Why Samantha Irvin Has Such A BRUTAL 2-Year Non-Compete Clause (WWE News)

New details on Samantha Irvin's lengthy non-compete.

by Andrew Pollard
Samantha Irvin
WWE

With Samantha Irvin recently revealing that she's currently midway through a two-year non-compete period following her WWE exit last year, there are now a little more details on this subject.

When asked during the latest Fightful Select Answers Q&A about why Samantha had such a lengthy non-compete, Sean Ross Sapp said that this was down to Irvin opting to leave WWE midway through her contract.

Samantha had made it clear to WWE that she wanted to expand her role and move away from ring announcing, but that instead resulted in her being offered a big raise in early 2024 to stay through WrestleMania. That offer was taken, and it came with a lengthy non-compete as part of the deal.

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SRS notes how, shortly after that new deal started, WWE began having Samantha Irvin do even more ring announcing than previously, and the company put a camera nearby to her, specifically to capture Samantha's reactions, with so many clips of Irvin going viral as she reacted to certain big moments - for example, Cody Rhodes' WWE Championship win at WrestleMania 40, or the Rock's surprise return in 2024.

Sean Ross Sapp also mentions how "there's a lot more" to Samantha's WWE exit, which he expects her to get into a little further down the line.

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Irvin herself has said how her wrestling career "has barely even begun", and how she was pushing to try being a manager or general manager prior to leaving WWE. Of course, given how Samantha's husband Ricochet is nowadays a staple of AEW programming, fans have long speculated that we'll be seeing Samantha Irvin becoming #AllElite once her non-compete is up in a year's time.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.