Many wrestlers have said this before, but prior to the WWE's explosion of popularity and the Monday Night War, there were no guaranteed contracts in WWE. The basic contract offered to talent was a mere 10 appearances for $150 per show. Now that would almost always be far exceeded by considerable amounts, but that was all you were promised. Vince "didn't give guarantees, he gave opportunities". Once you surpassed that downside, your pay was determined based on where you were placed on the card, how well you drew and the merchandise you were selling. As an interesting footnote, Layfield says that Marc Mero was the first talent to jump to WWE from another company with a guaranteed contract, since WCW was forcing Vince's hand by shooting out cash like a short-circuited ATM.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
