There have been extensive reports in recent days stating that The New Day, consisting of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, has left WWE after being asked to restructure their contracts and accept a pay reduction. Additionally, several other talents have also been asked to take pay cuts.
According to Fightful Select, sources within WWE have indicated that the company has been tasked with lowering its payroll by “millions” over the past month, which led to these cuts. The report noted that this situation has drawn criticism within the industry, particularly concerning the compensation of TKO executives, which was documented in company filings around the same time.
Most people in the industry recognize that more releases will occur in WWE, but there has been pushback against the idea of asking talent to accept seven-figure pay cuts. Several voices from the talent and agency side have expressed concerns that the recent cuts and requests for pay reductions may change how talent negotiates contracts with TKO and WWE moving forward. Some have suggested that there is little confidence that many of the lucrative deals wrestlers sign will last for their full duration.
Furthermore, the report indicates that Sean Ross Sapp learned that several talents in recent years were approached during overseas tours regarding new deals, sometimes earlier than they expected. Some believe this was a strategy to get talents to sign the new contracts before their representatives could thoroughly review them, although it’s important to remember that this remains speculation from the talent's perspective and lacks concrete evidence.
Regarding the pay cuts, WWE approached numerous talents and asked them to accept reductions to remain with the company. The report also mentioned that some talents were given only two days to decide. For instance, Killer Kross previously noted that he was given just a day to consider his new contract offer last year.
Woods and Kingston reportedly made their decision to leave "pretty quickly," ultimately walking away from millions left on their contracts that had four years remaining. The report mentions that no updates have been provided regarding rumors about Woods potentially returning on a “digital-only” deal. Such an arrangement would still prevent him from working with AEW and could cost him millions in the long run.
Despite a source from another outlet expressing their disgust that WWE did not publicly acknowledge The New Day’s contributions upon their exit, a spokesperson from WWE claimed that the company expressed this appreciation privately. A joint statement was anticipated to be released announcing their departure, but it ultimately did not come out, and it's unclear why.
Unsurprisingly, several people within AEW have advocated for the company to bring in The New Day. Fightful Select notes that talent have been frustrated with how WWE has parted ways with talents like The New Day and Santos Escobar, who signed contracts within the past year without engaging with other companies. WWE's decision to release talent and reduce pay diminishes the leverage these individuals have when negotiating with AEW or other promotions. Representatives for various talents have indicated that this strategy might not make sense from a competitive standpoint, as one would expect WWE to prefer AEW to spend more on talent.
There have been no specific names released regarding who accepted pay cuts. Reports suggest that the percentage of cuts has varied, with some cases reported as high as 50%. A number of long-established veterans were asked to take these cuts, including those recovering from injuries.
Finally, for those wondering why it was easier to learn about The New Day being asked to take pay cuts compared to who actually accepted them, it was simply because WWE moved them to the alumni section of their roster page, which facilitated the gathering of these details.
