Full Transcript Of Stephanie's Interview With Government - Part 1

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Full Transcript Of Stephanie's Interview With Government

Below is a transcript of an interview government officials conducted with Stephanie McMahon Levesque on Friday, December 14, 2007 largely regarding steroid use in World Wrestling Entertainment. McMahon also goes into great detail on the behind the scenes aspects of WWE.

But first, here are the main points coming out of the interview:

- Scripts for television shows are constantly being changed up until and on the day of the show.

- Stephanie now oversees John Laurainitis because "he needed some management."

- Stephanie calls Vince and Linda "Vince" and "Linda" at work. However, she calls them both mom and dad at home.

- They are in the midst of capitalizing on ECW's strong following, but they want to change its image and clean it up.

- Vince doesn't believe in appealing to a certain demographic - they appeal to a "cross-section of Americana."

- Only issue of a wrestler not wanting to switch brands was with Shawn Michaels (Stephanie doesn't specifically state his name though) because Tuesday is his day of worship.

- WWE want everyone to be a main-eventer because it means more money for everyone.

- Stephanie calls Hulk Hogan a terrible wrestler from a technical standpoint, but he has incredible psychology and is incredibly charismatic.

- WWE talent relations gave Chris Benoit four months off after he said he was having a very difficult time and needed some time off to go home.

- Main eventers can make between $150,000 to $200,000 per pay-per-view event. They can also make up to $1,000,000 at a WrestleMania event.

-- Wrestlers are compensated with 25% of the revenue for licensed merchandise (like T-shirts only available at K-Mart with the tag saying Fruit of the Loom for example) and 10% for WWE brand merchandise. Stephanie said Vince made his contracts that way because he believes his performers should be part of the company's revenue stream and deserve to be treated as fairly as possible.

- The typical WWE contract runs from three to five years. If they want to keep a three-year contracted performer employed, they usually start negotiating one year before the original contract is set to expire.

- Stephanie doesn't name the wrestler, but at the time, they had a a person in the developmental program that creative wanted to call up, saying he has amazing charisma. However, he wasn't ready to be called up because his ring skills weren't up to par. She says while charisma will probably take you the farthest, you still need to be able to wrestle at least somewhat decently.

- Road agents always meet with the wrestlers after their televised matches to explain what worked and what didn't work.

- During the provision in which suspended talent could still work television tapings and house shows (if need be), they'd get a $200 per day salary for food and road expenses.

- WWE is hoping MVP will be a main-eventer one day.

- Stephanie doesn't agree that the WWE stars of today are more "muscular" (in general terms) than wrestlers during the Eighties.

- Said the average weight of the wrestlers on the WWE roster was in the high 100s, which surprised her. Although it should be noted that females likely factored into the average, thus bringing it down.

- The Chris Benoit tragedy made the company look at how they could be treating their employees better. They asked them if they had any financial planning or health insurance, which a little over 60% of the wrestlers have.

- They also implemented seminars for the wrestlers, including "exit strategies" such as life-skills type seminars for when they are done in WWE.

- Only Stephanie and John Laurinaitis decide who gets called up to the main roster from developmental. Although of course, Vince can decide to call someone up if he really wants to. Stephanie also noted that they have called up certain talents to add more ethnicity to the brands.

- Said they don't hire wrestlers they think are on steroids. She doesn't give a specific name, but they brought someone in recently and didn't hire him based on a positive drug test.

- Said she has never heard of an experienced creative team member or agent or anyone telling any worker they needed to be bigger to be signed or called up to the WWE roster.

- The only time she recalls telling a person to change their body was telling some of the female performers to lose weight, which she says isn't easy. She also brings up a recent story regarding Beth Phoenix as she told her to change her hair because she looked too similar to another female talent they have.

- Said Chris Benoit was supposed to be ECW champion, but "didn't show up at the pay-per-view because he was dead."

- Said workers might be more prone to concussions because of their line of work. Said Chris Nowinski had multiple concussions and they no longer wanted him to work in the ring.

- Said they are looking to do proactive impact testing for concussions or for workers that may be prone to concussions.

You can also read the interview in PDF file form at the following link.

Here is the transcript of the interview in its entirety:

