WWE Officials Reportedly Had Heat Over Contract Situations

There was reportedly internal heat over the recent contract situations with several WWE Superstars.

As we've noted, Adam Cole's contract expiring back in July caught people in the company, and Cole himself, by surprise, and the same went with Pete Dunne's deal. There is still no word on if Dunne has re-signed, but we do know he was offered a new deal last month.

In an update, it was reported today by Fightful Select that there was significant heat in relation to people "falling asleep at the wheel" with the details and planning of WWE NXT contracts. Word is that this wasn't as much of an issue with the main roster as several wrestlers had talked directly with WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon about their contracts.

WWE re-negotiated several contracts in 2019, ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, to adjust them for higher guarantees. There is no word yet on specific terms, but many of the wrestlers altered their deals. It was noted that there was confusion about some contracts that fell in NXT, and the transition between NXT and the main roster.

After Malakai Black (fka Aleister Black) was released from the company earlier this summer and he had just a 30-day non-compete clause instead of a 90-day clause, WWE reviewed many of the talent contracts to make sure nothing else caught them by surprise. It appears this is where they were caught off guard by the Cole and Dunne deals expiring.

It was reported earlier this week that Kevin Owens' WWE contract is set to expire in January 2022. It was originally set to expire in 2023 after he re-signed for 5 years in 2018, but the deal was re-structured a few years back, and now the deal is expiring early next year, much sooner than previously publicly known. To clarify, WWE officials were aware of Owens' deal expiring, and this is not a situation similar to Cole and Dunne.

Stay tuned for more.