WWE has been ultimately responsible for making some of the biggest stars sports-entertainment has ever seen. Although most guys in the business make the majority of their fortunes from wrestling, more and more Superstars, both current and former, are starting to venture into gigs in movies or television.
Some of the guys on this list made the majority of their money in pro-wrestling, but most of the Superstars on this list benefited from crossing over into Hollywood.
Hulk Hogan was the first pro-wrestling star to really cross over into Hollywood and became an icon to fans all over the world, even some of whom weren’t particularly wrestling fans. Hogan brought a brand new audience to Vince McMahon’s product back in the early 80’s after landing a role in “Rocky III” and the company never looked back.
Since then, Superstars such as The Rock and John Cena have followed in Hogan’s footsteps to Hollywood. However, other Superstars have made a name for themselves outside the ring and have become very wealthy. Let’s take a look at the 10 wealthiest superstars, past and present, from the WWE.
*** This list is based on figures retrieved from TheRichest.com and CelebrityNetWorth.com
#10 Shawn Michaels ($17 Million)
The Heartbreak Kid was a mainstay in WWE for almost twenty-five years. In his time with the company, Michaels spent years being one of the top paid Superstars in the business, which would have left him pretty wealthy when his career was over.
However, HBK has stayed very busy since retiring from WWE in 2010. He hosts a television show called ‘Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures’ that airs on Carbon TV, and is based on Michaels and his long-time friend, Keith Mark, hunting big-game animals all over the world.
Michaels also recently tried his hand in the movie business, earning a starring role in the WWE Studios film The Resurrection of Gavin Stone. On top of his time on television and the big screen, Michaels wrote an autobiography in 2015 entitled Wrestling For My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar.
As if all that wasn’t enough, WWE are in talks with HBK that may lead to him becoming a trainer at the Performance Center for his old pal, Triple H.
#9 Mick Foley ($15-$18 Million)
Mick Foley is a Superstar that has wrestled all over the world, from small gymnasiums in front of a hundred people to cathedrals such as Madison Square Garden in front of thousands and thousands of people. However, Foley was always one of the few Superstars that looked ahead to his life after wrestling, while being an active superstar in WWE.
Foley has written everything from autobiographies to children’s fiction. His memoirs have made him a multi-time New York Times best-selling author, and his first one, ‘ Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks’ sat atop the Times best-selling list for many weeks in 1999 and received rave reviews, as did his next three books.
Also quite the showman, Foley spent time in front of the camera during and after his career was over, including a special guest appearance in Boy Meets World and having his own reality show based on his family on the WWE Network called Holy Foley.
He also enjoys doing stand-up and story-telling at various night clubs around the country. Foley was brought back to WWE as the co-General Manager of Raw in 2016 and stayed with the company until he left to have his hip replaced early in 2017.
#8 Chris Jericho ($18 Million)
Chris Jericho has been wrestling for almost thirty years now, spending 18 with the WWE, and has yet to slow down at all. His latest run with the company saw Y2J win the United States Championship twice; a title that had eluded “The Ayatollah of Rock-N-Rolla” his entire career.
As one of the most decorated Superstars in company history, one would think Jericho would be on this list regardless of his activity outside the ring. However, Jericho has spent a lot of his time outside of the ring involved in other aspects of entertainment, including being the lead singer of Fozzy, his heavy metal band.
The band has released several studio albums since its formation and just recently went back on tour where they will perform all over the globe.
Jericho also keeps busy with his podcast, Talk is Jericho and has guests that range from rock-n-roll stars to WWE stars to Indie wrestling promotion stars. Also, Jericho has made several cameos in different television shows throughout his career, including several appearances on Talking Dead and Dancing With The Stars.
#7 Big Show ($20 Million)
Paul Wight has always stood out in a crowd, considering that he was 6’2 and weighed 220 pounds by the age of 12. Wight grew up with Acromegaly, which is a condition that affects the endocrine system, just like Andre The Giant, but had surgery in the early 90’s that halted it.
After working various jobs after college, White was introduced to Hulk Hogan and later signed by WCW in 1995, where he debuted as The Giant.
