Since April, WWE has been adopting extreme cost-cutting measures to combat the losses incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Having released hundreds of employees already, the company is now reducing the compensation of executives and board members. Referees and producers, whether active or furloughed, have had their pay cut.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE won’t likely offer pay cuts to Superstars. That’s because talents are under contracts and asking them to take a pay cut results in a breach of such contracts which in turn makes them eligible to go to AEW.
“The thing is the talent is under contract. If the talent is asked to take a pay cut then they become free agents and then they can go to AEW. So the talent is gonna be the last ones.”
“Perhaps the undercard talent, I mean they may offer people who they don’t think will go, or they don’t think will be interest, or they don’t care if they go. Then you’re breaching contracts.”
“I don’t see them breaching contracts with talent. That will be the last one that they do, but yeah, it’s another one. They gotta keep those profits up.”
It was further noted that even without the cuts, WWE will still be “profitable as hell.”
The juggernaut promotion enjoys hefty television deals that are worth over a billion dollars. On top of that, Vince McMahon is also receiving millions of dollars from The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia and will continue to enjoy the huge Middle Eastern cheques over the next eight years.
At this point, WWE is eyeing a record-breaking $1 billion in revenue this year which partly explains why they have been so desperately slashing costs since April.
Charging Superstar paychecks sounds like a controversial idea and WWE needs to think twice before making such a risky move.
