Two of the biggest stories in professional wrestling involved more action out of the ring than within it. Ridge Holland’s announcement of his contract expiring and Andrade’s sudden disappearance from AEW were two headlines that caught a lot of attention as more details came to light. These two instances point to glaring issues that are developing within WWE involving contracts and treatment of independent contractors. They are two important stories that cannot be ignored.
Luke Menzies, the formerly known as Ridge Holland, announced that he was informed that his WWE contract will expire on November 14. While this is a common occurrence in professional wrestling, Menzies’s situation was quite different. Menzies is currently on the injured list as he was hurt during a match with Moose during the NXT and TNA Wrestling partnership.
The injury will leave him sidelined for at least 6-7 months. During that time, he will be unable to work. WWE will pay for his rehab, but there’s a lot of backlash for the company releasing him while he was hurt. In the past, WWE typically managed these situations by adding injury time to a performer’s contract, typically using that tactic to keep performers under lock-and-key for extended periods.
What makes Menzies’s situation worse is that he re-signed with WWE in November 2024, taking a one-year extension that was about $200,000 less than the main roster money he was making as reported by Fightful Select. The outlet also reported that the situation was troubling to WWE talent.
“WWE talent that we spoke with were universally disappointed that Menzies was not being paid while injured. One veteran WWE male talent said that this would have never happened pre-pandemic, and that is a significant concern for many on the roster,” Fightful reported.
Andrade’s situation also points to developments with WWE contracts that will ruffle feathers.
Reports were that Andrade was outright fired back in September, which opened the door for him to appear in All Elite Wrestling in October. However, what would follow involved AEW receiving a cease-and-desist letter from WWE and Andrade to vanish. Why? Because reports are that not only is there a no-compete in place, but the clause was meant to keep Andrade out of action for a year’s time.
Fightful Select reported on the matter that “Rumors of the situation emerged internally last week, with the belief that WWE had just effectively told Andrade he was done, without any knowledge of a non-compete. WWE staff, roster, and sources also believed he was gone from the company with no additional time left on his deal since Andrade was fired by WWE.”
However, that key word “fired” seems to be the sticking point. According to reports, there’s a clause in TKO contracts that calls for the year-long non-compete for performers who are fired or found to be in a breach of contract. Also, Andrade is not getting paid during his non-compete, which was reported by PWInsider. That further causes concern in several different ways.
It makes sense why both of these issues will cause concern for those signed by WWE. The status of being an independent contractor comes with none of the rights that everyday employees have while at work. This is why so many performers struggled to push back against WWE’s grips while they were signed to those contracts.
This has been a situation that has garnered a lot of coverage within mixed martial arts as the UFC has established itself as the only major player in the business. Top names are tied to restrictive contracts which limit their ability to extract value from their own likeness, while almost nullifying their abilities to negotiate for better deals with the UFC. This is a key factor why none of the names on the roster can rise to superstardom like fighters Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, or those who helped build the sport to where it is today. The same situation is unfolding in professional wrestling and it has to deal with these restrictive and low-paying contracts.
There’s no telling how either of these situations will play out. Both Ridge Holland’s and Andrade’s stories getting media coverage is the start of the solution. If Andrade’s issue ends up in court, it will be interesting to see how the legal system works here, especially with WWE and TKO being so closely linked with President Donald Trump whose administration has stopped the ban on non-compete clauses. This is going to be a messy situation across the board, but it is the start to a broader conversation about WWE’s business practices, and those of TKO and Endeavor beyond that.