The Big Show made his way to WWE a few years later and has never looked back. Due to his unique size (over 7 feet tall and over 500 pounds), White was an obvious choice to cross over into Hollywood.
After a small part in Jingle All The Way, where he was involved in a fight scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wight got some serious face time playing a wrestler in The Waterboy, making fun of Adam Sandler’s character during a phone interview.
He’s also made several appearances on television, including appearances on Saturday Night Live and Star Trek: Enterprise, and has also been featured in several ad campaigns for different products.
Wight has been wrestling for over 20 years and has been one of the higher-paid athletes in WWE for the past decade, and all of his appearances on the TV and silver screens, along with his time in sports entertainment, has made him one of the biggest and wealthiest superstars WWE has ever produced.
#6 Kurt Angle ($20-$25 Million)
Kurt Angle was a household name with a lot of sports fans before he ever stepped foot in the WWE. After becoming a two-time NCAA Division I champion in amateur wrestling and three-time All-American at Clarion University, Angle continued to wrestle and won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics (with a broken freakin’ neck) in Atlanta, Georgia.
A few years after his monumental Olympic victory, Angle signed with WWE and was a star instantly. A twenty-year pro-wrestling career in WWE and TNA (among other promotions) on top of his accomplishments in amateur wrestling has made Angle a pretty rich man.
However, it wasn’t just in-ring where Angle made his fortune. Angle has appeared in a few films and several TV shows, including an appearance on Duck Dynasty. Although he has made appearances in movies on TV, Angle is one of the few wrestlers on this list that made the majority of his fortune from the squared circle.
#5 Hulk Hogan ($25 Million)
A case can be made that none of the people on this list (or the list itself for that matter) would be here without Hulk Hogan and what he did in the 80’s and 90’s for himself and pro wrestling. Hogan’s first appearance in Hollywood was huge for him and the WWE, as he portrayed “Thunderlips” in Rocky III.
From then on, Hogan made quite a name for himself in Hollywood, with starring roles in Mr Nanny and Thunder In Paradise.
For the next decade or so, Hogan spent his time being one of the highest paid Superstars in pro-wrestling history, while still making appearances in Hollywood. After his wrestling career was over, Hogan continued to be an ambassador for WWE and also starred in a reality-TV show based around him and his family.
Now, some people reading this will question his net worth considering the lawsuit he had against Gawker, in which he was awarded $115 million for defamation, loss of privacy, and emotional pain. However, The Hulkster is yet to receive the money and it will probably be a while before he sees a penny from the lawsuit.
#4 Triple H ($40 Million)
Most people that are reading this article knew that Triple H’s name would appear somewhere in the top 10.
However, I don’t know if many people expected him to be this high on the list. A wrestling career that has spanned over 20 years and counting, “The Game” made a lot of money as one of WWE’s top guys for most of his career. However, it was Triple H’s decision to begin dating Stephanie McMahon in the late 90’s that really catapulted him up this list.
Triple H married Steph in 2003 and was put in line to help run the company with her and her father, Vince when his wrestling days were over. However, Triple H has balanced keeping his wrestling career going, while being the Executive VP of Talent, Live Events, and Creative for the company and has even founded NXT, which is used as a developmental brand for WWE.
According to TheRichest.com, Trips made over $5 million from 2012-2013 from his talent contract, his salary as Executive VP of Talent and the value of the stock he has in the company. With those figures in mind, it isn’t difficult to see how Trips came in at #4 on this list.
#3 Stone Cold Steve Austin ($45-$50 Million)
Stone Cold Steve Austin is arguably the most popular Superstar to ever step foot in a WWE ring. His wrestling career spanned over almost 15 years, with almost half coming with WWE, where he was a top paid Superstar and merchandise seller for the company for most of his career with them.
After his days in the squared circle were behind him, Austin spent a couple years in various on-air roles with the company, including a stint as Co-General Manager.
After he was done with wrestling, Austin continued to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry, claiming several key roles in motion pictures and television. Austin’s recurring role in MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch lasted for over three years. He also had a recurring role on Nash Bridges and appeared in an episode of Dilbert.
