A number of NXT stars are reportedly seeking their WWE exits due to poor pay and “broken promises.”
Earlier this year, WWE moved its third brand NXT from the WWE Network to USA Network in a deal that will reportedly earn the company
somewhere in the neighborhood of $30-100 million per year. With that substantial TV rights fees deal, it was expected that NXT superstars would benefit from the landmark move
by receiving a significant bump in salary. However, that hasn’t happened yet, according to high-profile indie wrestler David Starr:
Sports Business Journal reported earlier this year that NXT talents typically earn between $50,000 and $150,000 annually, with an average salary of roughly $80,000. That number pales in comparison to the reported
WWE main roster average of $500,000 in 2015, a number that may be even higher now thanks to WWE’s substantial increase in revenue due to its
blockbuster TV rights deals for Raw and SmackDown (which will net the company more than $540 million in annual TV rights fees by 2021) as well as its
incredibly lucrative overseas shows in places like Australia and Saudi Arabia. While it’s important to note that
main roster stars typically have to cover their own expenseswhile NXT stars don’t, that massive gap between the pay for NXT stars and those on Raw and SmackDown was bound to become a major point of contention eventually.
It probably doesn’t help matters that Finn Balor, who was recently sent from SmackDown to NXT, is still under a main roster deal and will
continue to receive that main roster pay, which is said to be
about four times that of your typical NXT star and now with the advantage of Balor working a much more favorable schedule. That surely can’t be sitting well with NXT’s stars, who up until recently were largely considered to be “developmental talents” who were being groomed for the main roster. The moment that NXT landed a deal to air on USA Network, however, that changed. Sure, NXT is, in a sense, still a developmental territory of sorts, but given that it airs on the same network as
Monday Night Raw and regularly features main roster stars like Balor and Breezango, it’s hard for WWE to continue to justify considering all NXT stars “developmental talents,” especially given how stacked the roster is.
One could argue that a number of the company’s best and most entertaining performers are currently in NXT, including names like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and Velveteen Dream. On the flip side, however, it can be said that NXT’s biggest stars don’t have the same recognition in the mainstream that WWE’s biggest main roster stars–like Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey–do. But with NXT now becoming a more mainstream product on USA Network, you might expect that NXT’s stars–at least the ones who are featured regularly on TV–would get a minimal salary increase to go along with the added exposure.
But that hasn’t happened yet, and there are no real signs that will change anytime soon, which might come back to haunt WWE in the long run. Back in May, it was reported that
WWE was having major issues with low superstar morale, and that morale has
plunged even further in recent weeks. To go along with that, it’s long been known that the amount of WWE stars who are hoping to leave for All Elite Wrestling
would “blow your mind,” while that number has grown considerably this year as more WWE stars are looking to leave for AEW
when their contracts expire while
Randy Orton has teased a potential mass exodus of WWE stars leaving for AEW.
It certainly seems that the early success of AEW has opened the eyes of many WWE stars, whether on the main roster or in NXT. But in reality, numerous NXT stars have been unsure about their prospects of success on the main roster for quite some time now. It was
reported earlier this year many NXT stars were worried about their potential to succeed on Raw or SmackDown due to the up-and-down booking of the very popular Ricochet, who has been plagued by start-and-stop pushes on the main roster. The thought is that if Ricochet struggles on the main roster, then that probably doesn’t bode well for most of NXT’s other stars.
While Ricochet has rebounded from some early booking mistakes, it remains to be seen whether WWE can rebound from its latest misstep in its decision not to monetarily reward the superstars who have become the backbone of NXT.
Because if WWE chooses not to as appears to be the case, it may indeed have a full-blown revolt on its hands.
at that Ricochet shyt.
