10 Wrestlers Who Had To Deal With Major Pay Cuts

8. Colt Cabana

They call WWE the major leagues in professional wrestling, where grapplers can earn a rewarding living for the craft they love to put on and perform. What rarely gets talked about though is when standout indie performers finally make the leap to WWE, a lot of the time they have to take a considerable pay cut.

Prior to coming to WWE they would have spent years making a decent living on the indie scene after all, having learnt to monetise their bookings and merchandise. It’s a huge reason why The Young Bucks never signed with WWE, making a killing just through t-shirt sales alone.

When Colt Cabana signed with WWE in 2007 he was a casualty of having his pay largely decreased because of it. Before he made the leap to WWE, Cabana had made a name for himself in ROH and on the indies, being a pioneer on how to make a good living without being signed to a major promotion.

On AEW’s Unrestricted podcast Cabana discussed his time in WWE and how it affected his finances:

“Because even before then, I was doing great. I was doing wonderful. I actually took a 50% pay decrease to wrestle for the WWE when I signed my contract, but I said to myself this is an investment in my future. There’s only so much you can make on the independent scene. Yes, I’m taking a 50% decrease, but the possibilities to be a millionaire are there. So that’s the gamble I’m willing to take.”