Backstage Update On The WWE – UpUpDownDown Hold-Out, Xavier Woods' Pay
King Xavier Woods reportedly makes "little to no" additional money from the UpUpDownDown YouTube gaming channel that he built up for WWE.
As reported on Tuesday, there are reportedly behind-the-scenes issues with WWE's UpUpDownDown channel as many of the content creators have stopped creating content in solidarity with channel founder Woods due to a feeling that he's being taken advantage of by a bad deal. It was noted that the creators do not plan on posting new content until Woods gets a better deal from WWE. The report stressed that this does not mean the end of UUDD, and ideally, things will resume as normal if the situation is rectified. You can click here for the original report.
In an update, word now is that Woods sees little to no additional money at all from the UUDD channel, and his hosting duties for G4, according to Fightful Select. It was noted that UpUpDownDown work is applied towards Woods' downside guarantee with WWE. This was not clear, but it was indicated that Woods' G4 duties are tied in with his WWE contract, although it seemed like they were separate when the gig was first announced in November 2020. It was also said that the rest of the regular UpUpDownDown cast also had their channel earnings applied to their downside guarantees with WWE.
Woods reportedly decided to hold out from creating new UUDD content until he got a deal for the channel, which shocked many people involved as it was assumed that not only did he have a separate UUDD deal in place, but that he was doing well from it. It was noted that those close to the situation believe Woods "has not seen an extra dime" from the channel he built up for WWE, which currently has 2.27 million subscribers.
The original report on Tuesday mentioned how Woods sold the UpUpDownDown brand to WWE years ago, but we noted that this apparently was not the case as he tweeted earlier this year that WWE has always owned the channel. The updated report clarifies that WWE has always owned the channel as at no point did Woods own it, and it actually took a long time to green-light the project in general.
Regarding UpUpDownDown talents pausing content in solidarity with Woods, word is that the UUDD cast members all feel a sense of loyalty to Woods for putting them on the platform, and pushing for them to have a presence on the brand. It was also said that virtually every source speaking on the situation is taking Woods' side.
There is said to be no WWE creative heat on Woods for the UUDD debacle as his King of the Ring win and the current feud with WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns have happened while the hold-out is going on.
The UpUpDownDown YouTube channel launched in March 2015 and currently has 2.27 million subscribers with 411,884,340 video views. There has been no new content added since the story broke on Tuesday, and only 8 videos have been posted since October 1.
King Woods is scheduled to face Reigns in a non-title match on Friday's SmackDown with the winner taking control of the blue brand, but WWE has not elaborated on that stipulation.
Stay tuned for more.