10 Highest Earning WCW Wrestlers Ever

'Where The Big Boys Play' (with their credit cards...)

When people look back and try to figure out a good reason why World Championship Wrestling went out of business, money is often brought into the conversation as a good starting point. Simply put, with the backing of Ted Turner, WCW was never really in danger, no matter how much money the company lost over the years. Make no mistake about it, WCW wasn't always a mega-profitable venture for Turner, but the man dearly loved wrestling, and was determined to stick by it through thick and thin. A big merger in Turner's media conglomerate meant that others had a say towards the end of the 90's however, and those folks didn't really see anything other than a branch of the business that was losing cash quickly. WCW were the first wrestling promotion to extol the virtues of the guaranteed contract (certainly on a grand scale), one which entitled performers to hefty wages regardless of how well Pay-Per-Views sold or how many bums they put in seats at arenas around the world. This revolutionised the industry, forcing Vince McMahon's WWF to follow suit or be left behind, but it had a knock-on effect for WCW. Suddenly, wrestlers wanted way more money to even turn up for shows, and the wheels started to fall off the promotion. There were a multitude of other reasons as to why WCW went out of business, but a lot of them boil down to money. These guys had the most down in Atlanta!

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.