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I have a LOT of questions about the WWE/Vega story.
How is it that WWE wanted Zelina Vega to give up her Twitch and yet I see Adam Cole, Drew Gulak, Paige and others still streaming? Why are so many NXT talents in general still streaming?
Well, that is a great question that really, I have no answer for but one could certainly look at that and think they are coming down on some talents but not all, which isn't fair to anyone. I don't know about why so many NXT talents are still streaming, but it could be they aren't under the third-party brand edict yet, perhaps? Either way, if they released Vega for "breaching her contract", lots of others would technically be doing so and not getting released it would appear.
Why is WWE allegedly saying Zelina breached her contract in that Sports Illustrated article when Elias had an Onlyfans account and still has a Patreon where fans pay him for sexy photos?
Well, that is a great question as well and really, I have no answer for that except that if they were upset about a female talent doing that and not a male talent, that certainly could lead to someone decrying that as unfair to Vega. If she has been released for "breaching a contract", then certainly others shouldn't be able to have similar social media accounts that bring them revenue. Why at least one other does, apparently, is a good question.
How is it that Vega could have breached her contract when she announced on October 30th she was shutting everything down?
Uh, bad creative? Seriously, If she announced she was done with everything and they released her anyway, that is a bad look, for sure. I know that sources have told us she was trying to speak with Vince McMahon and others about the situation, so it could be that led to them souring on her, which again, if that's the case, not a good look for WWE and could come back to bite them in the rear end if this ends up in the legal system.
If WWE is stopping third-party brand relationships for talents, why is Lana plugging stuff on her IG [Mike: Instagram]?
I don't know but that is a great question. It may be she is closing out previously locked in agreements. It may be WWE isn't paying attention or it may be well, we have no real answer to that, but the outside optics of one woman being fired for allegedly breaching her contract while others are doing third-party stuff, well, that's not a good look for WWE. At all. One can easily build a list of things that Vega was being held accountable for that others are not being held accountable for. That is the type of stuff a lawyer loves to sniff out.
Why would WWE want to light a forest fire around their own house when it's obvious the political world is not going to be in their favor and SAG-AFTRA getting involved could lead to Vega getting a lot of attention and bring embarrassment and shame to the company?
I don't understand the mindset at all, unless the company decided that by releasing her, she'd be a sacrifice to get everyone else in line. I don't think they want to deal with a world where a group of performers join SAG-AFTRA and they have to deal with a representative from the union being on set for any questionable issue, requiring the company to pay extra if talents improvise on set, etc. and all sorts of other SAG-AFTRA requirements. I think everyone is a long way from that being a reality, but certainly, the spark has been lit and is slowly heading towards the dynamite. Whether WWE tries to stop that, we'll have to see, but it's certainly more of a possibility now than any other time in modern day history - but only if other WWE performers decided that's what they want as well. We'll have a lot more on this next week as we're going to have someone who has worked in both pro wrestling and knows the unions inside and out on the site for an interview.
If you are WWE and Vega right now, what do you do?
If I am WWE, I am reaching out to figure out a way to make amends. If they have to pay Vega even double what she was getting paid in order to quell the fire, in my opinion, it would be in their best interest to do so as opposed to waiting to see how bad this could eventually get. The optics of WWE putting their boot down on a young woman and kicking her out as we head into the holidays isn't exactly heartwarming and no matter how you feel, that's likely how it's going to be presented if and when mainstream media seizes upon the story. If I am Vega, I am looking at it as I have the moral high ground in the eyes of the people and I don't do anything my attorney doesn't advise me to do. She noted that she's had talks with SAG-AFTRA and if they opt to represent her publicly, she'll have the power of a union with hundreds of thousands of members behind her. The last thing I do is sign a new WWE deal and give up my claims unless it's for a lot of money (as in a ridiculous amount) and one that doesn't have a 90 day release window. I can see WWE never wanting to offer that, but hey, they made the decision to release her, so if they decide to change their stance, they'll have to pay the penalty.
Do you see her going to AEW?
If I am AEW, I have her on TV immediately. Why wouldn't you want to take a chance on someone with such a huge upside that fans see as having been screwed over by WWE? Even if it's just a short-term deal to feel each other out, who loses in that situation? Not the fans, not Vega and not AEW. ECW let Steve Austin go out on TV and air his WCW grievances and changed his career forever. Imagine if AEW did that for Vega?
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