Paige Says "There's No Chance In Hell" She's Getting Rid Of Her Twitch Channel
During her stream yesterday, Paige spoke about making some changes to her Twitch account as word came down WWE wanting its talent to stop using third party formats, like Twitch and Cameo. Paige has already changed her Twitch channel name from "OfficialPaigeWWE" to "SarayaOfficial" and noted on her stream she'll be changing up her graphics to comply.
"Just so you guys know, this is all going to be changed," Paige said about the WWE related graphics behind her. "It's gonna be changed to Saraya ? my real name. We are not going to get rid of our Twitch, we are here to stay. We are not going anywhere. Twitch is our house. I'm the queen of Twitch, so there is no chance in hell we are getting rid of my stream. We're here. We're here to stay. No, guys, I can keep it. It's just Saraya, just have to change it all over to Saraya. ... Thank you guys for understanding. I know it's going to be a little bit weird to get used to Saraya, but it is what it is."
Yesterday, WWE released a statement about the new edict that was initially reported right here at Wrestling Inc. In the statement it was clear WWE wants to pursue outside services as a company, rather than talent doing it individually. For more on this story, you can check out the links here.
"Much like Disney and Warner Bros., WWE creates, promotes and invests in its intellectual property, i.e. the stage names of performers like The Fiend Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Big E and Braun Strowman," WWE wrote in a statement. "It is the control and exploitation of these characters that allows WWE to drive revenue, which in turn enables the company to compensate performers at the highest levels in the sports entertainment industry. Notwithstanding the contractual language, it is imperative for the success of our company to protect our greatest assets and establish partnerships with third parties on a companywide basis, rather than at the individual level, which as a result will provide more value for all involved."
It was reported by F4WOnline that WWE Senior Director of Talent Relations Mark Carrano told talent the company owns the rights to their real names. If that were the case, a simple name change wouldn't be enough to allow talent to continue their deals. The report noted it wouldn't make much sense for WWE to own someone's real name, but the wording in their contracts might prevent them "from marketing themselves on platforms the company doesn't want while still under a WWE deal."
We'll find out soon enough if WWE clarifies what the WWE Superstars can and can't do in the coming days. You can check out Paige's comments in the clip below.
Paige says her Twitch channel will not be going away. She just has to change her name/the graphics to Saraya. pic.twitter.com/KwNOrm87AP
? Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) September 5, 2020