The WWE roster cuts have dominated the wrestling conversation, and I want to give an honest take on all of it, including some thoughts that are probably not going to land well with everyone.
The talent that was let go deserved better, creatively. Some of them are going to land in much more fulfilling spots. And the financial side of all of this, the revenue split numbers and what the people at the top are making, paints a pretty uncomfortable picture.
But some of where the frustration has been directed this week feels like it is missing the target entirely. I break down why and where I think the conversation should actually be pointed instead.
#WWECuts #WWE2026 #AleisterBlack #MotorCityMachineGuns #ApolloCrents #ZelinaVega #KairiSane #SeanRossSapp #WWERoster #WrestlingTwitter #WWENews #LivingRoomLariat #PeterKlein #ProWrestling
🎧 Listen on: Apple https://apple.co/49NGm2L | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3QgazeHcSKSteZbBIubcuM?si=icY7NEBvT7yZadv_JFlT6Q
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The talent that was let go deserved better, creatively. Some of them are going to land in much more fulfilling spots. And the financial side of all of this, the revenue split numbers and what the people at the top are making, paints a pretty uncomfortable picture.
But some of where the frustration has been directed this week feels like it is missing the target entirely. I break down why and where I think the conversation should actually be pointed instead.
#WWECuts #WWE2026 #AleisterBlack #MotorCityMachineGuns #ApolloCrents #ZelinaVega #KairiSane #SeanRossSapp #WWERoster #WrestlingTwitter #WWENews #LivingRoomLariat #PeterKlein #ProWrestling
🎧 Listen on: Apple https://apple.co/49NGm2L | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3QgazeHcSKSteZbBIubcuM?si=icY7NEBvT7yZadv_JFlT6Q
💬 Follow for live breakdowns: X.com/primetimepk | Twitch.tv/primetimepk | Kick.com/primetimepk
🔗 Support the Show:
- Tip Jar: https://streamelements.com/couchpotatodiary/tip (fuels more content!)
- Partners: C of Dead http://cofdead403.ca/ |
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SportsTranscript
00:00It is a very fun time in the wrestling world.
00:02WrestleMania, you got a bunch of fans coming together,
00:05a bunch of wrestlers for wild promotions
00:07that are coming out as well.
00:09And then the unfortunate reality
00:10of the wrestling business hits
00:12with WWE making a series of cuts
00:16over the last couple of days.
00:18And the reactions to these have been pretty aggressive
00:22and a lot of it justified
00:24and a lot of it, while coming from a good place,
00:27maybe not necessarily directed in the right spots.
00:30So just want to go through some of the stuff
00:33from the cuts that were happening in the wrestling world.
00:36And let's just piece together what we can
00:39from a really wild last 24 hours in professional wrestling.
00:55So the first thing I want to say about all of these,
00:59because there are some opinions that I have
01:01on this whole thing that will likely make me seem
01:04like a bit of an asshole.
01:05So I just want to state and make it abundantly clear
01:09that first and foremost, all of this sucks.
01:11You have performers who have had their dreams taken away.
01:15You've had performers have their livelihoods taken away.
01:18And while we do believe that there could be
01:20a pretty good landing spot for a lot of them,
01:23this is a time of uncertainty and it is not a fun one.
01:27And I just want to state like the first and foremost
01:31with all of this is that it sucks,
01:34whether it's a dream job or just a job,
01:36to have it kind of taken away from you
01:39in such a public fashion to would not be a very fun way
01:44to have your life kind of put out there.
01:46And so I just want to say first and foremost that it sucks.
01:51And from an overall like WWE standpoint,
01:54you look at some of the talent here and I just,
01:56I can't imagine when you have two and a half hours on Mondays
02:01and two hours on Wednesdays and you have three hours
02:06sometimes on Fridays, plus some other programming
02:09that you have kind of adjacent to it.
02:11I don't know how in there you don't have something
02:14for some of these people,
02:15whether it is Alistair Black or Kairi Sane,
02:17Apollo Crews, Motor City Machine Guns,
02:19you know, and I'm not going to list all of them
02:20because it would be unfair.
02:22And then we're just getting into all of that.
02:24But there's a lot of very talented people
02:26who were let go here.
02:27And it just, when you see the amount of time that they have
02:31and sometimes what they spend that on,
02:34it is difficult to kind of wrap your head around
02:37how don't you have something for these talents.
02:41And I think the changes that apparently have been made
02:46with NXT where the talents aren't making
02:48a whole lot of money anymore,
02:50I think that does really change
02:52how this process kind of goes.
