Former WWE Superstar Ryback hypothesized that wrestlers, no matter where they're on the kayfabe ladder, should be be paid equally. His reasoning was that, in a predetermined environment, the ones that make the stars look like one deserves to be in the same wage bracket as them.
“It blows my mind how in a sport which is predetermined, from a company standpoint, winners are paid so much more than the losers,” wrote Ryback in a Tumblr post. “Every single person who works for WWE from top to bottom is absolutely just as valuable as the next. The winners cannot win unless the losers go out there and agree to lose to them.”
The former Intercontinental Champion has received flak for a lot of things he's said since leaving WWE in 2016, but a good number of fans are in agreement with this claim of his, for obvious reasons.
While his statement holds true to an extent, wrestling promotions only push deserving wrestlers after seeing them in training, gauging their popularity, talent and ability to push merch. It’s difficult to take a side in this argument for an outsider.
Both insiders and outsiders must know one thing, however: the status quo is set to remain.
The following article looks at 10 WWE wrestlers who are overpaid and 10 who are underpaid. The wrestlers are categorized based off their popularity, talent and how crucial they’re to WWE programming.
In the event you disagree with us, use the comments’ section to do the needful. Also, if you enjoy the article, feel free to share it with your friends.
20 Overpaid: Lana - $200,000
The common consensus is that Vince McMahon isn’t a big fan of managers. He’s only in favor of signing a manager if they can wrestle an odd match every now and then. Perhaps, that’s why they sent Lana down to NXT to receive in-ring experience. Her being open to receiving body slams has only cemented her place in the company after she’d established herself as a solid promo.
She absolutely deserves her place on the roster but, as far as pay goes, she definitely comes under the overpaid bracket, especially when Bayley, a much bigger and superior talent, also takes home $200,000.
19 Underpaid: Seth Rollins - $3 Million
More than 90% of the world’s population would be delighted to take home $3,000,000. In fact, only a few wrestlers, including AJ Styles, Roman Reigns and Randy Orton. However, given Seth Rollins’ worth, WWE must be paying at least as much as they pay AJ Styles. The Architect has been on a 2K’s cover, become a Grand Slam Champion and has shown up on numerous television talk shows, representing WWE.
Additionally, while Roman Reigns connects with kids and AJ Styles caters to the hardcore fan base, he basically covers both, thus proving to be a rare talent. He probably rakes in $1 million more in merch sales and PPV shares, but his base pay should be at least $4 million.
18 Overpaid: Dana Brooke - $200,000
Dana Brooke’s position in the company baffles even the keenest observers of the company and art form. For she was among the worst in-ring workers and promos in NXT when Vince McMahon and co. called her up. Plus, she had been in the developmental for just one-third of the time Bayley did. WWE sometimes do call up talents prematurely but seldom do they overpay them. She’s an outlier in this regard as well. While most new talents make just a little over $100,000, she makes as much as veterans Mike Kanellis, Epico Colon, Bayley and Curt Hawkins. One expects her to leave when her contract expires, but no one would be surprised if WWE ends up re-signing her.
17 Underpaid: Charlotte Flair - $550,000
Charlotte Flair is one of the best paid women wrestlers in WWE today. In fact, only Ronda Rousey makes more than her and understandably so. Indeed, her position in the payroll is well-deserved, when one takes her talent and progress into consideration. However, when compared with what her male counterparts make, she’s on peanuts. With even mid-carders like Rusev and Sin Cara making at least $150,000 more than her, one can’t help but be critical of the wage gap in WWE. She, a certified main-eventer, who had arguably the best match at WrestleMania, deserves so much more.
16 Overpaid: Fandango - $400,000
Paying Fandango $400,000 makes absolute sense when one considers the amount of experience he has. He has been on WWE’s payroll for over 12 years now even though it only feels like he joined the company a couple of years ago. His position on the card definitely must be better, and no one knows if his being where he’s is because of the wrestler himself or the management. Whatever the reason is, a jobber tag-team wrestler, who has never won a main-roster title, should never be making more money than more legitimate and more marketable tag-team guys like The Revival, The Club and The Usos.
15 Underpaid: Kofi Kingston - $500,000
Kofi Kingston is among the most underrated wrestlers not jsut in WWE but also in the industry in whole. The New Day wrestler recently broke a Tag Team Championship record. He is only a few days short of holding those for over 1000 days, and the hardcore wrestling fan base has been clamouring for his winning a Royal Rumble match or the WWE Championship or Universal Championship. However, for some reason, WWE is unwilling to push him.
