10 Main Event Wrestlers Who Were Paid SIGNIFICANTLY More Than Their Opponents

7. Ultimate Warrior Quits Over Hogan Earning More Than Him

It’s well known the Ultimate Warrior and promoters have many times over not seen eye to eye. Jim Ross has commented, “Nobody was harder to deal with than the Ultimate Warrior.”

Warrior and Hulk Hogan famously clashed at WrestleMania VI over the Intercontinental title and the WWF Championship. After Warrior won the bout he and Hogan would clash again, only behind the scenes. Warrior’s ego got out of control, with him irate over not earning the same as Hogan when they wrestled on the same events together. It all came to a head at SummerSlam (1991) when Warrior one month before the event threatened to no-show. Warrior wrote Vince McMahon a letter demanding guaranteed days off, $550,000 for what he felt McMahon short-changed him on for WrestleMania VII (in his match with Randy Savage) and equal payoffs for shows and merchandise as Hogan.

Vince, worried about his SummerSlam main event (Hogan and Warrior vs. Col. Mustafa, General Adnan and Sgt. Slaughter in a handicap match) falling through, gave in to Warrior’s demands, but only temporarily. As soon as SummerSlam ended McMahon suspended Warrior over his behaviour, with Vince even writing in a return letter to him ‘You have become a legend in your own mind’.

A leaked payroll for SummerSlam ‘91 confirms Warrior got what he wanted when he was paid the same as his tag partner Hogan for the event, but wasn’t savvy enough to get the $15,000 bonus for the event that Hogan did.