10 Most Controversial WWE Firings Ever
7. Cost-Cutting
Back in May, excellent wrestling business blog Wrestlenomics predicted that WWE is on track to post an operating income of $280million in 2020. Despite the creative hole that the company seems to have fallen asleep in, the financial side of WWE has never been better, and not even a global pandemic could put a hole in that. Put simply, WWE has cash to burn.
Despite its financial joys, the company decided that it needed to cut back on its wage bill. In April of 2020, WWE released more than 30 employees, largely wrestlers but also a number of producers, commentators, agents and coaches. WWE releasing talent isn't unusual but what was surprising about this was the sheer number of people let go.
That and the fact it happened at the beginning of a global pandemic, a time of unprecedented job-related fear and financial uncertainty. If ever there was a company in the world who didn't need to release anyone, it was WWE. If ever there was a time that this company should have kept everyone on board, it was April 2020. A simple equation in theory, but WWE is a world where 2 + 2 can sometimes equal you're fired.
Many of the released performers have turned up in other promotions but the bitter taste remains. These are men and women who were promised security, verbally and in writing, only to be jettisoned so that an incredibly profitable company could impress shareholders.
Despicable.