WWE Seemingly Cracking Down On Superstars’ Outside Ventures

That’s a big shot. Wrestlers are given quite a few responsibilities, as they have to go in the ring and wrestle but also market themselves at the same time. One of the best ways to do this is through selling their merchandising. Almost every wrestler has their own t-shirt with some of them having several to choose from. It is a lucrative side business for WWE, which is why they seem to have made a big move.

Last week, WWE issued a new rule saying that its wrestlers were no longer allowed to work with third parties to make money. This seemed to include services like Cameo and Twitch, which allowed wrestlers to interact with fans in a much more direct manner. However, wrestlers try to make money in other ways, one of which WWE seems to be taking away from them in a hurry.

According to Wrestlinginc.com, Mustafa Ali’s Pro Wrestling Tees page has been taken down. A link on his Twitter page has been replaced with a link to his WWE Shop page. This seems to have been done in the last few days, as Ali’s store had been active earlier this week. WWE has not announced an edict on Pro Wrestling Tees pages, but this would suggest that more stores will be coming down in the near future.

WWE has a history with shirts. Check out some of its moments with them:

Opinion: I know the Twitch and Cameo situations are a little questionable, but I can’t think of a situation where a WWE wrestler having their own t-shirt store with merchandise featuring their own WWE characters would be acceptable. WWE already sells shirts featuring their likenesses, so why should they be allowed to sell something of their own? This is a rare instance where WWE seems completely right and I’m surprised the stores lasted this long.

What do you think of WWE’s rules? Will anyone leave the company over the situation? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for “GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES” to sign up. Thank you for reading!