John Oliver Attacks WWE On Last Week Tonight

Vince McMahon's treatment of his "independent contractors" comes under fire.

John Oliver Wwe
WWE.com

WWE fell into John Oliver's crosshairs during his main Last Week Tonight segment last night, with the host shredding the company and Vince McMahon for the way they treat their employees.

Oliver started his spiel by diving into his own wrestling fandom, claiming he liked the sport, and citing things like Jake Roberts' snake biting Randy Savage among his favourite moments. He then dove into negative topics, mentioning wrestling's high mortality rate, McMahon's consolidation of the industry into a monopoly, then specific onscreen incidents like Vince's "relationship" with Trish Stratus and the time he dropped a racial slur in front of Booker T.

Citing Bret Hart's Wrestling With Shadows documentary, Oliver went in on WWE's treatment of their wrestlers. A deep dive on the "independent contractor" issue followed, as the host broke down the ways WWE use this classification to undermine talent, letting them get away with not providing health insurance or a pension scheme.

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Oliver then closed by that WWE do occasionally do the right thing, mentioning this year's women's WrestleMania event, but concluded with a sarcastic promo on health insurance.

The segment may not be viewable in every country, but it can be watched below:-

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.