Mr. Leviss. Good morning. This is a transcribed interview of Stephanie McMahon Levesque by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The Chairman of the committee has sought this interview as part of the committee's investigation into allegations regarding the abuse of steroids and illegal drugs in professional wrestling. Would you please state your name for the record?
Ms. Levesque. Stephanie McMahon Levesque.
Mr. Leviss. On behalf of the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, I thank you for joining us today.
I am David Leviss. I am a senior investigative counsel with
the majority staff of the committee.
I am going to ask everyone to introduce themselves, since
there are so many of us here today.
Mr. Cohen. I am Brian Cohen. I am a senior investigator
with the committee.
Mr. Buffone. Sam Buffone, staff, majority.
Ms. Despres. Sarah Despres, senior health counsel, majority
staff.
Mr. Chance. Benjamin Chance, Republican staff.
Ms. Safavian. Jennifer Safavian, Republican staff.
Mr. Leviss. While you know your attorneys, I would ask for
the record that they �]�]
Mr. Koch. George Koch, Kirkpatrick Lockhart & Gates.
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Mr. O'Neil. Mike O'Neil, K & L Gates.
Mr. McDevitt. Jerry McDevitt, K L Gates.
Mr. Leviss. Thank you.
Let me just go over some general ground rules we have for
these interviews. Typically, the majority staff will begin by
asking questions. Several of us may chime in at times, but we
will try to only ask you one question at a time. The minority
will also have the opportunity to ask questions. We try to go by
general topic areas to keep some order to it, but, if necessary,
we may jump around a little bit.
As you can see, we have an official reporter who is taking
down everything we say so that we have a written record of this
interview. So it is very important that you give verbal, audible
answers to every question. Do you understand that?
Ms. Levesque. Yes.
Mr. Leviss. Great.
The court reporter may interrupt us if we are talking over
each other or if he can't hear an answer or question, and that is
because we have asked him to do so so that we have an accurate
record. Please wait until I finish my questions or any questioner
finishes a question before beginning your answer. And we, in
turn, will try to wait until you finish your answer before
starting a new question. Understand?
Ms. Levesque. Yes.
Mr. Leviss. Great. You are required by law to answer
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questions from Congress truthfully. If you fail to testify
truthfully, you could be subject to criminal prosecution. Is
there any reason why you would be unable to testify truthfully
today?
Ms. Levesque. No.
Mr. Leviss. Great.
We try to take a short break every hour or so, but let us
know if you need a break earlier. Our hope is that we can finish
with you in just, you know, a couple, few hours this morning. So,
just to give you a sense of what is to come. But, again, if you
feel you need a break, please do let us know.
Ms. Levesque. Okay.
Mr. Leviss. Okay. Do you understand these guidelines,
rules?
Ms. Levesque. Yes, I do.
Mr. Leviss. Okay. Any questions before we begin?
Ms. Levesque. No.
Mr. Leviss. Great.
EXAMINATION
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q I am going to start with just some background questions
about your role at WWE. I understand that the corporation hasn't
always been known as WWE, that there was some predecessor
corporations. But if I refer to it as WWE, will you understand
that I am referring to both the present company and its
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predecessors?
A Yes.
Q Okay. What is your current position with WWE?
A My current position is executive vice president of
creative writing, talent relations, and live events. They are
working on shortening it, but that is what it currently is.
Q That is a lot for one business card. How long have you
held that position?
A For the past couple months.
Q Okay. Have you held other positions with the company?
A Yes. I started �]�] well, not all the way back, but most
recently I was the executive vice president of creative writing.
Then about a year ago I added talent relations, and a couple
months ago I added live events. And that is live event promotion
and booking.
Q Okay. And prior to that position, did you have any
other positions with the company?
A Yes. Prior to that position, I worked as an account
executive in our New York sales office. Prior to that, I had a
unique internship with both the chairman and the CEO. And prior
to that, I held a number of internships, including switchboard
operator when I was 13. I worked in media relations, dot�]com, our
production studio, a variety �]�] live event marketing. I have
worked in a variety of assets in our company.
Mr. McDevitt. They didn't make her put up rings.
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Ms. Levesque. No, my brother did, though, yes.
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q Family operation. How long have you been affiliated or
working for WWE?
A Pretty much all my life, but really, consistently,
interning since I was 13, and once I got out of college I became
full�]time.
Q Okay. So around what year did you start consistently?
A Full�]time?
Q Yeah.
A '98.
Q Tell me, if you will, about your present roles and
responsibilities in the organization, starting with creative
writing.
A Okay. Starting with creative writing, I am in charge
of �]�] we have three different shows. We have Raw, SmackDown and
ECW. It is basically 5 hours of fresh programming every week,
52 weeks a year. We have no reruns. And I am in charge of all of
the script writing that goes on for every show.
Q Okay. I assume you have a staff of writers who work
with you?
A I do.
Q How many people are on that staff?
A We are pretty understaffed. It is about 10 people now.
Q And if you could just tell me in brief how the
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script�]writing process works. I mean, does the staff prepare
drafts? Are you involved in original drafting? Are you more of
an editor?
A Here is pretty much how it happens.
Q Sure.
A It is not a real wonderful process, because we don't
have a lot of lead time. You know, we are week to week.
Q Sure.
A So my staff, I have a lead writer, and underneath him he
has writers, associate writers, writers' assistants.
And the team works throughout the week. What happens is they
bounce ideas off me creatively throughout the week, and then we
have a meeting with Vince, Vince McMahon, who is the chairman and
also the head creator of everything. The company is his vision in
all aspects, make no mistake. And so then we present him with our
ideas. And he gives approval or disapproval. We discuss, we come
up with what creative work we are going to do, and then we go and
draft the scripts.
On occasion, we do have drafts of the scripts to present to
Vince at that meeting, but that is not always the best practice
because they change so frequently.
Q And then, I guess, how far in advance of production are
the scripts completed?
A Literally being processed the day of. I mean, they are
produced that week, and then they are constantly changing
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throughout the day up until the show goes on the air.
Q When you begin drafting a script, do you know what
talent it is going to involve?
A For the most part, yes. We know our main�]event talent,
or the main�]event talent that we want to feature. Because our
business is very unique. We know where we are going for
pay�]per�]views. We have right now 15 pay�]per�]views scheduled in
'08. It is either 15 or 14. We were at 16. So that is roughly a
pay�]per�]view every 3 weeks.
That is where we make a lot of our money. So what we do is
we gear toward the pay�]per�]view. So we know where we are headed
for pay�]per�]views, long term. And then we back into the story
writing to get into those pay�]per�]views.
So if we know we have a 3�]week promotion and we know our
main�]event match is �]�] I will just say two superstars. I am not
sure how familiar you guys are. But say it is Randy Orton versus
John Cena. We know we have 3 weeks to make that match as
compelling as possible to hopefully intrigue the buyer to want to
pay to see the match. So that is what we try to do.
Q And who comes up with the list of talent for a given
match?
A Well, it is not necessarily a list of talent for a
match. The way that it is determined is we have our main�]event
players, the guys who are the most �]�] in our business the parlance
is "over," which means the most respected, most �]�] "respected" is
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the wrong word because sometimes they are bad guys and they are
not respected at all. But the ones people really want to see.
Mr. McDevitt. Just for the record, you mean "bad guys,"
script�]wise.
Ms. Levesque. Yes, yes. Thank you. Within our vernacular,
we have "babyfaces" and "heels," babyfaces being the good guys,
heels being the bad guys.
Mr. McDevitt. Would you like to guess which side you guys
are on?
Mr. Leviss. I will wait for the script.
