New Day at TKO! Hostile WWE Corporate Takeover Complete
About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of TKO Group Holdings' takeover of WWE, focusing on significant pay cuts and contract renegotiations faced by wrestlers.
They just won the Royal Rumble… and still got hit with a 50% pay cut. Welcome to the new era of WWE under TKO. In the weeks following WrestleMania 42, the champagne barely stopped flowing before TKO Group Holdings dropped the hammer on WWE talent. What started as another round of post-Mania releases (roughly 25 names shown the door) quickly turned into something far more chilling: aggressive contract renegotiations and straight-up **pay cuts** across the roster. Multiple talents were reportedly approached — some on the very same day as the releases — and given tight deadlines (as short as 48 hours) to accept significant reductions or walk. Sources indicate demands reached as high as **50% pay slashes**, including one “pretty majorly pushed” star who ultimately took the deal despite having strong options elsewhere. The message from corporate was clear: the road schedule is lighter, live events are down, and your old contract doesn’t match the current workload. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, fresh off new contracts signed roughly a year earlier, were asked to restructure for less money. They said no, asked for their release, and left significant money on the table. Two legends who…
Topics covered
- WWE
- TKO Group Holdings
- contract negotiations
- pay cuts
- wrestling talent
- corporate takeover
Keywords
- WWE
- TKO
- pay cuts
- contract negotiations
- Royal Rumble
- WrestleMania
- Kofi Kingston
- Xavier Woods
- Big E
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: WWE, TKO Group Holdings
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