Former WWE on-air personality and backstage producer Jim Cornette recently made comments on the \'independent contractor\' status in WWE. It is a conversation that has been going on for years; WWE hires wrestlers/on-air talent on an \'independent contractor\' status which means that they do not get the same sort of benefits as a full-time employee.
This has been a point of contention for a long time, as WWE seemingly controls a lot of what their talent can and can\'t do, thus seemingly nullifying the idea of the talent being \'independent.\'
Jim Cornette on Contracts In Wrestling
\"F*cking contracts in wrestling\" Jim Cornette began on this week\'s episode of the Drive Thru podcast. \"Once you get to the level of involvement with each other where you are working for a company like the WWE or like WCW? You\'re an employee.\"
Interestingly, Cornette would then state that AEW, a company that he has quite a few issues with, actually should be classing their performers as \'independent contractors.\' \"Now All Elite Wrestling? They run one day a week and then a pay per view every three months or whatever. You can work for other promoters. Anywhere where you legitimately can work for other promoters, or determine what your name is or how you\'re presented? You\'re an independent contractor.\"
Full Time Employees
Jim Cornette continued to rip on WWE, saying \"when you work for the f*cking WWE? You are a full time employee, you\'re an employee in spandex. AND they\'ve conned the government this long. You know, they\'ll continue to do so until there\'s a [wrestlers] union. And then the first thing that they\'ll do is say \'well this is f*cking ridiculous. We\'re gonna call the IRS and talk to somebody important.\'\"
McMahon and...Trump?
Cornette would then finish by seemingly referencing the President of The United States, indicating how he and McMahon are both liable for crooked dealings.
\"I\'ve said this before, wrestlers should have always been independent contractors and should be independent contractors,\" Cornette stated. \"Because that\'s the way that wrestling should be run. But if it\'s going to be run THIS WWE way? Then the WWE wrestlers not being employees is f*cking idiocy, and it\'s against the law. Guess who technically runs the IRS? We haven\'t even seen dipsh*ts (Trump?) f*cking tax returns, much less get them to reclassify Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon\'s employees but nevertheless. It\'s just. It\'s insane.\"
The idea of a wrestlers union has always been prevalent, and potentially with the issues surrounding the handling of coronavirus by WWE it may be brought back into the fold once again.
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