Creative Freedom

This is something I have thought about before, but a post The-Gaffer made on the heel thread made me want to ask the question to the more knowledgable posters.

It is widely known that Hulk Hogan had creative freedom when with WCW, however there were also other wrestlers who had the same thing in their contracts. I know that most of these were Hogan's pals like Hall and Nash, but if there came a time when two wrestlers demanded the top title what would be done?

The way I understand it is that the creative control would supercede the writers wishes, but how did they decide who's 'control' got the final say. I'm guessing Hogan had something in his contract, but if say Hall and Nash both wanted the same thing what would happen? Were all contracts 'ranked' or did WCW just pray the issue never arose?

Also, on the same vein, what are everyones thoughts on wrestlers having creative control? Is it acceptable in certain situations or is it a big no-no?

I think creative control should only count for veterans for example Taker and top stars such as Cena. Afterall, Taker has been around for AGES and Cena is the top guy.

But what if Taker and Cena both said they wanted the WWE Title? I know there are two belts in WWE now, but this hasn't always been the case!

hogan is running tna creative and hhh and taker are the creative for their match at wm

it always helps to have input from the guys to make sure it will actually work.

Hogan would have had final say anyway because he had Bischoff's ear. Nash was smart enough to know not to try any power plays with Hogan but to bury him behind his back so that he still looked like 'one of the boys'. Not sure about Hall but he never really struck me as the kind of guy who'd make that big of an issue with it if it involved another power player, he was more intent on 'confronting his personal demons' and generally having a whale of a time ripping into other wrestlers. Chris Jericho was a favourite target of his for a while until Jericho stood up to him then he backed off. Goldberg was another one Hall enjoyed winding up.

I'm pretty sure that if an issue came up between two of the creative control brigade the matter would be taken to Hogan & Bischoff. Hogan had final say on all the major issues, as can be seen when Bret Hart was told to get Hogan's approval before doing the Goldberg Spear/steel plate angle in Toronto, even though Hogan wouldn't be involved in any part of it. I've never heard of a situation arising though where Hogan had to get involved regarding 2 guys refusing to budge under creative control though. I remember reading that Hall & Nash had clauses in their contracts that stated anyone coming into WCW couldn't be paid more than them, however they waived this stipulation in order for Bret Hart to join the company.

As far as creative control goes though I think it's a big no-no. It's just asking for trouble. When you get to a certain level like Hogan, Savage, Piper, Hall, Nash etc. were at then you're bound to be given certain freedoms anyway but going the whole hog with creative control is just a recipe for disaster.

Hall must of had some guts Y2 to wind up Goldberg! :run2:

HBK was a perfect example on how to book yourself fairly, with the help of his oponents he would book his own programs since his return in late 07 Orton, Flair, Batista, Jericho, JBL, Undertaker, Priceless and his own demons heading back to Taker

Miky - He was probably so out of it he didn't know what he was doing!


Gaffer - The thing that sets Shawn Michaels apart in that example is he wasn't bothered about winning World titles or being the number 1 guy any more.

Totally agree Y2D2 he had that unbiased outlook but he also knew that win or lose he couldnt hurt his character if he booked it well

Creative Control was one of the major issues which brought WCW to its knees.

Hogan had the most power of all the wrestlers by far. He basically could say when he was winning the title, who from, and who he was dropping it to. As with the Hart scenario, he also had the power to overrule decisions regarding other wrestlers too, if they indirectly affected him. This meant that the company's main creative direction rested on one wrestler's whim.

Nash and Hall, I believe, had "reasonable creative control". This meant that they were able to veto ideas for their own storylines, but not demand the title or anything like that. Although when Nash became the booker his first act was to book himself to end Goldberg's streak and win the title!

In most companies, including WWE, tenured main eventers earn the right to speak out on their own storylines. It is about respect more than anything else. But to have such a thing written into a wrestler's contract creates a minefield.

y2j beat up goldberg backstage

Davieswasacrippledtart wrote:Although when Nash became the booker his first act was to book himself to end Goldberg's streak and win the title!

But even then that was only under the proviso that he drop the belt to Hogan immediately, which shows how much influence the tan bed titan had when even the booker is kowtowing to him.

Hogan had initially dropped the belt to Goldberg only because he knew he was eventually going to get it back from 'Da Man'. Nash then came up with the idea that he'd end the streak but job to Hogan, they'd reform the nWo and everything would go back to 1996 again.

Once again, Nash was pretty smart here because he'll forever be known as the guy who ended Goldberg's streak and he didn't really give a toss about the World title.

Ending The Goldberg Streak should have been an out and out ratings winner but like everything else they did at that time they killed it

I didn't think the original plan was for Nash to job to Hogan. I assumed that was a last-minute compromise between the two. Surely the Fingerpoke of Doom wasn't a long term plan?!

Oh hang on, we're talking about WCW, Hogan and Nash.