WWE has been a major sports entertainment brand from its humble beginnings in the 1980s to the modern era giant it has become. Professional wrestlers are central to everything that the company does and believes in.
While several superstars carve out a hefty paycheck in the company, several underpaid wrestlers weren’t making a fraction of what they were supposed to. In light of the development of WWE’s locker room, here are 10 such WWE superstars who were severely underpaid.
10. Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks has been one of the most influential female wrestlers in the modern era. While she has delivered iconic moments during her time in the company, her WWE career did not end on an optimistic note.
Banks had left the company in 2022 after she and Naomi decided to abandon the Women’s tag team titles during the May 16, 2022, edition of Monday Night RAW (via WWE). Banks and Naomi were disappointed with the kind of bookings they were getting in the company.
As a result, WWE released an official statement and stripped both Banks and Naomi of their titles. The two WWE superstars were suspended as a result of their actions in the company.
But a major reason behind Sasha Banks’ discontent with the WWE is also because of her salary in the company. As per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio, as mentioned by the Bleacher Report, Banks wanted to be paid on par with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, but Triple H had no interest in paying her that money.
Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch had just signed their respective new WWE contracts back then. As reported by The Mirror in August 2021, Becky Lynch was earning a base salary of $1 million, and Charlotte Flair was cashing in a paycheck $550,000 annually. These numbers were significantly higher than what Banks was earning, which was around $250,000 per annum at that time.
9. Braun Strowman
The Monster amongst Men, Braun Strowman, has been a force to be reckoned with in the WWE. But when it comes to the financial side of things, the situation has been similar to what Sasha Banks had experienced: frustration and disappointment.
As reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Braun Strowman was on a $1.2 million-per-year guaranteed contract, which didn’t include bonuses for merchandise, video games, and other streams of income. Although the numbers look decent in his case, considering the kind of authority he had inside the ring and in storylines at one point, the figure is underwhelming.
Strowman had several major altercations with the likes of Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns in the WWE. Both of them earned substantially more than what Strowman was offered during his time in the company.
8. Shinsuke Nakamura
One of the greatest Japanese WWE superstars, Shinsuke Nakamura, became a WWE superstar with high hopes from fans and the wrestling community in general.
But the former United States Champion’s earnings from the WWE are severely underpaid. According to the Sportster, Nakamura had a base salary of $400,000 back in 2018 when he was relatively new to the company.
Although Nakamura is now a seasoned campaigner in the WWE, with the kind of irregular bookings he is facing, it seems unlikely that his salary situation might have substantially changed.
7. Ronda Rousey
Most fans and critics alike believed that Ronda Rousey was heavily overpaid during her professional wrestling career in the WWE. But considering the kind of profile she had and the talent she had, Rousey should’ve been paid substantially more.
As per a report from Givemesport, Rousey had signed a new contract with the company in 2023 and earned a total of $2.1 million a year. However, she did not see the full length of this contract as she retired from wrestling after facing defeat at the hands of Shayna Baszler at SummerSlam 2023
Her gross earnings from the WWE are significantly lower than what she used to make back during her UFC days. There was a time when she was included in the Top 10 of the Forbes list of the Highest-Paid Female Athletes in the World for 2015. As per the list, Rousey was the 8th highest paid female athlete in the world, garnering a total of $6.5 million annually. Her WWE salary, in contrast, was disappointing according to her high standards.
6. Sami Zayn
The current United States Champion has been a consistent performer inside the squared circle for the WWE in the modern era. Zayn’s adaptive abilities are well-appreciated by the professional wrestling world, and that is the reason why he is liked and appreciated by the WWE universe.
But his earnings from the company are modest compared to those of other top performers inside the ring. Under Zayn’s current WWE salary and contract details, he earns a base salary of $500,000 per year as per WrestleTalk, significantly less than other superstars of his generation.
5. Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair is one of the most decorated superstars in the women’s division of the company. She is a 14-time Women’s World Champion and currently the Women’s tag team Champion along with Alexa Bliss.
The general perception around such a coveted superstar is that they must be drawing out a substantial amount of money as a WWE salary. But Charlotte Flair is nowhere near that mark.
As per a report by Sporty Salaries, Flair earns somewhere between $1-3 million a year, which includes earnings from her contract, special match appearances, and PPV appearances.
For the most successful female WWE superstars in the modern era, the figure is an understatement. The only male counterparts she can be compared to are Randy Orton and John Cena, respectively. Both of these legendary wrestlers have won the world titles 14 and 16 times, respectively, and earn substantially more than what Flair gets annually.
4. Nia Jax
Nia Jax belongs to the legendary Anoa’i family, a distant cousin of Roman Reigns and The Rock. With her physicality and dominating nature inside the ring, she has become a force to be reckoned with in the women’s division of the company.
But her character doesn’t reflect the kind of character she has been in the locker room. As per Sporty Salaries, she earns a gross salary of $400,000 annually. The numbers are low for a wrestler of her character and stature inside the ring. But it is expected to grow once WWE decides to intervene in and alter her position in existing storylines in the company.
3. Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder was a complete package as a WWE superstar. He was talented, great on the microphone, and could work with almost anyone inside and outside the ring. But the company and Ryder himself had some differences of their own.
While the exact figure of his WWE salary and contract is unknown, Ryder signalled towards how underpaid he was in the WWE during an interview with Chris Van Vliet. Discussing his venture, The Major Wrestling Podcast, Ryder shared:
So, I will say that the company, the Major Wrestling Figure podcast as a company, made more last year than my WWE contract, I’ll say that.
These remarks reflect the sad state of his contract despite having widespread popularity amongst fans.
2. Luke Harper
The legendary enforcer of the Wyatt family, Luke Harper, was one of the hardest-working superstars in the modern era. As per a report by the Sportster, the power-packed antagonist resulted in almost 100 matches in the live events calendar in the year 2015.
But unfortunately, his WWE salary at the time did not reflect the kind of commitment he had to the company. The same report places his annual WWE salary at just $90,000, significantly lower than Bray Wyatt and other members of the faction.
1. Paige
Paige was the poster child of the Divas Revolution in the WWE. The company had placed her as a top-tier talent in its women’s division at the time, and she also prominently featured in the reality show Total Divas.
But for an emerging talent of her stature at the time, she had surprisingly low wages. The Sportster has valued her WWE contract with a base salary of just $65,000 in 2016. Even though this figure might have changed as she rose to further Fame and prominence, Paige was never the top earner in the company. Frustrated with the kind of treatment she received, the former Divas champion decided to part ways with the company when her contract expired in 2022.
These WWE superstars had all the right qualities to become prolific performers inside the ring. But unfortunately, they were overworked and underpaid in the company, which had an adverse effect on their physical well-being and the overall image of the company.
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