WWE Stars Upset Over Money & Getting Fined For Dress Code

WWE.comThere's been a lot of discussion internally in WWE this year regarding money. Since the WWE Network started in February, WWE has lost hundreds of millions of dollars. Various amounts of money have been reported, but the bottom line is it's a significant amount. Since the traditional way of paying wrestlers Pay-Per-View bonuses isn't the same since WWE Network started, a lot of talents are going to lose out on bonus money. They will still get their downside guarantees, merchandise money and everything else, but other payouts have become less significant. This week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter by Dave Meltzer notes that a lot of talents are unhappy over money right now. That's always going to be an issue, but there's a feeling that nothing is going to be done or changed. The report notes that WWE mailed out royalty checks recently. The report notes that talents that usually received around $70,000 for the first quarter video game royalty check received around $11,700 for the first quarter this year. This is something that Mick Foley was vocal about recently. When second quarter royalty checks were just mailed out, some believed that part of the difference may be made up for in these checks. That wasn't the case because most of the top level guys got $1,555 with the most recent checks. That's a significant drop compared to what they are used to. When CM Punk left WWE in January, part of the reason that some people believe he walked out was due to the uncertainty about how WWE was going to pay talents. As a top guy for several years Punk has made millions and probably has enough saved that he'll be fine, but there are others lower on the card that are probably worried about this. Those people also don't have many other options outside of WWE because no other wrestling companies can pay them the way WWE can. It was also reported in the Observer that WWE recently announced a fining system regarding a dress code. Apparently it didn't go over well with the talents. Talents were told that if they are anywhere in public, they must dress professionally and a failure to do so will result in a fine. There are probably exceptions for guys like John Cena, but for the most part talents will have to adhere to those rules. Officials are also said to be now issuing fines to talents if they are even one minute late to the arenas. The wrestlers are told when they have to be there for TVs and when they have to be there for live events, so it makes sense that WWE would fine them. It's up to the wrestlers to get there on time. It's a tough time for WWE with the launch of WWE Network not going as well and the talents are feeling it as much as anybody right now.