Multiple WWE stars took pay cuts amid TKO contract restructuring - Report
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Some reports suggest some ‘majorly pushed’ star took 50% cut in their pay.
The fallout from The New Day’s departure from WWE continues to grow, as it has now emerged that Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were not the only WWE talents asked to restructure their contracts and unlike The New Day, some chose to accept the new terms.
On May 2, 2026, it was reported that The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) mutually agreed to part ways with WWE after they were asked to restructure their contracts but did not accept the new terms, and were subsequently granted their release.
However, the story did not end there. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful confirmed that not one, but multiple WWE wrestlers had been asked to re-negotiate their contracts at a lower salary than what they were currently making.
Multiple WWE stars had to suffer pay cuts
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio has now shed further light on the situation, confirming that several talents did indeed agree to the pay cuts. Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer stated:
“I’ve been told there were several people who were asked to take pay cuts and they took them. I don’t know how many. I don’t know who. Obviously, The New Day was asked and they did not want to renegotiate and so they got their release. Apparently, there were some others who did end up renegotiating, and probably as time goes on, there will be more of these. In fact, there definitely will be.”
PWInsider had previously reported that a “pretty majorly pushed” WWE talent was asked to take a 50% pay cut and allegedly agreed to that deal, though the outlet did not name the individual as it could not officially confirm the report.
Meltzer also noted that the situation is not uniform across the roster, adding that there have been recent raises as well as people being asked to take cuts, and that none of the “top people” have been asked to take cuts.
WWE pay cut not finished just yet
The picture becomes clearer when viewed through the broader roster context. WrestleVotes, during a Q&A session, confirmed that contract restructuring is not an isolated situation.
“Yeah, absolutely. It’s going on, and it will continue to go on. They’re going to approach every single person they feel like they can about taking less money that’s just the business we’re in right now with TKO,”.
They stated, adding that the focus appears to be on talents who are making significant money but appearing on television less frequently.
The departure of The New Day comes in the wake of a broader wave of WWE releases, with JC Mateo and Tonga Loa of the MFTs also being released, bringing the total number of talents departing the company over the past two weeks to around 29.
Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Radio also ominously suggested that the cuts may not be finished yet, hinting that there are other names still on the roster that were mentioned to him during the first wave of cuts.
The full scale of WWE’s contract restructuring efforts remains unclear for now, but with Meltzer confirming more renegotiations are on the way, the story is far from over.
How many superstars were released in the latest layoffs?
A total of 29 superstars have been released after Mania, as per the latest update.
Did WWE release Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods?
No, per Bray Alvarez of the Observer, Kingston and Woods’ deals with WWE were not up, but they were asked to restructure into TKO deals. They didn’t like the terms, so they were granted their release.
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