In the last two years, WWE has released dozens of wrestlers and staff from varying places within the company. Some fans have inquired about the potential for “no-cut” contracts in WWE that would prevent talent from being released before their contracts expire. Many fans expected recent WWE re-signee Kevin Owens to be a recipient of such a deal. However, it appears this is not the case.
In a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer said that Kevin Owens was not given a no-cut clause in his new contract. Though Meltzer had previously reported that Owens’ deal is worth $2-3 million annually, this recent edition of the Observer shed light on WWE’s current contract situation. Per Meltzer, a “key player” in WWE has stated that “The 2-3 million a year range is so blinding to people, they sign, not realizing it’s a 90 day contract that renews every day at WWE’s sole discretion….And with the higher number, it takes less and less to trigger the release.” This means that, despite the large payday Owens and other talent may receive, WWE is still expecting to release talent regardless of experience, tenure, or popularity.
It has been speculated that some WWE talent have no-cut clauses in their contracts, but the names of who these contracts are issued to has not been confirmed. For those without no-cut clauses, their precarious existence on the WWE roster will likely continue if these reports are wholly accurate.
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