title stripped by heel authority and awarded to someone else, guy wins title back 2 weeks later and makes me some money.

 

Obligation filled

Asses in seats

$$$

 

How does that impact the prestige of the belt in question?

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