Post by JBL on Jul 14, 2021 22:45:06 GMT -6
For years now, every wrestling organization classified their athletes as “independent contractors”. While anyone who is familiar with the inner workings of the World Wrestling Entertainment (and any other professional wrestling organization, for that matter), you know that by-and-large, this is not true. These athletes do not enjoy the luxury of being able to perform wherever they want, a luxury afforded to those who are truly “independent contractors”. However, due to the McMahon’s political power, this practice has largely gone under the radar.
However, in late 2020, that would change.
When the WWE announces that their athletes no longer have the ability to create revenue from third party platforms such as Twitch and Cameo, it catches the attention of many people. Those within the organization are completely unhappy with the ruling, but the WWE cites that their names and likeness belongs to the company, and the athletes are not able to profit off of it. This would be the first domino that falls.
Capturing the attention of several United States politicians with this ruling, Vince McMahon and the WWE were targeted for depriving their athletes of healthcare, security, recovery time, retirement benefits, and fair treatment regarding licenses and royalties.
In perhaps a move that was a long time coming, the United States Secretary of Labor began looking into the business practices of the World Wrestling Entertainment. Soon thereafter, the U.S Congress unanimously passes laws that shake up the very core of the professional wrestling industry. Just like that, seemingly overnight, all of the WWE’s contracts to their athletes are null and void. The WWE scrambles to sign as much of their personnel as possible, but with so many athletes already unhappy, the floodgates have opened.
All Elite Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling and even New Japan Pro Wrestling have felt the impacts as well, as they also scramble to sign as many of their core athletes as possible.
Many feel that this reset of the professional wrestling landscape has been a long time coming. Now, the stage is set for true competition between companies, as the slate has been wiped clean!
