10 Times WWE Wrestlers Were Punished For Speaking Out

Unionization is a word Vince McMahon abhorred right from the moment he took over the company from his father. Jesse Ventura stirred up a storm with his attempts to unionize in the late 1980s, and McMahon was quick to deal with the situation and stopped Ventura from causing any damage to his empire.

While it did come up now and then, the topic remained dormant over the years, but it resurfaced when WWE attempted to ban wrestlers from earning supplemental income through third-party platforms in 2020. The wrestlers didn't support WWE's new rule and wanted to renegotiate their contracts to compensate for the potential loss of earnings.

Zelina Vega became the first victim of WWE's attempts to enforce the new rule and got released from her contract. Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated reported that WWE cited a breach of contract as the reason behind her release as she refused to close her OnlyFans account. Following the release, Vega posted a tweet saying, "I Support Unionization," which opened up a new can of worms for WWE. The company received severe backlash from the fans over their decision to fire Vega and for hindering the wrestlers' abilities to earn additional income by trying to enforce harsh rules.

WWE ended up re-hiring Zelina Vega eight months after her release. The company also tried making amendments to the rule, but they eventually had to lift the ban in 2022.