10 Insane Wrestling Paydays

9. Mark Henry - $250,000 P/A For 10 Years

Jeff Jarrett Chyna Cash
WWE

Mark Henry's recent Hall Of Fame induction was vindication for a career well spent in Sports Entertainment, but his biggest victory wasn't scored during his surprising 2011 World Title run or even during injury-laden programmes with The Undertaker and Batista. Just by sticking out the first troubled years of his ten-year contract, Henry defeated the entire WWE machine.

Seemingly remorseful of the deal he offered the former Olympian within weeks of offering it, Vince McMahon tried to chase Henry out of his alleged $250,000 per annum contract with offensively bad creative. A year-long disappearance from television to rehabilitate and retrain didn't magic McMahon a polished pro wrestler, with various demeaning positions dished out to the 'Worlds Strongest Man' between his role as a Nation Of Domination also-ran and chief Attitude Era deviant 'Sexual Chocolate'.

By 2006, he'd managed to earn a WrestleMania clash with The Undertaker and a brand new contract, confounding endless critics who had long assumed McMahon couldn't wait to be shot of him. Now two decades deep in WWE, he's looking set to be one of the unlikeliest 'lifers' in the organisation.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett