'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Similar to the vast majority of businesses, WWE does not typically publicly disclose amounts that it pays to individual members of staff, including its Superstars.
What we do know, though, is that most WWE Superstars have a baseline salary figure included in their contract - otherwise known as a downside guarantee.
In addition to this, WWE Superstars receive a percentage of revenue from any merchandise sold with their likeness on it. On occasion, Superstars are also rewarded when a WWE pay-per-view or special event performs particularly well.
On top of their contracts, though, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and his executive team have been known to give Superstars discretionary bonuses where they feel it is deserved.
The details of these bonuses have generally been kept confidential. But over the years, stories of the generosity shown by WWE in offering these bonuses have been openly shared. In fact, in one case, the bonus given does not appear to have been financial.
With that said, these gestures have really helped the individuals that received them, either from a health, morale, or financial standpoint. Here are five times that WWE gave a Superstar a bonus.
#5 Vince McMahon gave Madusa an $80,000 bonus when she first joined WWE to cover a tax debt
When Madusa first joined WWE under the name Alundra Blaze, she was not exactly doing well financially. The opportunity to work for the promotion in 1993 was a life-changing one for her - as she revealed during a 2016 interview for the WWE Network show, Legends With JBL.
Madusa admitted during her conversation with JBL that she had been living on the streets at the time that Vince McMahon called to offer her a WWE deal.
"I lived in my car. My car got repossessed and I was on the streets. People don't know that I've lived on the streets for awhile and I rose above that and I got a call."
Officially becoming a WWE Superstar was clearly huge for Madusa at the time, but McMahon would then go above and beyond to help his newest recruit, as the former WWE Women's Champion went on to explain.
"So when I finally got my contract, I was going into WWE, he says, 'is there anything I can do for you?' Anything this or that? And I said, 'yeah, you can pay off my IRS bill!' And he goes, 'how much do you owe?' I said, 'I paid everything off. I could have filed for bankruptcy, but I never did, sir.' He said, 'alright.' The next day, he sent a check and paid my IRS bill. He was amazing."
When asked, Madusa revealed that the tax bill amounted to $80,000. This signing bonus helped Madusa start her WWE career without the burden of issues with the IRS and is something she still appreciates today.
McMahon and Madusa would go on to have their issues over the years, caused by her jumping to WCW and literally throwing the WWE Women's title in the garbage on an episode of Nitro.
Thankfully the pair has since moved past the incident. Madusa was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame - under her Alundra Blaze gimmick - in 2015.
#4 WWE paid The Big Show a bonus when he returned in 2008
One of the largest athletes in WWE history, The Big Show has now been part of the professional wrestling business for more than 25 years.
Real-life Paul Wright has spent two separate spells under a WWE contract during that time. He first signed with the company in 1999, having performed for WCW as The Giant since 1995.
By December 2006, though, injuries had started to take their toll on The Big Show. With his contract on the verge of expiry, he chose not to re-sign with WWE.
Following his departure from WWE, Wright had planned to try his hand as a professional boxer. To represent him in his new career, Wright inked a deal with talent agency SoBe Entertainment.
A few months in, though, Wright realized that boxing was not for him, and decided that it was time for him to return to life as The Big Show in WWE.
However, his departure from SoBe Entertainment was not straightforward. The two parties could not amicably agree on financial terms for Wright's exit, leading to lawyers having to get involved.
During the course of these legal proceedings, it was revealed that Wright had been paid a signing bonus of $250,000 after signing a new contract with WWE for his 2008 return.
This bonus, in addition to a salary of $1.25 million, proved to be good business for WWE almost immediately.
Within weeks of returning to WWE television, The Big Show would face boxing icon Floyd Mayweather in one of the most high-profile matches at WrestleMania 24. The show was a massive success for WWE, drawing over one million buys on pay-per-view.
The Big Show remains a part of the promotion to this day, last appearing during RAW Legends Night in January.
#3 Vince McMahon gave Rusev a bonus following an episode of WWE RAW
Prior to moving to AEW, where he now goes under the name Miro, Rusev spent the better part of six years on the WWE main roster.
The Bulgarian Superstar enjoyed a fair degree of success in WWE, holding the United States Championship on three occasions. Rusev even defended the title against John Cena at WrestleMania 31 in 2015.
Rusev also had a great relationship with the WWE audience, with many fans frequently calling for him to be given more of an opportunity in the main event picture.
For whatever reason, though, Vince McMahon and the WWE creative team never fully seemed to get behind Rusev. However, McMahon made it known that he was very impressed with Rusev during what would turn out to be the 36-year-old's final appearance on WWE RAW.
