Vince McMahon threatens to punish WWE Superstars who engage with third parties
It has been revealed in a WrestlingInc exclusive that WWE Superstars are no longer allowed to engage with third parties. The 'third parties' mentioned here are presumably platforms such as Twitch and Cameo.
Vince McMahon reportedly had a call with the talent in which he spoke about the planned reinvention of the WWE product. The WWE Boss also told the talent that WWE is the owner of the real names of the Superstars and not just the names of their characters.
Vince McMahon sent a follow-up letter after the call. In the letter, McMahon stated that the talent had no option but to promote and protect the brand 'in every conceivable way'. The Superstars were given 30 days to terminate all activities with third parties, and the failure to do so could result in possible fines, suspensions, or termination of contracts.
Vince McMahon's letter to the WWE talent
Given below is an excerpt from the letter written by Vince McMahon and sent to all WWE talent:
"Some of you are engaged with outside third parties using your name and likeness in ways that are detrimental to our company. It is imperative that these activities be terminated within the next 30 days (by Friday October 2). Continued violations will result in fines, suspension, or termination at WWE's discretion."
WWE plans on entering the next phase of growth of the company, and it was noted in the letter that these steps were needed to ensure that the rebuilding process goes along as planned.
As reported earlier, Superstars who regularly stream on Twitch could be forced to shut their accounts. The same goes for the talent who are on Cameo.
WWE talent, however, are independent contractors and at this moment, the legal aspects of Vince McMahon's latest edict are unknown.
Vince McMahon reportedly made the decision last week, and as things stand, the Superstars have thirty days to severe their ties with all third parties.
We should know more on the developing story in the upcoming few weeks. Stay tuned as we get more updates on the big story.