Several WWE Talents Accept Pay Cuts

Several wrestlers approached by WWE to take pay cuts have accepted the offer, it has been revealed.

Bryan Alvarez noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that several talents accepted pay cuts, and there will be more approaches by WWE in the future.

"I've been told there were several people who were asked to take pay cuts and they took them. I don't know how many. I don't know who. Obviously the New Day was asked and they did not want to renegotiate and so they have gotten their release. Apparently there were some others who did end up renegotiating, and probably as time goes on there will be more of these. In fact, there definitely will be," Alvarez said. 

The wrestlers being approached by WWE to take pay cuts are wrestlers who were previously pushed at the top level in the company, but are no longer being booked as top guys, Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio. One wrestler who accepted a pay cut also could have reportedly made a lot of money in All Elite Wrestling, but they decided to stay with WWE.

"I know one guy in this situation, he could go to AEW and he could make a lot of money in AEW, but he did take a pretty big pay cut to stay… The reason you would be asked to renegotiate is because the contract you signed was when they perceived you as being far more valuable than they perceive you as being now. That's why they would renegotiate a contract. In the case of the person, it's someone who would fit into that category, and the reason was not that he's not good or not that he's not great, but that they creatively didn't take advantage of what they had, I would say is the best way of putting it. But he accepted it, he didn't take the risk or whatever it is of going elsewhere. It's still a lot of money, you could say that," Meltzer added.

It was revealed over the weekend that Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of the New Day had departed WWE after they were approached about accepting pay cuts. Kingston and Woods turned down the offer, though, and they asked for their releases from the organisation.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful also noted that a number of wrestlers were approached about taking pay cuts, while Mike Johnson of PWInsider noted a "pretty majorly pushed" wrestler was asked to accept a 50 per cent pay cut, and they allegedly did.

WWE wrestlers being asked to take pay cuts comes at a time when WWE have repeatedly reported record profits. TKO's proxy statements for 2025 have also revealed that TKO and WWE executives have received dramatic pay rises since 2024, Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics has noted.

TKO CEO Ari Emanuel's compensation has risen by 272 per cent from $18 million to $67 million. TKO President and CCO Mark Shapiro saw his compensation increase by 33 per cent from $32 million to $43 million, while WWE President Nick Khan's compensation went up by 304 per cent from $6 million to $24 million.

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