Ms. Levesque. I am not writing this one.
So, yes, so, basically, the main�]event players are the ones
who draw the most money, the ones the people want to pay to see
either win or lose, depending on their role.
Mr. Leviss. Sure.
Ms. Levesque. So we try to base our pay�]per�]views,
obviously, around the guys who are going to draw us the most
money, around our main�]event guys.
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q Okay. Are the talent involved in developing the script?
A They are involved in their individual storylines. And,
again, the main�]event talent; not so much the lower�]level talent.
But main�]event talent are called. We talk to them about the ideas
we have, especially for their program, which is what that 3�]week
window would be.
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Again, I am sorry to use the parlance of our business, but
the program would be the 3 weeks leading up to the pay�]per�]view
and sometimes beyond, because we do have so many pay�]per�]views, we
have to book the same match. And we have to make the stories
different within each program, which is challenging in and of
itself. So the talent do like to contribute.
Q Uh�]huh.
A And quite frankly, it is a better product when they do,
because, you know, the talent are engaged and they are involved in
the storylines. Sometimes it is their ideas. And, inherently,
they perform better when it is their idea.
Q Okay. Before I get too deep into this �]�] and it is
actually a fascinating process �]�] I should find out a little bit
more about your other responsibilities.
A Okay.
Q Talent relations?
A Yes. Basically, John Laurinaitis is the ex�]VP of Talent
Relations, and he now reports to me. So I now basically oversee
John and all of his responsibilities, which include developmental
talent, our developmental talent system; they include booking all
of the travel for the talent; the third�]party appearances for
talent, if talent are involved in any marketing or promotion
outside our company or within our company. If talent are doing
movies or any outside projects, it all comes through Talent
Relations.
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Basically, anything and everything talent�]oriented �]�] talent
contracts, et cetera �]�] all comes through Talent Relations.
Q And before John Laurinaitis was involved, did you
oversee that process directly?
A No. John oversaw it, and he was the sole person in
charge. And then it was deemed that John needed some management.
Q I see.
A So that is where I came into play.
Q And around when did that happen?
A That was about a year ago.
Q And your third area of responsibility was live events?
A Yes. Live�]event �]�] it is actually two separate
departments. Live�]Event Booking is the actual booking of arenas
around the world for our shows, because we have, God, over 300
shows, easy, a year.
Q Okay.
A And internationally, globally, everywhere. So it is the
actual physical booking of those buildings.
And the routing is just a nightmare, because we also have not
only our televised shows every week, but we also have a lot of
nontelevised shows.
So we tour our two different brands. Raw tours Friday,
Saturday, Sunday, Monday in America, domestically. And when we do
international, it is different. SmackDown/ECW, we combine those
two brands for touring. They tour Saturday, Sunday, Monday,
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Tuesday. The live show for Raw is Monday. The live show for
SmackDown and ECW is Tuesday. And ECW's live Tuesday; SmackDown
airs Friday. But it is pretty much live to tape.
So there is a lot of arenas, a lot of booking.
And then the Live�]Event Marketing portion is the promotion of
those buildings, the promotion of the event.
Q Promotion of the buildings, you said?
A Yeah, promotion of the event at those buildings.
Q Okay. Is that basically a summary of your
responsibilities? Not that it is not enough, but �]�]
A I would say so.
Q Okay. And what aspect of your work changed? You said
that your title changed over the last few months. Is that because
you acquired new responsibility?
A Yes. Because the live�]event portion is new. It's a few
months old. And now my title is just so long that they are
looking to change it.
Q And prior to that change, were you working primarily in
creative writing and talent relations?
A Yes.
Q Okay. Great.
Outside of those areas, are there any other significant
responsibilities you have had in the company in your time since
'98?
A Nothing really significant. These are my most major
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roles.
Q Okay.
A I mean, I suppose switchboard operator is vital to the
company.
Q It would break down if people couldn't call.
A I still have extensions memorized.
Q I'm sure.
You mentioned Mr. McMahon. Tell me about how your
responsibilities and your decision�]making authority are, in
relation to Mr. McMahon?
A I report to Mr. McMahon. I call him Vince in business,
so please don't be deterred by that. At home he is Dad. And
Linda is the same way; in business she is Linda, and at home she
is Mom.
Q Understood.
A But so, I do report to Vince. So a lot of my, you
know �]�] I am certainly free to make decisions, but if it involves
a major decision within the company, I will pretty much run it by
my boss and get the okay or the nay. So, in essence, I guess, to
answer your question, however normal corporations work, I have to
run, you know, my decision�]making through my boss.
Q Do you report to anyone else besides Vince?
A No.
Q You spoke a little bit about Raw, SmackDown and ECW.
First of all, does ECW stand for something?
15
A Extreme Championship Wrestling. But we are in the
process of changing the image.
Initially, before we bought WCW, actually, before it almost
went bankrupt, in the '90s, in the end of the '90s, there was a
lot of competition within our organization. There was WWE �]�] it
might have been WWF at the time, I forget �]�] and there was WCW,
and then there was a fledgling group called ECW. And WCW was sort
of the alternative to the big league wrestling. They used a lot
of hardcore tactics, a lot of blood, a lot of thumb tacks and
barbwire and all this bizarre stuff.
And we are looking to change that image. We own the brand.
It had a cult following. We are looking to capitalize on the
following but change the product. So we are in the process of
doing that.
Q Okay. How did the other divisions differ? Tell me
about Raw and SmackDown.
A Raw and SmackDown, the main difference between the two
is the talent. You can only see certain talent, for the most
part. There are some caveats to that. But for the most part, you
can only see certain talent on Raw, which airs on the USA Network
Monday nights, 9:00 to 11:00, and you can only see certain talent
on SmackDown, which airs 8:00 to 10:00 on the CW Network.
Q And who determines how talent is divided among the
divisions?
A The writing staff and Vince.
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Q And how do you make those decisions?
A Well, it just depends creatively on where we want to go.
A lot of it �]�] like, for example, if �]�] I should backtrack for a
second as well.
We have a draft. And we have had a draft semi�]annually, we
have had it biannually, we have had it a number of different ways.
But this draft enables us to have talent cross over to the
different brands. So it is a creative loophole, if you will, to
get our talent over to the other brands and engage viewer interest
at the same time.
But so, if you are looking at these programs that I was
talking about �]�]
Q Uh�]huh.
A �]�] say Randy Orton is a main�]event guy who draws a lot
of money. You know, you want to feature Randy Orton on a certain
show, but he has wrestled against almost all of the other good
guys. Well, now you have to do something, because Randy either
needs to go to another brand or you need to bring over some new
blood to face Randy.
So that is part of our decision�]making process, to keep the
programs fresh and interesting so the viewer will want to keep
seeing them.
Q And do you need a new draft to bring him over, or can
you bring him over, I guess, mid�]season?
A It depends. The cleanest way to do is in the draft
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show.
Q Uh�]huh.
A But if we need him, if there is an injury and we need
somebody to make a jump, we certainly creatively get around it.
Q Are there any other ways that talent are brought between
programs or between divisions?
A Yes. Again, at WrestleMania, which is our Super Bowl of
pay�]per�]views, we often have cross�]promoting matches. So you
might have a guy from Raw versus a guy from SmackDown, or girls.
And when that happens, it actually increases our viewership,
because there is roughly 70 percent �]�] it might be a little more
now �]�] are nonduplicated viewers for each brand. So now if you
have a storyline that is on both brands, you get that much more
audience intrigued in the storyline and wanting to pay to watch
WrestleMania.
Q Nonduplicated viewers, you mean a unique audience?
A Yes.
Q Okay. What are the, sort of, target audiences for the
brands?
A Well, it is funny, because Vince has never taken a
