Bully Ray & Tommy Dreamer Comment on FTC’s Ban on Non-Compete Agreements

– During Busted Open Radio, former WWE talents Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer commented on the recent ruling by the FTC, banning non-compete clauses for all American workers. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Bully Ray on the FTC’s ruling: “If the FTC’s ruling is final, if this is it, it’s great because now if you stop working on a Monday, you can be gainfully employed within days in the wrestling business. Like a Cameron Grimes for instance, right? If he got let go just yesterday, and all of a sudden, TNA for instance, because he was Trevor Lee there, decided ‘Hey, let’s bring him back immediately. He can be at the next set of TV tapings, or he can be at the next PPV, and we don’t have to worry about this 90-day red tape.’ It’s pretty simple.”

On how WWE still pays wrestlers during the 90-day non-compete period: “You get paid for those 90 days. You also, as a talent, can forgo those 90 days of pay and go work somewhere else. That is an option. When I left WWE, I quit, they still offered me the pay, and I took it. And I quit…So if you wanted to technically…are you going to give up your weekly salary to try to go somewhere else? Or ‘Hey, I can literally sit home for 90 days and get paid.'”

The FTC’s ruling appeared to include independent contract workers, such as wrestlers signed to WWE and AEW. It remains to be seen how this will play out in the wrestling space. It’s also likely that the ban on non-compete clauses will be challenged in court.