Kayfabe Commentaries Host Talks Paying Wrestlers For Interviews, Unusual Demands, Chyna, More

Sean Oliver of Kayfabe Commentaries appeared on the most recent episode of In Your Head Wrestling Radio and answered questions from the show's hosts and listeners.

Asked how much wrestlers are compensated for their shoot interviews, Oliver said that it varies depending on the worker, noting that he does not ask people to participate for free.

"It depends," he said. "Sometimes it's somebody we've worked with before so we sort of know the ballpark? It's a 'buyout deal,' so there's no royalties on it. In a secondary market like this, calculating that would be a matter of trust. We give them a fair, up front payoff and it all comes down to the size of the name, to be quite honest with you. And generally, the agent or whoever is contacting us on their behalf would ask us for the budget and what the figure is and I give them the figure. Sometimes there's a little back and forth."

"It's a business decision? and if you've got to walk, you've got to walk," Oliver continued. Some of the talent are unrealistic about the market and their place in the market and their place in history. And I understand that; everyone probably thinks they're worth top dollar. You've just got to respectfully move away and walk on? We've paid people $5,000 and we've paid folks $400."

The IYH guys asked Oliver if they could take a guess as to who did a shoot interview for $400 and he told them to give it a shot. One of the guys suggested that Chyna took the low figure to do her interview and Sean noted that she was actually not inexpensive to book for You Shoot because at the time, she had just started her career as an adult film star and was a relatively high profile guest.

Discussing segments that didn't work out as planned, Oliver recalled having ICP in the studio and they were going to do some commentary on one of Chyna's adult movies. He said the whole thing just didn't go anywhere and after a relatively short attempt at making it work, he decided to shut down the segment.

Another IYH caller asked about unusual demands from interview participants and Oliver said that Honky Tonk Man and Vince Russo have very specific preferences with regard to beverages. He also recalled an unusual request from Larry Zbyszko.

"Honky Tonk Man wanted a very specific vodka and it was very hard to find," explained Oliver. It was Seagram's Extra Smooth Vodka and when we were just starting out, we thought it was very important to find this to prove that we are the production company that caters to the stars the best. So we had to go to the ends of the Earth to find Seagram's Extra Smooth Vodka. I don't think they make that any more. Vince Russo needs his Yoo Hoo, so there has to be Yoo Hoo on hand. Larry Zbyszko didn't request anything other than Pepsi but he did call me a week before the show and tell me that his teeth were falling out and that he needed me to help cover a dentist bill so that he could be on the show with teeth. That was a pleasure? These workers will go to no end to get that up-front money. Think of the brilliance behind this: 'I won't have teeth for your f?king show!' That's brilliant!"

Oliver also discussed the upcoming Timeline DVD featuring Raven and he also talked about a number of wrestling promotions. Later in the show, Jack and Incher reviewed the Royal Rumble and took more calls from IYH listeners.

You can listen to the entire episode of In Your Head Wrestling Radio at this link.