Unauthorized Tattoos!

[Enigma 0]

World Wrestling Entertainment released developmental talent Kaleb O'Neal (real name Patrick Brink) a few days back. He had gotten in trouble after the holiday break last year for returning to Florida with new tattoos, which led to WWE executive John Laurinaitis having a meeting with talent telling them they were not to get unauthorized tattoos without the blessing of management.

 

Brink had been working for years in the Maryland wrestling scene and had been signed to a deal after spending time brushing up at the Team 3D Wrestling Academy in Florida.

[Enigma 0]

So I wanted to post this myself so that everyone can hear the truth from me. I was released from the WWE today March 7, 2009 after 6 months and 22 days of being in the developmental program FCW. It did come as a shock to me.

 

Things were going really well. I have learned so much in the last 6 months that I am light years ahead of where I was when I got here. I can only say thank you to Steve Keirn, Tom Prichard, Dusty Rhodes, Billy Kidman and Norman Smiley for everything they have taught me. If you factor in my time with Team 3D, my time in developmental and all the trials and tribulations that 2008 dealt me, the leaps and bounds I have grown as a person and a wrestler are immeasureable.

 

Although I find the reasons I was released to be complete B.S. I am still thankful for this door closing for now because I know that ten will open. Most of you know I showed up here out of shape and had to get back in shape. From April of last year until August I lost my 15 year old sister, my grandmother and 3 of my friends. I even lost one of my best friends since the age of 14 a week before Christmas. All this after losing my father in 2007 as well. I never made an excuse to them and I got back in shape losing 47lbs in 3 months and still changing my body to be one of the best in the entire WWE. I received praise from my peers, but more importantly my superiors for working so hard. However I guess that was still a strike against me despite my personal issues.

 

So with all that said this past December while in the midst of one of my best friends passing, I had my family members decide they wanted to pay for some tattoos to be added to my forearms. Let me point out I already had tattoos on my forearms and I just wanted to add detail to them. Well as a WWE employee you are not allowed to get tattoos without permission. I spent 12 days trying to get permission only to find out the person who needed to give me permission was out of the country and wouldn't be back til I'd no longer be able to get them. So I got my tattoos anyway figuring I would get permission because of what they were. Well when my bosses got back I immediately told them I had already got them. I was told that I probably would've gotten permission but since I didn't wait I was suspended for 6 days and fined 1000$. Let me tell you when you make 500$ a week and can barely get by, that kinda fine will cripple you.

 

After that issue blew over I went back to training and applied myself as hard as I possibly could. I was getting alot of positive feedback from all my trainers and from my superiors. After looking at some recent pictures of myself in comparison to 6 months ago I decided to ask my bosses for permission to seek a supplement endorsement to help me out financially. This past tuesday I strained my right quad at practice and am currently being treated for it. It's not that big of a deal and I'll be better in 14 days or so. I actually left the emergency room on tuesday evening, drove an hour and a half in rush hour traffic home and went to the gym for 3 hours. I spoke to my bosses on wednesday and was told that I was being given a pay raise to 750$ a week. They told me to heal my injury, get better and get back to training safely. I was scheduled to start rehab the follwing day which was yesterday.

 

I got up yesterday morning and went to the gym so that I could get that out of the way before going to rehab since we had a show last night. I used mapquest to get directions to the place where I would be doing rehab. When I got to the exit on the highway my directions told me to take, it was closed because of construction. I had to drive 7 miles down the road to get off on the next exit and there was no return for the highway I was on. I have been here for 6 months but still do not know my way around here completely. I don't have time for anything but wrestling so why would I? It was ten minutes before I was due in to rehab so I called them and told them the situation. I was told to get there as soon as I could and they would see me. I ended up being 30 minutes late.

 

I got up this morning once again to go to the gym before I went to rehab. I got a phone call from my bosses right as I finished working out. I was aksed why I was late to rehab yesterday and I told them what you just read in the last paragraph. I was told it was an excuse and it was unacceptable. I was told that I have now been given too many chances and that I'm unprofessional. I was told that I have all the potential in the world and they know I will be a star some day. Then they told they were letting me go until I can be more professional.

 

So there you have it. I was let go for a combination of showing up out of shape back in August when I went through what most people wouldn't have come back from. I got tattoos added to my arms where I already had tattoos back in December that made the tattoos I had better. And top it off with me being late to rehab for physical therapy due to traffic. I am truly grateful for the opportunily I received with the WWE. I can only thank them for allowing me to finish rehab on my quad and taking care of it. And they are gonna pay me for the next 90 days which is a blessing. I am going to take the next 90 days to clear my head and spend some time with my family and girlfriend. I am going to move back to Orlando and resume training with Team 3D as soon as I'm allowed to. I have made numerous friends and connections in the business in the last 14 months. I will have several doors open to me. I will figure out what the best one for me to take is.

