Vince McMahon Said To Have Been “Vehemently Against” No-Cut Clauses

A new report has shed light on quite how much Vince McMahon was against his talent trying to put no-cut clauses in their contracts.

Since the infamous Black Wednesday in professional wrestling back in 2020, WWE have been known for making rafts of roster cuts in big waves, changing the landscape of the industry with the amount of free agents suddenly on the market.

These seem to have slowed down under the new regime, and it would seem that talent signing new contracts with the company may have the chance to get some extra protection if things were to go back to the way they were.

According to a new report from Fightful Select, former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was “vehemently against” his staff being able to have no-cut clauses, however there has also been praise for Nick Khan for being open to such ideas.

We’ve learned plenty about the contract negotiation process of WWE deals during what seems to be a new era, but we’ve gained some clarity in regards to internal feelings about how some were negotiated just before that.

We’d reported last year that no-cut clauses have not been a part of any of the negotiations. In addition, Fightful had learned that Vince McMahon specifically was not in favor of adding a no cut-clause, but that others in the front office were. We’ve learned that many in the front office of WWE have heard that WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan has sounded open to the idea. Ultimately, Vince McMahon had the final say, and was vehemently against the idea of a no-cut clause.

It didn’t cost WWE any big potential free agents, but there were some that had inquired about it. One person chalked it up to Vince McMahon being stuck in his ways, and said that it really put in perspective how many talent that had been released said “Vince McMahon liked me but…” when he ultimately had the say so over who was cut.

Most talent that we’ve spoken to have very positive things to say about Nick Khan and his method of management, specifically thinking outside of the box as compared to WWE traditions. Since Vince McMahon’s exit, there have not been mass main roster WWE releases, although there have been NXT and NXT UK cuts.

Whilst the cuts in NXT UK were substantial, this was also part of the transition to NXT Europe which is set to launch in 2023.