TKO’s ongoing WWE contract restructuring strategy is now drawing public criticism from another former WWE name — and this time, D’Lo Brown is openly questioning how the company can justify major pay cuts while posting record profits.
While speaking on the Attitude Era podcast, Brown addressed the talk about major WWE pay cuts under TKO Group Holdings. He said it is hard to accept any company claiming record success while also cutting talent to save money.
“There have been talks about big pay cuts going on at WWE—even huge stars taking these pay cuts—but TKO has been reporting really good numbers. I mean, we’re talking billions.”
Brown said he didn’t want to go too negative, but he called out the contradiction of record profits and executive bonuses happening alongside talent cuts.
“I’m not going to say anything too negative, but I just have a hard time with any company—any company—reporting record profits and CEOs getting record bonuses, and then two days later you’re cutting people because you’re trying to trim fat.”
He then made his point even clearer, saying WWE cannot brag about record business and then claim it needs to slash costs. Brown also pointed to WWE’s strong attendance and ticket prices as proof that the company is clearly making money.
“Those two things can’t be true at the same time. You can’t say ‘record this’ and ‘record that,’ but then say, ‘We need to cut here.’ So basically you’re saying, ‘Let me take this money from the boys and give it to the CEOs.’ Based on the number of people out there and knowing what ticket prices are, you know they’re generating cash. And we’re out there, so we know. You’re not pulling up to events where the building’s half empty—they’re still turning people away at record prices.”
He specifically took issue with WWE announcing record gates one month and then cutting talent the next. Brown then compared the situation to other major sports leagues, saying corporations often claim financial pressure while still bringing in massive revenue. He made it clear that the logic simply does not add up.
“When you announce ‘this is the biggest gate in the history of the company’ one month, but then the next month you cut nine people to save money—it is what it is. “I think you can kind of see the writing on the wall there. It’s like most corporations—they talk out of both sides of their mouths. They say one thing and then cry poor over here. You see the same thing in baseball, you see the same thing in the NFL—an owner gets $100 million from the league, then says, ‘I can’t make payroll.’ That doesn’t make any sense. Like, Ray Charles could see this.”
Brown’s comments come after Bryan Alvarez explained that TKO’s justification for restructuring WWE contracts is tied to workload. According to Alvarez, WWE’s argument is that talent are traveling less, wrestling fewer matches, and working a lighter schedule than when many of their deals were originally signed.
“They want a 50% restructuring of these deals. Their justification is, things are very different now than when you signed this deal. Like, yes, we are asking you to take less money, but their argument is you are doing significantly less now.”
Brown clearly does not accept that explanation. To him, WWE’s record gates, major revenue, and executive payouts make the pay-cut argument look less like business necessity and more like money being shifted away from talent.
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