 

I promise all of you this is just a small bump in the road and not the end of the world. I'm not upset and I respect the WWE and their decision. I love you guys from the bottom of my heart and I'll be kicking ass again in 90 days.

 

The one and only

~PATRICK BRINK~

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Who the hell is Patrick Brink?

[goldengreek 0]

Who the hell is Patrick Brink?

[garfieldsnose 0]

Why this guy deserves four posts, now five, is beyond me.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

If you think that's bad, he now has his own discussion thread! I find it strange he was fired so he could learn to be more professional and the first thing he does is cry about it on his myspace blog. That's Professional.

[The Buzz 0]

I'd cry about it to if I got canned for being sad about the death of family members and friends, getting lost on the way to rehab, and for upgrading some tattoos. Talk about some bullshit.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

So with all that said this past December while in the midst of one of my best friends passing, I had my family members decide they wanted to pay for some tattoos to be added to my forearms. Let me point out I already had tattoos on my forearms and I just wanted to add detail to them. Well as a WWE employee you are not allowed to get tattoos without permission. I spent 12 days trying to get permission only to find out the person who needed to give me permission was out of the country and wouldn't be back til I'd no longer be able to get them.

 

So his family members put a time limit on how long they'd be willing to pay for the ink - knowing he had to get permission from his place of employment and that was the sole reason for the hold up? Smells fishy to me.

[Big Green 0]

Am I the only one shocked that WWE developmental talent only make $26,000 per year?

 

Talk about rough

[The Niggardly King 0]

No.

 

Unless if you were some kind of an athlete or someone higher up thinks highly of you, you're getting $500 a week

[Big Green 0]

No.

 

Unless if you were some kind of an athlete or someone higher up thinks highly of you, you're getting $500 a week

 

That seems incredibly low considering the high cost living in Tampa, Florida and the time demands that being a developmental talent has.

 

$26,000 in Florida is just incredibly bad. It may have worked in Kentucky but I feel for the dudes in FCW now.

[The Niggardly King 0]

I wonder if they still offer housing and work programs.

[Diamonddust 0]

Am I the only one shocked that WWE developmental talent only make $26,000 per year?

 

Talk about rough

 

Honestly, that's higher than what I would have expected.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Bah they should be grateful. That means they're in the top 10% of the wealthiest people in the whole world.

[dubq 0]

I can completely understand why WWE would want their talent to go through them before they get tattooed. Certain tattoos could ruin a gimmick or potential gimmick down the road. Also, some tattoos just look AWFUL - Helms & Kennedy, I'm looking at you two idiots.

[NitroJMS 0]

I can completely understand why WWE would want their talent to go through them before they get tattooed. Certain tattoos could ruin a gimmick or potential gimmick down the road. Also, some tattoos just look AWFUL - Helms & Kennedy, I'm looking at you two idiots.

 

There's a bunch of characters where it simply doesn't make sense that they have tattoos as it is like Regal who is supposed to be a British socialite.

 

There's a few characters where it obviously works with the character like Shawn having the heart, Taker's overall look, and Orton's college dipshit tattoos, but alot of wrestlers (Lesnar, Batista, Edge) have taken it to the extreme compared to their 80's and 90's counterparts.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

IIRC there was a developmental who got his last name written across his stomach so the wwe couldn't give him a gimmicked name should they ever call him up. They released him instead.

 

Tomko has the last name back piece that forced the wwe to keep his last name - he was Travis Bane in OVW. And that allowed him to jump to TNA and keep his ringname. The story this time around the wwe was open to bringing Tomko back, but it was going to be under a mask and body suit.

[Angles Broken Fricken Neck 0]

Didnt something similar happen to Gangrel back in 2001? If i recall one night on heat he showed up with some updated music and sporting some tattoo sleeves, then all of a sudden he was released. Although oddly he was told to change his look up a bit.

[Boxer 0]

Correct me if I'm wrong but is this the same reason why MVP has to wear the jumpsuit? Wasn't there some issue with his tats?

[Diamonddust 0]

Correct me if I'm wrong but is this the same reason why MVP has to wear the jumpsuit? Wasn't there some issue with his tats?

 

Wasn't the issue that they were prison tattoos?

[Beto Chavez 0]

This guy should've known better. Many employers prohibit visible tattoos and body piercings on the job and when you have a company like WWE involved where tattoos play a huge part in marketing, it should always be discussed before getting it done.

