"Do we know what he gets? Not much" - Veteran comments on WWE underpaying Drew McIntyre and other stars (Exclusive)
Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell opened up on the company's practice of underpaying talent during this week's episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk.
WWE Superstars receive bonuses in addition to their base salaries. It's also known that talent only gets a minor portion of the returns from third-party activities.
Dutch Mantell explained that stars would ideally pocket a handsome fee from private autograph and meet & greet sessions. However, the same doesn't apply to contracted WWE talent. The veteran personality said that Drew McIntyre and other superstars aren't remunerated enough as WWE pockets a majority of their earnings.
Vince McMahon's organization stands to benefit a lot more during the WrestleMania season, as Mantell noted below:
"Do we know what he (Drew McIntyre) gets? Not much. He doesn't. It's like, you know, in WWE, they have two days of autograph signings, you know how many pictures, autographs they sign? There's no telling how much. 1000, maybe more, 100,000, I don't know," said Dutch Mantell. "So that's why WWE, they own all that. So if you went to a private signing and you signed a picture or an autograph for 25 bucks, you get most of that. In WWE, they get about 90% of it. So, when they have WrestleMania, it's just not the pay-per-view or the concessions; they are getting it all of it, most of it. And they just pay some kind of fee in the end, which is not very much." [5:30 - 7:08]
Dutch Mantell on how territories used to pay talents before WWE's rise
Dutch Mantell, fka Zeb Colter, competed in several territories in the 1970s and 80s and revealed how wrestlers were compensated before Vince McMahon transformed the wrestling industry in the United States.
The former manager said that the talents got 30% of the night's revenue while the rest went into the expenses and, finally, to the promoter.
"Do you know how the territories used to pay off? The territories of back in the day, like 30 years ago, say you had a 10,000$ house. This was how the split was supposed to be. 30% for expenses, which is the boarding and the set-up and 30% for the promotion, and 30% for the talent. So you think of it, and talent looks after, and whatnot and 10,000 is just a magical number I pulled up," revealed Mantell. [7:35 - 8:17]
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While Dutch personally didn't encounter any questionable behavior, he was aware of promoters who were not transparent with the talent in financial matters, especially at events that drew larger crowds.
As talent didn't have a way to prove the promoter's discrepancies, Mantell felt most wrestlers did not trust wrestling bosses as the business evolved.
"Then you tell the promoter, 'Wow, there's a lot more people here tonight.' And he says, 'Oh, no, no, no, we did a ticket giveaway.' 'Really, you did?' Whatever it is, they get the first count," added Dutch. "I've known some promoters; I've never seen them do this; they'll walk in and say 15,000, pull a hand full of money and put them in your pocket, and count the rest of them. So you really didn't know what they did, really! And you can't call them thieves because you really can't prove it. That's why wrestlers do not trust promoters and for a reason like that." [8:18 - 9:04]
Do you also feel superstars aren't getting paid well in Vince McMahon's company? Sound off in the comments section below.
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