TKO Reportedly Asking Numerous WWE Talents To Take Pay Cuts, Possibly As High As 50%

Shortly after word emerged that New Day members Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were exiting WWE as the result of a mutually agreed release, reports emerged that both were asked to re-negotiate contracts Woods and Kingston had signed one year earlier. The request was said to be the catalyst behind Woods and Kingston asking to be released, and now word is emerging that the duo weren’t the only two who received the request to take a pay cut by WWE/TKO.

In a Monday editorial on PWInsider, Mike Johnson revealed that there was word another WWE star, one Johnson described as “majorly pushed talent,” was asked to take a 50% pay cut. The name of the wrestler wasn’t revealed because no confirmation had been received whether the wrestler had accepted the pay cut, though it was noted that at least a few people believed they had done so. Word of this rumor first emerged on Friday, one day before Kingston and Woods’ release was announced and reports emerged about them declining a pay cut.

Shortly after the article was published, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful took to X to respond to a tweet aggregating Johnson’s story. Sapp revealed that not one, but multiple WWE wrestlers had been asked to re-negotiate their contracts at a lower salary than what they were making. He provided no clarification if any were offered a 50% pay cut, or if any of the wrestlers had agreed to such demands.

As has become the case with contractual news over the last several years, WWE has provided no comment on the validity of any of these reports. Woods and Kingston both released statements on Monday for the first time since leaving WWE, with both insinuating they did turn down a pay cut in favor of their releases.

There’s a whole lot to say about this insane story, so let’s start from the beginning and work our way through. First things first; if it’s true that WWE/TKO is offering pay cuts of any kind, let alone 50% pay cuts, we all have to collectively ask just what in the holy hell they’re doing. I know what they’re thinking; profits, profits, and more profits. It’s the number one thought in a corporation’s brain trust, and nothing helps revenue and profits go up then paying your work force less. The only issue here is we already know WWE/TKO pays less thanks to Brandon Thurston’s report that WWE talent only received 15% of company revenue a few years ago. It’s not like the number has ballooned that much since, and now the Ari Emanuels and Mark Shapiros of the world potentially want WWE talent to take these pay cuts while they, and the company, are raking in millions? I think they can sacrifice a few of those dollars to make sure their talent doesn’t mutiny.

But then again, maybe they know that’s not happening when we have the insinuation that a wrestler may have actually taken this 50% pay cut. If that’s also true, I have an even bigger “what in the holy hell are you doing?!” than I did for the WWE/TKO execs. I think in some form we’ve all given up on the idea of a wrestling union any time soon, as the wrestlers just don’t seem interested in it. That still doesn’t mean that wrestlers should be agreeing to these cuts; all you’re doing then is telling your corporate overlords that they can do this with everyone else, bring the pay scale down, and make sure wrestlers earn less (and again, they’re already making less than they should). I sincerely hope we learn that none of these wrestlers took pay cuts, that no one took a 50% pay cut, or that none were offered one. But if it’s all true, it’s bad all around, with not a positive to be found in sight.