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Former WWE executive Jim Ross often says on his Grilling JR podcast that almost every backstage complaint in WWE is either about cash or creative.
Some WWE Superstars speak to the company’s Talent Relations department because they want their on-screen character to receive better opportunities, while others have let it be known that they should earn more money.
On one occasion, a WWE Hall of Famer even sent a letter to Vince McMahon demanding that he should earn as much as WWE’s highest-paid Superstar at the time.
Another backstage story about WWE finances emerged in 2020 when Ross revealed that a female Superstar once requested as much money as Stone Cold Steve Austin.
In this article, let’s find out the full details behind those two stories, plus three others, as we take a look at five WWE Superstars who wanted more money than their colleagues.
#5 Kurt Angle wanted as much as WWE’s highest-paid Superstar
The inspiration for this article comes from an interesting conversation that Kurt Angle had with Steve Austin on WWE Network show Broken Skull Sessions.
During a discussion about Angle’s initial business dealings with WWE, the Olympic Gold medallist revealed that he was offered a 10-year deal worth $500,000 per year after his Olympic success.
Angle decided to reject the offer after listening to some advice from his agent at the time. Then, two years later, he got back in touch with WWE and asked if they still wanted him.
Jim Ross immediately signed Angle after watching just 20 minutes of his tryout. However, the former Head of WWE’s Talent Relations could only give the Olympian a five-year deal worth $50,000 per year, as well as a promise that they could renegotiate the contract once Angle was on television.
One year later, Angle had already won the WWE Championship and he was regularly headlining shows with the likes of Austin and The Rock.
When it came to contract negotiations, he decided to ask for the same amount of money as WWE’s highest-paid Superstar.
“My fight to get more money was pretty easy because I’m main-eventing with Stone Cold Steve Austin when we’re talking about negotiations for a new contract. So I said, ‘You know what, I want what Austin is getting.’”
Austin, who had never heard the story before, burst out laughing when Angle told him what he said.
“Motherf*****! You can’t do that!”
Angle did not reveal how much he went on to earn after those negotiations with Ross, but he confirmed that he did not get the same deal as Austin.
#4 Chyna wanted as much as WWE’s highest-paid Superstar
Kurt Angle was not the only WWE Superstar who asked to earn the same amount of money as Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Speaking on a Backlash 2000 episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross recalled the time that Vince McMahon allowed him to decide the fate of Chyna’s WWE future.
Ross, who worked as the Senior Vice President of Talent Relations in WWE, said Chyna wanted a guaranteed $1 million per year and a contract that was just as good as Austin’s.
“She wanted a million dollars guarantee because she felt like she was worth more being a female, being more unique, than Stone Cold, some of the other guys. There was only a handful of guys making a million dollars per year.”
McMahon told Ross that he could have the final say on whether he thought Chyna was worth $1 million per year.
In the end, Ross felt that the downside guarantee was far too big and he decided not to agree to her demands.
Chyna ended up leaving WWE in November 2001, six months after her final televised WWE match.
#3 Becky Lynch wanted to be WWE’s highest-paid Superstar
According to figures published by the Daily Express, Becky Lynch had an annual base salary of $250,000 in 2019 – the year in which she headlined WWE WrestleMania 35 against Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey.
That unconfirmed number does not take into account bonuses and additional revenue from merchandise, which means she likely earned a lot more than her downside guarantee.
Speaking to TV Insider in February 2020, Lynch claimed that she should earn more money than every other WWE Superstar, as well as WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
“I should be making more in that whole company, everybody – Vince McMahon included. I want to change the game. I want to prove that it doesn’t matter your gender, your race, your background, if you are doing the job and keeping people invested, if you are keeping people interested, then you deserve to be paid at a level higher than anybody else. Or as high as anybody else. As high as the best of them.”
Lynch’s comment came one month after the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that she had agreed a new contract with WWE worth at least $1 million per year.
The former WWE RAW Women’s Champion denied the report on Twitter. However, as her storyline at the time revolved around a contract dispute with WWE, it is unclear whether she was being serious or simply responding in-character.
#2 Triple H wanted assurances that nobody else had a better WWE deal
Before Triple H became the successful WWE executive that he is today, The Game was another WWE Superstar on the roster who wanted to earn as much money as he possibly could.
In another storyline from his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross gave an in-depth analysis of WWE’s behind-the-scenes business around the time of the Backlash 2000 pay-per-view, which was headlined by Triple H vs. The Rock in a WWE Championship match.
Ross recalled that he once had a conversation with Triple H on a lighting equipment case in the backstage area before a WWE show.
The former WWE commentator informed The King of Kings that his new deal would make him the highest-paid Superstar in the company.
“He [Triple H] says, he’s very stern, looked me right in the eyes… ‘Are you sure nobody’s got a better deal?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’m very sure. Are you doubting me?’ ‘No, I just wanted to make sure.’ I said, ‘Okay, well, you’re sure. Nobody in this company has a bigger downside guarantee than you will have when you sign that contract. Is that what you wanted to hear?’ ‘Yep.’ Then he shook my hand, off they went, and there he goes.”
Ross added that Triple H’s contract – a $1 million per year downside guarantee – would be considered a pay cut if one of WWE’s top Superstars earned that much in 2020.
#1 The Ultimate Warrior wanted as much as WWE’s highest-paid Superstar
The Ultimate Warrior teamed with Hulk Hogan to defeat Sgt. Slaughter, General Adnan, and Colonel Mustafa in the main event of WWE SummerSlam 1991.
Seven weeks before the pay-per-view, Warrior threatened to no-show the event if Vince McMahon did not give in to several of his financial demands.
In January 2014, Warrior's letter to the WWE Chairman from July 1991 leaked online (view the PDF here).
The letter showed that Warrior wanted to earn just as much as WWE’s top Superstar at the time, Hulk Hogan.
“I want (1) $550,000 release from the monies allotted me to purchase my home. This will suffice as my Wrestlemania VII payoff, but let it be noted it is not fair. I meant as much or more to that show as Hulk - I deserve to be paid the same (I know what Hulk will get).” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Warrior also wanted equal pay to Hogan on all WWE shows, including SummerSlam 1991 and future WWE pay-per-views.
"(3) I want the same pay cut as Hulk gets on all Pay-Per-Views, SNME, FRIDAY PRIMETIME, house shows and proof as such. The same pay cut applies to what Hulk has been paid with relationship to past events Wrestlemania V, VI, VII i.e when Hulk was top draw.”
McMahon explained on The Self Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior DVD that he reluctantly agreed to Warrior’s demands, but only because he did not want his Superstar to no-show a match that had already been advertised.
The WWE Chairman added that it gave him “great pleasure” to suspend Warrior after SummerSlam.
