There was a time when it looked like WCW was going to take over the wrestling industry. They did that for 83 weeks in the late '90s. But then in just a few short years, WCW managed to screw everything up and go bankrupt. During their peak years, they hired a ton of wrestlers under huge contracts.

Some wrestlers were happy to get paid while doing less work in WCW. Hulk Hogan was WCW's biggest signing and also the most expensive, but who were the other top earners of the company? The information from here is public knowledge from Sonny Onoo's lawsuit against WCW which can be seen here.

UPDATE: 2024/04/13 14:30 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA

WCW was WWE's biggest rival in the late 1990s, and for good reason. The promotion boasted an incredible amount of talent, including Sting, Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, and more. They even managed to beat WWE in the ratings for weeks. However, WCW also had numerous issues with it. For many wrestlers, they saw it as a way to wrestle for an increased paycheck and fewer dates. However, many of those same wrestlers were also far past their prime and engaged in a lot of backstage politics.

20 Alex Wright Was A Great Athlete

WCW Pay: $1.3 Million

• Wright debuted for WCW in 1994.
• He is a multi-time champion in the promotion.
• He was mostly retired after WCW shut down.

Treading this far down in the earnings of all the talent that worked with WCW sees the numbers get closer together. Still surprising though to see Alex Wright make nearly the same as names like Curt Hennig and Buff Bagwell who both seemed much more important to the promotion on-screen.

Wright was an amazing athlete nonetheless and captured multiple titles in the promotion. Wright's money really came from his single year as Berlyn, which earned him almost $400,000 alone.

19 Curt Hennig Achieved Some Success In WCW

WCW Pay: $1.3 Million

• Hennig made more than Eddie Guerrero and The Giant.
• He was a member of the nWo.
• He is a former WCW US Heavyweight Champion.

Sadly, in both WWE and WCW, Curt Hennig, a.k.a. Mr. Perfect wasn't able to find World Championship reigns during his career. Despite this, he was still doing well financially, and he earned $1.3 million dollars, beating out stars like Eddie Guerrero and The Giant.

Hennig also still had a fair share of championships under his name, including the WCW United States Championship, a belt he held for 104 days.

18 Buff Bagwell Was One Of WCW's Biggest Mid-Carders

WCW Pay: $1.3 Million

• Bagwell wrestled for WCW for 10 years.
• He was a multi-time WCW World Tag Team Champion.
• He was in WWE in 2001 briefly.

Buff Bagwell was a mid-carder for his WCW run but still was able to get a great deal, making $1.3 million throughout his career. Constantly being on television and one of the main mouthpieces for the nWo was a major help to him during that time.

Bagwell didn't have the most championship reigns but was able to capture the World Tag Team Championships on multiple occasions. Bagwell tried to get a WWE career started after WCW was done but wasn't well received by fans.

17 Sid Vicious Was A Two-Time World Champion

WCW Pay: $1.5 Million

• Vicious wrestled on and off for WCW.
• He was a 2-time WCW Champion.
• He also held the WCW US Heavyweight Champion.

If World Championship Wrestling lasted any longer than it did, it is highly likely that Sid Vicious could be much higher on this list. His final two years with WCW saw him make the entirety of his $1.5 million, running at about $750,000 a year.

With that average continuing, Sid could have made it to the top eleven highest earners before all was said and done. Sid captured the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice during his final run with the promotion, happening just one day apart from each other.

16 Stevie Ray Was Apart Of One Of WCW's Biggest Tag Teams

WCW Pay: $1.6 Million

• Stevie Ray and Booker T made up Harlem Heat.
• He was a 10-time WCW World Tag Team Champion.
• He held the WCW World Television Title once.

Much like the next entry, Stevie Ray had a career that was overshadowed by his brother, who ended up finding much more success in WCW and wrestling as a whole. That is not to discredit anything Stevie Ray has done as he still won multiple titles and had a fairly decent career.

Stevie was one half of the legendary Harlem Heat tag team alongside his brother Booker T. After WCW folded and was bought by the WWE, Stevie wrestled a few shows here and there including Reality of Wrestling, a promotion run by Booker T, before fully retiring from the sport.

15 Rick Steiner Was Successful In Singles And Tag Team Competition

WCW Pay: $1.6 Million

• The Steiner Brothers were seven-time tag team champions in WCW.
• He is a one-time WCW US Heavyweight Champion.
• The Steiner Brothers were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022.

