Story Behind the Change to Mike Adamle Announcing ECW
Source: PWInsider.com
Many within WWE were surprised at yesterday's announcement at the SmackDown/ECW tapings in London that Mike Adamle would be replacing Joey Styles as the full-time play-by-play man for ECW.
On last night's ECW show, Styles announced that he was leaving the announcer's desk for his new job as the "head of WWE.com". In reality, WWE employee Brian Kalinowski will still be in charge of WWE.com, however Styles will assume a "managing editor" role, similar to what Michael Cole used to do.
There is a lot of backstory to the whole Adamle-Styles situation. One of the main reasons Adamle is being promoted is that he's being paid a pretty hefty contract. Several reports indicate WWE is paying Adamle around $300,000 a year and officials within WWE (including Vince McMahon) felt like he was not being used enough to merit his price tag.
Furthermore, WWE has been putting a lot of resources into developing WWE.com over the past several months. Traffic has been declining month after month and the company has always been adamant about the site's potential and they feel Styles is the man who can help turn things around. Prior to working with WWE on the new ECW, Joey Styles was the co-owner of the original ECW website and news site 1Wrestling.com.
This is by no means a demotion for Joey Styles. He will continue to attend the weekly SmackDown & ECW tapings. In addition to that, he will also attend WWE RAW every night and will be sitting in on meetings with WWE's creative team. Management wants Styles to be aware of upcoming storylines and know what to emphasize on the website. He will work out of WWE's Corporate Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
Many within WWE were surprised at yesterday's announcement at the SmackDown/ECW tapings in London that Mike Adamle would be replacing Joey Styles as the full-time play-by-play man for ECW.
On last night's ECW show, Styles announced that he was leaving the announcer's desk for his new job as the "head of WWE.com". In reality, WWE employee Brian Kalinowski will still be in charge of WWE.com, however Styles will assume a "managing editor" role, similar to what Michael Cole used to do.
There is a lot of backstory to the whole Adamle-Styles situation. One of the main reasons Adamle is being promoted is that he's being paid a pretty hefty contract. Several reports indicate WWE is paying Adamle around $300,000 a year and officials within WWE (including Vince McMahon) felt like he was not being used enough to merit his price tag.
Furthermore, WWE has been putting a lot of resources into developing WWE.com over the past several months. Traffic has been declining month after month and the company has always been adamant about the site's potential and they feel Styles is the man who can help turn things around. Prior to working with WWE on the new ECW, Joey Styles was the co-owner of the original ECW website and news site 1Wrestling.com.
This is by no means a demotion for Joey Styles. He will continue to attend the weekly SmackDown & ECW tapings. In addition to that, he will also attend WWE RAW every night and will be sitting in on meetings with WWE's creative team. Management wants Styles to be aware of upcoming storylines and know what to emphasize on the website. He will work out of WWE's Corporate Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
Labels: joey styles, mike adamle, vince mcmahon
