03.01.2018, 11:25
Folgende Geschichte hat WCW Announcer Gary Michael Capetta erzaehlt zu Bill Watts als WCW President:
Zitat:Thoughts of my dealings with Bill Watts flashed through my mind. I
thought I’d share a few, not to give any definitive insight into The
Cowboy’s psyche, but just to offer a couple of personal experiences as a
member of his crew in 1992. To do so, it is important to first look at
the two reasons that he was hired.
Watts was brought in by the Turner execs for two primary reasons.
First, he was hired to improve the wrestling product based upon his past promotional successes.
Second, he was told to cut company costs after his predecessor, Kip
Frey, had greatly increased spending during a time when the wrestling
division’s income could not support such extravagances. Kip was in love
with the “glamour” of TV and the celebrity (though limited) of all of
the on air talent. Therefore, the contracts that were renewed under his
watch paid the performers much more than before. Even though my
contribution to the company as a ring announcer was the least important
to the production, I too, was on the receiving end of this windfall.
But Kip Frey was booted out of power so quickly, that he never signed
the contract upon which we agreed. We’re talking about a six figure deal
that included all company perks (Turner paid all of my road expenses –
air, auto, food, hotel, airport trans, tips, etc.) along with extra pay
for studio work and voice-overs, personal appearances and an added
merchandising agreement. And I was left with the challenge of getting
Watts to put his signature on such a deal at a time when his goal was to
eliminate unnecessary spending. We had never met before, and from all
that I had heard about him, I thought it would have been safer to enter
the ring to wrestle The Cowboy, then entering his office on the day that
I met with him to work all of this out.
Along with this
challenge, there was one additional problem. The Turner legal
department’s version of my contract did not reflect all of the perks
that I had negotiated with Frey. And in order for those changes to be
made, they had to be agreed upon in writing by Bill Watts. As it turned
out, I began to learn what Bill Watts was all about from the impromptu
meeting that followed.
I approached The Cowboy outside of his
new office and told him that my contract had not been signed by Kip
before he left the company. He said that he would have the lawyers send
him the copies and he would endorse them before the end of the week.
When I informed him that the existing contract did not reflect our
entire deal, he said that we’d just need to make an appointment to look
at it “some time in the future”. Then I told him that I’d appreciate
meeting with him as soon as possible, which was met with a several
second Bill Watts glare . . . a glare that burned into me for what felt
like a week. I quickly rebounded with the info that until he signed the
contract, the accounting department would be unable to cut me a check.
His glare turned into a look of amazement as he asked, “You mean you’re
not getting paid?”
When I told him that this was true, he spun
around, began walking toward his office and motioned for me to follow
him as he muttered, “You’ve got to be kidding. Let’s settle this now!”
As I sat across from the huge executive desk that Watts had inherited, I
handed him a copy of the multi-page agreement and began citing all of
the errors, clause by clause. He shot me a quick glance as he put on a
pair of granny glasses and tried to follow along. Finally, The Cowboy,
realizing that this was going to be more complicated than he
anticipated, told me to take it one step at a time. For no apparent
reason, I rose to my feet, scooted around to his side of the desk,
leaned across him from behind and began pointing out all of the details
that needed to be changed . . . and all of these modifications favored
me. (I should add here, in case you were wondering, that while one could
argue as to the merit of these perks, I was totally honest about what
Kip had agreed to.)
Without question, Bill penciled in, then
initialed each and every modification. Within a week, I received a
retroactive check for the total amount that was called for of this
TWO-YEAR contract.
While endorsing such a contract seemed to be
in conflict with WCW’s money saving trend at the time, I have since
learned how Bill Watts operates. And I think it can be summed up with
the word “respect”. If he sees that you take pride in your work, if you
show that you respect the wrestling business and if he feels that you
are making a significant contribution to his operation, then he will
treat you with respect. Also, he is easy to work with because The Cowboy
is very clear about what he expects from his crew. He is a very
intelligent guy who does not easily fall for the con that is so much a
part of the wrestling business. And those who have griped about his
leadership very well may have tried to con him and failed.
Does he always make the “right” call? Of course not, but who does?