The Backstory (Part One): A Commencement Continuation…
In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 23, Vince McMahon, owner of World Wrestling Entertainment came to the realization that his current crop of writers just weren’t cutting it. McMahon decided to recruit fresh, young writers who understood the WWE and had new ideas to bring to the product. Enter James Edwards. Edwards was a former professional wrestler working the independent circuit and he was rumored to have been being brought up to the WWE for a tryout but before that could take place, Edwards suffered a debilitating knee injury which forced him into retirement before his career could even begin.
A tragic story to say the least, however, Edwards wasn’t just another wrestler. He was a student of the game and before even entering the wrestling world he was taking college classes in the University of Miami where he acquired degrees in business and entrepreneurship just in case wrestling didn’t work out for him. Coming from a wealthy family also helped Edwards’ chances of being successful one way or the other. Edwards would be brought up to the WWE by Vince McMahon who was impressed by Edwards’ creative work in the OVW which was owned by the WWE at the time. Edwards and McMahon discussed Edwards’ role in the company and McMahon asked Edwards a simple question. What would you do if you had full creative control of the WWE?
No one knows for sure what Edwards’ answer was to the question but it must’ve impressed McMahon who immediately gave Edwards creative control over both the Raw and SmackDown brands. Stephanie and Shane McMahon weren’t pleased with these turn of events and questioned their father’s decision. Many within the company cited promises of epic finances being brought in due to Edwards’ ideas fed McMahon’s gluttony for money and may have even boosted his ego. Many were skeptical that an “amateur†like Edwards would even make it in the business and hold true to his promises but Edwards proved many of his doubters wrong when he decided to put the WWE Championship on Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 23.
Edwards exceeded many expectations, however, many within the company simply called Edwards a one hit wonder and predicted the Raw rating to remain stagnant but that wasn’t the case. The ratings increased each week and remained fairly higher, actually the highest the company had received in a long time which led to many within the company to put Edwards in their good graces. Edwards would put a lot of innovative storylines on television and what could’ve been the biggest storyline in wrestling history ironically led to Edwards’ down fall in the WWE.
After nearly a year and a half of being employed as head creative director, James Edwards was told he was being demoted to more of a senior role where storylines would be passed by him and he would give his opinion on them. Edwards wasn’t comfortable with this idea and voiced his thoughts to McMahon. Rumors ran rampant throughout the internet wrestling community as to what went on in the meeting, some believe the two came to an understanding while others believe McMahon’s overblown ego and greediness took over and blinded him to the bigger picture. McMahon believed what occurred over the past year and a half was all his doing after all if it wasn’t for him hiring Edwards, none of that “historic†television would’ve ever happened. Regardless of what happened behind closed doors, before the June pay-per-view of Vengeance, James Edwards abruptly handed in his resignation.
Many in the company were disappointed with the resignation of Edwards since they had all developed close professional and personal relationships with him. From the ring and camera crew, the referees, the divas and even a couple of main event superstars most notably John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton an d even McMahon's own son-in-law Triple H felt Edwards’ resignation was not only senseless but it could've been prevented had McMahon's ego not gotten in the way of business. After Edwards resignation, many WWE employees commented on the situation and a few of them were even punished in the months to follow with various superstars being forced to job on a monthly basis. A lot of superstars wanted out of their contracts but with nowhere else to go and no one to buy them out of their contracts, they were forced to as McMahon put it, "eat crap and like the taste of it".
For the past year, Edwards has been keeping himself busy pursuing various business ventures outside of professional wrestling. Upon his release from World Wrestling Entertainment, Edwards was rumored to have been working with Total-Nonstop Action Wrestling but those rumors were denied by both parties. Ironically, soon after the news of Edwards not being apart of TNA Wrestling broke, the company went under and was declared bankrupt soon after in early 2009. Edwards sat at home watching the wrestling world get turned upside down on its head as the McMahon’s continued trying to push the envelope with risque but failing storylines and generally having the same superstars in the main event scene. The fans were growing tired of the WWE insulting their intelligence by booking the same main event players for the championships and then forgetting previous storylines and acting as if they never happened.