 

I can completely understand why WWE would want their talent to go through them before they get tattooed. Certain tattoos could ruin a gimmick or potential gimmick down the road. Also, some tattoos just look AWFUL - Helms & Kennedy, I'm looking at you two idiots.

 

Lesnar's lame sword tattoo comes into mind.

[Ed Wood Caulfield 0]

Correct me if I'm wrong but is this the same reason why MVP has to wear the jumpsuit? Wasn't there some issue with his tats?

 

Wasn't the issue that they were prison tattoos?

 

I thought it was because he has Louis Farrakhan tattooed on his chest.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Lesnar's lame sword tattoo comes into mind.

 

You mean the penis that was disguised as a sword?

[garfieldsnose 0]

One of the better threads here.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Correct me if I'm wrong but is this the same reason why MVP has to wear the jumpsuit? Wasn't there some issue with his tats?

 

Wasn't the issue that they were prison tattoos?

 

Yeah, and he's got a terrible Malcom X piece on his chest... fucker needs to fix that shit.

[theone 0]

Correct me if I'm wrong but is this the same reason why MVP has to wear the jumpsuit? Wasn't there some issue with his tats?

 

Wasn't the issue that they were prison tattoos?

 

Yeah, and he's got a terrible Malcom X piece on his chest... fucker needs to fix that shit.

The King Tut tattoo originated during MVP’s stint in prison. He said it cost him the equivalent of 20 dollars.

 

As one can imagine, prison tattoo guns aren’t as high tech – or hygienic – as ones used at tattoo shops on the outside. The primitiveness also didn’t help subdue the pain that stems from getting inked.

 

“I feel no pain,” MVP snapped, “but the tattoo guns in prison were usually made of out a motor that you get from an electric shaver or tape recorder,” he said. “You take a toothbrush and a tube from a pen; down the barrel of the pen you take a guitar string and file it down and work it into the motor. Then the batteries fuel the motor.”

 

Another Egyptian themed tattoo rests on his triceps.

“I have the all-seeing eye of Horace on the back of my arm, which is a symbol of protection; it watches my back. That one cost me two packs of Newports.”

 

While incarcerated, MVP said he read a biography of Malcolm X. Much like the Count of Monte Cristo, he found striking similarities that he felt the two shared.

 

“It’s a poor portrait of Malcolm X on my left pectoral,” he said. “I’m really disappointed with it, but I haven’t had the time to get it fixed. Maybe I won’t. That’s just what I ended up with.

 

“The going to prison, the transformation, learning, getting out and reinventing yourself were all similarities I shared with Malcolm X. However, unlike Malcolm, I’m not out to change the world. I am my number one concern.”

 

 

and heres some pics...that malcom x is pretty damn janky looking

 

http://www.mvp-online.org/tattoos.html

 

[Astaroth9 0]

This guy should've known better. Many employers prohibit visible tattoos and body piercings on the job and when you have a company like WWE involved where tattoos play a huge part in marketing, it should always be discussed before getting it done.

 

I'd agree with you, except that the WWE is not an employer. Vince has said it himself, the wrestlers are private contractors, and as private contractors they should have certain freedoms they don't right now. The tattoo thing is one, but the real issue in my mind is not being able to work anywhere else, and basically getting all the bullshit of being an employee without any of the benefit. That and, from what it sounds like, after this incident is the first time WWE brass has mentioned tattoos to them, so I really don't think losing his job is an appropriate punishment.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Not this discussion again...

[Twisted Intestine 0]

IS THAT YOU RAVEN?

[Big Green 0]

This guy should've known better. Many employers prohibit visible tattoos and body piercings on the job and when you have a company like WWE involved where tattoos play a huge part in marketing, it should always be discussed before getting it done.

 

I'd agree with you, except that the WWE is not an employer. Vince has said it himself, the wrestlers are private contractors, and as private contractors they should have certain freedoms they don't right now. The tattoo thing is one, but the real issue in my mind is not being able to work anywhere else, and basically getting all the bullshit of being an employee without any of the benefit. That and, from what it sounds like, after this incident is the first time WWE brass has mentioned tattoos to them, so I really don't think losing his job is an appropriate punishment.

 

However, the pro wrestling industry exists within the sphere of visual entertainment. The maintenance of a certain look is a requirement in a field where you are probably going to be marketed on your looks. I don't think musicians are technically employees of their record labels either but they can probably be dropped if they dramatically change their look.

 

I'm sorry but it is well within WWE's rights to fire someone who changes their look without their permission. WWE is in the business of creating characters for people based heavily on their look. The acquisition of tattoos (without permission) impedes WWE's ability to create a gimmick for you.