WWE Roster Cuts Reportedly Not Expected Despite UFC Merger

WWE may be merging with UFC under the Endeavor banner, but WWE’s superstars appear to be safe from potential roster cuts—for now.

According to the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer (h/t WrestlingNews.co), WWE’s cost-cutting measures are expected to be contained to its office and production staff: “They [WWE] haven’t talked about doing cuts with talent. They haven’t really said. They’ve said production, and they’ve said creative there’s gonna be no cuts. There’s gonna be lots of cuts in office people. I don’t anticipate cuts with talent.”

WWE CEO Nick Khan told LightShed Partners (h/t TJRWrestling) in April that the company would be “pretty aggressive” in slashing expenses once the WWE-UFC merger under Endeavor is complete. He even pegged $50 million as a “conservative” estimate for cuts despite WWE generating nearly $300 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2023.

While layoffs among WWE’s writing staff and its production crew are likely to happen in the coming months, WWE’s annual “spring cleaning” firing spree may not happen, after all.

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For much of WWE’s recent history, the company has typically released dozens of superstars following WrestleMania each spring. In 2021, WWE’s mass release actually lasted much of the year as the company axed a number of high-profile stars, ranging from Aleister Black to Bray Wyatt to Braun Strowman. Many of those stars, including Wyatt and Strowman, were ultimately brought back to WWE, however.

Since Triple H took over WWE’s creative process in 2022, he has made a concerted effort to improve the depth of Raw and SmackDown. In fact, Triple H reportedly brought back many of those stars with that exact goal in mind: Bolstering the roster across the midcard and lower card rather than focusing purely on marquee main eventers.

WWE’s main roster is in a healthy state, too. The three-hour Raw has more than 40 male superstars while its women’s division has nearly two dozen performers. On the SmackDown side, WWE boasts more than 30 male stars and 16 female stars. This does not even take into account part-time performers without a specific brand—like John Cena or Logan Paul—and “free agents” like Omos and Brock Lesnar.

Having deep and talented rosters for both Raw and SmackDown is an absolute necessity right now as WWE has kicked its live event schedule into high gear in recent months. In Q1 2023, average WWE live event attendance jumped significantly, skyrocketing from 5,700 fans in 2022 to 7,800 this past quarter.

WWE’s renewed focus on live event touring necessitates a larger roster as many of its biggest names—ranging from Lesnar to Roman Reigns to Cena—either work a reduced schedule or do not work un-televised “house shows” at all. While WWE’s roster may seem overinflated at the moment, that’s not really the case.

With split crews and two completely separate rosters following the recent 2023 WWE Draft, WWE actually could benefit from hiring more talent. However, the company’s reported “hiring freeze” is likely going to prevent that from happening until the sale to Endeavor is complete.

Until then, WWE stars should feel secure with their spot on the current roster, which isn’t too small or too bloated. At the moment, both Raw and SmackDown have enough stars to give most of them consistent TV time but not so many that there isn’t enough TV time to go around.

As always, that could change, but with live events booming and well-formed rosters for both Raw and SmackDown, WWE’s typical mass firing spree appears unlikely to happen anytime soon.