7. Ernest "The Cat" Miller - "World Karate Champions" Don't Work For Free
Back in the day, before there was such a thing as DDP Yoga, Diamond Dallas Page was often the butt of jokes because this sort of sleazy-looking middle-aged guy was getting such a big push in WCW. As Eric Bischoff's neighbor, he was considered something of a crony until he worked so hard and got so over that it was a lot harder to criticize him. Well, criticize him for that. There were still a lot of DDP jokes. Ernest Miller, however, was literally hired because he was Eric Bischoff's son Garett's (yes, the one from TNA) karate instructor. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1uujm_ernest-miller-cat-bo-video_sport With zero wrestling experience, he was introduced as some vaguely defined "three-time world karate champion." The actual governing body was never mentioned, it was point karate (basically karate as a game of tag) as opposed to full contact, and he was not any kind of known quantity to the major karate and kickboxing organizations like the International Sport Karate Association. It's not as if Miller was even a big name in that world, but WCW treated him like one, using him to give credibility to the attempted "martial arts" feud between Glacier and James Vandenberg's duo of Wrath (Bryan "Adam Bomb" Clark) and Mortis (Chris Kanyon). Eventually he became a comedy character doing a goofy but somewhat amusing discount James Brown shtick. He was a recognizable name, but never anything resembling a main event level name or talent. Cost: He made close to $150,000 in 1997, but the number dropped in 1998 as he was used less. In 1999, he signed a deal that escalated to $400,000 guaranteed for the last year of WCW's existence and eventually $450,000 in the event he was still being paid by Time Warner after WCW folded. Like Disco, he somehow owed about a dollar for merchandise. For comparison, Chris Kanyon was on a $240,000 per year deal, Glacier earned in the $160,000 per year range, and Bryan Clark topped off at about $225,000 per year for year between his guarantee and appearance fees.
Formerly the site manager of Cageside Seats and the WWE Team Leader at Bleacher Report, David Bixenspan has been writing professionally about WWE, UFC, and other pop culture since 2009. He's currently WhatCulture's U.S. Editor and also serves as the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly and a monthly contributor to Fighting Spirit Magazine.
Cost: He made close to $150,000 in 1997, but the number dropped in 1998 as he was used less. In 1999, he signed a deal that escalated to $400,000 guaranteed for the last year of WCW's existence and eventually $450,000 in the event he was still being paid by Time Warner after WCW folded. Like Disco, he somehow owed about a dollar for merchandise. For comparison, Chris Kanyon was on a $240,000 per year deal, Glacier earned in the $160,000 per year range, and Bryan Clark topped off at about $225,000 per year for year between his guarantee and appearance fees.