WWE Explains New Social Media Policy for WWE Superstars

Over the weekend a new report via Wrestling Inc. stated that WWE had instituted a new policy for its wrestlers on social media. The policy, according to Raj Giri, stated that wrestlers could no longer name third party businesses, brands or charities under penalty of fines and suspensions. The news was immediately met with backlash from fans, but on Tuesday WWE officials clarified the policy with Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer and explained it's not nearly as restrictive as initially thought.

"The new policy, which they say is not dissimilar to policies they have had for the past several months, is that talent is banned from monetizing their Twitter and Instagram by working with third parties," Meltzer wrote. "The company had already had this policy with Twitch, Cameo and other social media channels but had not specifically included Twitch and Instagram."

In short, simply mentioning a third-party brand on Twitter or Instagram won't get a wrestler in trouble. WWE's third-party policy regarding Cameo and Twitch was met with harsh backlash last year (even by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang) as numerous wrestlers had to shut down their personal Twitch channels. Paige and Zelina Vega openly spoke out against the policy, and Vega was eventually released by the company.

WWE released a statement at the time explaining the policy: "Much like Disney and Warner Bros., WWE creates, promotes and invests in its intellectual property, i.e. the stage names of performers like The Fiend Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Big E and Braun Strowman. It is the control and exploitation of these characters that allows WWE to drive revenue, which in turn enables the company to compensate performers at the highest levels in the sports entertainment industry. Notwithstanding the contractual language, it is imperative for the success of our company to protect our greatest assets and establish partnerships with third parties on a companywide basis, rather than at the individual level, which as a result will provide more value for all involved."