Professional Wrestlers
- Thread starter Leonidas05
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Don't know the figure, but I heard the "bad guys" make 3 times the good guys.
Posted from wireless.rivals.com[/URL]
Posted from wireless.rivals.com[/URL]
Big names probably make over $1 million a year easily. The average wrestler still probably makes anywhere between $100-500 grand.
The top guys in the business, Undertaker, Michaels, HHH, etc. Make easily over $1 million on their downsides, and then the get about two dollars for every item of merchandise sold, points off the pay per views, and a percentage from house show gates. Without including money from Wresltemania, a dude like John Cena makes about $3.5 to 4 million. If you add money from WM, you can add half again that amount.
The guys on the independent circuit make tons less. A marquee name such as Christopher Daniels or AJ Styles has a fee they charge. Usually, it's $500 to $1000 plus expenses, depending on the promoter and event. On the indy scene, being affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance helps. The NWA World title means more cash in your pocket.
Japan used to be a helluva good place to make cash. "Gaijin" such as Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, and Abdullah the Butcher could make top money. Brody used to make $14,000 per week for a six week tour, plus expenses. These days, if an American pulls $5000 per week, he's doing pretty good.
In the old days, it was about who drew the meat in the seats. Dusty Rhodes could sell out the Eddie Graham Sports Complex in Tampa, so he would get 10% of the gate, minimum. His foe could expect about half that. Heel or face status meant nothing.
Hope this helps.
Cg
The guys on the independent circuit make tons less. A marquee name such as Christopher Daniels or AJ Styles has a fee they charge. Usually, it's $500 to $1000 plus expenses, depending on the promoter and event. On the indy scene, being affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance helps. The NWA World title means more cash in your pocket.
Japan used to be a helluva good place to make cash. "Gaijin" such as Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, and Abdullah the Butcher could make top money. Brody used to make $14,000 per week for a six week tour, plus expenses. These days, if an American pulls $5000 per week, he's doing pretty good.
In the old days, it was about who drew the meat in the seats. Dusty Rhodes could sell out the Eddie Graham Sports Complex in Tampa, so he would get 10% of the gate, minimum. His foe could expect about half that. Heel or face status meant nothing.
Hope this helps.
Cg
Except those guys are always going back and forth between being good and bad.
I don't know the exact numbers, but it's just like acting. The big names make more money. Some of them do really well. And I think the contracts are structured similar to pro athletes' contracts are structured. X years for Y dollars per year, etc.
One of my teachers is the doc for WWE. I'll ask him if he knows anything about how much these guys make. I am curious now.
Againn, that depends on your status. Michaels, 'Taker, Cena, and the other top hands usually have expenses written into their contracts. Mid-carders liek Santino Marella, R. Truth, the Divas, and Justin Gabriel pay their own freight. Mick Foley wrote in "Have a Nice Day" that he used to stay in the crappiest hotels and drive wherever he could to save money.
Like I said, the big names in the indies will usually ask for expenses as part of their regular fee. The local boys and ham and eggers are lucky to make 50 bucks a show. Usually, they make less.
Most of the rank and file guys have day jobs and wrestle because they love it.
Cg
My family had a fried who was a professional wrestler in the WWE and his contract was over 3 million per year.
if that was his guarantee, then he had to have been wrestiing in the '80's and 90's, when McMahon was competing with Ted Turner for even the most mediocre talent. Kevin Nash, two months into his WCW contract, and after the start of the NWO angle, held up Eric Bishchoff for an extra million on his guarantee so he'd be making as much as the top 1 percent of WWE's talent.
These days, the guarantees are about 3/4 of what was being thrown around in the crazy days. The marketing percentages are more generous, though.
Check out Dave Meltzer's industry newsletter, "The Observer." Very insightful. I got mentioned in there a couple of times when I used to be a tv announcer for a wrestling company.
Oh, and just so you'll know, the "million dollar" battle royals and tournaments are paid out in Monopoly money.
Cg
Yeah, there is such a huge difference even between headliners and midcard talent. But when I was on tour the headliners made $$$$$$$$. Of course this was in the late 90's.
Mike
Mike
If you are talking about the hotel room incident from 1983, where his "girlfriend" was found dead under suspicious circumstances, then no. Too much time has passed, there wasn't enough to charge him back then, and that case is pretty much closed. I don't know of anything else he might have hanging over his head.
Look, I was simply answering questions about how much wrestlers make. I have been a fan of wrestilnlg, boxing, combat sports, and amateur wrestling since I was a little boy. I was involved in the business in some way for 18 years, from helping assemble the ring, being a go-fer for the boys, ring announcing, and ultinmately booking and television announcing. I've watched how promoters operate and how they pay the guys (and try not to pay them). I've also been a reader of/contributor to the industry newsletters for that long. I'm not blowing smoke.
I can also safely say that, as much as I love some of the people in the locker room, I hate the business in general. When one of my studetns asks me how he can break into wrestling, I tell him to go to college first. Then he has something to fall back on if/when the industry breaks his heart.
Cg
This post was edited on 5/11 9:06 AM by caldonna
caldonna......fascinating stuff. Would love to hear more if you are willing to share anything.
My favorite was always Rick Flair. When I was a kid we'd go see Abdullah the Butcher and all those guys. My buddy shot the documentary involving Terry Funk....I forget the name of it. Amarillo had a bunch of wrestlers for some reason.
My favorite was always Rick Flair. When I was a kid we'd go see Abdullah the Butcher and all those guys. My buddy shot the documentary involving Terry Funk....I forget the name of it. Amarillo had a bunch of wrestlers for some reason.
Maybe some time we can get together and swap stories...
"Beyone the Mat," by the way, is a helluva documentary. Your buddy should be very proud of it.
Terry and Abby are two of the real characters in the busienss. So was Dick Murdoch...Karl Kox...Sheik. Bill Watts is a horse's ass. Mad Dog Vachon is a hoot.
I remember Gary Hart telling me that Flair could make $10,000 in one night, and spend $12,000 partying. He was "Space Mountain," Gary said, and had an image to keep up.
Eddie Guerrero was a dear, dear friend. I still miss him.
Didn't mean to hijack...
Cg
I think it's a little of both, plus it's just a very different kind of lifestyle. Being on the road basically 52 weeks a year, performing for a live audience, etc., it's just difficult to settle down after that. What would you even do with yourself? From what I've heard, Mark Calloway (The Undertaker) and some others just geniunely love it, too. If you have a body that's durable to the wear and tear, why not?
Yeah Mark certainly does not need the money. I remember talking to him and Peter Senerchia about IRAs and 401Ks while we were getting ready for a show one night.
Mike
Mike
Esoteric, if you don't mind me asking, what was your ring name? I was a huge wrestling nut back in the day.
Caldonna, my father used to run into the Guerrero all the time way back when.
Caldonna, my father used to run into the Guerrero all the time way back when.
I was friends with Dick Murdoch's son when we were kids. I saw him recently but didn't ask about wrestling or anything like that.
I wish I would've made it to the Sportatorium in Dallas back in the day. I saw the building when I first moved to Dallas around 12 yrs ago and it brought back memories of watching it on TV. It's definitely a sad story on the von Erich's. One of the daughters fought at Ticket fight night years ago......she was pretty hot.
I wish I would've made it to the Sportatorium in Dallas back in the day. I saw the building when I first moved to Dallas around 12 yrs ago and it brought back memories of watching it on TV. It's definitely a sad story on the von Erich's. One of the daughters fought at Ticket fight night years ago......she was pretty hot.
I wasn't a wrestler. I was an electrician/moving light programmer on the WWE RAW/Smackdown tour back in the day.
Mike
Mike
Yeah, I went to high school with Mark and he is a college educated (basketball scholarship) guy. I know he has done very well for himself and has started a church/ministry in Austin. We reconnected on Facebook recently after many years.
All I know is Hulk Hogan may not be a great wrestler but he's an awesome face as well as heel. Some wrestlers can only pull off one.
No, I knew Merced through his cousin, Aminta Cavazos, but we weren't friends.
Funny thing about Taz talking 401-k's...that guy could pinch a penny so tight Lincoln would scream in pain.
The Sportatorium was one of the all-time toilets when it came to a wrestling arena. No air-conditioning, trough urinals, and lousy food. But that place could rock when the Von Erichs and the 'Birds were in the ring.
Quick story about Murdoch: I met him when I was up in grad school in Michigan. He and Funk had a match with Abby and Sabu in Taylor, and they tore that place down. All the front row chairs were in the ring, tables were destroyed, and someone had brought a canoe paddle to the show that Terry broke across Abby's back (oooooh, the big man was pissed about that!).
My friend Dom and I were walking back to our car after the show, and who shold be sitting on the trunk of a Saturn rental, but Captain Redneck. He had the trunk open, and there was a cooler full of Lone Star beer in the trunk (I still don't know where the hell he found Lone Star in Michigan). We stopped to talk to him, and he asked, "You boys want a beer?"
I didn't drink beer, but I wasn't going to say no to him. We each took a can. Murdoch opens his and quaffs the whole can in one gulp (not the Steve Austin style, either, but the WHOLE CAN). He crushes the can, reaches for another, looks at us and says, "Godd*mmit, boys! Don't you know how to drink beer?"
He downs that one, and then another. Terry is walking out of the arena at that point, his head stitched up. Murdoch gives him the keys, looks at me and winks.
"Be careful where you put your p*cker, son!"
Sounded like good advice.
Cg
This post was edited on 5/11 12:33 PM by caldonna
Yup, when we were in their home towns, some of the guys would pick up the tab for dinner for the crew from time to time. When we were in NYC, Tazz took us to McDonalds (and only that after the other guys ribbed him really hard for never taking anyone out). I used to love listening Dewayne Johnson tell stories. He had some good ones about his life at the U.
Mike
I had read somewhere that Steve Austin made more than anyone ever has in the WWE due to his merchandising contract being him getting half of every piece of merchandise sold with his likeness. In 1 year he made over 12 million dollars. He was the only one ever to get that type of contract the article said. I love these stories as i grew up watching the Von Erichs wrestle and had a high school friend named Bill Golberg make it pretty darn big for a few years! Thanks for everyone sharing!
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