Vince McMahon issued an edict this past week that talent can no longer "engage with outside third parties," which would presumably include platforms like Cameo and Twitch.
WWE held a call with talent last Sunday regarding the reinvention of the product. During the call, it was said that WWE owns the real names of talent, not just their character names.
McMahon followed up by sending a letter on Thursday. McMahon wrote that it was imperative that they promote and protect the brand in every conceivable way, and that talent have 30 days to stop engaging with 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. "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."
McMahon wrote that these actions are necessary as part of WWE's rebuilding process as they "enter the next phase of growth at WWE."
It will be interesting to see if this is legal in any way. WWE wrestlers are classified as independent contractors, which has been heavily criticized in the past by shows like HBO's Last Week Tonight.
Well this is a new low for the Scumbaggery of Vince:
So wwe apparently not only owns the Characters names, but also their real names, yet they're still classed as independent contractors? And because a mad old paper billionaire wasn't getting a cut of what people were doing on their own time he blows a fuse and does this.
The sooner he gets taken to court and this "independent contractor" **** is finally put to bed once and for all the better.
Mark Calaway is the Undertaker—a 7x World Heavyweight Champion (in WWF and WWE), and one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. His five-part docuseries ‘The Last Ride’ is currently airing on the WWE Network. On November 22 he'll be giving his "Final Farewell" at ‘Survivor Series,’ the same event where he made his wrestling debut more than 30 years ago. How will Big Evil match up in this rumble with the wings of death? Find out how the trenchcoat-wearing Deadman fares in the Scoville inferno known as Hot Ones while answering questions about his early days performing under the name Commando, backstage locker room beef, the zen of motorcycling, Mike Tyson’s impact on professional wrestling, and how he wants his fans to remember him. Will the Lord of Darkness ascend from hell and survive the hottest hot sauces to ever enter the ring, or will he be buried alive in the chicken bone graveyard? From Death Valley… The Undertaker!
Yeah, I believe Raw got down to less than 40 minutes of actual wrestling in its 3 hour show during the summer!i'm a huge AEW fan, not read your spoiler but i think i know what/who it was due to another site using a spoiler thumbnail on a story link. i'm loving everything about AEW, the quality of the matches is amazing, as is the fact that you actually get more than 15min of wrestling which is what WWE had just about dropped to when i gave up on them. i like the fact the promos are edgier and more adult too, and generally more entertaining. Jericho and MJF's song and dance was just utterly sublime.
Shocking end to 2020: Brodie Lee/Luke Harper has passed away!
41 is no age. Massive cross promotion outpouring for him as well - massively respected in the industry!