Matt Hardy has called WWE, asking The New Day to take pay cuts on their long-term deals, “wild” and “unheard of,” telling The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy that he had not seen anything similar happen to talent under guaranteed contracts during his own multi-decade WWE run.
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were both released by WWE on May 2 after being asked to take pay cuts on the new five-year deals both wrestlers had signed in 2025 to remain with the company through 2030. Both wrestlers requested releases rather than restructure the terms. Hardy was asked to react to the situation.
“The fact that they did that pretty early on, they were asking them to, you know, cut their salaries is wild, and that seems unheard of.”
He widened the lens to the broader question of whether WWE talent is currently being paid at the rate they should be.
“There’s so many levels to that question. It’s not really a wide-ranging, broad answer either. Just really depends on where you’re at. Some guys are, some guys aren’t. I mean, you kind of have to know the environment of what you’re working in, and you kind of have to understand that how it is. The thing to still like it is the fact that, you know, New Day has signed those deals, and they were, how long, they were with their five-year deals.”
He referenced a historical example of WWE reopening guaranteed deals to release a wrestler.
“There’s been some instances, I know, where things that happen, or they’ve reneged on, reneged on something. Brett Hart initially had signed a long contract to stay with WWE. 20-year deal. But then that got changed, and he left. They let him out of that, changes so he can go to WCW, because they didn’t think he was going to be worth all of the money, or whatever the deal was, whenever that happened. But just to say like, hey guys, I know you’re making really good money, and we’re making really good money too, but we’re going to have to cut you in half. That is something that is a pretty foreign concept.”
Hardy reflected on the broader experience of being a WWE talent who can be cut at any time, particularly in the post-WrestleMania window where WWE traditionally cleans house.
“I think guys were nervous. I think guys were nervous, because there was always that feeling like, you know, after Mania, they usually clean out people who aren’t getting over or aren’t working, and then they try and bring new people in in whatever capacity. And if that means somebody from a developmental area or some other talent or whatever else, they try and keep things fresh. And I get that. You do have to keep your brand and your company fresh to a degree. And yeah, I think people would be nervous, like, oh man, I’m not getting booked a lot, or I’m not being used in a prevalent story on TV. I’m worried I might, you know, this might be it for me. I might get cut. So yeah, there was always people with that concern, especially after Mania, because that is typically, you know, and historically, when releases would happen and they would change things up, because it was the start of a new season of the year for WWE.”
Hardy framed the modern Kingston-Woods scenario as different from regular WWE releases because it involved going back on a guaranteed deal that had already been signed.
“There are guys that aren’t making what they should be making, and there are some guys that are probably making a good living considering what they’re doing. There are some examples of both in some ways. So it all kind of depends.”
He acknowledged the silver lining that the modern indie circuit and conventions give released wrestlers more direct revenue paths than they would have had in his developmental era.
“More ways than ever to make money in wrestling now, especially with the internet and how you can directly profit with Patreon and direct-to-consumer content, and conventions and indies generally pay better than what they’ve paid in the past.”
Hardy expects to run into Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods on the convention circuit going forward, with the Hardys and New Day both being scheduled at GalaxyCon Oklahoma City. Kingston and Woods are subject to 90-day non-compete clauses that put them clear to wrestle in late July or early August.
“We’ll see them. We’ll run into them quite a bit. We’ll definitely be interacting with one another quite a bit.”
If you use quotes from this article, please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy and include a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
