From Rajah.com via the observer, Orton recently signed a ten year contract. That wasn't the most shocking part. The most shocking was that he was also reportedly paid $600,000 for his part in the WM main event last year.
I never really thought about things like that, I know they get paid according to the gate and PPV buys and DVD sales, but $600,000? That's borderline obscene.
Ten year contract? It's not every day a contract of that length is doled out. Big Show's was the last one, was it not?
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Eh, there's tens of millions of dollars in wrestling; I'm not overly surprised that a WrestleMania main-eventer would get $600K for his part in the event. (Especially Orton, who's one of the golden boys.)
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That seems smaller than I'd have guessed really. There have been times when individual wrestlers pulled in seven figures from Wrestlemania. I'm pretty sure Big Show did for the Mayweather and/or Akebono matches. I seem to remember reading about Cena breaking seven figures for a Mania payday as well.
Bret had a twenty year contract and Vince screwed him in year two, so things Orton can look forward too. I don't know if I'd lock Orton up for ten years since he is not like Cena where going to Hollywood is an option and I don't see TNA getting him unless Vince does. After reading Bret's book, good book by the way, Bret's pay day for Wrestlemania 9 or 10 was about the same amount. I think he said he paid off his house with it.
Considering what athletes in "real" sports get for doing a fraction of the work, I wouldn't say it's obscene. It kind of makes me glad WWE main roster guys get real money. I remember reading in either the Observer or the Torch that one of the reasons Mysterio was so bitchy about his wellness suspension is because, apart from apparently having a legit script for it and the risk to his reputation in Mexico (where Rey is a legit national idol), being off the road for a month cost him around $100 K. For a month. Now, granted, Rey's case is atypical being a merchandise goldmine, but still. That's some serious coin.
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As a fan who probably has just enough smark in him to be dangerous, the one who impressed me was Mark Henry. IIRC he signed a 10-year deal close to the end of the Monday Night Wars, a bad free-agent signing that soon looked a lot worse when the competition for stars ended sometime in 2000.
It seemed for awhile like Vince was doing everything possible to bury/embarrass Henry into quitting. Not only did Henry see the end of that deal, he improved his skills and became a serviceable big man. Earned himself a spot on the card, and a new deal to boot. Presumably a more modest one, but it strikes me as extremely professional.
Originally posted by TheBucsFanThat seems smaller than I'd have guessed really. There have been times when individual wrestlers pulled in seven figures from Wrestlemania. I'm pretty sure Big Show did for the Mayweather and/or Akebono matches. I seem to remember reading about Cena breaking seven figures for a Mania payday as well.
If they paid Akebono a million, it may have been the worst spent money in the history of the company.
I remember hearing that Rock and Austin both made over a million for WM X7. I know Orton-HHH was the main event, and that is the reason or the huge bonus. But I would like to know how much Shawn and Taker received for their match that was the pretty much the only reason to even watch that show. HHH may have even received more than Orton. I wonder who had the bigger bonus for WM 18, Rock and Hogan, or HHH and Jericho?
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I think in the two-title era, each world title match has been considered a 'headliner,' in addition to any other major matches on a card. For instance, I remember Wrestlemania 19 being promoted as a card with four main events, so I'd presume that Lesnar, Angle, HHH, Booker T, Austin, Rock, Hogan and McMahon all got 'main event' payoffs. (Actually, I think I recall Hogan complaining about his payoff from this event since he thought he should've gotten more.)
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Originally posted by Big BadI think in the two-title era, each world title match has been considered a 'headliner,' in addition to any other major matches on a card. For instance, I remember Wrestlemania 19 being promoted as a card with four main events, so I'd presume that Lesnar, Angle, HHH, Booker T, Austin, Rock, Hogan and McMahon all got 'main event' payoffs. (Actually, I think I recall Hogan complaining about his payoff from this event since he thought he should've gotten more.)
If memory serves, I think there was also some malcontent that Vince got the same performer payoff on top of his usual event income.
Vince should have given that money to Piper since that was the only interesting moment in that match. WM 19 was the communist of Wrestlemanias, good on paper, terrible on execution.
Originally posted by lotjxVince should have given that money to Piper since that was the only interesting moment in that match. WM 19 was the communist of Wrestlemanias, good on paper, terrible on execution.
(edited by lotjx on 31.1.10 1803)
Did we watch the same match and show? I always thought it was generally well regarded as a good WM.. HBK/Jericho, Angle/Lesnar, and Vince/Hogan were all solid matches.
Originally posted by lotjxVince should have given that money to Piper since that was the only interesting moment in that match. WM 19 was the communist of Wrestlemanias, good on paper, terrible on execution.
(edited by lotjx on 31.1.10 1803)
Did we watch the same match and show? I always thought it was generally well regarded as a good WM.. HBK/Jericho, Angle/Lesnar, and Vince/Hogan were all solid matches.
It was only some of the finishes (Booker and Jericho jobbing) that were questionable to me, the matches were solid. Booker/HHH is very underrated, as most people seem to crap on it only becuase of the ending. had Booker gone over, it might be held in a higher regard. The show also ended on a scary note, as I was expecting to hear the next day that both Angle and Brock's careers were over. Very underrated Mania.
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I get the feeling this contract is just like an NFL or college coach contract. Means nothing, I'm sure Vince can fire him with a buyout deal in the contract.
From the Miami Herald (http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/wrestling/story/1180613.html) talking about her current gig driving monster trucks and going back into her wrestling days. Perhaps of most interest: