Today we present you 14 things you never knew about a wwe contract in 2018 - AJ Styles & More
14) WWE choose your name and gimmick
Growing up as a wrestling fan, we’ve all thought long and hard
about what our gimmick’s and names would be,
once we’re huge WWE Superstars.
But according to the WWE contract,
it is the company who get to decide these things, not you.
Not only that, but the company has control over your costumes,
as well as your role as either a heel or face
and you can only suggest ideas to them.
There are examples of Superstars exempt from this however,
with AJ Styles and Sting both being allowed the names
they used in other companies.
But for the rest of the roster, their fates are in the company’s hands.
13) Booking Rights
When you sign a WWE contract,
you sign over a lot of your time,
as the company has the rights to book Superstars for any event
or TV broadcast as a company representative.
This includes commercials, endorsements
and public appearances,
with many WWE Superstars struggling to fit all of this
in to their already busy schedules.
Unsurprisngly, Brock Lesnar isn’t affected by this rule,
as the Beast is one of a few superstars who are given a limit of
how many days the company can use him.
As if that wasn’t good enough for the 2-time Universal Champion,
he also makes way more money per appearance
than anyone else on the roster.
12) Independent contractors
Possibly the most important clause,
the WWE define their Superstars as independent contractors,
despite Jesse Ventura’s efforts to unionise
the roster in the 1980s.
The term is actually quite misleading, as like normal employees
Superstars do receive certain benefits from the company
such as health and travel insurance for all talent.
Despite this, the WWE continues to refer to their talent
as independent contractors and not employees,
a term that been in every WWE Superstar’s contract
for at least the last 25 years.
11) Travel costs
Unless you’re a multiple-time World Champ
travel doesn’t come cheap.
Whilst the company provides insurance,
it is the Superstar’s job to pay for food,
lodging and travel.
As an independent contractor,
it is also up to the Superstar to organise rental cars
to take them from show to show.
There are a few Superstars who are given incentives though
namely Triple H, and of course, Brock Lesnar who both
have it in their contracts to have first class on all flights they take.
Lesnar even had this clause in his contract in 2003,
but for other Superstars lower down on the card,
it’s up to them to get to the arena on time.
10) Cannot sue for injury purposes
It’s clear that the life of a WWE Superstar can be dangerous,
which Is why it’s so shocking
that a wrestler can’t sue the company
for injuries.
According to the contract,
wrestlers must fully agree that bodily harm is an occupational hazard
and that all sorts of injuries can happen in the WWE.
Like most rules on this list,
there are exceptions to this.
In 1999 for example the Hart sued the WWF
following Owen Hart’s tragic death,
who fell from the rafters a botched entrance in one of the darkest days in wrestling.
Successfully in their lawsuit,
the Harts was awarded 18 million dollars.
9) Company pays or Medical Treatment
This is where things get confusing.
Whilst Superstars cannot sue,
the WWE will pay for all medical treatment,
a bizarre clause considering that such
treatment isn’t usually given to independent contractors.
Not only that, but the company pays for any rehab
which has helped several former Superstars
battle back from addiction, and substance abuse.
According to Stephanie McMahon,
the company paid over $100,000 to help Scott Hall,
with the former Intercontinental Champion being
inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.
The only exception to this rehab rule, Tammy Sytch,
who became the only person the company refuses to pay for
after years of the former Sunny dealing with addiction.
10) Merchandise after release
It’s never a good feeling to be fired,
but it’s probably worse when you see all your merchandise
being put on sale the very next day.
According to the contract,
the WWE are allowed 90 days to sell your merchandise
which is probably why you see shirts previously selling for 30 bucks
going for $4.99.
This 3-month window causes the company to turn
very aggressive when selling,
trying to make as much money back from all these printed shirts
figures
posters
and other pieces of merch a Superstar may have.
With that said, I can’t imagine that many James Ellsworth
shirts got sold,
even after his release from the company.
