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WWE superstars, by default, are assumed to be rich. This assumption, however, does not hold for the entire class of professional wrestlers as it is the star power that determines who get a fat paycheck and who gets a slim one. Despite this separation, WWE does pay their wrestlers a lot of money when compared to the other promotions out there.
One of the major reasons for this is the monopoly that Vince McMahon has when it comes to the professional wrestling business.
There are companies like Ring of Honor, TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling, but none of them matches the brand power or international appeal of the WWE. Being the highest earner in such a company obviously puts you on top of the food chain.
So here is a look at those superstars who get some of the fattest paychecks in the wrestling world.
Dolph Ziggler - $900,000
Even though WWE might not be giving him the push that he deserves, they are certainly paying him properly. Ziggler takes away a solid amount of $900,000 per year from the WWE and apart from this; the company also pays for his travel and accommodations.
The WWE fans have always seen Ziggler as one of the hardest working superstars in the. If given a proper push, Ziggler could go on to improve his star power in the future as well which in turn would earn WWE some money. Till then, Ziggler fans could be happy that their favorite superstar is paid the amount that he thoroughly deserves.
Rey Mysterio - $985,000
Rey Mysterio might have left WWE a few months ago, but he was among the highest paid superstars in the roster. Rey earned an amount of $985,000 per year throughout his WWE contract and also had his accommodation and travel costs covered.
Considering that Rey almost sat out a year due to his injury, the contract was more than profitable for him. The reasons for Rey’s decision to leave the company might still be a lot misleading but at the end of the day, he did earn a lot from the company. Rey now takes up independent bookings and charges a good amount for his appearances.
Big Show - $1.2 million
Big Show has been around the wrestling business for nearly two decades now so his entry in the list is quite obvious. The best part about Show’s run with the WWE will probably be his willingness to do every stupid angle that the creative comes up with even if it means he has to wear a diaper and dance like a baby.
The annual salary of the World’s largest Athlete is $1.2 million. And if that was not enough, Big Show has a personal tour bus that takes him to the places he wants to go. Show earns some money from his film projects as well. Not bad for a guy with 1436 turns so far right?
Sheamus - $1.3 million
A lot of people might find the inclusion of Sheamus in the list a bit surprising. The Celtic Warrior has not been around the block for a long time like majority of the other superstars in the list, but he has piled up enough star power to earn an annual paycheck of $1.3 million.
He also gets his travel and accommodation expenses from the WWE apart from the already fat paycheck. He started his WWE career back in 2009 and is apparently good friends with Triple H. This might explain the whole deal of Sheamus getting more money than most of the senior wrestlers in the WWE roster.
Randy Orton - $1.6 million
WWE was high on Randy Orton ever since he set foot in the main roster. A lot of it had to do with his family background and the solid work that Orton produced in OVW. The Viper went from one success story to another and soon established himself as a major player in the WWE roster.
This main event status lets Orton earn an amount of $1.6 million per year along with the travel and accommodation expenses. Being a big name, Orton is also paid a good chunk of his merchandise sales and gets extra bonuses for the pay-per-views he competes in.
Brock Lesnar - $2 million
Now this is the amount that Lesnar earned during his last contract with the WWE. This contract expired back in March and WWE reportedly offered Lesnar a better package so that they could keep him rooted in the company. And to understand the gravity of his new undisclosed deal; let’s take a look at his expired one shall we?
Annual base salary of $2 million, free travel and accommodation, a share of the merchandise sales and also a share of the pay-per-view buys.
And the best part for Lesnar in all these is that he only has to show up a handful of times in the twelve-month time frame and still gets the same amount.
Triple H – $2.12 million
Triple H is one of the longest serving superstars of WWE and he is also the son-in-law of the WWE Chairman. Despite all this, Triple H is an employee who gets paid just like most of the other employees in the company. Hunter is doing double duty in the company right now as he is a part-time wrestler and also a WWE executive.
Hunter is given the responsibility of grooming the talents down in NXT and the entire developmental territory is under his watch now. Triple H also have enough power to hire or fire a superstar, which makes it a necessity to impress him no matter where you are from. He gets paid $2.12 million for all these along with the travel and accommodation expenses.
Undertaker – $2.25 million
The legendary Undertaker might only show up once in a year but he earns enough money from that appearance to keep him happy for rest of the year. Taker, who is one of the WWE’s most experienced superstars, gets an annual salary of $2.25 million along with a good chunk of his merchandise sales.
Just like most of the other superstars in the list, Undertaker gets his travel and accommodation expenses paid by the company and they also give him some portion of the pay-per-view income. The legendary career that Taker built up is what makes him such an expensive name and WWE will have a solid deal in place for him even if he decides to retire in the near future.
John Cena - $2.75 million
John Cena has been reigning as the face of WWE for nearly a decade now. He is out there representing the company in anything and everything and WWE pays him a base annual salary of $2.75 million. Pay-per-view and merchandise perks are also there in Cena’s contract. Travel and accommodation as you expected, is on the house as well.
Although most of the people would think that Cena takes the paycheck for granted, in reality, he busts his rear for every penny he gets. Cena has a reputation for being one of the most dedicated superstars in the roster and the amount he gets from the company is deserved to the core.
The Rock - $3.5 million
Being a big gun in Hollywood has its benefits. One of those benefits is getting paid heavily by WWE for showing up once in a while. Vince McMahon pays Rock a whopping $3.5 million for his part time contract with WWE. Rock also gets revenue from pay-per-views and merchandises along with this.
This deal makes him the highest paid professional wrestler in the company and on a personal level, Rock earns even more amount from his outside ventures. These include endorsements, public functions and, of course, his Hollywood gigs.
It is the star power of Rock within and outside the WWE Universe that makes WWE pay him so much and as far as the fans love to see him, Vince wouldn’t have much problem splashing his cash out.
