UPDATED: More on WWE Talent Frustration Over Twitch Takeovers, Streaming Expected to Be Required Duty

UPDATE: New reports are coming out with additional details on talent reactions to WWE’s plan to take over their Twitch and Cameo accounts. Fightful Select and PWInsider have both published reports with reactions from people backstage in WWE after the news that WWE informed talent they would be taking ownership of their Twitch accounts in four weeks.

According to Fightful, the responses are “all over the map,” with one prominent star saying that they weren’t concerned because WWE takes care of them on a financial level and that their schedules had not allowed them to do much with Cameo anyway. The roster member did say he understood other people’s reaction. Meanwhile, several roster members have said that the new changes means they are not likely to see any additional money due to the fact that many basic show payoffs have been cannibalized due to WWE’s talent having higher downside guarantees than in past years. As was noted, the Twitch revenue that talent receives from WWE will count against that guarantee.

Another top name said that they do not stream themselves but want to be involved in projects that friends and family members want to promote, and that they aren’t certain now these new roles affect them. They said that there was “a lot of frustration” from the roster because Cameo and Twitch are not outlined in their contracts. Talent is all getting different bits of information at different times, which is different from past announcements when the news would be delivered to everyone at once through the talent relations app.

Nearly all the talent Fightful spoke to said that they would not sign a new deal or opt in if it was presented to them, and no one on the main roster believed that anyone would get fired over it. As of yet, no one Fightful has spoken to have been forced to sign a new deal.

Meanwhile, PWInsider is reporting much of the same, with varied levels of frustration from talent. Some are frustrated because they were encouraged to build their own brand and they are now losing the independence that they were able to build said brands on. Others are not happy that they were told as long as the accounts were maintained under their real life names it wouldn’t be an issue, only to have the company go back on that. There is frustration from some that they are losing the income they’ve used to support them and know that once WWE takes over, their Twitch efforts won’t be as lucrative for them ever again. Several people made a lot of money even with Twitch’s cut being taken out and that will vanish under the new system.

PWInsider notes that the most common thread that they’ve been told in terms of frustration is that talent is now realizing that they’ll be required to stream and appear on Twitch as part of their WWE contracts. They have appearently been told that even if they chose to close down their personal accounts instead of allowing WWE to take them, they will still be required to appear and stream as part of a planned large-scale Twitch presence by WWE. Once this system is in place, it will be just another appearance for the company like a signing event or a house show, and will turn into another part of their duties as part of their downside guarantee.

In terms of WWE’s side of things, the site notes that the move is an attempt to close the loophole that online platforms caused where there was money being left on the table by the company. WWE has lost revenue from things like live events and VIP signings due to COVID-19 and even with their TV rights deals making them more profitable than ever, they they are expected as a publicly-traded company to find ways to be more and more profitable. The talent side appreciated Twitch as a way that they could do their own thing, be themselves, and make money and now it will be replaced by a version where they have to stream under rules and guidelines set by WWE, spending the same amount of time and effort but losing money and a sense of satisfaction in building their own success.

ORIGINAL: We reported last night that WWE is reportedly set to take over the Twitch accounts of the wrestlers on the roster, with each wrestler earning a percentage of what they would normally get. According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, talent are said to be “livid” at the decision but weren’t going to speak out about it.

One of the biggest reasons the talent are upset is that the percentage they earn will count against their downside guarantees. Since there are no house shows right now, talent are relying on their downside guarantees and merchandise sales for income. The concern is that instead of getting extra revenue from their Twitch accounts and other things, they’ll just get their usual downside numbers with the Twitch percentage taking away from what it would normally be. The concern is that they would essentially be earning nothing from Twitch that they wouldn’t earn if they didn’t have Twitch.

Talent contacted said they were aware of it, and it was true, while others said they were given an email about terminating all third party business relationships, with the deadline being today. Some were not aware of the change for Twitch and Cameo accounts, claiming they heard this from other talent but hadn’t heard it themselves. It was previously stated that talent was cleared to use Twitch and Cameo but they couldn’t make money off of their WWE names. Talent believed WWE initially backed off of their approach to third-party platforms after Andrew Yang railed against the company, saying that if Democrats win the election he’d use his influence to look into the talent being labeled independent contractors.

Talent reportedly believe that the company doesn’t want to deal with the talent not being employees even though they are, or having the government look into mislabeling it and the consequences that could come from that.

One talent said: “This is amazing because it’s really going to open up the independent contractor issue. All these smart attorneys surrounding Vince and this is the battle he wants?“