7) Contract consistency
The WWE has changed a lot since Vince McMahon
took over from his father in the early 80s,
growing from just one of several territories
to the biggest sports entertainment show in the world today.
And yet, the WWE contract has been pretty consistent over all those decades
with many key terms staying exactly the same for years.
Most notably of this is referring to Superstars as independent contractors
and whilst this was an accurate term in the 80s
it’s not exactly the same in 2018.
Whilst it remains to be seen if the WWE
will ever refer to their contractors as fully-fledged employees,
at this point in time, it seems highly unlikely.
6) Salary and Merchandise Bonus
Many think that the life of a WWE Superstar is full of wealth,
but when you consider all the costs the Superstar has to pay
it’s clearly not as glamorous.
Superstars are given a base salary,
which can increase because of factors
such as contracted bonusses,
merchandise sales,
and gate receipts.
On average, a Superstar will make
a total $500,000 a year, before costs.
And whilst lower cards talent range from 100,000-300,000
top stars like Lesnar
John Cena
Cena and Roman Reigns
are expected to take millions of dollars each.
According to a recent report by Forbes,
John Cena is expected to make $10,00,000 in 2018
followed by Brock with $6.5 million,
and Roman taking the bronze with $4.3million.
5) Exclusive contracts
This isn’t a surprise
A WWE Contract prohibits Superstars appearing for any other promotions
whilst signed to the company.
Even after leaving,
Superstars are held by a 90-day no compete clause,
preventing a wrestler from earning as a performer for 3 months.
Of course, this rule didn’t stop Brock Lesnar
from skipping the 90-day period when he left the WWE,
appearing in New Japan
not long after WrestleMania 20.
This brazen act by The Beast led to the WWE
and Brock going to court for breach of contract
before Lesnar was eventually allowed to leave the WWE
after multiple hearings.
4) Termination details
This part of the contract
isn’t how to deal with Arnold Schwarzenegger
but instead what to do when you leave the company,
and is split into three parts.
The first talks about how long a Superstar must know
about their impending release, and can vary greatly
A lower-tier talent can be given a 90-day notice,
whilst Lesnar (surprise, surprise) must be given six-month notice.
The second part gives details about how a family will be compensated
if a Superstar sadly dies on the company’s watch
with the third part stating that the WWE retains
the rights to sell your merchandise
even after you’ve been shown the door,
which can’t exactly be an easy read for a new Superstar on their first day.
3) WWE owns the right to your content
When you sign a contract with the WWE, you also sign over your image.
In this part of the contract, the WWE states
they her permission to film and photograph you
for whatever they might need, whether it’s on live TV
or pictures for WWE.com.
This has of course, been taken to the next level
since the WWE Network launched in 2014
with their now being countless shows that could potentially carry your face
and likeness throughout their episodes.
It seems no Superstar is exempt from this,
as even part-timers like Lesnar
and the Undertaker have had their faces plastered
all over WWE programming.
2) Paying for your own props, training and costumes
This is where it really sucks to be an independent contractor
Contrary to popular belief, the WWE contract states
that all talent must provide their own costumes
and props for their gimmicks.
This is really backwards,
considering the Superstar doesn’t get to decide what their gimmick will be,
but it’s up to the Superstar to pay for it.
Whilst the WWE do have a training facility in NXT,
this is a luxury that former Superstars didn’t get to enjoy
with the Performance Center being certainly ground-breaking to say the least.
1) Confidentiality
The final part of the WWE contract,
confidentiality is definitely one of the most important
In this clause, the company stresses the importance
of not disclosing any backstage news
or personal business-related topic
to the public.
This has gotten particularly tricky
in the era of social media
where Superstars are also expected to share so much of their life outside the ring with fans
without giving away any secrets, even by accident.
Since the company began, there has always been an effort to keep
what goes on behind closed doors away from the prying public,
so don’t expect this clause to change any time soon.
Well guys that's our list, is there anything that we don't know about a wwe contract that wasn't listed here? if so, drop us a comment below and let us know
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