They aren’t just ready to push him, for they’re unready to even pay him the wages he deserves. Indeed, Big E and Xavier Woods are supremely-talented highly-marketable athletes; however, they shouldn’t making as much as the former US Champion does. Sadly, they do.
14 Overpaid: Rhyno - $500,000
Rhyno is, indeed, the last true ECW Original to still be able to go in the ring. It looks as though he’s set to wrestle at the highest level for a few more years, considering the fact that he’s still only 43 years old, just a year or two older than their biggest names, John Cena and AJ Styles. However, it's clear that his star power has faded and WWE only features him in limited spots. They’re only portraying the hardcore wrestler as a comedy jobber who eats bags of crackers with cheese all the time and hangs out with long-time comedy jobber Heath Slater. For someone who’s performing the role he does and wrestling only as frequently as he does, $500,000-a-year deal is a tad too much.
13 Underpaid: Sami Zayn - $500,000
Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn’s best friend, is pulling in at least $2 million every annual year, but the Canada-born ginger is only making a paltry $500,000 annually. He, who formerly wrestled as El Generico, has been a workhorse for the company for many years. In fact, he has been in the company for longer than his former Universal Championship, and has been putting on critically-acclaimed matches more consistently, like his classics against Shinsuke Nakamura and Neville have all only failed to earn him the push and raise he has deserved for months now. Perhaps, he’s just as nice as his character is in real life, because he should be demanding a raise.
12 Overpaid: Erick Rowan - $550,000
WWE still hasn’t moved from the period when they treated bigger men better. While it’s true that it’d be foolish to not make Braun Strowman, one of the most over performers in modern WWE, a central figure, some of the bigger wrestlers have received pushes they never deserved. Big Cass is a recent example, but he was only paid as much as a rookie deserves. Rowan, in contrast, has been making inexplicable amounts of money. In fact, he’s been making as much as in-ring general and industry veteran Harper: $550,000.
Given his size and character work, he absolutely deserves to be near the top of of the tag-team food pyramid, but he definitely doesn’t belong anywhere near the top as far as pay structure goes.
11 Underpaid: Shinsuke Nakamura - $400,000
In pushing more international talents, WWE has been effectively catering to minority groups and foreign fan base. In fact, they even made Shinsuke Nakamura a Royal Rumble winner and United States Champion in his primitive years on the main roster. The Artist has not just managed to get hardcore fans invested in SmackDown Live, for he’s also managed to draw the attention of the casual audience. He’s one of the top 10 marketable characters on the roster today; however, for some reason, WWE is unwilling to pay the wages he deserves. He’s on a measly $400,000-a-year deal, and deserves to make seven figures annually at the very least.
10 Overpaid: Sin Cara - $700,000
It’s stunning that WWE have chose to keep Sin Cara, the character, a part of their programming when they have The Lucha House Party on their payroll. Their keeping the wrestler who plays the character, Jorge Arias, on the roster, however, makes sense, as he, an 18-year veteran of the industry, must have a lot to offer both on and off the ring. However, what makes absolutely no sense is his making more than half the roster, men or women. To put things into perspective, he makes more than what both The Usos do combined and just $50,000 less than Chris Jericho did on his last contract.
9 Underpaid: Goldust - $400,000
You know a wrestler commands respect when hardcore wrestling fans support the idea of their becoming a WWE Champion at the age of 49. Perhaps, that’s only because Goldust has been underrated his entire career, but Goldust commands a great deal of respect from wrestlers, promoters and fans alike. He, who has been wrestling actively for over three decades, must be among the best paid wrestlers on WWE’s payroll today given his experience and talent and his character’s uniqueness. However, he only takes home a meager $400,000 every year, with those who have only a small portion of his experience making so much more.
8 Overpaid: Rusev - $800,000
Rusev is in a weird position, really. The fans are clearly behind him, with Rusev Day chants echoing in every arena he performs at. However, no one really knows if they chants are meme-y or they’re behind the wrestler. The company seems to believe in him as well, given their putting him in high-profile feuds and matches against The Undertaker, John Cena and The Rock. In addition, his two United States Championship reigns lasted 271 days. They’re also paying him $800,000 per year, positioning him in the same group as veterans Kane, Big Show and Chris Jericho. However, with similar names making significantly less, one can’t help but label him overpaid.
