wildcatbonk

Are you at liberty to comment on your payment/fee structure with YouTube? How does this go from being a hobby to YouTube saying "we'll pay you?" Understandable if you want to refrain to avoid divulging 'trade secrets,' for the sake of my/our curiosity...

I never even saw him at the arena before the shows. Or the Rock for that matter (and they were always on the card). Don't know if they had special privileges or what (I could imagine the Rock was doing local promotional appearances), I know that Hunter and Stone Cold were always there and visible, among others.

Don't wanna hijack this AMA but I figured WWE fans may have specific questions so it was worth chiming in...I used to be a stagehand (circa late 90s/early 2000s) and was/am a big wrestling fan - right in the thick of the Attitude Era so it was a really fun time. Like the OP mentioned for Cena, Shane McMahon always shook everyone's hand when he came into the arena (including the local stagehands). Vince was a nice guy to me the few times I met him, happy to talk and didn't shoo us away (even though it was usually a Monday and they were still finalizing the Raw script). Stone Cold never seemed to want to be bothered, Steve Blackman always shot us looks of death. Tony Chimel and Mike Chioda were usually my bosses telling us how to set up the ring barrier and then the ring, they were fun guys. I personally never saw Taker or Shawn Michaels (who wasn't with the company at that time), I saw Hunter but never approached him (for no particular reason, the opportunity just never presented itself). Others who I remember were always nice to us: Edge (he was just starting), Crash Holly (RIP), Jericho, the Godfather, Road Dogg.

I was also a stagehand for WWE (then WWF) events back in the late-90s/early-2000s...I remember seeing the Big Show smoking a cigarette once which was funny since it basically looked like a tic tac in his hand. I personally never talked to Kane but would walk by him when he was in his full gear which was a little scary. Keep in mind that the crew of talent is big so just like any big group you have some guys who are awesome and some who don't want to be bothered, some are hot/cold, etc.

for what it's worth, I was a stagehand in college (American in DC) and I got the gig from friends who used to promote on-campus events (via their contacts). Did events at the Verizon Center...long hours and hard work but fun access.