Chris Jericho Discusses WWE’s Independent Contractor Culture

With WWE locking down talent, people are still questioning the promotion’s use of ‘independent contractors’ to describe their contracted Superstars.

Former WWE Superstar, and current All Elite Wrestling (AEW) wrestler, Chris Jericho, discussed the ‘independent contractor’ culture that WWE has cultivated. The topic arose as he spoke with Jesse “The Body” Ventura on RT America.

“I think the way that the union will happen is when television stations go through the Screen Actors Guild type of thing and force the union to happen,” Jericho said.

“I think right now is the best time for wrestlers. There’s a lot of options, there’s a lot of ways to put that money away and put that money aside to be able to take care of yourself in the future. There’s a lot of guys from the ’80s, your generation, that weren’t able to do that and are having a lot of issues with healthcare and that sort of thing. It’s something I believe in—helping a lot of those guys.”

Jericho called the current system “flawed” before claiming that AEW is “[…] more about wrestlers and not just in that respect, but also as far as being in control of who you are as a performer. There is a lot of micromanaging going on in the WWE right now as far as writers, and scriptwriters, and script doctors, and all this sort of thing. That’s something that isn’t good for the business either. AEW has a fresh perspective on all of those things. I think it is something that will change the business.”

He went on to confirm that, despite his appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling, he is an employee of AEW and that he enjoys the “big-time sports mentality” that they have adopted versus WWE’s old school model.