10 Insane Wrestling Paydays

6. Lanny Poffo - $800,000 For NOTHING

Jeff Jarrett Chyna Cash
WWE

Lanny Poffo referred to himself as the 'World's Smartest Man' after trading frisbees and a frown for his mortar board and gown in WWE, but he'd never make a more astute move than when he signed on the dotted line with WCW in 1995.

Real-life brother Randy Savage had been with the company just under a year when he got his sibling a guaranteed deal worth seven figures over several years. It turned out Savage had purchased the rights to the 'Gorgeous George' gimmick with his brother in mind, but the persona never made it to television and Poffo remarkably never even made it to work.

Though not making a killing without bookings to top up his nominal guarantee, he nonetheless received regular paycheques to the tune of $200,000 per annum for doing absolutely nothing. Poffo has since professed to regularly hounding the WCW office by telephone for updates on his status at the time, but was regularly rebuffed by disinterested and/or freewheeling executives during the brand's headiest days.

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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