Former World Champion claims he made more money than top performers during WWE run
Former WWE Superstar has revealed how much he earned from his first contract with the Stamford-based company. The name in question, Chris Jericho, also claimed he used to earn more than several top names in the wrestling promotion during the time.
Despite being a well-known name in WCW, Jericho made a shocking move to WWE in 1999. The switch, however, turned out to be a game-changer, cementing his spot among the top performers in the world of professional wrestling.
On a recent episode of Talk is Jericho, the current FTW Champion revealed his first contract with the global juggernaut was guaranteed at $450,000 a year. The former World Heavyweight Champion claimed it was less than the amount WCW offered him but a lot more than what many WWE Superstars were getting. He added that the bigger monetary deal gave him a target on his back.
"Walking into that dressing room, I had a fairly good guarantee: I got paid $450k grand a year guaranteed to come in, which was a lot less than WCW was offering me, but I didn’t care about the money. I just cared about the opportunity. It was a lot more than a lot of people were making in WWE, so at the time, guaranteed contracts were just starting to become a thing, which is so laughable when you think about it now. I have kind of a target on my back of this 'hot young upstart coming in, he’s interrupting The Rock, he’s got this big push, this big contract.' There was kind of a lot of odds stacked against me when I first walked into the dressing room," he said. [H/T: Fightful]
Check out the entire podcast below:
Chris Jericho recalls his debut promo in WWE
Chris Jericho had one of the most memorable debuts in professional wrestling. The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla came out to a thunderous pop from the crowd and went into a promo battle with The Rock on debut.
On the same podcast, Jericho re-watched his debut promo against The People's Champion and claimed it felt like he was watching a Modern-Day MJF promo. He further joked about the AEW American Champion being influenced by him.
"There is a lot of MJF in this promo. Not that he is influenced by me, but it's obvious he is [laughs]. I feel like I'm watching a modern-day MJF promo right now," Jericho said. [H/T: Fightful]
Chris Jericho is scheduled to defend his FTW title at AEW All In against HOOK. It remains to be seen who comes out on top when the two square off in London later this week.