Vince Russo Defends TKO Asking WWE Talent to Take Pay Cuts

Vince Russo is now defending TKO’s controversial WWE contract restructuring strategy — arguing that the company is simply treating wrestling like a business and reevaluating talent based on current value, not past success.

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Russo immediately pushed back against the idea that TKO should automatically be viewed as the villain for renegotiating wrestler contracts downward. According to Russo, the company is simply operating like every other major business would.

“I swear everybody oh yeah TKO they're the even villains bro this is freaking business I don't have a problem with what TKO did it all because Al, you got to look at this too.”

Russo then specifically addressed the situation involving The New Day and explained why TKO may have reevaluated the group’s value in 2026 compared to years earlier.

“You know, TKO is looking at a contract that New Day had and then they're looking at 2026 and saying, are they worth this contract today?”

According to Russo, merchandise sales likely became one of the biggest factors internally when WWE started reassessing talent deals. He pointed out that The New Day previously generated enormous money through merchandise during their peak years.

“And another thing you got to play into with New Day was Al 10 years ago, maybe less, five years ago, bro, they were making a shitload of money in merch.”

But in Vince Russo’s eyes, those numbers simply are not what they once were anymore, making it clear they aren’t monster merch sellers.

“That was a big part of it, too. They're not selling merch any anymore. Anybody who was gonna buy a New Day shirt bought one.”

Russo then explained that TKO is ultimately looking at hard business numbers rather than emotional attachment to talent or legacy.

“So, these are all the numbers TKO is looking at. And TKO is saying, ‘Listen, bro. In 2026, you weren't you you're not worth what you were worth in 2018.’ I don't think there's anything wrong with that.”

He later expanded even further on how he personally believes wrestling contracts should be viewed overall. According to Russo, wrestlers are not paid based solely on matches or appearances — they’re paid based on audience attraction and the ability to generate money.

“It comes back to you when you're not paid for the task. you paid for the amount of audience that either that pays to see you or now wants to um license and merchandise your likeness to purchase that.”

Russo then described wrestling fame itself as temporary by nature. And finally, he bluntly acknowledged what he believes every wrestling act eventually faces.

“It's it's a matter of attraction. And if and as an attraction, you're going to have a run. You're going to have a shelf life and at some point it's going to come to an end.”

Russo’s defense of TKO comes after multiple reports revealed WWE has already approached several wrestlers about taking reduced-money deals under the new corporate structure. Bryan Alvarez explained that WWE is pursuing major restructures rather than small adjustments and revealed that TKO’s core justification revolves around workload changes compared to older WWE eras.

“They want a 50% restructuring of these deals. Their justification is, things are very different now than when you signed this deal. Like, yes, we are asking you to take less money, but their argument is you are doing significantly less now.”

He later detailed the reduced travel and event schedule that WWE reportedly points toward internally. And finally, Alvarez summed up TKO’s mindset very directly

“You’re not doing four-hour shows a week, you’re not on the road four days a week paying for transportation and hotels and this and that, you’re on the road one day a week, you’re wrestling maybe twice a month. You know, this is… we want to pay you less because you’re doing less now. That is their mindset, that’s their perspective there.”

The situation already led to the departures of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods after they rejected WWE’s proposed new terms. At the same time, several other wrestlers have accepted reduced-money deals in order to stay with the company.

Bottom line — Vince Russo believes fans are reacting emotionally to WWE’s contract restructuring while TKO is simply evaluating talent based on current business value, audience attraction, and revenue generation. Whether fans agree or not, Russo sees the entire situation as normal business rather than some shocking betrayal of wrestling culture.

Do you agree with Vince Russo that TKO is simply making smart business decisions, or do you think WWE risks damaging morale and loyalty by cutting longtime talent deals? Drop your thoughts below and let us know.

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