02:54Because I think Motor City Machine Guns
02:56would be perfect for an NXT
02:58in the black and gold era, right?
03:01But they're not getting paid
03:02the same as they would be for main roster.
03:04So why would they want to go there
03:05and make that kind of thing try to happen?
03:08Or something along those lines.
03:10Same with Alistair Black,
03:11when they needed a lot of main event talent on NXT.
03:14Alistair Black has been that before.
03:16I don't know how you don't have something for him
03:18on the main roster
03:19and for all of these guys.
03:22But it just, it feels like there has been
03:23a lot of changes in how they do certain things,
03:26developmental and all of that.
03:28And you can understand not wanting
03:30to get sent down or anything.
03:32And I don't even know if that was presented
03:33as an option.
03:33And for WWE, like, yeah,
03:35if you are paying $30,000
03:38to some of the other people
03:40and then $150,000
03:41for these guys to be on that same show,
03:44and I don't know how much of a difference
03:45that would make on the program,
03:47then yeah, like you can obviously see
03:48why it would happen.
03:49But I still just, like, creatively,
03:51how do you not?
03:53Now let's get into the other parts
03:55of all of this.
03:56And I, for those who don't know,
03:59I come into this from a,
04:02I shudder to say news background
04:04because that's doing some stretching.
04:06But I have, I worked at a news radio station
04:08in Calgary for the better part of 10 years
04:11and have worked in sports media
04:13that whole time
04:14on the mainstream-ish side,
04:16as mainstream as radio can be in 2026.
04:19But I've worked in radio,
04:21whether it be news or sports,
04:23for over half of my life now.
04:26And I do think with that,
04:29there does come a certain bit of
04:33just almost dead to the world
04:35with some of these things.
04:36And you, like,
04:37when you're covering stuff like murder
04:39and all of that all the time,
04:41you do,
04:43I want to say you put things into perspective,
04:44but you can kind of overdo it
04:46on that end
04:47and forget about some of the human aspects
04:49of some of this.
04:50But there is also a level of,
04:53like, seeing how a lot of this stuff
04:54can get covered.
04:56And I think that is being lost a little bit
04:59in what is,
05:01it's a great era to get into
05:03the media world
05:05and to get into the content creation space
05:07because you can just do it.
05:08And if you're great
05:09and if you know
05:10whether how to network
05:12or how to make your videos look cool
05:14or any of those things,
05:15then you can go very, very far in this.
05:17And so it's a phenomenal time to do that.
05:19But you do now have some people
05:21who are,
05:22for lack of a better term,
05:24who are covering the sport
05:25and who are covering this industry
05:27who are not coming at this
05:28from a media background.
05:30And so in a lot of cases,
05:31it is good
05:32to come at this
05:33from a human aspect of it,
05:35right?
05:35Like, to humanize a lot of this
05:36because this is a very real human thing
05:38that is happening
05:39to a lot of these people.
05:42But to suggest
05:44that some of the media coverage on it
05:46was unfair
05:48or anything like that,
05:50I think is preposterous.
05:52And a lot of that goes
05:53with the Zelina Vega comments
05:55on her Twitch stream
05:56about Sean Ross Sapp.
05:58Firstly,
05:58I find it insane
06:00that people are going after Sean Ross Sapp,
06:03but not those who
06:04clip the Zelina Vega comments
06:06from her Twitch stream themselves
06:07and are spreading that out there
06:10without Zelina getting any credit
06:11for any of it.
06:12Now, you know who she is
06:14and it's not difficult to find that,
06:15but still,
06:17that's,
06:17I would have more of a problem
06:19with that
06:19than what Sean Ross Sapp did.
06:21What SRS did
06:23is his job.
06:25He is reporting on these things.
06:26And people say like,
06:27oh, you're announcing all of this
06:28during the,
06:29during SmackDown.
06:30It's like, dude,
06:31he's just reporting on the news.
06:33And this is news,
06:34you know,
06:34and like it,
06:35it is tough
06:36because it is real life.
06:37And I don't want to say,
06:38well, you,
06:38you got into a public forum.
06:40That's part of the job
06:41because we have seen that
06:43get aggressively abused
06:44this week
06:45at WrestleMania weekend
06:46out in Las Vegas
06:48with some of the interactions
06:48with a lot of the performers
06:50out there.
06:51And a lot of that
06:52can get justified with,
06:53well, you ended up,
06:54you wanted to be a celebrity.