While definitely not making as much as his brother Scott was, Rick Steiner still made a good $1.6 million during his time with the company. Rick found his most success while teaming with his brother where they captured the NWA & WCW World Tag Team Championships seven times together.

Both Scott and Rick still receive critical acclaim for their work as a duo, with multiple publications like Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Pro Wrestling Illustrated rating them as one of the best tag teams ever, They would both be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame together in 2022.

14 Konnan Did Well While In WCW

WCW Pay: $1.7 Million

• Konnan was one of WCW's most notable midcard talents.
• He achieved some singles success in the company.
• He was a member of the nWo Wolfpack.

One name that stuck out for being this high up in the earnings was Konnan. A good wrestler and character, but that aside, Konnan never reached the same heights in WCW as the other names listed below.

Konnan's biggest accomplishments were capturing a couple of Tag Team Title reigns, the US Championship, and the Television Title. Any other success he had was outside the promotion, like running Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and later having a helping hand in the creation of Lucha Underground.

13 Ric Flair's WCW Pay Got Lower Over Time

WCW Pay: $1.9 Million

• Flair was one of WCW's biggest names throughout it's history.
• He was a seven-time WCW Champion.
• Flair made less and less appearances toward the end of WCW.

Not being able to see the records of how much Ric Flair made throughout his entire time with Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW does a disservice in showing how the Nature Boy was able to afford all those limousines and jets.

From 1996 to the end of WCW, Flair only made around $1.9 million dollars, with 1999 being an especially low year for Flair's income. Those last two years were both particularly low compared to the rest of his career due to Flair stepping back from appearances and in-ring action compared to his prime.

12 Booker T Was One Of The Company's Biggest Stars Near The End

WCW Pay: $2 Million

• Booker T became one of the company's biggest names toward the end of WCW.
• He was a dual champion on the final episode of Nitro.
• He held numerous singles and tag team titles in his WCW career.

Fans wouldn't be wrong to think that with how much WCW relied on Booker T toward the end of things, he should have been paid more than he was. 1999 and 2000 were the highest-earning years of Booker's career with the promotion, where he made $640,000 and $700,000 respectively.

Booker T ended his run with WCW on top of the company as he held both the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and United States Championship during the promotion's last day.

11 Diamond Dallas Page Started His Career Later

WCW Pay: $2 Million

• Page began wrestling in his 30s.
• He held the WCW Championship three-times.
• He won countless other titles in WCW as well.

Diamond Dallas Page started wrestling in his 30s and became one of WCW's biggest babyfaces. The rise of DDP was organic, and his fame earned him millions of dollars in WCW. While DDP signed with WCW in 1991, he made most of his money at the end of the 20th century. From 1996 to 1998, he only made about $527k.

In 1999, he became the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. That year, he made over a million dollars. DDP made a little over $1.3 million in 1999, bringing his total income to $2,097,832 (over 500,000 dollars from licensing revenue and the other 29,620 dollars from merchandise).

10 Scott Steiner's Biggest Financial Year Was In 2000

WCW Pay: $2.3 Million

• Steiner never made a million dollars in a year.
• His highest paid year was when he first became WCW Champion.
• He did not join WWE in 2001.

Big Poppa Pump didn't ever have a year when he made over a million dollars, but instead, he was getting paid pretty decently throughout his career. Steiner's highest-paid year was 2000, which saw him finally capture the WCW World Heavyweight Championship that November.

Scott was one of the names who decided to wait until his AOL Time Warner contract expired before starting work with other promotions. He later made his WWE return in 2002, signing a decent three-year contract, but left the company early in 2004.

9 Roddy Piper Made Less In WCW Than In WWE

WCW Pay: $2.6 Million

• Piper debuted for WCW in 1996.
• He was in the company for four years.
• He feuded with Hulk Hogan.

At Halloween Havoc 1996, Roddy Piper appeared in WCW and confronted Hulk Hogan. Piper was in WCW for the next four years. In 1996, he only made about $185k because he joined the company late. For the next three years, Piper made over $600,000. In 2000, he was fired from WCW in July and only made about $435k. In total, Piper made $2,690,428 in WCW ($36,105 from licensing revenue). Nowhere near as much as he likely made in WWE, but still a nice chunk of money for a wrestler past his prime.

8 Scott Hall's Income Went Up And Up

WCW Pay: $4.1 Million

• Hall joined WCW in May 1996.
• He left WCW in 2000.
• He was a multi-time champion in singles and tag team competition.

