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WWE will reportedly start forcing wrestlers to stream on Twitch or face penalties

Things always get complicated when money is involved and control of WWE wrestler Twitch channels just got murky.

Chris Jarrard

October 2, 2020 5:45 PM

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In the old days of pro wrestling, the contracted talent would spend their time popping pills and drowning their sorrows in alcohol. Thankfully, the business has cleaned up and evolved over the years and pro wrestlers of the modern era are much more likely to wind down with a game of Call of Duty: Warzone than with a drunken brawl in a backwoods town between shows. As with the rest of the video game-loving public, wrestlers have taken to Twitch to play games and interact with the community. As some of these accounts have gained lots of popularity, the WWE aims to exert control over these channels and their income, according to reports.

According to WrestlingInc, WWE CEO Vince McMahon has informed contracted talent that they must sever any business relationships with third parties, particularly those with Twitch and Youtube partnerships. The wrestlers were reportedly told weeks ago that they were to fully disclose all business relationships, even those handled under their real-life names, to the WWE. Allegedly the wrestlers were later informed that the company would be taking control of the streaming accounts with wrestlers eligible to receive a percentage of the income generated, though said percentage would be deducted from the downside guarantees of their wrestling contracts.

Predictably, this is not going down well with some of the wrestlers, particularly those who have grown large communities around their video game hobby and accounts that had previously been unaffiliated with their in-ring personas. Because the WWE considers the wrestlers to be independent contractors, these new developments have drawn the ire of many, including 2020 presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, who voiced his thoughts on Twitter.

This would be infuriating to me if I had spent time building up my social media channels only to have WWE take them over from their ‘independent contractors.’ People are angry and rightfully so. https://t.co/Xa2WVsgWU3

— Andrew Yang🧢🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) October 2, 2020

Austin Creed, who goes by the name of Xavier Woods on WWE programming, has spent many years growing a Youtube gaming channel with millions of subscribers and a loyal Twitch following. Today, he announced that his Twitter and Twitch handles were changing, presumably related to the shift in WWE policy.

I HAVE A NEW @ pic.twitter.com/uyW5E6LkvM

— Austin #Creed4G4 - Future King of The Ring (@AustinCreedWins) October 1, 2020

Others like Saraya Jade Bevis, known as Paige to WWE fans, offered a more emotional and disheartening response.

Twitch is MY place what I built with my wonderful fans. A place where people can go and feel some positivity and little bit of normalcy. Fun. Interactive. Non judgemental. Charitable place. I’m proud of what I built with my fan base.

— SARAYA (@RealPaigeWWE) October 2, 2020

Clearly, Vince McMahon feels that these game streaming channels would not be successful without the clout that comes with being a WWE-contracted talent, though these developments further complicate the relationship between an employer and supposedly independent contractors.

Chris Jarrard

Contributing Tech Editor

Chris Jarrard likes playing games, crankin' tunes, and looking for fights on obscure online message boards. He understands that breakfast food is the only true food. Don't @ him.