The WWE has often been criticized for underpaying its wrestlers, but TNA is no better when it comes to the salaries of its contracted wrestlers. Besides the controversy surrounding AJ Styles‘ payout, TNA authorities also provided Gail Kim with unsatisfactory remuneration during her final year with the promotion.
In a two-day-old interview on Huge Pop Radio, Kim disclosed how TNA’s meager “$36,000” offer resulted in her departure from the promotion, despite delivering the “highest rated segments” on Spike TV. (via femalelroom on X)
“I left TNA right after the success of [the rivalry between] me and Kong. I didn’t want to leave TNA, but they offered me $36,000 when we were pulling in the highest ratings. That was the Spike TV days… We were the highest rated segments consistently and all I wanted was a fair payday.”
The TNA brass may have offered Kim a criminally low salary, but she wasn’t asked to take a pay drop, which was experienced by the most noted star of the promotion back then.
TNA Expected AJ Styles To Work With a 60% Reduced Payout
Styles reportedly made a healthy amount of money after becoming a household name in the TNA community in the late 2000s. However, some of TNA’s planned ventures fell flat in the subsequent years, making the promotion endure massive losses.
As a result, the authorities expected Styles to take a drop in his reported $400,000 salary. (via The Sportster) In a six-month-old interview with Chris Van Vliet, Styles disclosed that the TNA brass wanted him to continue working for the promotion with a “60 percent” reduced payout. (via CVV CLIPS on YouTube)
“They [TNA authorities] kept butting heads [trying new ventures] and it just, kind of, fell apart. And when it fell apart they lost a lot of money. When they lost a lot of money, they expected me to take a pay cut because my contract was up [over]… [Was the number 60%?] It was.”
Check out Styles’ comments about the 60 percent pay drop below:
Styles chose not to re-sign with the TNA in 2013 after being asked to take such a steep drop in his payout. The WWE sensed the opportunity and tried to sign Styles, but with a startling clause.
WWE Tried To Sign AJ Styles for a Shockingly Low Salary
A quick calculation reveals that TNA authorities might have agreed to pay Styles a $160,000 salary after their suggested 60 percent drop in his reported $400,000 payout. However, Styles still rejected TNA’s offer, which brought the WWE into the picture.
Triple H and Co. tried to make the most of The Phenomenal One’s departure from TNA by signing him to the promotion. Nevertheless, fans may be startled to learn that the WWE reportedly offered a meager $60,000 salary to Styles to join the promotion. (via TheSportster)
Quite expectedly, the 48-year-old pushed away WWE’s offer to sign with Ring of Honor. The WWE finally realized his worth after he proved himself inside the ROH ring. In 2016, Triple H and Co. reportedly offered Styles a better payout than ROH’s proposed “six figure” salary, which finally led to The Phenomenal One’s transition to the premier wrestling promotion of the world. (via PWTorch)
But how do you feel after knowing that the WWE initially tried to sign a noted wrestler like Styles with a meager $60,000 salary? Let us know in the comments below.
