Pro wrestling can be a very rewarding business for those at the top of the game. But it is also a physically gruelling job, hence why so many successful wrestlers do it out of passion. A guy like John Cena for example, he could have retired or gone part time years ago. He's a multi-millionaire and never needs work another day in his life. But he continues to work as hard as anyone in WWE, mainly because he has a passion for the business. It hasn't always been like that with top guys. Particularly in the nineties when the WWF and WCW were in competition, top level wrestlers would leverage for minimum dates and maximum money. It became more about the money, than the passion. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. At the end of the day, careers are short. Wrestlers are people like anybody else, they have bills to pay and families to feed. Maximising millions, when the boss is making hundreds of millions, is fair enough. Still, many wrestlers have ended up criticised for only caring about themselves and their own earnings, rather than the collective good of the company which in theory should make everyone rich. In some of the following instances, the wrestlers only cared about the money. Wrestling was just a means to an end, a job to get rich off of.
14. Vince McMahon
This list really needs to start with Vince McMahon, the guy who created the industry as we know it. He got into the business via his promoter father, and even wrestled in the later life. But there's little doubt that everything he has done is always about the money. Does he have any actual passion for pro wrestling? It is something that is hotly debated. Let's look at the evidence. He completely changed the principles of in-ring working, instead going to a glitzy cabaret show atmosphere in the 1980's. In the 2000's, he banned the word "wrestling" completely, going instead with "entertainment" as the description of his business. He doesn't watch NXT and has almost zero knowledge of pro wrestling beyond his own main event / mid card scene. He couldn't give a damn if a match is one star or five star, he only cares about the TV rating or commercial numbers attached to it. The fact is that Vince McMahon is a billionaire for a reason, and that is because he only cares about the money. Passion for pro wrestling isn't what made him rich, it is his skills as a businessman that made WWE a mega-power.
