Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: WWE, WrestleMania, Wrestling
Ryan Smart
A WWE legend has had his WrestleMania payslip posted online - and it contains a fascinating detail.
WrestleMania is WWE's biggest yearly event, with this year's extravaganza held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Every WWE wrestler receives a base yearly salary, which is boosted by merchandise sales and a reported cut of pay-per-view sales.
Advert
Therefore, top merch sellers in the company such as CM Punk, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley and Alexa Bliss will typically earn huge amounts on WrestleMania weekend, with hundreds of thousands of fans descending on the host city.
Wrestler salaries have changed exponentially over the years, with more revenue coming into the business than ever before over the past 12 months.
In the past, wrestlers were often paid a base salary and a cut of ticket sales from house shows, with stars travelling between various cities and promotions across the United States to perform in front of live audiences.
On Wednesday, the son of WWE legend Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat, who was one of the top stars in the company in the 1980s, posted his father's payslip from WrestleMania 3 online.
Advert
Steamboat defeated 'Macho Man' Randy Savage to win the Intercontinental Championship at the event, in a match that is still fondly remembered by fans today.
Steamboat, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, was paid £50,000 as a base salary for the event.
More notably, however, was a deduction of $200 for an undisclosed reason.
TNA wrestler Nic Nemeth - who performed for WWE as Dolph Ziggler between 2008 and 2023 - explained the reason why in the comments section.
He said: "We used to have the option to take a cash 'draw' at TV, PPV or the event. $200 max.
Advert
"[I took it] every day. Was told by a veteran very early on, even if you just take $20, it's on record that you were there, in case there's a pay discrepancy and they say you weren't, etc. Check the paperwork and you're vindicated."
The exact amounts that WWE wrestlers earn is not publicly available, but reports indicate that the likes of Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins all comfortably take home seven-figure sums each year.
As mentioned above, their wage packets are boosted by merchandise sales.
Advert
Reports claim that wrestlers take home up to five per cent of those merchandise sales, with top sellers on the WWE website for 2024 including Reigns, Rhodes, John Cena, Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan.
Speaking to SPORTbible last year, Rhodes revealed that WWE stars do receive company benefits but that they still pay for a number of luxuries out of their own pocket.
"I'd love to be like, 'WWE takes care of my bus, WWE takes care of the private jets'," he said.
"Here's what it is. The money in the industry has gone way up, which is great, because for a long time wrestlers had this great global penetration where we're being paid less than stars with less of a penetration.
Advert
"So when you get these big bucks, NBA-level contracts as a WWE superstar or wrestler, you don't mind paying for your bus. That bus [Rhodes' own personal tour bus], I bought. It is mine."