Former Spirit Squad member had this to say on his twitter (http://twitter.com/kenndoane) yesterday:
nov 8th and 9th i will not be going for my "tryout" in orlando.no offense to any1 but im not comfortable paying my own flights and working for free. that is all. i dont need a job that bad. if WWE calls i'll go back or if TNA offers something decent. otherwise im absolutely happy where i am in life.
Pretty cheap and unprofessional of TNA, huh? Especially considering they just spent $15,000 on that awful Jersey Shore woman and Hogan and Flair are reported to be making well into 5 figures an appearance too. Well, Bryan Alvarez wrote about this in an August issue of the F4W Newsletter. After the jump.
The deal with dark matches is that you have to fly yourself to TNA on your own dime, work for free, and pay all of your own expenses out of pocket with the exception of hotel, which TNA does pick up. Now, granted, most every indy promotion charges for tryouts, but these are indy groups, not national organizations with prime time TV, and if you work dark matches in WWE or even work as an extra (security, etc.) you get anywhere from $200 to $300 a shot.
Not to mention: if Doane gets injured in the match, TNA won't be paying for that either.No wonder Doane turned down such an insulting offer. Indeed, this year has provided plenty of examples (Mia Yim, Roderick Strong) of wrestlers who paid a small fortune and wrestled for free only for the ever fickle booking committee to decide they didn't have a role for them.
And if they even do get hired? Well, partly why TNA aimed to sign more indie wrestlers this year (Eckos, Bayless, Gen Me, Rosie Lottalov) was heavily rumoured to be because they knew they could get away with not paying them much, and none would dare to ask for- GASP!- a livable wage and just be grateful for the "national exposure". Jerry Jarrett was known for using the "national exposure" line as well to convince guys in his promotions to work for free. He obviously taught his son and company well.
And once again, TNA continually crosses the line (no pun intended) in regards to what a major national wrestling promotion can get away with in 2010.