Backstage Update On New WWE Contracts
What kind of contracts is WWE offering its returning stars? And for how long?
Paul 'Triple H' Levesque has thus far proven himself a signing-happy booker, with comebacks starring wrestlers released under WWE's previous regime a hallmark of the new head of creative's spell in power.
Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman head the list of names to come back following Vince McMahon's July ousting. The likes of Candice LeRae, Karrion Kross, Mia Yim, Hit Row, and Emma have joined them on Raw and SmackDown, as Levesque continually boosts his talent rosters.
Fightful Select has this week reported that the majority of wrestlers brought back to SmackDown are under three-year WWE contracts. This binds them to the promotion until the summer of 2025.
Hit Row (B-Fab, Top Dolla, and Ashante 'Thee' Adonis) are on matching three-year deals due to expire simultaneously. Some wrestlers, meanwhile, were able to negotiate terms allowing them to work on outside projects prohibited by the previous WWE regime's regulations. Not every returnee is on an identical three-year deal either, with some using representation to reach different terms.
As far as notice goes, the time WWE and the wrestlers involved spent preparing their post-Vince comebacks has varied. Some, like Karrion Kross and Scarlett, happened in under a week. Johnny Gargano is cited as an example of someone whose return was plotted over a few weeks, while Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows' comebacks were prepared over several months.