stance of we only market to 18 to 49, or we only market to, you
know, whatever it is. Vince's feeling and his company philosophy
has always been, well, we are a cross�]section of Americana.
And if you come to one of our live events, that is what you
see. You see some teenagers, you see grandfathers with grandsons,
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you see grandmothers with granddaughters, you see college kids,
you see all different walks of life. And that is really what our
product is.
Our network partners promote to the �]�] and they sell, because
they sell their own advertising �]�] I believe it is the 18 to 49
demographic.
Q Uh�]huh. But when you spoke of the viewers, I am
blanking on what your phrase was, but sort of the unique
audience �]�]
A Uh�]huh.
Q �]�] how do you make that assessment? You must have some
criteria to determine, you know, who is watching SmackDown, who is
watching Raw.
A Again, it is unusual. I would say we pretty much go
with what the network wants us to do. So, for the most part, we
target 18�] to 49�]year�]olds, but, really, we listen to our
audiences.
Our audiences are like a live question�]and�]answer period
right in front of us. It is a live focus group every night we
have a show. Our fans tell us what they want, what they like,
what they don't like.
And that goes from what the product is in the ring to out of
the ring. They are buying T�]shirts, they are buying merchandise.
We have people on�]site asking questions. So we have the ability
to get a lot of information from our fans.
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And, again, we are not only targeting the 18�]year�]old male
when we are asking those questions. We are asking all of our
fans.
Mr. McDevitt. I think you wanted to ask her how she
determines the nonduplicative nature.
Mr. Leviss. Thank you. I was thinking �]�]
Ms. Levesque. That is through our marketing research.
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q Is there crossover of talent from ECW to Raw or
SmackDown?
A On occasion, because we are trying to make that ECW
brand stronger. It currently airs on SciFi on Tuesday nights,
live at 10:00, and that is not a well�]watched network. So if we
give the stars from ECW exposure on the other brands, it gives
more interest. Hopefully, we will get some of our bigger
audiences to watch the SciFi Network.
Q So there is crossover, but �]�]
A There is some.
Q �]�] it is less frequent than �]�]
A It is less frequent. Actually, right now we have a
storyline going where the ECW general manager and the SmackDown
general manager have struck a deal, and they are currently
cross�]promoting. So it is more SmackDown and ECW cross�]promotion.
Q Okay.
A But we don't feel that conflicts with our WrestleMania
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storylines �]�] it gets very complicated �]�] because it is not the
main�]event guys, for the most part, involved in those stories.
Q How do talent find out that they are going to move
between divisions?
A Often either myself or the lead writers or Vince will
notify them �]�] or John Laurinaitis will notify the talent.
Q Do they have any say in the decision?
A Certainly. If someone really has a problem with it, you
know, you can't force someone to do something that is against
their will.
Q Sure.
A So they do have a say.
Q Do the talent typically care about, you know, which
division they are featured in?
A No. There was only one issue that we had, and that was
with a top star who had on Tuesday was his religious day with his
family. He is a born�]again, and I am not sure of the right words.
Those are my words.
Q Sure.
A So he is very, very religious, and he felt that he could
not do the Tuesday show because he needed to be at home with his
family. So we did not make that switch, even though it would have
really helped our product.
Q Is there a financial difference for the talent in
appearing in a match for one division versus another?
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A No.
Q I guess I sort of asked you this, but who is part of the
process of determining whether to switch someone over? It sounded
like it was you, Talent Relations, the rest of Creative Writing
and Vince?
A Yeah.
Q Anybody else?
A No. That is it, for the most part. And talent.
Q And the talent themselves?
A Right.
Q Okay.
A And it is more of the main�]event talent, you know, that
speak up and that we solicit more ideas from, in terms of
creative, et cetera.
Q Roughly, what percentage of your talent qualifies as
main�]event talent, in your view?
A I would say probably about 30 percent. Maybe a little
less, maybe 25.
Q And those are sort of the headliners?
A Yes.
Q Are there any other ways you have of distinguishing
among the remaining 70 percent or so of the talent?
A What do you mean?
Q Well, I mean, do you have any other terms for them? Is
it just the main�]event talent and the rest of the talent, or are
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there other �]�]
A You will often hear �]�] well, you won't, but in my
business you often hear the parlance of there is main�]event and
there is mid�]card.
Q Okay.
A And mid�]card would be, you know, what it sounds like,
middle of the card. And then the other �]�] there is no lower end.
So there is, really, I guess it is like an "other" category. We
really don't have a term for them.
Q How does talent get to become main�]event talent?
A Basically, hard work and perseverance and overwhelming
the audience. It is really up to the talent.
Stone Cold Steve Austin tells this story all the time. I
don't know if you are familiar with Stone Cold, but he was
probably one of the biggest superstars that we ever had, bigger
than Hulk Hogan. I am sure you have heard of Hulk Hogan.
Mr. McDevitt. Hulk would disagree with that.
Ms. Levesque. Of course. But Stone Cold, I mean, huge.
At any rate, Austin, when he first came in, was Stunning
Steve Austin, not Stone Cold Steve Austin. And he was �]�]
actually, when he first came in, he was a character called The
Ringmaster, which was not getting over, as I explained to you
before. The crowd wasn't into it. They didn't really care.
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q Is he a good guy or a bad guy?
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A At the time, he was a bad guy.
Q Okay.
A But they didn't care to boo him either. They didn't
really care if he lost. They didn't really want to �]�] it was our
worst�]case scenario.
And Steve was sitting in the back, and he was with Vince, and
he was watching another match. And he said, "You know, that kid
out there, he has really got something. You should push him,"
which is another parlance of our business, which is, you know,
putting someone in that main�]event spotlight.
And Vince looked at Steve and he said, "Well, I will give him
all the opportunity in the world, but it is up to him. He has to
do it on his own."
And Steve always says that that conversation clicked
something in his head, because from that moment on, he changed his
character. He knew it was up to him to make the difference, and
that is what he did.
Q Uh�]huh.
A And Austin rose in the ranks. He was a real self�]made
superstar. We gave him opportunity, but he took the ball and he
ran with it.
There is oftentimes �]�] because we need to build talent along
the way. We need more main�]event guys. You know, we are
constantly trying to cultivate more main�]event guys as part of our
developmental system. We want everybody to be a main�]event guy.
24
It means more money to all of us.
Q Sure.
A So we constantly give the opportunity. It is just, who
is able to take the ball and run with it?
Q What can talent do to improve the character? I mean, if
it helps, you know, you can use Steve Austin as an example. What
does he do that makes him a stronger character?
A Well, a lot of it has to do with charisma, which is the
"it" factor that you can't teach, that you are either born with or
you are not born with. And that is basically the ability to
connect with the audience.
When someone walks out on that stage, they either connect
with the people or they don't. If you walk out on stage and
nobody cares and you don't have any presence, you are never going
to be a main�]event guy. But if you walk out and you make the
people notice you, you can be a main�]event guy.
You really don't even have to be a good wrestler. Hulk Hogan
was a terrible wrestler, and he still is.
Q For the record, I am sure he would disagree with that
too.
A I am sure he would disagree with that. I forget this is
all public. But, you know, he was. He was a terrible wrestler.
But what an incredible psychologist and what an incredible
charismatic person. There is no denying Hulk Hogan is one of the
biggest stars in the history of our business and will always be
25
perceived as such. But he was not a great wrestler, not a great
technician.
Q What makes a great technician, a great wrestler?
A The craft of wrestling itself, which is more mechanical
than it is showmanship.
Q How much of that is up to the wrestlers, and how much of
it is scripted?
A The actual mechanics of a match?
Q Uh�]huh.
