Number of WWE Talent Asked to Take Pay Cuts Revealed

WWE’s TKO-era contract restructuring strategy is becoming much clearer — and according to a new report, several wrestlers who accepted reduced deals may have avoided being cut entirely by agreeing to the changes.

After Bryan Alvarez previously revealed on Wrestling Observer Radio that multiple WWE talents had already accepted pay cuts while others — including Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods — rejected the new terms and chose to leave, Meltzer has now provided more clarity about how widespread the situation actually is internally.

According to the May 8, 2026 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the number of wrestlers approached for reduced contracts is smaller than many initially believed. Meltzer wrote:

“While there have been talks of large numbers asked to take pay cuts, those in a position to know have said that the number is less than a half dozen.”

More importantly, Meltzer stated those wrestlers were apparently already viewed internally as talent WWE creative had little interest in using prominently moving forward.

“They were people who would have been cut had they not accepted it.”

According to the report, WWE’s strategy appears to involve keeping certain veterans or lower-priority talent under contract at reduced rates rather than immediately releasing them outright.

“They were not the high end players and were people that creative had tabbed little interest in going forward.”

Meltzer also explained that WWE’s long-term plan for several of those wrestlers involved scaling back their in-ring roles over time rather than continuing to feature them as active full-time performers.

“The idea is they could remain under contract while their in-ring aspect of their career would be phased down.”

That lines up directly with previous reporting surrounding The New Day’s WWE exit. Earlier reports revealed Kingston and Woods were offered reduced-money contracts that would have gradually transitioned them away from full-time wrestling and toward more promotional company roles instead. Bryan Alvarez previously confirmed several wrestlers had already accepted the newer TKO terms.

“I’ve been told there were several people who were asked to take pay cuts and they took them.”

He also suggested the process is far from over and more WWE talent will likely face similar decisions moving forward.

“Apparently, there were some others who did end up renegotiating, and probably as time goes on, there will be more of these.”

Meltzer previously added that WWE’s reasoning for targeting certain contracts is tied heavily to how the company currently values specific talent compared to when those deals were originally signed.

“The reason you would be asked to renegotiate is because the contract you signed was when they perceived you as being far more valuable than they perceive you as being now.”

He also revealed at least one wrestler accepted a “pretty big pay cut” despite having strong outside earning potential elsewhere, including possible opportunities in AEW.

“He could go to AEW and he could make a lot of money in AEW, but he did take a pretty big pay cut to stay.”

At this point, WWE’s new TKO philosophy is becoming increasingly obvious: contracts are no longer being treated as long-term guarantees based on past accomplishments. Instead, talent value is actively being reevaluated in real time based on current creative plans, business priorities, and roster positioning. And for some wrestlers, the choice now appears very simple — accept less money and stay, or risk becoming expendable.

Do you think WWE’s pay-cut strategy is smart business under TKO, or does it risk damaging morale and pushing valuable talent toward other companies? Drop your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.