5 things former WWE employees revealed about the company

#3 The independent contract

Raven made the claim wrestlers shouldn’t be treated as independent contractors

Wrestlers moved from promotion to promotion in the 1980s when WWF competed with the NWA and AWA for mat supremacy. As these promotions folded and performers found their own niche, the notion of “independent contracts” became obsolete. So when wrestlers hitched their wagons to WWE they expected to be treated like “employees” under contract.

Raven challenged the company in 2008 along with other wrestlers who alleged they were being cheated out of health care and benefits and since the landscape of the business had changed, the rules and contracts for performers had to change as well. The lawsuit opened the door for health policy and contract policy to change and be rewritten in the McMahon circus.