A It depends on the situation. For most main�]event
talent, they have been around a long time, they understand how to
do what they do. They have honed their craft. They are masters
of it. There is very little input from anybody else. For the
most part, it is, "Okay, here is who we want to win, and here is
how we want you to win."
Because, for the most part, every superstar has a finishing
maneuver. Like, for example, Stone Cold, it was the Stone Cold
Stunner. And, you know, the audience knew if you were hit with
the Stone Cold Stunner �]�] I cannot do the move while I say it �]�]
then you were most likely going to lose.
Q Okay.
A So it is a ride that the audience gets taken on.
And the art of wrestling itself is the ability to tell a
story in the ring without any words at all, with your body and
your face, and to make the people care so much that they want to
26
either see you win and overcome the odds or they want to see you
lose. And that art, it is truly an art, the ability to take the
audience on that ride.
Q And so, I guess, generally, how much of that ride do you
and the creative staff direct for the wrestler?
A The creative staff, very little. We have on the road
what are called producers. They have also been called agents.
They are one and the same. And they are former stars in our
business and former professional wrestlers.
Q So are they talent?
A They are not talent.
Q Okay.
A What they do is they help guide a match. So they speak
with the talent ahead of time. Basically, they are getting the
talent to talk, to get their ideas out.
Again, the main�]event guys know much more what they are doing
than the younger guys. And they say, "Okay, well, let's help you
out here. And you are stuck in this part of your match."
Because, again, there is pretty much a format to a match. And you
can switch it up and change it, but you have a beginning, a middle
and an end, like any story. And it is helping the guys get
started, helping them in the middle and helping them get into the
big finish, where you want to take people on that last go 'round.
Q Sure.
A But the producers are much more involved in the matches
27
than the writers are. The writers aren't really involved in that.
Q And when do the producers get involved in the process?
Just before the match?
A The producers are e�]mailed the shows over the weekend,
but, again, the producers are also working those live events.
This is also where the producers' role come in. And the producers
also report to Talent Relations.
So the producers, they are still also called agents on the
road, and there is a head agent on the road. And they are
basically in charge of all the matches, all the story�]telling that
happens on the road that is nontelevised. So they also have the
ability to work with this talent in their matches before �]�]
because, for example, you might have a pay�]per�]view match and a
live event prior to getting to the pay�]per�]view to get them to
work their kinks out, what works, what doesn't work, that kind of
thing.
Q Uh�]huh.
A So producers are involved pretty much at the ground
level.
Q Now, for talent that needs more direction, could you
actually script all of the moves of a match? I guess, would the
producer do that?
A I do not believe that that is feasible.
Q Okay.
A I don't know of any situation ever where someone had
28
every single move scripted in a match. I suppose anything is
possible.
Q Uh�]huh.
A But I would highly doubt that that would be possible.
Q Because?
A Because it is a lot to remember. And because the
audience tells you what is working and what is not working. And
if I grab Jerry and I put him in a headlock and the people aren't
responding, I have to change on the fly.
Q He would probably respond if you did that.
Mr. McDevitt. They would probably root for that.
Ms. Levesque. But, you know, we have to change on the fly.
And that is the art that I am talking about, in terms of the
match. If you were following a formula and the people weren't
with it, they don't care to watch it, you know. And we never want
someone who doesn't care. We want you to care one way or the
other. Either you love it or you hate it. Great. But don't be
ambivalent. That is the worst.
Mr. Leviss. Okay. Makes sense.
Mr. Cohen. Could I just ask a quick question?
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COHEN:
Q This conversation you described between Stone Cold Steve
Austin and Mr. McMahon, when did that conversation take place?
A You would have to ask Vince. But I really can't venture
a guess. I mean, I would say right before Stone Cold really
started to take off.
29
Q And that was? When did he start taking off?
A Late '90s. So I would guess that conversation was
around '96. But, again, that is a pure guess on my part.
Q Okay. Thank you.
I am sorry, one more follow�]up here. Can you walk us through
a very quick description of a schedule of a typical wrestler? You
alluded to it, but, I think, in a little bit of detail, can you
sort of give us a Sunday�]to�]Sunday perspective on a typical
wrestler's schedule?
A Sure. Our shows tour, although not every wrestler
performs on every show. So that is important to know.
But the basic touring schedule when we are domestic is Raw
tours Friday, Saturday, Sunday, with the live show on Monday.
SmackDown and ECW tour together. They tour Saturday, Sunday,
Monday, with the live show on Tuesday.
Now, when we go internationally, there is a period of time
off prior and there is a period of time off after, but we try to
extend our international tours, obviously, so we can stay further
away for a longer period of time.
Q And on the 3 off days, do they also have
responsibilities to the company? Do they make promotional
appearances or �]�]
A On occasion they make promotional appearances, but it is
30
all looked at to make sure that no one works too much.
For example, John Cena, our top superstar, who is booked the
majority out of anybody, last year worked 161 days. So when you
look at that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't seem like
too hard of a schedule. But it definitely is, you know, a tough
schedule.
Q Do you have informal guidelines on how many days talent
can work in a month or a year? Do you have formal guidelines?
A Informally, some talent, they have dates that they
cannot work more than. But we always look at that, and we never
really hit that barometer. So certain talent do have a limit, a
cap on the number of days they can work a year in their contract.
And other talent �]�] again, we actually �]�] some talent wish
they could work more, because the more they work, the more money
they make. But with the roster the size we have, we just can't
feature everybody all the time.
EXAMINATION
BY MR. BUFFONE:
Q Do you have a running count in your creative meetings of
how many days talent has worked?
A Well, it is not the Creative, because storyline�]wise
someone might be on TV, but if they have had a particularly hard
run, you might give them the live events off that week. So it is
really more of a Talent Relations call.
And yes, if someone �]�] for example, Chris Benoit came to us
31
and said that he was having a very difficult time and he needed
time off for home. And so Talent Relations made the call, and
Talent Relations told Creative Writing we are not going to have
Benoit for 4 months. So no problem.
Q Does Talent Relations track each wrestler, how many days
they have worked that year?
A Yes.
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q How do you determine which of the talent to put in a
pay�]per�]view event?
A Well, again, we always want to have our main�]event money
players. And then primarily it is who are we building, you know,
who are we building to hopefully have in that main�]event spot in
years to come. We want to make sure we feature the people that we
believe have it and start the building process.
Q And "it" is, sort of, charisma?
A It is the total package, yes. It is the charisma. It
the ability to take the audience on a ride. It is hopefully some
wrestling ability, because you can't �]�] again, to use the parlance
of our business �]�] shit the bed when you are out there. Excuse
me.
Q It is a business term, I understand.
A It actually is, believe it or not.
But if you have a terrible match out there, you know,
basically that is not good for your career either. You have to
32
have some wrestling ability.
Q Okay. And, again, does it make a financial difference
to the talent whether they appear in a pay�]per�]view versus another
match?
A Absolutely. Absolutely. I am sorry, let me �]�] I
answered before you finished speaking.
Q No, I was finished.
A If they wrestle a pay�]per�]view versus a TV?
Q Yeah.
A Yes, they make more money on a pay�]per�]view.
Q Can you quantify that?
A It depends on the spot. If you are a main�]event talent,
you make significantly more.
And it all depends on what the company makes. And the talent
make a percentage off of that. So it depends on what the buy rate
is. There is no fixed amount of �]�] because you don't know what
the pay�]per�]view is going to draw.
Q Sure.
A We always hope it is going to draw a lot, but it doesn't
necessarily.
