From ProWrestling.net, via F4Wonline.com (or whatever the address for that site is...)
This could be an interesting one to watch. The gist is former WWE talent have a filed a lawsuit challenging the independent contractor status of WWE talent.
Good for them, I wish them luck. Everyone knows the independent contractor label is BS. Vince just wants to save money on taxes.
I had just bent down to tighten my nuts, and there was a double yellow line, see? And next thing I knew, there was policeman behind me. He put a sticker on my helmet and tried to clamp me.
IMO, they'll settle out of court. And in fact, I'm not inclined to support Raven et al, at least at face value.
I've been an independent contractor. And I've worked for companies who've had these kinds of suits filed against them & lost. So. the way it works, there is an edict that no independent contractor can be retained for more than 18 months (IIRC), lest the company be subject to this kind of suit. The contractor can't be re-signed for another 12 months. All irrespective of whether the contractor *wants* to retain a contractor status (which has it's own set of upside, if you have a clue.) All this does is make for a whole bunch of churn in the legitimate contractor community. (e.g. I'd be happy contracting for Company A for the next 4 years. However. because of the restrictions resulting from this lawsuit, I need to thrash back & forth between Company A & Company B on an annual basis. Nobody's happy.)
So, what, HHH, JBL, Big Show & Batista would all be regular employees (with bonus plan & profit sharing), & everybody else (from Punk to Morrison to Funaki) churns back & forth to/from TNA on a yearly basis, with a "contract negotiation" on every turn-over? How exactly would that be a good thing for much of anybody?
I strongly suspect this is going to court. This isn't exactly a new gripe with WWE, and with the company being public for some time now, I have a sneaking suspicion this sort of thing has been threatened before and put down with some quick "go away" money thrown at the prospective plaintiffs. But the fact that WWE made a point to mention it and the wording they used says to me that they have an indication that this absolutely won't be settled out of court.
Originally posted by emma So what, HHH, JBL, Big Show & Batista would all be regular employees (with bonus plan & profit sharing), & everybody else (from Punk to Morrison to Funaki) churns back & forth to/from TNA on a yearly basis, with a "contract negotiation" on every turn-over? How exactly would that be a good thing for much of anybody?
But if Levy et al. did win the suit, wouldn't it follow that they'd have to consider guys like Punk, Morrison, and Funaki employees in order to have them meet the basic demands and requirements of working a WWE schedule?
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It's very interesting read, and Eric lends some very good insight and opinion into this matter as well as his own experience with something similar in WCW.
He also takes the time to list the guidelines the IRS uses to define employee/independent contractor status.
Highly recommended.
(edited by MisterHenderson on 14.8.08 2026) I had just bent down to tighten my nuts, and there was a double yellow line, see? And next thing I knew, there was policeman behind me. He put a sticker on my helmet and tried to clamp me.
It's very interesting read, and Eric lends some very good insight and opinion into this matter as well as his own experience with something similar in WCW.
He also takes the time to list the guidelines the IRS uses to define employee/independent contractor status.
Highly recommended.
(edited by MisterHenderson on 14.8.08 2026)
Nice read. If Eric's correct about the legal differences between an employee and independent contractor, there's no question that WWE wrestlers are the former.
Originally posted by Eric Bischoff The argument (among high mucky-mucks) was that the exposure to Turner/Time Warner due to a potential adverse IRS determination regarding this issue could have resulted in fines, increased cost of business going forward, and a hit to TWX stock as a result.
(from the IRS list of determining Employee, or Contractor)
4. Services Rendered Personally
Services must be rendered personally. An employee does not engage other people to do the work. Contractors are able to assign their own workers to do the job.
So does this mean that the nWo B-Team was a tax dodge all along?
Really good read and from what I've heard from others after bringing up the lawsuit, Bishoff is pretty much dead on with the IRS regulations.
I think the big thing is that WWE wrestlers absolutely do not set their own hours. That's for damn sure.
Also, the "furnishing of tools" rule. Who owns the microphones and to a lesser and more humor extent, the tables, ladders and chairs. It wouldn't be unreasonable to argue that a chair is a "tool of a job" to a wrestler and the WWE purchases those...
Maybe we'll be seeing more wrestlers carrying tables to the ring like Public Enemy used to???