Vince McMahon has reportedly issued an edict that will make a lot of their wrestlers unhappy.
Wrestling Inc. is reporting that the edict issued this week to the talent states that they cannot “engage with outside third parties.” This presumably includes platforms like Cameo and Twitch. Some wrestlers also monetize their YouTube accounts so that may be included on the list.
The story noted that McMahon followed up with a letter on Thursday saying that it was imperative for the WWE brand to be protected in every way and the talent have 30 days to stop engaging with the third parties.
“Some of you are engaged with outside third parties using your name and likeness in ways that are detrimental to our company,” McMahon wrote in the letter. “It is imperative that these activities be terminated within the next 30 days (by Friday October 2). Continued violations will result in fines, suspension, or termination at WWE’s discretion.”
It was added that these actions were necessary because WWE is in the middle of a rebuilding process and they are about to “enter the next phase of growth at WWE.”
Several WWE performers have accounts on Twitch and Cameo and they make a good amount of money on those platforms.
WWE wrestlers are independent contractors so, in theory, they would be legally allowed to do other things outside of work as long as they are not using their trademark WWE character names. It will be interesting to see how the talent reacts and if anyone decides to contest this new edict put out by the chairman.
