5 WWE Superstars who were allegedly refused a pay raise

Given the career longevity of some WWE Superstars, it is only natural that many of the men and women in WWE receive multiple pay raises during their time with the company.

Brock Lesnar, for example, earns a reported $12million per year according to figures that were published by the Daily Express in 2019, while John Cena ($8.5m) and Roman Reigns ($5m) are also among the highest-earning Superstars on the WWE roster.

Needless to say, those multi-time WrestleMania main-eventers earned nowhere close to that amount at the start of their WWE careers, and it took many years for them to become WWE’s wealthiest Superstars.

Now, while the likes of Lesnar, Cena and Reigns have been successful both in and out of a WWE ring, some high-profile performers have not been as fortunate when it comes to negotiating new deals for themselves.

In this article, let’s take a look at five WWE Superstars who were allegedly refused a pay raise.

---

#5 WWE SmackDown Superstar Drew Gulak

In April 2020, WWE released over 20 Superstars as a cost-cutting measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One month later, Drew Gulak’s WWE contract expired, even though he was involved in a storyline with Daniel Bryan at the time, and he briefly became a free agent before signing a new deal with the company.

The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that Gulak had asked for an increase in pay but WWE's higher-ups were reluctant to offer him a better deal at a time when other Superstars had been released for financial reasons.

“The story going around is essentially that he asked for a raise, they said no, and they pulled the offer that they had originally offered. It was something along those lines. It was definitely a money situation where, you know, the basic situation is that they are not giving any raises right now, which I guess understandable because they cut so many people.” [H/T Sportskeeda’s Lennard Surrao]

Meltzer also reported that Gulak hired Barry Bloom to represent him in contract negotiations with WWE. Bloom, who used to represent Triple H, has negotiated contracts on the behalf of several wrestlers over the last three decades.

#4 WWE RAW Superstar Rey Mysterio

In July 2020, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that Rey Mysterio found himself in a similar position to Drew Gulak after being refused a pay raise by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

“I thought since he'd been on TV that he may have signed, but in fact, he has not signed. What happened was, he was asked for a raise, and Vince had said, 'Look at the situation we're in, we just got rid of a bunch of people.’” [H/T Sportskeeda’s Lennard Surrao]

Mysterio worked without a contract in WWE for several weeks in the summer of 2020 before he signed a new deal ahead of SummerSlam.

Although the former WWE Champion did not compete at SummerSlam, he had a prominent role at the event during the match between his son, Dominik, and Seth Rollins.

It is not known whether Mysterio’s new deal, which reportedly runs until 2023, includes a pay raise, but Sportskeeda’s Tom Colohue reported that the WWE RAW Superstar wanted his son to receive a push before he agreed his contract.

#3 Former WWE Women’s Champion Sable

Jim Ross recalled on an August 2020 episode of his Grilling JR podcast that Sable asked for a pay raise from WWE after her appearance at the Unforgiven: In Your House event in April 1998.

Steve Austin headlined the show in a WWE Championship match against Dude Love, but Sable allegedly felt that she was “equally, if not more, responsible” for the 0.85 pay-per-view buy rate due to her Evening Gown match with Luna Vachon.

Ross, who handled WWE Superstars’ pay during that time, acknowledged that Sable was a big draw for the company in that era. However, he stood his ground and refused to increase the former Women's Champion's pay for the event.

“I’m sure she had a leg to stand on with her argument, but she made a lot of money that day and the bottom line was, ‘Did you write down a pay-off for her on that show that was fair?’ Absolutely, it was fair. And then when she got the cheque is when the fallout or the complaints came about. Yes, I heard all those, and yes, I sat down and I had no issues whatsoever in justifying my pay-off to her.”

Ross said WWE does not use a standard formula for PPV pay cheques, and it was his responsibility to try to come up with an honest and fair number that would appease talents.

He added that many complaints came as a result of Superstars purposely lying to their colleagues by claiming that they earned more than they actually did.

#2 Former WWE Women’s Champion Chyna

Following his story about Sable wanting more money after WWE Unforgiven: In Your House, Jim Ross also revealed that he found himself in a similar situation with Chyna (real name Joanie Laurer) in the late 1990s.

As one of the original members of D-Generation X, Chyna was often involved in prominent storylines alongside Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

After she grew in popularity and became a more important part of WWE’s shows, The Ninth Wonder of the World told Ross that she wanted to earn the same amount as WWE’s highest-paid Superstar at the time, Steve Austin.

“I had the same issue with Joanie, with Chyna. ‘I want a contract that’s equal to Austin’s.’ ‘Well, Joanie, you’re not going to get that.’ ‘Well, I don’t know why. I’m as popular as he is.’ … ‘Look, you’re not going to get it. I’m not even going to go to Vince [McMahon] with that number because he’ll think you’re crazy.’”

Ross said on another episode of his Grilling JR podcast that Chyna wanted to be paid a guaranteed $1 million per year at one stage.

He explained that she likely earned that figure in some of her years in WWE, including PPV pay-offs and other add-ons, but he felt that a $1m downside was too high.

#1 WWE legend The Undertaker

While the other Superstars in this list were refused a pay increase in WWE, The Undertaker’s pay raise request actually came way back in 1990 during his run with WCW.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated in June 2020, the man behind the ‘Taker character, Mark Calaway, recalled the time that he asked three of WCW’s higher-ups – Jim Herd (Executive Vice President), Ole Anderson (Booker) and Jim Barnett (Senior Adviser) – if he could earn more money after spending almost one year with the company.

“I’d only been there for just under a year, and I was only looking for a little bump in my contract. I got looked straight in the eyes and heard, ‘Mark, you’re a great athlete, but no one is ever going to pay money to see you wrestle.’”

The WWE icon, who went on to debut in Vince McMahon’s company later in 1990, added in an interview with Sam Roberts that he has had those words from WCW officials in his head for the last 30 years, which is why he still brings it up in interviews today.