“We would have accepted the pay cut” – Former WWE champions share surprising omission

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While speaking on Talk’n Shop, the former Tag Team Champions opened up about their release, noting that they were not offered the choice.

They could have offered us a pay cut; I mean, that would have been kind. Doesn’t matter. It would have been nice if we had been offered it, though” Gallows claimed.

Anderson went on to agree with his partner, noting that they would have taken it if it was offered.

“Okay. We would have accepted the pay cut. So, I probably would have accepted the pay cut,”

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were released by WWE twice and not offered a pay cut either time

Gallows and Anderson haven’t wrestled for WWE since 2025, when they were released by the company for the second time.

The duo were initially released as part of the Covid-19 budget cuts in April 2020, before making their return in 2022.

Gallows and Anderson were then a major part of The OC and The Undertaker’s final match against AJ Styles at WrestleMania, before once again being released in February 2025.

The duo later made a cameo appearance at the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame to induct AJ Styles, who wrestled his final match for the company in January 2026. The duo have been working on the Indy circuit over the past year, but have clearly kept an eye on WWE since their exit.

The two men have made it clear that at the time it would have been kinder for the company to offer a pay cut over a release, but it seems that this is a new change that TKO have added and many current stars are not happy about.

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