From the Rumor Mill: Average weekly salary of mid-card WWE talents could has been revealed

WWE's payscale leaves a lot to be desired

What's the story?

Wages in WWE have always been something that many of the WWE Universe have wondered about, especially since it was revealed that Brock Lesnar earned around $12 million back in 2016. Despite Lesnar's pay being so high more than a year ago, it seems that mid-card WWE talents aren't earning anywhere near as much.

In case you didn't know...

There are a number of talents who sign contracts to ensure that they earn so much money each year much like Brock and his $12 million payouts. Dolph Ziggler recently signed a new contract with the company which ensured that he would earn $1.5 million per year whilst the likes of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins are also around the million pounds annual income bracket as well.

Not all talents are paid as well as WWE's biggest stars, it seems that there are a number of stars who are paid a lot less than the WWE Universe were aware, and these are the superstars who are stuck on the mid-card level of the company.

The heart of the matter

Independent wrestler Bin "The Hacker" Hamin recently appeared on The Locker Room where he was able to share some details about the average salary of some of WWE's mid-card talents. According to the star, it seems that many of WWE's stars only make around $166,000 annually, which is a huge drop from what it was eight years ago. (transcript via Bodyslam.net)

“I heard that – this is 2010-ish, right. Guys were making maybe six grand a week with TV and house shows. Mid-card guys that I know, ex-OVW talent. Now I heard that number’s down to maybe three grand, $3,200 a week. So just look in that six-year range, maybe 2010, 2012, 50% pay reduction plus house shows are down so any bonuses along that way.”

Compared to a few years ago it seems that many WWE stars have taken a dramatic pay cut, which definitely isn't best for business.

What's next?

Given the fact that the solo pay-per-views are coming to an end following Fastlane, it is likely that there will be a long list of WWE releases in the fall if the company later decides to bring back the one roster and merge the two brands once again.

Author's take

Compared to megastars like Brock Lesnar a mid-card talent isn't earning a lot of money at all, but for some of these stars they live and breathe the wrestling business and are just happy to be in WWE and doing something that they love. It's harsh that WWE pays a part-timer so much more than their mid-card full-timers, but the company considers him to be a huge draw and it seems that this is their main reasoning for the pay difference.