Scott Hall jumped ships to WCW from WWE in May 1996. He was with WCW until 2000 and made over $4 million from his contract alone. The most money Scott made was in 1998, when he earned about 1.4 million dollars. When Hall left WCW in 2000, he had made a total of $4,178,446 (about $164k from licensing and $9k from merch revenue).

7 Lex Luger Was WWE's First Defector In The Monday Night Wars

WCW Pay: $4.7 Million

• Luger joined WCW on the first-ever Nitro.
• Sting was the reason Luger got signed.
• Luger initially signed for $150k.

Lex Luger blindsided WWE by appearing on the premiere of WCW Nitro. Eric Bischoff initially didn't want to sign Luger but only did because of Sting. Eric offered Luger $150,000 in hopes that Lex would turn down the offer; he didn't.

But in 1996, he made almost three times his previous contract. He only made more in the following years. From 1996 to 2000, Luger made about $4.5 million from his contract alone. With licensing and merchandise revenue combined, Lex got $4,753,880 from WCW.

6 Kevin Nash Was A Vital WCW Signing

WCW Pay: $5.9 Million

• Nash had multiple roles while in WCW.
• He was a founding member of the nWo.
• He held the WCW Championship five-times.

After Scott Hall joined WCW, Kevin Nash followed suit. These two were one of WCW's most important signings. Nash exited WCW with almost six million dollars by the time he left in 2000. That year, he also made the most money, at about $1.8 million (licensing and merchandise revenue included). His total income was $5,960,868.

5 Sting Was The Face Of WCW

WCW Pay: $6 Million

• Sting was the biggest homegrown star in WCW history.
• His income increased 10x during his career.
• He didn't sign with WWE until 2014.

Sting was the face of WCW in the '90s. He stuck by the promotion until the end. Sting was also one of WCW's highest-paid wrestlers. He made only about $87k in 1996, but saw his income increase by over 10 times. In the next four years, Sting made about five million dollars. From 1996 to 2000, Sting's total income in WCW was $6,045,809 (making over a million dollars in licensing revenue alone).

4 Randy Savage Joined WCW The Same Year He Left WWE

WCW Pay: $6.1 Million

• Savage left WWE in 1994.
• His Slim Jim contract was a vital part of his career.
• He was a four-time WCW Champion.

Randy Savage left WWE in 1994 and joined WCW the same year. He was a massive star already and WCW paid him accordingly. Savage made about $743k in 1996, with his income almost tripling the following year.

He only made one television appearance in 2000 and didn't appear again. That year he only made about $223k. In total, Savage made $6,102,133 (again, with licensing and merchandise revenue added) in WCW.

3 Bret Hart Joined WCW After A Bad WWE Exit

WCW Pay: $6.7 Million

• Hart left WWE after the Montreal Screwjob.
• WCW never knew what to do with him.
• He had to retire early due to injury.

Bret Hart had the momentum after his controversial exit from WWE at Survivor Series 1997. WCW could've used his momentum to turn the tides during Monday Night War, but they had no idea what to do with The Hitman's talent. While Hart did receive a hefty paycheck from WCW, he also lost a ton of money due to his early retirement.

In just four years, Hart made $6,754,074 (almost $174k from licensing and another $3k from merchandise revenue).

2 Goldberg Was One Of WCW's Biggest Homegrown Stars

WCW Pay: $8.8 Million

• Goldberg had WCW's biggest undefeated streak.
• He made five million dollars in 1999.
• He did not sign with WWE until 2003.

In the late '90s, Goldberg became WCW's biggest superstar. His undefeated streak made him over with the fans who only wanted to see Goldberg squash another superstar. In 1999 alone, Goldberg made over five million dollars.

By the time he left, Goldberg had made $7.6 million from his contract and another $1.2 million from licensing and merchandise revenue (in total, $8,899,460).

1 Hulk Hogan Was WCW's Highest Paid Wrestler

WCW Pay: $13.1 Million

• Hogan annually made millions of dollars.
• Hogan made significantly less in 1997.
• He made double what most wrestlers made.

Hulk Hogan made millions of dollars yearly from 1996 to 2000, except in 1997. That year, The Hulkster only made about $477k for some reason. Still, the other years were very lucrative for Hogan. He made a total of 13 million dollars from his five years of work in WCW ($13,171,042, to be exact).

Hogan was easily the highest paid superstar throughout the promotion, making almost double what the people directly under him were making. It obviously worked out because Hogan's work with the nWo was the rating spark WCW needed to stay afloat as long as they were.