Q Can you just give me an example for comparison purposes?
A Of what?
Q Of the difference in what a talent makes on a
pay�]per�]view versus a TV event?
A Sure. A top�]level talent could make anywhere from 150�]
33
to 200�] on a pay�]per�]view. And then on a TV, it is significantly
lower. It would be more like 10�].
Q Okay.
A And, again, those figures are very rough.
Q Sure. I understand.
A And WrestleMania, our Super Bowl, talent can make even
more than that.
Q How high can that go?
A Again, it depends on the buy rate.
Q Uh�]huh.
A But it can go as high as, I think, a million. But,
again, I don't have those figures in front of me.
Q Okay. It is the Super Bowl, after all.
A Right. And that is the top top that I am giving you.
Q Sure. No, I understand.
Sort of moving to a slightly different topic �]�] is there
anything you wanted to cover?
Ms. Safavian. No.
Ms. Despres. I actually have just one.
EXAMINATION
BY MS. DESPRES:
Q What is the average professional life span of someone
who is a main�]event wrestler? You know, how long do most people
last as main�]event? Ten years, 5 years?
A It all depends. Again, like, for example, Ric Flair is,
34
I think, 54 years old and he is still wrestling. But the average
life span, I know we did this research, I just honestly can't
remember.
Q And by "life span," I mean professional life span.
A I know what you meant, career span. And we did that
research, and I just don't want to misspeak. But it does vary.
Q Okay.
A And I can get that data to you. I just really don't
want to misspeak.
Q That would be great. Thanks.
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q Are you familiar with what a typical contract looks like
for talent?
A Yes.
Q Can you describe the main provisions in a typical
contract?
A Sure. It would be, you know, the money.
Q Uh�]huh.
A A lot of times it is the number of days that you work.
Q Okay.
A It would be your merch ratio, what the split is, which
our standard is �]�] I just did this the other day. 25�]10�]10, I
think, is our standard. But, again, don't quote me on that. I
have to get that.
Q And what would those numbers mean?
35
A It is 25 �]�] the three categories: One category is
licensing, one category is merchandise, and the other category is,
you know, WWE merchandise.
Q Uh�]huh.
A And, again, I could get you much more specific
information. I might be misspeaking a little bit, but that is in
general the split.
Q But the numbers you gave in that example would be the
percentage that the talent receives?
A Yes. And let me just backtrack for a second, because I
think I can get to a bigger question.
Q Okay.
A The talent participate in all sources of revenue in the
company. So a talent contract reflects a lot of that.
Q Okay.
A And it will reflect their participation in each of the
streams of revenue. And that was something that Vince implemented
since, you know, way before my time.
And it was one of the things that was very different than
what promoters did at that time. Our business, if you go back,
used to be regional. There was the northeast territory, there was
the southeast territory, the midwest, the northwest. You know, it
was all over the place.
Q Uh�]huh.
A And with all of these different territories, my father,
36
Vince �]�] sorry �]�] had a vision �]�] I can call him my father �]�] but
he had a vision. And his vision was to have one company and make
it global and get sponsorship. And so what he did, much to my
grandfather's chagrin �]�] because my grandfather didn't like to
rock the boat, but my father had a vision.
So, ultimately, when my dad bought the company from my
grandfather, that is what he did. He went into each individual
territory and basically invaded. And he wound up buying out all
of the other territories and creating one big global brand.
Now, we did have one major rival, again, more in the late
'90s, which was WCW, to a much smaller scale ECW, but WCW was a
part of the AWA, which was a territory in the past. And they held
onto their name. It was the one territory that Vince didn't buy
or couldn't buy, whatever the story is.
Q Okay.
A And so, at any rate, when Vince took the company global
and made one big company, he wanted to make sure that all the
talent were treated as fairly as possible. So he said, okay, all
of these streams of revenue that we have, we are going to have the
talent participate in it, those streams that they are involved in.
Q Okay.
A DVDs they receive royalties from for their appearances.
Merchandise, whether it is WWE�]produced or whether it is a
licensed good, which is what I was referring to with the split �]�]
Q Uh�]huh.
37
A �]�] they receive a portion of the income.
Q Can you give me an example of licensed or WWE�]produced?
A Sure. We have various licensees that produce a lot of
T�]shirts that you will see.
Q Okay.
A Like the T�]shirts when you walk into K�]Mart and you see
a lot of WWE merchandise, a lot of that is licensed products. And
you can tell by the tag that it is not a WWE product. It is a
Hybrid T's product, or it is a Fruit of the Loom product, which �]�]
we don't have a deal with Fruit of the Loom, but I am just saying
that would be a licensed deal.
Q And WWE would receive a portion of that or a fee?
A WWE receives a portion. The talent receives a portion,
as well.
Q How about the Hulk Hogan action figures?
A Action figures, as well, they receive royalties. Hulk
Hogan is a little different. His deal is a little different. He
has been around a long time. I think Hulk owns all of his rights.
Q Do contracts for talent differ generally, or is it just
an individual superstar can negotiate his own terms?
A We have standards that really are prevalent in the
majority of the contracts. But, again, that top�]level superstar,
they will vary little bits. Not very much.
Q Okay.
A There are no big, huge variances between the contracts.
38
Q Are there other, sort of, main provisions in the typical
contract? You talked about money, number of days, merch ratio.
A Travel.
Q What would it say about travel?
A If someone wanted to be a first�]class traveler versus a
coach traveler. I mean, that is not a major provision. It is
just one that comes to mind.
Q Anything else?
A Those are really the main ones. I would say the money,
first and foremost. I am sure I am forgetting some.
BY MR. COHEN:
Q Are there other contracts for other talent, for referees
or managers? Do those differ in any significant �]�]
A Dramatically, yes. Referees don't participate in the
revenue, for example, of a T�]shirt because they don't have a
T�]shirt. Referees have a booking contract, which is similar in
terms of it protects the company should something happen to them
in the ring, but is different in terms of the monetary.
I would say mainly the money is the biggest difference in
their contracts. But, again, I am not legal, and I do look at
things from, you know, 50,000 feet. So I don't want to misspeak
in terms of the details.
Q Sure.
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q Are contracts negotiated or renewed annually?
39
A No, it depends on the term of the contract. For
example, if we have a 3�]year contract, we will start renegotiating
a year out. If it is a 5�]year contract, depending on where they
are at 3 years in, they are doing gangbusters and that talent
really wants to, you know, up their minimum guarantee, then we
will certainly look at that. If, 3 years in of a 5�]year contract,
we say, God, we really want this guy longer, we might negotiate at
that point too.
Q What is the typical term, or is there one?
A Three to 5 years.
And talent also receive a minimum guarantee. So basically,
their contract, the money is based on a minimum, but that is just,
"You are guaranteed to make this amount." But they can
participate in revenue with no ceiling. So they can make
significantly more than what their downside guarantee is, and most
of them do. So I just wanted to explain that that is the money
that is negotiated. It is the minimum. There is no ceiling at
all on what they can make.
Q Okay. Are any of the talent employees, or are they all
independent contractors?
A They are all independent contractors.
Q And that covers the referees?
A Yes.
Q The producers?
A The producers are employees.
40
Q Okay. Because they are not talent. Okay.
We talked a little bit about, sort of, which talent are
promoted, and I have some other questions about that. What are
the characteristics, generally, that you look for in determining
which talent to promote? I understand you talked about sort of
the "it" factor. How do you make a determination about whether
somebody is ready to be pushed, to use Steve Austin's term?
A Basically, it is when they start engaging the audience.
I mean, when somebody walks out and engages the audience, we know
we want to hire that person or we want to push that person or we
want to give them the ball, so to speak. Because that charisma,
that it factor is such a rare thing. That is why there is such a
small amount of main�]event guys.
And it is unfortunate. We wish everybody had this kind of
charisma. I mean, The Rock had this engaging charisma. He is
Duane Johnson. He has done other movies now.
Q Sure.
A He is Duane "The Rock" Johnson.
