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PWINSIDER Q&A: TRUMP'S OWNERSHIP OF RAW, THE FIRST ECW ONE NIGHT STAND, WWE USING HIGH SPEED CAMERAS AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2009-06-30 10:00:00

An announcement was made on Raw recently of billionaire Donald Trump's surprise purchase of WWE's Raw. If that is the case, what about Smackdown? WWE Superstars? ECW? Are they affected by the change in ownership? Does McMahon still have control over these remaining programs? How long is this situation suppose to last? Does anyone care?

In the abruptly ended storyline, Trump only had fleeting control over the Raw brand, so McMahon could have still popped up on the others.  The longevity of the angle would have depended on how much fans cared and we wouldn't have known that until we saw the Raw ratings measured over the next few episodes, so we'll never know.

Has any wrestler, male or female, ever been paid a signing bonus for signing a contract just like football players do? Has such a thing ever happened in WWE, TNA or ROH?

I am sure it's happened, but I can't think of a case, except for perhaps Hulk Hogan, where a major deal was made of his 1994 WCW signing.

What's the latest on WWE Divas Katie Lea and Nattie Neidhart? I know that they have been in a supporting role lately than a wrestling one. The Bella Twins were doing that. Now they are back in the ring. When can fans expect to see both Katie Lea and Nattie Neidhart back in the ring?

Whenever WWE Creative wants them back in the ring, they'll wrestle.  Until then, they are in supporting roles - ones that just about any independent female would be happy to have.

Getting ready for my road trip to the Legends of the Arena event in 2 weeks and I watched the ECW One Night Stand DVD from 2005 today for the 30th time. This was a great PPV and was in my opinion one of the best ones WWE ever put on. but I have some questions , with this PPV being so different than the usual WWE offering.  Did Vince have his hands on the creative aspect of it? did Paul Heyman organize the show? Seeing how hot the crowd was that night and how well it went, why was there no mention of it on Raw the next night?  

Vince McMahon wanted the show to be as much of an old school ECW style production as possible, so he let is be creatively designed and produced like one.  Paul Heyman was extremely involved in the show, but the talent was booked by Tommy Dreamer, who was the original point person involved in setting it up.  WWE made the decision not to pursue the ECW brand afterwards, although that tune would change a year later.

Do you think the WWE has ever considered using high speed cameras to capture some of the bigger spots that happen? I think seeing them in extreme slow motion would be amazing.

I wouldn't be shocked to see WWE experiment with it down the line, as long as they can figure out a way to use it without exposing the business.

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