WWE has issued a statement addressing Friday’s report of the company clamping down on talent participating with third-party outlets, which was conveyed through a meeting and follow-up memo.
In a response to POST Wrestling’s inquiry, WWE issued the following statement to our site among several media outlets:
Much like Disney and Warner Bros., WWE creates, promotes and invests in its intellectual property, i.e. the stage names of performers like The Fiend Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Big E and Braun Strowman. It is the control and exploitation of these characters that allows WWE to drive revenue, which in turn enables the company to compensate performers at the highest levels in the sports entertainment industry. Notwithstanding the contractual language, it is imperative for the success of our company to protect our greatest assets and establish partnerships with third parties on a companywide basis, rather than at the individual level, which as a result will provide more value for all involved.
We had asked about which third parties were specifically named that talent must stop using and were not given an answer. WWE talent has a presence on many of these outlets including Twitch, Cameo, and TikTok.
The decision to restrict talent from using these parties within the next 30 days was first reported by Raj Giri of Wrestling INC.
Based on the statement, it would suggest WWE is seeking partnerships with these outlets and are protecting their right to negotiate on behalf of their talent rather than allow them to make individual deals themselves.
Since the memo came out, several performers have switched to using non-WWE names on various platforms, although it’s unknown if WWE will stand in the way of their talent using them under different aliases.
The move by the company has re-energized discussion on the company continually labeling their talent as independent contractors and whether such restrictions should push them closer to that of employees. Andrew Yang, who was seeking the nomination as the Democratic nominee in this year’s presidential race, voiced his concern over this issue on Friday night. Yang had previously spoken up on similar issues for MMA fighters.