However, Austin really made a name for himself on the big screen after his wrestling career was over. His first huge role was as a prison guard in the remake of The Longest Yard, starring Adam Sandler. His other large roles on the silver screen include a starring role in The Condemned and minor roles in The Expendables and Grown Ups 2.
Other than his work in Hollywood, Austin continued to work for the company filming special episodes of his podcast, The Stone Cold Podcast, up until the early stages of 2017.
However, Austin continues to do his podcast (available on PodcastOne) and has even begun hosting reality competition shows, such as Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge that airs on CMT and has been running for three seasons.
#2 John Cena ($55 Million)
Over the past few years, John Cena has begun to take Hollywood by storm. Still smack dab in the middle of his wrestling career, Cena has begun making a name for himself outside of the wrestling ring and on the big screen in major motion pictures.
His first action as a movie star came in 2006 in the WWE Film The Marine, then again a few years later starring in the WWE Film 12 Rounds.
For the next few years, John Cena made it his priority to become one of the biggest Superstars WWE has ever produced, and he did just that. Over a career that has lasted over 15 years, Cena has tied Ric Flair with 16 World Heavyweight Title reigns, which is the most in pro-wrestling history.
Cena will almost certainly break that record in the years to come and become the most decorated Heavyweight champion of all-time.
However, the seventeenth World title reign may have to wait. Over the past two years, Cena’s prospects in Hollywood have exploded thanks to his role in 2015 in the movie Trainwreck, where he starred alongside Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, and even Lebron James.
Since then, Cena has made the jump from wrestling Superstar to global icon, as he’s recently hosted Saturday Night Live and the 2016 ESPY Awards. He’s also begun filming and producing a reality show called American Grit for FOX and stars in Total Divas and Total Bellas as well.
Cena landed another huge Hollywood role in the film Sisters, starring alongside Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, and then a small role in Daddy's Home, that starred Mark Whalberg and Will Ferrell.
With upcoming roles in the new films The Wall and Daddy’s Home 2, it’s clear to see John Cena’s role in Hollywood is just starting to take shape and with rumors of Cena’s WWE days coming to an end sooner rather than later, he may be a mainstay on the big screen in the years to come.
#1 The Rock ($185-$190 Million)
The Rock was on the fast track to becoming one of the most decorated Superstars in WWE history early on in his career.
A seven-time WWE Champion by the age of 30, The Rock decided to take a hiatus from the ring to pursue Hollywood full-time after hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live in 2000.
What started off as a part-time hiatus, however, turned into much more as The Rock shined on the big screen, with starring roles in The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King, The Rundown, and Walking Tall.
Knowing what we know now about The Rock’s ability to act and his movie star charisma, it’s safe to say “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports-Entertainment” made the right choice.
From 2005-2010, The Rock had starring roles in thirteen major motion pictures, ranging from Doom to Gridiron Gang to The Tooth Fairy, making him one of the higher-paid actors in Hollywood.
His movie career exploded shortly after, with a role in the latest film in the Fast & Furious franchise, Fast Five in 2011. From that point on, The Rock was to be considered one of, if not the premier actor in all of Hollywood.
Starring roles in GI Joe: Retaliation and Pain & Gain the following year and his recurring role in the next Fast & Furious movie would solidify The People’s Champ’s spot in Hollywood. With not much else to do in Hollywood, The Rock came back to WWE to pursue another Heavyweight title run and was successful in doing so when he defeated CM Punk at Royal Rumble in 2013.
However, the title reign was short-lived as he lost to John Cena at WrestleMania a couple of months later.
That lead to The Rock heading back to Hollywood for good, where he would become undoubtedly the biggest box-office star the movie world had to offer. The biggest role of The Rock’s life was next, as he starred in San Andreas, which was one of the highest grossing movies of 2015.
Since then, The Rock has starred in another movie from the Fast & Furious franchise, The Fate of the Furious, and also starred opposite Kevin Hart in the comedy, Central Intelligence, and will soon star in another major motion picture, Baywatch.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
