HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with host John Oliver (above) dedicated a 23 minute long segment focused on WWE and the company’s business practices.
The profile looked at health care and specifically a clip of Jesse Ventura on Howard Stern questioning how the government allowed the company to get away with classifying wrestlers as independent contractors and not employees.
Highlights from the piece include:
– Wrestlers dying at an early age
– WWE killing the territory system
– Vince McMahon’s heel character
– Bret Hart on Vince having a history of treating wrestlers like “circus animals”
– Why WWE deals carry exclusivity despite “independent contractors” being classified as free to work for “whom he or she chooses” according to the IRS