WWE Legend Calls Out TKO for What They've Done with His Royalty Checks
WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash has slammed TKO as he vented about the "weird" change the company has made to royalty checks.
A number of legendary wrestlers are still making money from WWE through their royalties, with ex wrestler Maven revealing his earnings despite last performing in 2005 following a four-year stint in the company.
But while his pay packet, along with the money made by ex WWE star Ryback, are not particularly impressive - the biggest stars in the business are known to make handsome figures.
Nash, a one-time WWE champion and four-time world heavyweight champion in WCW - as well as a founding member of the NWO faction - certainly fits the bill.
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However, 'Big Sexy' was not impressed by the latest offering - proceeding to call up his friend and fellow NWO member Sean 'X-Pac' Waltman to discuss the fee.
Nash, who has a WWE legends deal, was stunned by what he was reading - to the point where he cited "forensic accounting" and even threatened legal action.
Speaking on the Kliq This podcast, Nash said: “I was talking to Mr. Waltman this week. We had our weekly update. We both got our royalty checks.
"I said, ‘Holy f**k.’ I said, ‘the last one was good, this one was rotten.’ I mean, it was half.
"When I was making huge money in my royalties, it was broken down. It would say ‘nWo T-shirts,’ ‘nWo women’s T-shirt.’ Now it says ‘nWo intellectual property,’ and there’s just a number. There’s no subcategories. It’s just, it’s going to be a forensic accounting and I’ll f***ing sue them. I mean, that’s just the way it goes."
The TKO Group Holdings was formed in September 2023 when WWE merged with Endeavour - the company who controls UFC to create a superpower in sports and entertainment.
Shortly after the merger, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson joined the board of directors in what he described as a "full circle moment".
But Nash believes that following the merger, which prompted a number of tweaks, there may have been a deliberate change in accounting and clarity from the publicly traded company.
He stated: “It got weird when they sold. I can only go by what I was making, I can only imagine what like Hulk [Hogan], [Stone Cold Steve] Austin, Rock. If you take all those guys – I think Steve was at 50 percent of his merch.
"Some of mine was at 25 – When you take that and you cut that in half and put that back on the books, that’s several million dollars.” If you take all those guys and you cut that in half and put that back on the books, that’s several million dollars.”
However, with Nash's long-time friend Paul 'Triple H' Levesque running WWE as the company's chief content officer following Vince McMahon's exit, the 66-year-old is reluctant to kick up a fuss.
My thing with it is, I would never do anything to put any bad light on Paul,” he explained.
“As long as Paul’s in charge, I just roll with everything.”
Nash is a two-time Hall of Famer, having been inducted in 2015 before going in as part of the NWO faction in 2020.
SPORTbible has reached out to TKO for comment.
Josh Lawless