Edwards as well as many legends of professional wrestling watched from the sidelines as the WWE seemed to grow lazy with their product and it seemed as though they had just quit tryin to put out quality shows. Edwards took it upon himself to make the decision to try and save professional wrestling so he had conversations with former TNA superstars and asked them if they were interested in signing with him if he can get a wrestling promotion off the ground. Most of those contacted by Edwards agreed while others declined. Edwards also contacted former WWE superstars who had been released from the company and some who were still active. Edwards asked them the same question he asked the former TNA superstars and needless to say many of the superstars agreed to sign with Edwards if he can get a promotion off the ground and if he can get them out of their contracts. Edwards had the talent and he had the mind to run a wrestling promotion successfully, all he needed was the finances.
It was a Wednesday night when Edwards sat in his office and thought to himself. “How can I find the finances to create a wrestling promotion?†Sure he had a lot of money but it wasn’t enough to secure contracts or television deals. Edwards grew tired the more he thought about it and grew discouraged so he decided to get his mind off of the idea and relax. Edwards poured a drink and turned on his television set then sat back with his feet on his desk as he flickered through the channels. Edwards passed by the Fox News Channel but quickly returned back to the channel when he seen someone familiar. Edwards listened carefully to the interview being conducted.
Interviewer: You’ve always been a fan of professional wrestling, correct?
Person: That’s right. I’ve always been a fan of professional wrestling but I’m not much of a fan of the product the World Wrestling Entertainment is putting out. In my opinion, from strictly a fan’s point of view, there’s barely any wrestling and it’s hardly entertainment.
Interviewer: Hypothetically speaking, if you had the opportunity to form a wrestling organization to go against the WWE, would you?
Person: I would definitely love to form a wrestling organization to go against the WWE but going against the WWE wouldn’t really be my priority. I enjoy the business and I think if I had a wrestling company I would supervise things more clearly because I like to think I have a better understanding of the business, more than I ever have before.
Edwards’ eyes lit up as a financial backer was literally placed in front of him on television. Edwards turned off the television as the interview wrapped and Edwards made a phone call to make an appointment with said person. Will this appointment fair well for Edwards? And who is this "financial backer" Edwards contacted?
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The Backstory (Part 2): Financial Backing? - Coming Soon...
In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 23, Vince McMahon, owner of World Wrestling Entertainment came to the realization that his current crop of writers just weren’t cutting it. McMahon decided to recruit fresh, young writers who understood the WWE and had new ideas to bring to the product. Enter James Edwards. Edwards was a former professional wrestler working the independent circuit and he was rumored to have been being brought up to the WWE for a tryout but before that could take place, Edwards suffered a debilitating knee injury which forced him into retirement before his career could even begin.
A tragic story to say the least, however, Edwards wasn’t just another wrestler. He was a student of the game and before even entering the wrestling world he was taking college classes in the University of Miami where he acquired degrees in business and entrepreneurship just in case wrestling didn’t work out for him. Coming from a wealthy family also helped Edwards’ chances of being successful one way or the other. Edwards would be brought up to the WWE by Vince McMahon who was impressed by Edwards’ creative work in the OVW which was owned by the WWE at the time. Edwards and McMahon discussed Edwards’ role in the company and McMahon asked Edwards a simple question. What would you do if you had full creative control of the WWE?
No one knows for sure what Edwards’ answer was to the question but it must’ve impressed McMahon who immediately gave Edwards creative control over both the Raw and SmackDown brands. Stephanie and Shane McMahon weren’t pleased with these turn of events and questioned their father’s decision. Many within the company cited promises of epic finances being brought in due to Edwards’ ideas fed McMahon’s gluttony for money and may have even boosted his ego. Many were skeptical that an “amateur†like Edwards would even make it in the business and hold true to his promises but Edwards proved many of his doubters wrong when he decided to put the WWE Championship on Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 23.
Edwards exceeded many expectations, however, many within the company simply called Edwards a one hit wonder and predicted the Raw rating to remain stagnant but that wasn’t the case. The ratings increased each week and remained fairly higher, actually the highest the company had received in a long time which led to many within the company to put Edwards in their good graces. Edwards would put a lot of innovative storylines on television and what could’ve been the biggest storyline in wrestling history ironically led to Edwards’ down fall in the WWE.
