Former NXT UK Referee Artemis: ‘The Pay Is A Big Issue’

Former NXT UK referee Artemis has revealed why she left WWE.

Speaking with Cultaholic on Desert Island Graps, Artemis confirmed that she was offered a new tier contract ahead of her deal expiring.

Noting that the pay was a factor in her decision to leave, Artemis said:

“I’m going to be very blunt and very honest. The pay, the pay is a big issue. I’ve never earned as little money as I did in WWE, which I never thought I would say that. I thought it was going to be my full time job and that was going to be it and be great.

“I took a massive pay cut from being a teacher to being a referee, which is weird considering you’re on TV every week in several countries. During my two years under contract, almost a year without a contract and two years contracted, I offered to do other jobs to help and also to increase the pay, but I got told there was nothing.

“Just before my contract expired, they offered me a new tier contract. When I asked what the pay was going to be, they said it was going to be the same. I said, ‘I can’t do it.’ I have a mortgage, I take care of my mom. I can’t stay on that little money.

“It’s a shame, but I need to take care of my family. They extended my contract for two months, hoping to be able to negotiate and then they came back to me, I was supposed to do one last camp, at the end of April and they called me just a few days before to tell me, ‘You don’t want to extend the contract, we have nothing better for you, there is no need for you to come next week.’ I thought that was really s**tty.

“I had already told the wrestlers, the crew, my friends, my family, my referees, that it was highly likely that I wasn’t going to renew my contract, but we all knew we had one last camp to spend together, probably say goodbye to each other, and enjoy each other.

“Also, I was on 96 WWE matches. One last camp would have brought me to 100, at least, and I’m a bit OCD with numbers (laughs).”