WWE isn't spying on their talent -- at least on social media.
Much has been made lately of WWE talent being required to turn over their social media login information upon coming to the company. It was recently reported by Mike Johnson of PWInsider that was the case, as he mentioned on a recent PWInsider audio,
"I believe WWE has the right to control Twitter accounts. When you sign there, you're told to give your password over to the digital media department, and you're told not to give your password to anyone else. It's possible that anything that pops up there in terms of pushing storylines those have been pushed by digital media," said Johnson.
Former WWE star Ryback confirmed that was the case, at least as it pertained to him and shared his experience.
Yes, this is correct. I chose not sign it after they corralled all talent into a room and told everyone to sign in and turn it in. They attempted to try and corner me several times that day. It’s not to post storylines, that’s a cover and they can monitor the talent. https://t.co/QzEJNt7WBX
— The Big Guy (@Ryback22) May 1, 2019
Ryback left the company three years ago, and if that was the case back then, it's changed along the way. Fightful reached out to wrestlers across Raw, Smackdown, NXT and NXT UK and in each case were told that WWE has never requested that they turn over social media logins.
The talent questioned have been signed to the company for varying amounts of time, which is worth noting. As it turns out, Ryback's was when he left the company.
Fightful confirmed Ryback was sent a cease and desist that requested his Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter that were of the WWE intellectual property "Ryback" be transferred to WWE. They also requested that he turn over his website, FeedMeMore.com.
This however, is not the case for WWE talent. WWE responded to Fightful, saying "We do not ask talent for their passwords, nor do we own their social media accounts."
WWE does send out memos and updates to talent that outline basic social media behavior and things that they need to know, but at least these days, they aren't asking for login information.
In one instance, there were wrestlers who were asked to make social media posts in order to promote a coordinated sponsor, and a wrestler requested that a social media manager take care of it, and even offered up the passcode to their phone. However, the social media manager informed them that the department isn't even supposed to do that.
We're told that Mike Johnson stated this week that "this policy is not active" when updating the situation.