Q I know The Rock.
A Yes, okay. But he has this just unbridled charisma, and
people just want to see him.
And so, really, I believe charisma is the biggest factor in
determining who gets the ball and who doesn't.
Q And how often do you evaluate this? I mean, is it
constant? Is it ongoing?
41
A It is constant. We even have developmental talent come
up to our TVs, what we call "coming up." Every week, different
talent rotate through. We will have a period of, you know, a few
months where we are evaluating a small number of talent,
developmental talent, and they wrestle before our television show.
So they get to wrestle in front of the live audience that night.
We are seeing how they handle the crowd, seeing what kind of
charisma they have, how they handle themselves in the ring. And,
you know, we can get a good feel for whether or not they are ready
to come up.
Q Uh�]huh.
A We also have those talent on the live events with the
producers, who are, again, not necessarily grading them, but
looking at them and making certain determinations and helping them
along the way.
Look, you have this �]�] we have a kid right now in our
developmental system who is doing an excellent job. He has this
charisma, and it is great. And we want him on TV so badly, but he
is just not ready yet. He just doesn't quite have the total
package all together. But we have our eye on him.
Q Uh�]huh.
A So he is honing his craft in the ring. Again, like I
said, you can't throw a punch and have it wildly miss and, just
because you have great charisma, people are going to like you. I
mean, you have to still be at least decent in the ring.
42
So that is someone who has it that we are anxiously waiting
to get our hands on.
Q And who, again, is the "we" in "we have"?
A The Writing Department. And the producers are involved
in terms of the Creative, as well in terms of the wrestling
portion of it. And if they have other ideas, it is great. They
have been around the business a long time, and a lot of them know
what works and what doesn't work fundamentally.
Q Do you meet as a group to talk about how a show went or
talk about how particular talent is doing?
A We do. Once we get to �]�] I am sorry, were you done with
your question?
Q No, that is all right.
A Once we get to a show �]�] like, say, Monday we are in
Huntsville, Alabama.
Q Okay.
A So we meet and we have what is called the producers
meeting. And we run through �]�] the writers and Vince and myself,
John Laurinaitis, and Kevin Dunn, who is our executive producer,
we all meet with all of the producers, and we run through the
actual script of the show.
Q You do that on the road, or you do that locally?
A That is at the building we are going to be performing at
that night. It is a run�]through of the show before we do the
show.
43
Q Uh�]huh.
A And we basically work out the kinks. The producers will
talk about what they want to see in the match, who goes over �]�]
which means who wins �]�] what the finish is �]�] which is the same
thing �]�]
Q Okay.
A �]�] and how we get there. We will discuss the pretapes
backstage. We discuss the promos that are the in the ring. The
promos are basically the in�]ring monologues, where they might
involve other people. And we go through all the details of the
show.
And after the producers have said their piece and given their
feedback, then the writing team, Vince and Kevin and myself and
John, all meet. And we go through any questions that might have
arisen, what changes we want to make, if we want to put a graphic
in, if we don't want to put a graphic in, if there are too many
graphics, if there is too much footage, if there is not enough
action, whatever. We look at the total picture as a whole and
make the necessary changes.
Q Okay. And what about after the match? Is there any
sort of �]�]
A There is. The producer meets with the talent after the
match. The producer who is responsible for that match meets with
the talent after the match and goes through what worked, what
didn't work, what were you feeling out there, you know, all those
44
kinds of things �]�] or congratulating them if they had a great
match.
Q Okay. When Creative is meeting collectively to talk
about, you know, which talent to promote, are there ever any
discussions about the use of steroids or prescription drugs or
illegal drugs? Do those topics ever play a role in the
discussions about who to promote and who not to promote?
A No. The only time that it is ever an issue is when the
writing team is notified by Talent Relations that a person is
suspended. We know we have to get that person off television.
Q How is the writing team notified of that?
A They are notified by me or by John Laurinaitis.
Q How do you learn that somebody is being suspended?
A Well, in my new role now, as the head of Talent
Relations, I am notified by Legal at the same time that John
Laurinaitis is.
Q Uh�]huh.
A So I find out that a talent is suspended. And that
talent will either be suspended right that day, or if they are a
champion, say, and we have to get the title off of them, we have
to wait until the next TV, which is normally just a few days. It
is never more than a week to get that title off of that person.
Q What do you mean by that?
A So, say, we had an example when �]�]
Mr. McDevitt. Don't use names on drug tests. Hypotheticals.
45
Ms. Levesque. Okay. Thank you.
So we had an example where someone was going to be suspended,
and they were a champion. And we found out I think it was on a
Wednesday. Well, our shows were done Monday and Tuesday. So now
we have this person we need to suspend for 30 days, but he has a
title. And so what we did is, the next TV that we had, we had
that person compete on TV so he could lose the title and then be
gone.
There is certain cases where we are forced to do that because
we are not professional sport; we are entertainment, and we have
to continue our storylines. Even though it is a major change in
direction for us, that is fine. But we at least have to get a
title off of somebody.
Q Okay. Because whoever has the title is going to
continue to compete in the story arc?
A Exactly. I mean, a lot of �]�] and it is not only with
regards to the championship. That is just the best example I
could give to you, since I am not sure that you are a fan of the
product.
But when someone is involved in a major storyline, then, you
know, we have to end the storyline. So we have to have that �]�] in
some cases, we have that person compete on the next available TV,
and then they are off TV after that.
The best�]case scenario I can give you is when you have a
champion and you need to get the title off of them, because a lot
46
of our programs and stories are written around being a champion,
because, obviously, that is what everyone aspires to be.
Q Sure. Are there other scenarios where talent will
continue to perform even though there has been a suspension
imposed?
A There has been in the past, but where we are now, as of
November 1, we started making the names public of those wrestlers
who have been suspended. And since then, we are no longer having
them compete after they do whatever they need to do for TV, if
they need to do anything for TV.
Q And what about prior to November 1?
A Prior to November 1, we had I believe it was a few
different periods of time. When this new policy was implemented
in February '06, originally �]�] and, again, my facts might be a
little vague, but this is how I remember it.
Q Sure.
A Originally, talent were suspended, and, you know, again,
if they needed to be on TV the next day or the next week, then
they were, but never longer than a week's time, and then they were
gone.
Then there was a period of time where we allowed talent to
work pay�]per�]views and TVs and not work live events. And they
still had their 30�]day suspension in terms of their pay was still
suspended, but they were allowed to appear on TV at that time.
Q Uh�]huh.
47
A Then we added live events, because we said, well, why
should the product suffer just because this one person screwed up?
Q Right.
A They won't make any money. We would give them a per
diem so they could, you know, get food and what not, $200 a day,
which is minimal compared to what they could make if they were
working a live event. So they would, they worked the live event
and TVs and pay�]per�]views. We continued to use them as a talent,
but they just wouldn't be getting paid.
Q Uh�]huh.
A And then, most recently, we said, okay, well, once these
names become public, you know, we need to rechange our policy. We
need to make sure that, okay, they are not going to be on TV.
They might do the necessary program again the week after, but they
won't be on TV now or pay�]per�]view or live events for the next
30 days.
BY MR. COHEN:
Q So, is the policy now, is it that �]�] if they have a
positive test done and their name is going to be made public, and
let's say they are a champion �]�]
A Right.
Q �]�] you need to have them get rid of the title, do you
hold that name, have them make the appearance necessary to get rid
of the title, and then announce the suspension?
A I am not sure, because we haven't had the situation yet.
48
And it is something we need to determine. But we have not �]�] I am