06:55This is what comes with it
06:56because that shouldn't be.
06:57But this type of thing is,
06:59you know,
06:59as someone who worked
07:01in a public space
07:02and then got let go,
07:04it's not always awesome
07:06that the entire,
07:07and not that mine was on the scale
07:09of these people,
07:09obviously,
07:10but it's not awesome
07:11that the entire world can know
07:12that you just got canned
07:14from your job.
07:14That's not an awesome thing
07:17to experience.
07:18And so for Zelina,
07:20though,
07:21again,
07:22you can understand
07:22being frustrated,
07:23but to take it out
07:25on Sean Ross Sapp,
07:26who's just doing his job,
07:27I don't understand that.
07:29It is his job
07:30to report the news.
07:31And if he was reporting
07:32these things unfairly,
07:33fine.
07:34But your issue
07:36shouldn't be with him.
07:37He's doing his job.
07:38These moves are news.
07:42And honestly,
07:42if I were the performers,
07:43I'd want this to get out there
07:44as quickly as possible
07:45so I can already get
07:46like that fan,
07:47like you look at
07:48the WWE TikTok today,
07:50every video that they put out,
07:52someone at the top
07:52is saying,
07:53justice for Kairi Sane
07:55or something like that.
07:55You want to get that
07:56groundswell out there.
07:57But I do think
08:00that the frustration
08:02is a little misguided
08:03when directing it
08:04at a member of the media.
08:07Where is it coming from?
08:08You know,
08:09like when I got
08:10let go from Rogers,
08:13the,
08:13like you go through
08:14the whole thing,
08:14but one of the things
08:15they say is,
08:16don't,
08:17don't really tell it,
08:18like you tell your family,
08:19you know,
08:19you're not just hanging
08:20out on the couch now
08:20and not working.
08:22It's,
08:22I don't know,
08:22you'll find out later.
08:23Like you can tell
08:24like certain people around you,
08:25but try,
08:26like don't put anything
08:27out on social media.
08:28Don't tell like a lot
08:30of the co-workers
08:30and stuff like that
08:31because we are still
08:32doing this
08:33and we don't want people
08:34to find out
08:35that they are getting cut
08:37and have it not come
08:40from us,
08:40right?
08:41So,
08:42if it was
08:43some of these things
08:44ahead of time,
08:46then that's a little weird.
08:47Like that,
08:47like if the report was
08:49WWE is planning
08:50on cutting
08:51Kairi Sane,
08:52Zelina Vega,
08:52Aleister Black,
08:53like that's,
08:53that's shitty.
08:54That sucks,
08:55right?
08:55But if it's happened
08:57and the news
08:59is getting out there,
09:00don't,
09:00don't shoot the messenger
09:02here.
09:03Your frustration
09:04needs to be
09:05with the people
09:06who are leaking
09:07this information
09:08to him,
09:08who are giving
09:09this information
09:09to Sean Ross Sapp
09:11and given Zelina's
09:13reaction to it,
09:14I'm going to suggest
09:15it didn't come from her.
09:16So it is from a source
09:18or from someone
09:19in WWE,
09:21in TKO,
09:21or wherever these guys
09:22are getting it from,
09:23that should be
09:24where the frustration is.
09:25It shouldn't be
09:26with the person
09:26who is reporting
09:27the news that has
09:27been given to them.
09:28That's the job.
09:29It should be with
09:30whoever is leaking
09:32this information
09:32out there.
09:33So if Zelina wanted
09:35to announce it
09:35on her Twitch stream
09:37and to get it out there,
09:38then she should,
09:40she should be upset
09:41with the person
09:42who got it out there first
09:44and that's not
09:45Sean Ross Sapp.
09:46So I,
09:47I can understand
09:48people getting frustrated
09:50by the coverage
09:51or anything like that,
09:53but this is the media.
09:54This is the media
09:55when you are covering
09:57something that is,
09:58and people can talk
09:59about wrestling quality
10:00and all of that,
10:00but this is the biggest
10:01wrestling company
10:02in the world,
10:03so the biggest wrestling
10:04journalist,
10:05or one of them,
10:05is going to cover
10:06this thing.
10:07That is,
10:08that's how this industry
10:09works.
