10 Insane Wrestling Paydays

8. Mike Tyson - $3,500,000 For WWE WrestleMania 14

Jeff Jarrett Chyna Cash
wwe.com

In 2008, WWE trumpeted that Floyd 'Money' Mayweather was due to earn $20million for his work with the company upto and including WrestleMania 24. This was carnival barking of course, but the undefeated boxer still netted a rumoured $2million for his impressive display.

Remarkably, this was actually a saving for the company compared the even greater investment they'd made a decade earlier.

'The Baddest Man On The Planet' and then-ousted former Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson was paid $3.5million for his WrestleMania 'enforcer' spot and sporadic appearances between January and March to build to the match itself. He was, of course, ultimately worth every single penny. Whether intentional or not, the company had latched onto the one celebrity most associated with the brave new direction they were ploughing forward with on television.

Controversy littered Tyson's past and relative present, just as it did Vince McMahon in early 1998. As foils (and in 'Iron Mike's case eventually - friend) of white hot babyface Stone Cold Steve Austin in the run up to WrestleMania 14, few would have fit the profile as well.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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