"He b*tched about getting $500,000" - Former WWE star says Vince McMahon fired current champion for complaining about his WrestleMania payout 

Former WWE Superstar The Sandman (real-life James Fullington) claims that Vince McMahon fired Bobby Lashley during his initial tenure with the company because he complained about his WrestleMania 23 payout.

The current United States Champion took on Umaga at the event in a match that was billed as the "Battle of the Billionaires." He represented Donald Trump while the latter represented the former WWE Chairman. The All Mighty defeated The Samoan Bulldozer to win the bout, and as per the stipulation, Vince McMahon had his head shaved bald.

During a virtual signing with Captain's Corner, The Sandman revealed that Bobby Lashley was not happy about the half-a-million-dollar payment he received for the match. He added that as a result, he was let go by the company.

"Bobby Lashley was in that match [Battle of the Billionaires]. He got fired, you know why? Because he b*tched about getting $500,000 for that match, because Bobby Lashley could not wrestle a lick back then. Now he’s pretty good, but he couldn’t wrestle really good back then. He f*****g complained about getting half-a-million dude. Vince McMahon is like, you’re fired. Didn’t take him back for years… He’s over as sh*t now," said Sandman. [H/T POST Wrestling]

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The Sandman says Vince McMahon paid him $40,000 for his performance at WrestleMania 23

During his time with the company, Sandman was part of the ECW Originals stable, which included stars such as Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer. At WWE WrestleMania 23, they collided with The New Breed in an eight-man tag team match.

During the virtual signing, Sandman stated that he received a $40,000 payout for the match.

"Dude, $40,000 to do two moves [at WrestleMania 23]. I did a leg drop from the top rope on [Matt] Striker who was laying over the top rope and I did a clothesline over the top rope on [The Pope Elijah Burke] … And I clotheslined him over the top rope. Got a f*****g check like two months later while there were eight guys in the match and we were fit on the card of eight and the main event was — I forget what was after us but then the main was [Donald] Trump shaving f*****g Vince McMahon," he said.

After leaving WWE in 2008, Bobby Lashley returned to the company a decade later in 2018. He has achieved a lot of success in his second tenure and is currently on a dominant run as United States Champion as part of the RAW brand.

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