Why No-Cut Contracts in WWE May Not Mean What Fans Think

WWE’s current contract restructuring situation just got a major reality check from David Otunga — and according to him, the idea of a true “no-cut contract” in wrestling is mostly an illusion.

This comes after Dave Meltzer recently revealed more details about WWE’s TKO-era contract strategy, including talents being asked to accept reduced deals to avoid getting released altogether. While discussing WWE roster cuts, Meltzer explained that most wrestlers remain vulnerable regardless of how much time is left on their contracts, while claiming one or two talent might have no-cut contracts.

“Most of the cuts are people in the middle of contracts. There may be one or two no-cut contracts but for 99 percent of the talent they can be cut at any time.”

That report quickly led to more online discussion about what “no-cut contracts” in wrestling actually mean — which led to Otunga breaking the entire situation down from a legal perspective on his YouTube channel. Right away, Otunga made it clear fans misunderstand the phrase completely.

“So, today I’m going to pull back the curtain and tell you why no-cut contracts don’t actually exist in the way you think they do.”

According to Otunga, wrestling contracts have historically been designed heavily in favor of the company, allowing promotions to release talent while wrestlers themselves remain tied to lengthy agreements.

“The company can release you for any reason or no reason at all with a 90-day non-compete notice. You, on the other hand, are locked in for 3, 5, or 10 years.”

David Otunga compared it to a bank suddenly canceling someone’s mortgage despite the customer still making payments. He then explained that even wrestlers with “no-cut clauses” are rarely fully protected because companies almost always include legal escape routes tied to behavior or liability concerns.

“Like if you have a 30-year mortgage with a bank and you’re making your payments, keeping the house up, the bank can’t just show up and say, ‘Hey, actually we’re going to end this in 90 days.’ But in wrestling, that’s how it happens. Even if you have a no-cut clause, it usually means that you can’t be cut without cause. But cause is a very broad term.”

Otunga specifically pointed to situations involving legal trouble, wellness violations, or backstage issues as examples where protections could disappear immediately. He even referenced CM Punk while explaining how quickly those clauses can become meaningless if a company believes it has legal justification.

“If you mess up—meaning you get into legal trouble, you violate the wellness policy, or you create a toxic work environment—the company has to have a way to protect itself. So they aren’t going to pay you millions of dollars to sit at home if you become a liability. That’s just not going to happen. For example, you could look at CM Punk. It doesn’t matter how big of a star you are or what your contract says—if the company can prove cause, then that no-cut shield vanishes instantly.”

Instead of chasing “no-cut” language, Otunga argued wrestlers should focus on negotiating massive severance payouts or “kill fees” that financially punish companies for releasing them.

“If I was advising a talent today in my capacity as David Otunga, attorney at Raw, I’m not chasing a no-cut clause for my client that a lawyer can argue his way out of in six months. Instead, I’m chasing what’s called a kill fee.

Now, a kill fee is basically a high-level severance. It means, ‘Okay, you want to fire my talent for no reason? Fine, but it’s going to cost you six months of my talent’s downside guarantee to do it—or maybe a year—or pay out the remainder of the contract.’

The goal shouldn’t be to make it impossible for them to fire you, because legally that’s almost impossible to guarantee. The goal is to make it so financially painful to fire you that budget cuts no longer apply to your name. A no-cut contract is a nice piece of paper, but a kill fee—that’s the real insurance policy.”

So, David Otunga says the wrestling business has always operated with built-in escape routes for companies, and despite all the discussion surrounding no-cut contracts under TKO, the real protection for talent isn’t preventing releases entirely — it’s forcing companies to pay heavily if they decide to make those cuts.

Do you think WWE wrestlers should push harder for guaranteed payouts instead of no-cut clauses, or should wrestling contracts offer stronger protections overall? Leave your thoughts and feedback below.

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