WWE Roster Dealing With Poor PPV Bonus Money

The introduction of WWE Network has hurt the PPV payoffs for most WWE performers

When you see WWE superstars tweeting about watching WWE Network, it's because they probably love being able to watch their work easily on WWE Network just like we can. However, privately they are probably very upset about the fact that the addition of WWE Network has hurt their bank accounts. According to a report by Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, payoffs are in for the first Pay-Per-View events after WrestleMania 30 with the new formula and they were described as being really bad. Earlier this year that the payoffs for WrestleMania XXX ended up being way better than what was expected by the talents likely because of international buys as well as American fans that were hesitant in terms of getting WWE Network. Many believed that the WWE Network launch would hurt WrestleMania bonuses, but that apparently was not the case. The PPV events that followed WrestleMania 30 were Extreme Rules in May and Payback in June. While neither show was a PPV contender, they were solid events with quality matches up and down the card. The problem with those shows is that they really didn't have a "must see" feel to them. That means that the fans without the WWE Network were probably unwilling to spend $54.99 on them and as a result the talent gets less money since they aren't getting more money from WWE Network. It was also noted by Meltzer that there are some talents who are being taken care of and some who have deals in place that prevent something like this from happening to them. That is not the case with the majority of talents on the roster. In other words, the big name wrestlers likely receive bonus money. The guys like John Cena, Randy Orton and a few others are being compensated for their work of course, but the rest of the roster is feeling the crunch of WWE Network. It's unlikely that any wrestler is going to speak up about this while they are under contract. If they do, they'll get heat and that means even less payoffs for them. It's already been a difficult year for a lot of people in WWE due to the budget cuts. The lack of PPV payoffs doesn't make it any easier.
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John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.