10:10I don't think
10:11any of the media
10:12coverage was
10:14dehumanizing
10:14or anything
10:15like that,
10:17and I just feel
10:18like a lot
10:18of the targeting
10:19on the media
10:19for some of this
10:20stuff is
10:21a little overblown
10:23and I think
10:24a lot of that
10:24comes from
10:25a lot of people
10:26who are now
10:27covering this
10:27are on the
10:29more influencer side
10:30and not,
10:31I'm sure there are
10:32some who come to
10:33this from a news
10:33background,
10:34but not all of them
10:34are coming from
10:35the media aspect
10:36of it where
10:36this is just,
10:37this is part
10:37of the day-to-day
10:39with that sort
10:40of a thing.
10:40The other part
10:41of this,
10:41and this is where
10:42I know I'm going
10:43to come across
10:43like an asshole
10:44and I feel
10:45kind of shitty
10:46for even thinking
10:46it, honestly,
10:47but some of the
10:49talk about,
10:50and look,
10:51like the timing
10:52of this is not
10:53awesome for a lot
10:54of different reasons,
10:54but over the last
10:56week or so,
10:57we have found out
10:57through different
10:58court filings
10:59and everything
10:59that WWE
11:01pays its performers
11:02about 15%
11:04of the revenue
11:05that the company
11:06is making
11:06for context,
11:11the NHL,
11:12and I'm pretty
11:13sure NBA
11:14both have it
11:15in their
11:15collective
11:16bargaining agreements
11:17that the revenue
11:18that comes in,
11:18it's 50-50 split,
11:20so the players
11:21get 50% of that,
11:23so for the wrestlers
11:24to get 1-5-15,
11:25that's really bad,
11:27that's really,
11:28really shitty
11:28for that to happen.
11:29Also,
11:30it was reported
11:31this week
11:31that through
11:33different court
11:33filings and all
11:35of that,
11:35that the CEOs
11:37at TKO
11:38and Endeavor
11:39and all of that
11:39are making
11:41just under
11:42$100 million.
11:42So,
11:43like,
11:44that sucks.
11:44Like,
11:45to then have
11:46these cuts
11:46be for money
11:47reasons,
11:47but CEOs
11:48are making
11:49$85 million
11:49and that gets
11:51into a grander
11:51economic whatever,
11:53but I'm sure
11:54that'll trickle
11:55down at some
11:55point.
11:55but the one part
11:58of this though
11:58that I'm seeing
11:59because all
12:00of those things
12:01are equal parts
12:02accurate and
12:03bad,
12:04but the one
12:06thing that I'm
12:07seeing is,
12:07these guys
12:07just can't
12:08afford to
12:08just pay
12:08these people?
12:09Like,
12:09what are we
12:09doing?
12:10We have to
12:10make budget
12:11cuts with
12:11all this?
12:12And on the
12:13one hand,
12:13like,
12:13yes,
12:14like,
12:14the guy
12:14is making
12:15$84 million
12:16and they are
12:17cutting people
12:17who are making
12:18hundreds of
12:19thousands of
12:19dollars a year.
12:20Like,
12:20we are talking
12:21about multiple
12:23zeros and
12:24commas that
12:25are coming up
12:25in the difference
12:26between these
12:27two,
12:27and so to say,
12:28oh,
12:28well,
12:28the cuts are
12:29for budget
12:29reasons.
12:30Like,
12:30that's a
12:31really bad
12:32look and
12:32that's really,
12:33really shitty.
12:34I will say
12:35though,
12:36I don't think
12:37you're,
12:37I think the
12:38argument for
12:38not cutting
12:39some of them
12:39is,
12:40how do you
12:40not find
12:41work for
12:41these people?
12:42How can
12:42you not find
12:43a way to
12:44get your
12:44money's worth
12:45out of a
12:46lot of the
12:46performers that
12:47are on these
12:49shows?
12:50It shouldn't
12:50be,
12:51well,
12:51how come
12:51they're just
12:52not paying
12:52them to
12:53just sit
12:53around?
12:53They should
12:54just pay
12:54the entire
12:54rosters,
12:55all of the
12:55money,
12:56so that all
12:56these people
12:56can just
12:57have this
12:57living and
12:58do that.
12:59That's not
12:59how any
13:00business operates,
13:01right?
13:01Like,
13:01I'm sure
13:02we could go
13:02through with
13:03a fine-tooth
13:03comb and see,
13:04like,
13:04yes,
13:04I think
13:05Mark Shapiro
13:06and all of
13:07them would
13:08be able to
13:09live on
13:10$50 million
13:11instead of
13:12$84 million
13:12and you could
13:13spread that
13:14wealth out
13:15amongst the
13:15performers.
