10 Wrestlers Who Had To Deal With Major Pay Cuts

9. Mark Henry

When the ‘World’s Strongest Man’ Mark Henry came to the WWF right from the 1996 Summer Olympics, he scored one of the most lucrative contracts the promotion had ever offered a rookie: a 10 year deal worth $250,000 per year. The WWF believed in Henry’s potential, with his massive frame and charisma.

The huge contract he signed garnered a lot of resentment and jealousy amongst other wrestlers on the roster, especially after seeing him only being used as a mid carder and comedy act for years. It would take years for Henry to finally click with pro wrestling. So much so Henry revealed in an interview in 2013 that the contract he signed after his 10 year deal was for considerably less:

“I took a 50 percent pay cut when I signed that last deal five years ago because I was looked at as being a middle-of-the-road performer. During that time, John Cena made millions, and that’s what I want.”

Henry eventually showed his value and worth to the company. First with his ‘Hall of Pain’ gimmick in 2011 which finally landed him the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Randy Orton. Then around Money in the Bank 2013, when was doing arguably some of the best work of his career, cutting his renowned emotional promo on Raw with John Cena where he teased his retirement only to viscously turn heel and hit Cena with the World’s Strongest Slam.