After nearly a year and a half of being employed as head creative director, James Edwards was told he was being demoted to more of a senior role where storylines would be passed by him and he would give his opinion on them. Edwards wasn’t comfortable with this idea and voiced his thoughts to McMahon. Rumors ran rampant throughout the internet wrestling community as to what went on in the meeting, some believe the two came to an understanding while others believe McMahon’s overblown ego and greediness took over and blinded him to the bigger picture. McMahon believed what occurred over the past year and a half was all his doing after all if it wasn’t for him hiring Edwards, none of that “historic†television would’ve ever happened. Regardless of what happened behind closed doors, before the June pay-per-view of Vengeance, James Edwards abruptly handed in his resignation.
Many in the company were disappointed with the resignation of Edwards since they had all developed close professional and personal relationships with him. From the ring and camera crew, the referees, the divas and even a couple of main event superstars most notably John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton an d even McMahon's own son-in-law Triple H felt Edwards’ resignation was not only senseless but it could've been prevented had McMahon's ego not gotten in the way of business. After Edwards resignation, many WWE employees commented on the situation and a few of them were even punished in the months to follow with various superstars being forced to job on a monthly basis. A lot of superstars wanted out of their contracts but with nowhere else to go and no one to buy them out of their contracts, they were forced to as McMahon put it, "eat crap and like the taste of it".
For the past year, Edwards has been keeping himself busy pursuing various business ventures outside of professional wrestling. Upon his release from World Wrestling Entertainment, Edwards was rumored to have been working with Total-Nonstop Action Wrestling but those rumors were denied by both parties. Ironically, soon after the news of Edwards not being apart of TNA Wrestling broke, the company went under and was declared bankrupt soon after in early 2009. Edwards sat at home watching the wrestling world get turned upside down on its head as the McMahon’s continued trying to push the envelope with risque but failing storylines and generally having the same superstars in the main event scene. The fans were growing tired of the WWE insulting their intelligence by booking the same main event players for the championships and then forgetting previous storylines and acting as if they never happened.
Edwards as well as many legends of professional wrestling watched from the sidelines as the WWE seemed to grow lazy with their product and it seemed as though they had just quit tryin to put out quality shows. Edwards took it upon himself to make the decision to try and save professional wrestling so he had conversations with former TNA superstars and asked them if they were interested in signing with him if he can get a wrestling promotion off the ground. Most of those contacted by Edwards agreed while others declined. Edwards also contacted former WWE superstars who had been released from the company and some who were still active. Edwards asked them the same question he asked the former TNA superstars and needless to say many of the superstars agreed to sign with Edwards if he can get a promotion off the ground and if he can get them out of their contracts. Edwards had the talent and he had the mind to run a wrestling promotion successfully, all he needed was the finances.
It was a Wednesday night when Edwards sat in his office and thought to himself. “How can I find the finances to create a wrestling promotion?†Sure he had a lot of money but it wasn’t enough to secure contracts or television deals. Edwards grew tired the more he thought about it and grew discouraged so he decided to get his mind off of the idea and relax. Edwards poured a drink and turned on his television set then sat back with his feet on his desk as he flickered through the channels. Edwards passed by the Fox News Channel but quickly returned back to the channel when he seen someone familiar. Edwards listened carefully to the interview being conducted.
Interviewer: You’ve always been a fan of professional wrestling, correct?
Person: That’s right. I’ve always been a fan of professional wrestling but I’m not much of a fan of the product the World Wrestling Entertainment is putting out. In my opinion, from strictly a fan’s point of view, there’s barely any wrestling and it’s hardly entertainment.
Interviewer: Hypothetically speaking, if you had the opportunity to form a wrestling organization to go against the WWE, would you?
Person: I would definitely love to form a wrestling organization to go against the WWE but going against the WWE wouldn’t really be my priority. I enjoy the business and I think if I had a wrestling company I would supervise things more clearly because I like to think I have a better understanding of the business, more than I ever have before.
Edwards’ eyes lit up as a financial backer was literally placed in front of him on television. Edwards turned off the television as the interview wrapped and Edwards made a phone call to make an appointment with said person. Will this appointment fair well for Edwards? And who is this "financial backer" Edwards contacted?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Backstory (Part 2): Financial Backing? - Coming Soon...
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