WWE signed significant contracts in 2019, committing a large portion of the roster to the company until 2024. Fightful Select now highlights how, despite the major regime change in 2022, the company appears to have retained an implemented negotiation method.
It was noted that in many cases, WWE would begin contacting talent to extend their contracts 1.5 years before the contract expired. This method of operation is already changing. Aside from the contract snafus with Adam Cole and Butch (Pete Dunne) in 2021, which saw their contracts expire without WWE realizing it, word is that a change in the Talent Relations department, as well as a major internal turnover and new faces at the top of the company, brought about a change in the way WWE contracts were negotiated in the last year or so before WWE Chairman Vince McMahon “retired” last summer, leaving his regime.
In many cases, the newer approach was to wait until a period closer to the contract expiration date, which was already in effect as of summer 2021. This was not always the case, but it was a significant shift for WWE, which was looking to lock down talent well in advance of their contracts expiring.
It remains to be seen how things will evolve, if at all, under WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H, but there hasn’t been much talk about situations where talents were negotiating contracts far in advance.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more.
