WWE Was Reportedly Unhappy With Zelina Vega’s Actions After The Third Party Ban

Just a few hours before Friday Night SmackDown went on air, the shocking news of Zelina Vega’s release surfaced. Before the actual statement of the release from WWE, Zelina Vega posted a tweet earlier in the day to support unionization in pro-wrestling.

The reason for Zelina Vega’s release is related to the third-party edict that WWE had sent out last month.

What contributed to the sudden release of Zelina Vega?

Dave Meltzer, on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, provided some major backstage news regarding the release of Zelina Vega. Despite the Third-Party Edict sent to talent, Zelina Vega did not comply to it and also created an OnlyFans.com account. This move did not sit well with the top officials of the company, he noted.

Meltzer also mentioned that Zelina was pretty firm on her stance of continuing with her Twitch Account. He noted that Zelina Vega was among only a couple other women who made more money through social media than their actual WWE contracts.

He revealed Zelina had come down to the point of choosing between WWE and Twitch, where she ultimately chose Twitch. In Meltzer’s words, “She made her choice and WWE had no option but to fire her.”

WWE talent unhappy with the company?

Dave Meltzer also revealed that the old way of making money through house shows and Pay-Per-Views events is no longer available because of the pandemic. Talent with lower guarantees are not making as much as they would with the regular house show and Pay-Per-View schedule. Hence, they are now finding other sources of making an income while only working 5-6 dates a month.

Talent that signed contracts after the rise of AEW have ‘bigger contracts’ and are less vocal about the situation than those that signed prior to AEW. He added, “With WWE ‘taking away’ the talents’ ability to make money off streaming platforms, there is growing resentment in the locker room.”

“With no house shows or PPVs, they need a way to augment the past money and WWE took it away from them,” continued Meltzer. H/t WrestlingInc.com

There is growing animosity for the Third-party edict WWE has sent out. With things coming down to a top-level superstar like Zelina Vega leaving the company, we can only hope WWE settles the issue.

As fans, we definitely don’t want to see good wrestlers being left high and dry. But Zelina Vega is definitely not going to be high and dry. Will it be revolutionary? I guess we must wait for the 90-day non-compete clause to end.