WWE Wrestlers Facing Steep Pay Cuts as TKO Executives Reap Millions

As parent company TKO Group Holdings continues reshaping the WWE in the image of a modern publicly traded corporation, veteran wrestlers are reportedly being asked to accept steep pay cuts at the same time top executives are cashing compensation packages worth tens of millions of dollars.According to multiple industry reports, longtime WWE stars Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, part of the popular tag team The New Day, recently departed the company after reportedly being asked to take significant pay reductions as part of contract restructuring efforts.The exits illustrate a philosophical shift inside the WWE that is unsettling to wrestlers and fans. Mr. Kingston spent nearly two decades as a top performer on WWE television platforms, winning virtually every championship available, including a career-defining WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35.Mr. Woods, meanwhile, had been one of the company’s most versatile personalities, helping The New Day become a successful act. Their long tenure typified the family-first business under Vince McMahon.Now the duo is among the growing list of wrestlers asked to accept smaller deals under TKO’s new model after acquiring a controlling stake in 2023. Some cuts reportedly could be as high as 50%.According to wrestling insider Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Weekly, upper-mid card performers appear to be the primary targets. “These people signed pretty big money deals quite a while ago,” Mr. Alvarez said. “They’ve been making that money for quite a while, and now they’re not where they were.”With Mr. McMahon in control, wrestlers often worked punishing schedules that involved multiple weekly house shows, live television matches and extensive travel. Under TKO, which also owns UFC and Zuffa Boxing, wrestlers are working lighter schedules with fewer live events and less frequent in-ring appearances.“They’re not doing four house shows a week,” Mr. Alvarez said. “They’re on the road one day a week. They’re wrestling maybe twice a month. (TKO) wants to pay you less because you’re doing less.”The wrestlers are being asked to accept pay cuts at a time when executives are receiving enormous financial rewards.According to public SEC filings reported by Brandon Thurston, TKO’s top brass received extraordinary compensation increases over the past year. TKO CEO Ari Emanuel earned nearly $44 million in 2025, largely through stock awards and bonuses. TKO president Mark Shapiro received a salary increase to $4 million, a $12.5 million bonus and nearly $26 million in stock awards. WWE president Nick Khan earned a $2 million salary, $11.5 million in stock awards and a $10.75 million bonus, tied partly to adding boxing under the TKO umbrella.Executives receiving bonuses are nothing new, but the optics are difficult to ignore. Wrestlers who built WWE’s brand are being told to accept less, while executives overseeing those changes are being rewarded with rich compensation packages.Optics be damned, TKO is apparently looking to reduce legacy costs and invest in younger talent from its Florida-based developmental center in Orlando that includes a Next In Line program that targets elite collegiate athletes.Rising prospects such as Oba Femi, Trick Williams and Jacy Jayne have become increasingly central to WWE programming and promotional efforts. For TKO, they represent a more efficient—and cheaper–long-term investment than veteran performers on legacy contracts.That does not mean veteran stars are obsolete. Major revenue drivers such as Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Cody Rhodes are top attractions and expected to command premium deals. But the middle class of WWE may be disappearing as TKO forces them to accept less or test the open market.Wrestlers can seek alternative opportunities with companies like All Elite Wrestling, WWE’s chief domestic competitor or Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which has a partnership with WWE or find work in Japan.Whether the new formula strengthens the WWE or erodes the bond between the company and its wrestlers and fans, will define its next era.

WWE Wrestlers Facing Steep Pay Cuts as TKO Executives Reap Millions

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