7 Underpaid: Braun Strowman - $300,000
Braun Strowman is one of the biggest attractions in the company today. You know a wrestler is super over with the casual fan base, the group WWE can’t really connect with of late, when the Saudi Arabians put the green belt on him. He has only been on high-profile feuds for over two years, and should definitely be making at least $1 million every year despite his relative inexperience. However, WWE is only paying him a little less than one-third of it: $300,000. Granted, Strowman is one of their top merchandise sellers, and likely pockets a lot more, but his base salary is vastly low.
It’s entirely possible that WWE offers him a much improved salary when his current deal expires but, as things stand, he’s one of the most underpaid wrestlers in the company.
6 Overpaid: Jinder Mahal - $900,000
Jinder Mahal absolutely deserves all the glory that WWE has bestowed him with since his return to the company. Even though he has failed to connect with the hardcore fan base, he has earned respect from the WWE head honchos going to extreme lengths to work on his physique. However, it’s debatable if he deserves to take home just $100,000 short of $1 million every year. When you consider the fact that his character loses credibility and becomes much less interesting without The Singh Brothers, who probably make a combined $200,000 or more, though, one confirms he’s an overpaid wrestler.
5 Underpaid: The Usos - $250,000
All right, we’ve already mentioned how much The Usos make. It’s unjust that Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso make only $250,000 each every year when members of The New Day make what they make combined individually. WWE is said to put wrestlers who are related to The Rock on a pedestal, given their employing Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax. In The Usos’ case, however, WWE is being a tad bit unfair. The twins have been with the company since 2009 and, are two of the few WWE originals the hardcore wrestling fans actually get behind thanks to their being well-rounded talents. The five-time WWE Tag Team Champions should be making at least twice as much as they currently do.
4 Overpaid: Bray Wyatt - $1 Million
Bray Wyatt is said to be underused and undervalued, as keen observers of WWE’s programming believe he could be a solid main eventer thanks to his being being an excellent promo. He has only had a solitary WWE Championship reign, but he’s managed to be on the same wage bracket as multiple-time WWE Champions like Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus and Jeff Hardy. In fact, he makes $700,000 more than his brother Bo Dallas, who actually debuted six months before he did in November 2008. The Eater of Worlds probably deserves to make what he does, but he’s definitely overpaid when compared to his colleagues.
3 Underpaid: Ruby Riott - $80,000
Now that Becky Lynch has finally managed to earn Vince McMahon’s respect, I reckon we can all make Ruby Riott the new Becky Lynch. There’ve been contrasting reports about how much the 27-year-old former Shine Wrestling, Chikara and World Wonder Ring Stardom performer makes. Some accounts state she’s only making $80,000 a year while other reports state she’s on a $100,000-a-year deal. Either way, she’s underpaid.
She, a eight-year veteran, is one of the best all-round performers, and nothing attests to the assertion as her calling the spots after the Brie Bella-Liv Morgan incident in a recent episode of Raw. She doesn’t just deserve a raise, for she also deserves a title reign.
2 Overpaid: Sheamus - $1 Million
Sheamus is an unsung hero. In fact, he’s been almost as useful and good as The Miz. he represents WWE at press conferences and talk shows like Conan and proves a major attraction in Europe on top of being an excellent entertainer. Wrestling fans, however, for some reason, are unwilling to acknowledge his good work. The company, though, seem to be rewarding him handsomely. At one point, he was believed to be making $1.5 million a year, but he’s only at $1 million a year now. It seems a fair amount but, one can’t help but label his overpaid after realizing his tag-team partner, Cesaro, only makes half that.
1 Underpaid: WWE Women’s Division
Indeed, wrestling is a male-centric art form. Historically, men have been at the centre of happenings in the industry. However, things are changing drastically. Becky Lynch sometimes produces the loudest pops on SmackDown Live. Asuka and Charlotte Flair wrestled the best match at a WrestleMania. Sasha Banks is among the biggest merch movers in the company. Paige, Zelina Vega and Alexa Bliss are better talkers than most others in the company. Very few performers work as hard as Bayley, Ruby Riott or Carmella. There’s no bigger superstar than Ronda Rousey. Perhaps, it’s about time the company revised its pay structure.