In a major story broken yesterday by WrestlingInc.com and later confirmed by other industry insiders, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon has notified talent that they will not be allowed to engage with “third party” services such as Cameo, Twitch, YouTube, and other side money-making businesses or risk getting terminated.
The e-mail sent said that using their WWE-owned name and likeness in that way is “detrimental” to the company and “it is imperative that these activities be terminated within the next 30 days,” which is October 2. “Continued violations will result in fines, suspension, or termination at WWE’s discretion.”
Several WWE talent, including the likes of Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Lana, Natalya, Paige, AJ Styles, Ric Flair etc are all on Cameo or have very successful Twitch or YouTube channels and with a lot of downtime on their hands since they’re not on the road anymore, it’s a good way to keep engaging with fans while also earning money at the same time.
All WWE talent are classified as independent contractors and now the company is forcing its talent to stop earning money outside from the promotion in what is considered a nasty move.