13:15And I want
13:16anyone who
13:17puts their
13:19in this
13:19industry for
13:20our entertainment
13:21to be as
13:23comfortable
13:23financially as
13:24they possibly
13:25could be.
13:26I,
13:27like,
13:27personally,
13:28I think if
13:29we're going to
13:29talk about the
13:29spending of
13:30WWE and
13:31taking care of
13:31the wrestlers,
13:32I don't think
13:33it should be
13:33targeted at,
13:34well,
13:34they're not
13:35really using
13:36some of these
13:36people,
13:36but they should
13:37pay them
13:37anyway.
13:37I don't think
13:38it should be
13:38that.
13:39I think it
13:39should be
13:39more the
13:40people who
13:40you do
13:41have under
13:41contract,
13:42like the
13:42Becky Lynch
13:45interview with
13:45the guy from
13:47Suits.
13:47I forget his
13:48name.
13:48I'm sorry.
13:48He's a wrestling
13:49fan and that's
13:50being really,
13:50I would like to
13:51be known as
13:52the guy from
13:52Suits,
13:52but he does
13:53more than
13:53that and I
13:54don't mean to
13:55be degrading at
13:56all,
13:56that's just
13:56where I know
13:56him from.
13:57Not the
13:58point.
13:58The interview
14:00was talking
14:01about how
14:02they pay for
14:02their hotels,
14:03they pay for
14:04their travel,
14:05they pay for
14:06this,
14:06that,
14:06and the
14:07other thing.
14:08I do know
14:09that some
14:10medical stuff
14:10is covered,
14:11but I would
14:11much rather
14:12they spend
14:12money to
14:13take care of
14:13the performance
14:14they have
14:14under contract
14:15than,
14:16well,
14:17I mean,
14:17we're maybe
14:18not using
14:18these people
14:19all that much
14:19and some of
14:20these people
14:20were being
14:20used,
14:21but we don't
14:22think that this
14:22is a good way
14:23to spend our
14:23money,
14:23so we're going
14:24to cut them.
14:26Like,
14:26that's business,
14:27that happens.
14:28I've been on the
14:29wrong end of it,
14:29it sucks,
14:30but you also
14:31don't just want
14:32them,
14:33like,
14:33I don't think
14:33they should just
14:34be spending
14:34money,
14:35and I don't
14:35think we should
14:36expect them to
14:36just spend
14:36money on stuff
14:37just out of the
14:38goodness of their
14:39heart.
14:40I think the
14:41main part of it
14:42is,
14:43if you have to
14:44cut people,
14:45fine,
14:45but let's,
14:46you know,
14:47certain other
14:48things that come
14:48with being an
14:49employee and not
14:50just an independent
14:50contractor,
14:51maybe you could
14:52give that to
14:52them,
14:52or just give
14:53them employees,
14:54like,
14:54make them
14:54employees,
14:55help them
14:55with benefits,
14:56and travel,
14:56and retirements,
14:58and things like
14:59that.
14:59I feel like that
15:00is much more
15:01where I would
15:02want them to
15:02spend it,
15:03rather than,
15:04well,
15:04why cut people
15:05when you can
15:05afford to not
15:06cut them?
15:07And just,
15:07like,
15:07Apollo Crews,
15:09I am sure
15:09financially,
15:10Apollo Crews
15:12is not going
15:12to make as much
15:13wherever he goes
15:13next than he
15:14was making
15:14with his WWE
15:15contract.
15:16I do think
15:17Apollo Crews
15:18is going to
15:18be significantly
15:19more creatively
15:21fulfilled in
15:23his next
15:24adventure than
15:25whatever he was
15:25doing in WWE
15:26Wrestling Mr.
15:27Iguana on
15:28main event and
15:29anything like
15:30that.
15:30So,
15:31I hope for the
15:32best for these
15:32people,
15:33and I hope I
15:34don't come across
15:34like too much of
15:35a heartless
15:35bastard talking
15:36about some of
15:37this stuff,
15:37but it's just
15:37something that I
15:38wanted to talk
15:38about kind of
15:39seeing how
15:39everything kind
15:40of played out
15:40over the last
15:41little bit.
15:42I am sure
15:42there's some
15:42disagreements with
15:43what I have
15:43said.
15:44Let me know
15:44in the comments
15:45and we can
15:46keep chatting
15:46about it there
15:47or hit me up
15:47on social media.
15:48I am at
15:48PrimetimeKline on
15:49Instagram,
15:50X,
15:50TikTok threads,
15:50and Blue Sky.
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