More on WWE Release Strategy and Contract Restructuring Requests

Another round of WWE talent departures sent shockwaves across the industry this past Saturday morning.

Longtime WWE veterans Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods reportedly asked to be released from their contracts after they were asked to renegotiate the 5-year extensions they had just signed in 2025, and that request was granted.

JC Mateo, also known as Jeff Cobb, and Tonga Loa of the MFTs were also released from their contracts, bringing the total number of talent leaving the company over the past two weeks to around 30.

Post-WrestleMania cuts are nothing new in WWE, especially with the company under the TKO umbrella, but the loss of the New Day — who are one of the most beloved tag teams in the industry — has many questioning the company's strategy and treatment of talent.

Veteran professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, however, says TKO practices are not too dissimilar from when WWE was owned by the McMahon family.

"The cuts are more roster size than anything else and Vince McMahon did the exact same thing," Meltzer said on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. "Most of the cuts are people in the middle of contracts. There may be one or two no-cut contracts, but for 99 percent of the talent, they can be cut at any time."

Meltzer believes that there are one or two guys in the locker room who have been able to work no-cut clauses into their contracts (he did not name anyone specifically), but very few have been able to pull that off over the years.

"I know top guys who tried to get no cut contracts and they were told no, and they're also told 'we're never going to cut you,' but they still wouldn't put it in writing."

Asking WWE talent to restructure their current deal is nothing new either

The idea of asking certain performers to restructure their deals also isn't a new practice under TKO leadership. While it may not have been common practice under the McMahon regime, it still took place many times, according to Meltzer.

"You think you got a contract for five years, and then a year into it they cut you. It sucks," Meltzer said. "But it's also something that you have to know when you sign that contract that they could do, unless you sign a no cut contract."

This is another scenario that highlights why the existence of a company like All Elite Wrestling is vital to a healthy pro wrestling landscape.

Having a viable second option on the open market allows performers like Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to know their worth and hold firm in negotiations, instead of being strong-armed (so to speak) into taking less money.

Both men are expected to have a robust free-agent market when their 90-day wait period is up. Several folks in the AEW locker room are reportedly already pushing for the company to bring them aboard.

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