During an interview on Chris Jericho's podcast last year, Rusev revealed that the finish of a tag team match involving Angel Garza had been changed at the last minute, which saw Rusev switched from the winner to the loser of the match.
WWE production guidelines at the time stated that a babyface should never raise their arms if they have just suffered a defeat. Rusev ignored this, though, much to the liking of McMahon. Rusev explained:
"I went and just started clubbing him and he rolled out and I broke Joey Mercury’s rule which is if you’re babyface and you lose you never raise your hand. But I just so wanted to stick it to everybody and say ‘it don’t matter who wins or loses because I am Miro and just raised my hands and that was it. I came to the back and Vince McMahon said he was going to give me a bonus. He said he was going to give me a bonus because ‘oh they’re trying to bury you out there. You really took care of yourself. This is exactly what I need to see. You’re very aggressive. Good stuff.’ And that was my bonus."
Although Rusev might not have been compensated in dollars and cents for his efforts by McMahon, he definitely earned the respect of his now-former boss with his actions. This is something that several current WWE Superstars might consider more important than money.
#2 Vince McMahon gave the late Paul Bearer a bonus to help with medical bills
When The Undertaker agreed to bring back his "Deadman" persona to WWE at WrestleMania 20 in 2004, one thing was clear: He wanted his legendary manager Paul Bearer as part of the package.
The Undertaker performed under his "American Badass" biker gimmick in the years that led up to WrestleMania 20. However, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon decided that he wanted to return The Undertaker back to his roots for the big anniversary show at Madison Square Garden.
An initially hesitant Undertaker eventually got on board with the plan, but insisted that his longtime friend should accompany him to the ring.
Convincing Bearer to reprise his act was no easy task, though. Bearer was going through a tough time personally following the tragic passing of his wife and had gained a significant amount of weight.
During a WWE Network documentary which aired last year entitled The Mortician: The Story of Paul Bearer, the true reasons behind Bearer's reluctance to return were revealed.
In an email to then-WWE executive Jim Ross, Bearer explained that he would love to make a comeback, but did not feel physically able to perform because of his weight issues.
Upon hearing this, Vince McMahon swiftly decided to sign Bearer to a new WWE contract, regardless of whether he was going to be able to return to WWE programming. Included in the contract was a signing bonus which allowed Bearer to immediately afford gastric bypass surgery to drastically help his physical condition.
Paul Bearer ultimately returned at the side of The Undertaker for his match with Kane at WrestleMania as had originally been planned.
However, at the time he made the contract offer, McMahon was acting solely out of concern for the wellbeing of Bearer. The bonus included by McMahon was a fantastic gesture for a much-loved character.
Sadly, Paul Bearer (the real-life William Moody) passed away in 2013. Bearer received his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame when he was posthumously inducted in 2014.
#1 Jim Ross gave WWE Hall of Famer Edge a much-appreciated bonus early in his career
Sometimes, it is not the amount of the bonus received by a WWE Superstar that matters, but rather the impact of the bonus upon that individual's life. When 2021 Royal Rumble winner Edge signed a developmental contract with the company in 1997, he was a young rookie who had only recently finished college.
The real-life Adam Copeland graduated from Toronto's Humber College with a degree in Radio Broadcasting. In the process of obtaining his education, though he had amassed $40,000 in student debt.
On an episode of the E&C Pod of Awesomeness in 2018, Edge talked about the stress he felt in owing such a considerable sum of money at a young age.
"Well, I'm going to tell you for my end as a kid coming out of college, who owed $40,000, which was more than money than I ever made in a year, and no way in the future besides my only goal to pay it, $40,000 at that time is a chunk of change and it's still a chunk of change for a lot of people."
Edge's guest on the podcast that day was former WWE Head of Talent Relations Jim Ross, the man who ultimately helped the Canadian Superstar pay off all of his student debt with a single bonus payment.
Ross gave Edge a signing bonus after putting pen-to-paper on his first WWE deal that enabled him to pay off his student loans in full. Edge recalled how much he appreciated the act.
"I remember thinking to myself, 'okay, now I'm signed. Right, the first thing I've got to do is pay off this debt.' And (Jim Ross) paid it off. It was a signing bonus and I've never, ever forgotten that because it got me out of a hole. Now I was starting at zero, and, man, it put me in such a different place."
Looking back, that investment was not a bad one for WWE. Edge went on to become an 11-time World Champion for the company and will look to add to that impressive number at WrestleMania 37 in April.
Despite all the success he has achieved since, Edge has never forgotten how significant the bonus he received when signing with WWE was to him.
