Such is the nature of the sport.  After all, there are only a couple hundred positions available in WWE and TNA, yet there are thousands of ambitious young guys and proven veterans in the indies all dreaming of a shot at the big leagues.

Very few make it, and for the ones that do, their moment in the sun often doesn't last long.

So many guys pour their heart and soul into the sport of pro wrestling in hopes that someday they'll get called up to the big leagues and get their names on the marquee outside Madison Square Garden.  Young wrestlers spend hours every day in the gym lifting weights and conditioning themselves, followed by additional hours of grueling practice and training in the ring at a wrestling school.  On the weekends they travel hundreds of miles just to be in an indy show that draws only a couple hundred people and oftentimes pays less than the gas cost to get there.  And they do all this while holding down full-time jobs to pay the rent and buy groceries.

Plus, since they spend so much of their time, passion, and energy on being wrestlers, they spend less time developing other professional skills that could help them land good jobs outside the sport.

All of this because they have a dream of making it big.

And if they finally do get that break, what happens? All too often, they get a big push and they enjoy the spotlight and a decent paycheck for a brief time, but then their character gets overexposed and the promoters either cast them into the job squad or release them outright to make room for the next young guy waiting for his turn to be in the limelight.

It's a vicious cycle, a revolving door.

Former ECW World Champion Justin Credible (Peter Polaco) knows all about the pro wrestling revolving door.  He's worked in just about every major promotion in the past 10 years -- the WWF, ECW, TNA, WSX, and WWE -- and has seen firsthand the impact getting released by a major promotion has on wrestlers.

"It's horrible," Justin told us.  "It's hard on their confidence, psyche...basically it crushes the world you live in."

In Justin Credible's heyday, there were three big promotions -- WWE, WCW, and ECW.  But now there's just one in WWE with TNA as an up-and-comer.  So when Justin was first released from the WWF in 1997, he felt pretty confident he had somewhere to go. Nowadays, however, if a guy gets released by WWE, he has to pray TNA will offer him a job; otherwise it's back to the indies, which, at best, is only a part-time income.

In short, the lack of competition in pro wrestling hurts pro wrestlers' careers.

"I wouldn't be working at Olive Garden if there were still three mega promotions," Justin told us, referring to his current full-time employment as a chef at the popular Italian restaurant chain.

And because so many guys are so desperate to keep their jobs, they are often willing to be involved in angles they don't like or willing to allow the promotion to water down their character.

But some guys just refuse to stand for that.  Justin Credible is a prime example.

In 2006, while contracted with WWE, Justin became frustrated by WWE's bookers not allowing him to do his favorite moves.

"I couldn’t do my signature stuff...I couldn't use the Tombstone because that was Undertaker’s move.  I couldn’t use the Superkick because that was HBK’s [Shawn Michael's] move. They didn’t let us do anything, really."

So what did Justin Credible boldly do?

He asked for his release and returned to the independent circuit.

Talk about gutsy.  Even though there are independent promotions popping up all over the place for WWE and TNA alumni like Justin Credible to work, the pay there just isn't very good.  

"Most of them [independent promotions] are just glorified backyard promotions," Justin said.  "You can't depend on it for a living.  I do it for extra income, but I don't depend on it for a living."

What's more, most independent promotions are struggling just to break even, so they can't afford to pay the performers very much.  In hopes of increasing attendance, indy promoters often sign former WWE and TNA stars to make an appearance, but according to Justin Credible, that usually doesn't help much.

"Most promoters don't promote events properly," he told us. "They can have Hulk Hogan on the show and the attendance would be the same."

It wasn't always this way.  In the 90s, WCW, the WWF, and ECW brought pro wrestlers all sorts of opportunity, and if a guy got released, he had somewhere to go.  Plus, he had the advantage of competition on his side.  If he was an established player, a promotion would typically work harder to keep him happy and pay him better to keep him from going to work for the competition.

And before the 90s there were the great territories, where big shows were run all across the country and promotions were selling out the same arena each and every week.  Nowadays, WWE is lucky if they sell out a particular venue once a year.

Under the old territory model, pro wrestling was a revolving door, but the wrestlers would leave one big territory for another.  They didn't just get used up and discarded the way they are today.

Today there are no territories.  Just one mega promotion, two up-and-comers (if you include ROH as one of them), and a slew of indies.  And wrestlers can go from being a superstar one day to performing in front of a crowd of 50 in Podunk, Georgia the next.

It makes one wonder why there are still so many young athletes eager for their chance to enter the ring.  And why there are so many WWE veterans still working the indy circuit.

We asked Justin Credible for his thoughts on that.  We asked him if it ever made him think about quitting the sport, if he ever got fed up with it all.  He answered us with one word:

No.

That one word speaks volumes about the nature of the sport and the athletes that are so dedicated to it.  To many wrestlers, the sport is like a torrid love affair.  It's something that gets in their blood and something they can't stand being away from.  Some guys quit for awhile. Some even vow they will never be back.

But usually they do.

And when they do, sure enough they have their sights set on getting back to the top of that mountain, even if it's only for another short stint of glory. 




Released!

Copyright © 2008 All-American Promotions, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
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Released!

Story by Omar Alvarez
Nov 21, 2008
"Sorry, but we're going to have to let you go."

These are the dreaded words that no gainfully employed person ever wants to hear.

Especially if that person happens to be a WWE or TNA superstar.

In just about every other field -- medicine, information technology, construction, management, you name it -- getting fired is devastating, but at least a worker usually can take comfort in the knowledge that somewhere else somebody needs his skills.  In the flooded talent pool that is pro wrestling, however, such is not the case.

As a pro wrestler, if you get a pink slip from the WWE or TNA, and you might find yourself unable to pay the rent and with few alternatives to find new work.

You're Fired: Losers on The Apprentice have better prospects than former WWE stars.
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Donald Trump of the Apprentice is about to tell a contestant he's about to be fired.