Dave Meltzer has provided clarification on the scope of WWE’s pay cut requests, revealing the number is considerably smaller than had been suggested in other reports and that all affected talent have now been informed of their situations.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer wrote: “While there have been talks of large numbers asked to take pay cuts, those in a position to know have said that the number is less than a half dozen, and they were people who would have been cut had they not accepted it. They were not the high end players and were people that creative had tabbed little interest in going forward and thus the idea is they could remain under contract while their in-ring aspect of their career would be phased down. Some accepted those terms and some didn’t. We were told that everyone that was to be cut or those asked to take pay cuts to stay have been informed of it, and not to expect anyone on the roster to be surprised going forward or much if any in the way of new names coming out.”
Meltzer’s separate reporting today also revealed the specific details of the New Day situation, noting that Kingston and Woods were one year into a five-year contract running from 2025 through 2030 when they were informed WWE was going to cut them, but offered a new deal at a lower rate. They chose to leave, given that the company had no significant creative plans for them. The full list of known WWE departures since WrestleMania 42 is as follows:
Main Roster:
- Kofi Kingston (New Day)
- Xavier Woods (New Day)
- Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy / Wyatt Sicks)
- Erick Rowan (Wyatt Sicks)
- Joe Gacy (Wyatt Sicks)
- Dexter Lumis (Wyatt Sicks)
- Nikki Cross (Wyatt Sicks)
- Kairi Sane
- Aleister Black
- Zelina Vega
- Alba Fyre
- Zoey Stark
- Santos Escobar
- Apollo Crews
- Alex Shelley (Motor City Machine Guns)
- Chris Sabin (Motor City Machine Guns)
- JC Mateo
- Tanga Loa
NXT:
- Andre Chase
- Dante Chen
- Tyson Dupont
- Tyriek Igwe
- Tyra Mae Steele
- Chris Island
- Sirena Linton
- Trill London
- Malik Blade
- Luca Crusifino
- Carlee Bright
