Reports continue to surface regarding WWE asking talent to take pay cuts, with new details emerging in the wake of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods departing the company. Mike Johnson of PWInsider was the first to flag the situation, writing about a heavily pushed talent who was asked to accept a steep reduction.
“A ‘pretty majorly pushed’ WWE talent was asked to take a 50% pay cut, and allegedly did.”
Johnson stopped short of naming the wrestler involved but pointed to the timing of the request as significant.
“I’m not naming the talent because I have no way, yet, to confirm this was the case, but the timing of that claim and what happened the very next day [Kofi and Woods’ departures] was very, very interesting, to say the least. As always, until fully confirmed, take that for what it is, but the timing, especially coming out of WrestleMania season, is notable.”
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp followed up by confirming the broader pattern in a post on X, writing, “A number of people were asked to take pay cuts.”
The reports add context to the post-WrestleMania 42 release wave and the New Day duo’s exit, with TKO reportedly pushing WWE to trim millions of dollars from its payroll.