not sure.
Q So, in the past, can you give us a sense how many times
have wrestlers who have been suspended appeared on shows?
A It is not a large number of talent. And I am not sure
of the exact number. But I would say there is definitely a few.
Q And these involved cases where they were champions
who �]�]
A No, in that case, they were �]�] in that case, it was any
talent that �]�] during that time, when we said why should the
company be penalized for the actions of one person, during that
time we had the discretion of whomever we wanted to use. So it
was definitely more than one person. In that case, it was not a
champion, because we were continuing to use that person.
That being said, during that period of time, we were not
rewarding that person at all. They were not winning on TV. They
were in losing efforts. Because, certainly, you don't want to
reward that kind of behavior. And, again, they were not getting
paid during that time.
Q Can you give us just a ballpark, I mean, how many times
this has happened?
A During that period of time when we did allow talent?
Q Yes.
A I would say, ballpark, five, maybe less.
Q Okay. And what was the longest or the most frequent,
49
for any individual talent, do you know what the longest period of
time or the most number of times they appeared during a suspension
was?
A Well, say, a suspension is 30 days and they appeared
every TV �]�]
Q Uh�]huh.
A �]�] I mean, that is at least four television appearances.
Q So were there cases where that happened?
A Yes, because we decided we were going to use them as we
normally would; they just wouldn't get paid.
Q Okay. Did the talent have any concerns about this? Did
they come to you and say, "Listen, I understand I have done
something wrong, I am not going to be paid." Did they complain
that they were being made to work without pay?
A Not at all.
Q Not one complaint?
A No. I think they were upset �]�] again, I am
speculating �]�] but I think the talent knew that they screwed up.
Mr. McDevitt. I assume you are asking of any complaints that
she knows of.
Mr. Cohen. Yeah.
Ms. Levesque. Right. Obviously, I can only speak to what I
know of.
Mr. Cohen. I would presume, as the individual in charge of
the talent, you would be a �]�]
50
Ms. Levesque. I would imagine I would have heard.
Mr. Cohen. �]�] natural avenue for complaints.
Ms. Levesque. Right.
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q Does the talent who wins an event make more than the
talent who loses?
A Not necessarily. But it can help build your character
to win.
Q Because you move on to the next match?
A Yes. I mean, and it depends on whether or not you are
in a building phase in your career or you are an established
person. If you are an established person �]�] say, like Shawn
Michaels is an established superstar. He is over. He has been
around a long time. Whether or not he wins or loses doesn't
really matter because the fans are just as engaged in him one way
or the other.
But if you are a performer that is in the middle of the card
and you either win or you lose, it can help build your character
to get you to that next level. For example, if you have been on a
losing effort, you are not going to be facing the champion any
time soon. You know, even though it is entertainment, we have to
build the facade of you win matches to face the champion.
Q Sure.
A So if, for example, a talent is suspended, and say we
were allowing them to wrestle on TV during that time but we had
51
them in losing efforts, it was doing nothing to build their
character.
Q Okay. How do you decide whether to make a particular
talent win or lose an event you are scripting?
A It really depends all on the situation. And I would
have to give you unique examples.
Q Sure.
A But, you know, for example we had �]�] say you had MVP
versus Shawn Michaels, who I said �]�] Shawn Michaels is an
established person. It doesn't really matter whether he wins or
loses.
Q Uh�]huh.
A And we are trying to build MVP to face the champion. We
might have him beat Shawn Michaels, which is a huge victory over
an established guy. MVP, I should say, is a newer character.
Q Okay.
A He is someone we are trying to build. He is in the
middle of the card right now. We are hoping he is going to be a
main�]event player. So we might have him beat a main�]event player
to prove he belongs there. Give him the ball and see how he does.
He will either engage the crowd or he won't engage the crowd. And
we will be able to see how he can perform, if he can perform at
that level. And if he does, great, then we have somebody else who
is in that top, upper echelon.
Q And is that main�]event player likely to complain about
52
the fact that you are writing in a loss for him?
A No. Most of our main�]event talent understand how the
business works because they have been through it.
Q Sure.
Mr. Leviss. Okay. Maybe it is a good time to break.
53
RPTS McKENZIE
DCMN MAYER
[10:23 a.m.]
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q Back in the previous round of questions, there was one
point where I was asking you about what wrestlers could make on,
you know, TV versus pay�]per�]view; and you gave me some rough
examples. And just so that our record is clear, you said "10 for
TV." You, of course, didn't mean $10?
A No, no, no. I'm sorry. I meant $10,000.
But again, that's on the very high end. I'm really not
positive about these figures. After I said that, I was
second�]guessing myself.
There is a large difference between what you would make on TV
and pay�]per�]view.
Q It could be as much as $10,000 to $50,000 to $100,000
for the pay�]per�]view?
A Yes.
Q I'm not going to hold you to those numbers.
A Right. Just roughly.
Q I didn't want anyone to think $10.
A Yes.
Q We talked a little bit about sort of the "it" factor and
what makes a wrestler have it or not have it.
Is one component of that physical attributes?
54
A How do you mean?
Q I mean how the wrestler looks, strength, things like
that.
A No, not necessarily. I mean we have a guy right now
that is a really big, fat, bloppy guy. I mean, that's the only,
really, way to describe him; and I shouldn't say his name now
because it's going to be on record.
He is a spectacle. He is an attraction.
There are some attractions that we certainly look for in our
business. I mean, we have a giant, a giant colleague right now.
We have a midget �]�] a little person, sorry.
And pretty much it's just all different types. It's just
really, you know, the specialness that they bring to the product.
Q Okay. Can you describe the typical champion right now,
if there is something typical?
A Well, there really isn't much typical. I can describe
our three current champions.
Q Okay.
A Randy Orton is �]�] you mean just physically describe him?
Q Sure. And their personality on screen.
A Well, clearly, the three have the "it" factor. They
have that unbridled charisma. They just have an ability to
connect with the audience.
Randy Orton plays a heel, he plays a bad guy; and he is the
most egotistical, arrogant, obnoxious person you could ever meet.
55
Mr. McDevitt. You are �]�]
Mr. Leviss. I understand you are describing the character.
Mr. McDevitt. He may be that way.
Ms. Levesque. We are strictly talking about his character.
His character is that of the ladies, the gift to all ladies; and
he is the best there ever was in the ring. He's young, he's good
looking, he's arrogant and that's basically it. He is sort of a
tall, leaner body type.
Our champion on SmackDown right now, Batista, is also a
good�]looking guy, and he is more of the �]�] more of the bigger kind
of kick�]your�]ass�]type guy. Excuse my language again.
Mr. Leviss. This is Congress. We can take it.
Ms. Levesque. I'm sure you have your own language.
So Batista is more of the kind of guy �]�] while Randy Orton is
the kind of guy you want to pay to get his butt kicked, Batista is
the kind of guy you want to pay to see kick somebody's butt. He
is a knock�]your�]block�]off�]type guy.
CM Punk, who is currently our ECW champion, I would say is
probably not your best�]looking guy, but he has this straight�]edge
character. His whole character is that he doesn't do drugs, he's
never touched alcohol, he's never done anything. And he is more
of like a punk rock�]type character, so he has the black hair and
it's long; and he is a bit smaller �]�] he's not as tall as the
other two guys �]�] and also a lean body type like Randy.
But that's his gimmick, his character is this hard�]core,
56
straight�]edge kind of guy.
Mr. Leviss. Okay. I get it.
BY MR. LEVISS:
Q Some witnesses have described to us that typical
wrestlers look different today than they did in the '80s, for
example, that they're more muscle bound today.
Is that a characterization that you would agree or disagree
with?
A Actually, I wouldn't agree with that personally. If you
look at some of the characters from the '80s, there were tons of
muscle�]bound guys, probably just as many as there are today, if
not less today. I don't think in the '80s that you would have
seen Rey Mysterio necessarily, because it seemed like �]�] it was
almost the guys were maybe even a little bigger in the '80s.

Source: WNZ