The subject of pay for main event stars in WWE and WCW has always been a controversial subject. On too many occasions, wrestlers have made far more than they were actually worth. Especially in WCW, top level stars were just stealing a living. Even in the WWE, how many times have we seen a wrestler pushed just because they were on a big deal? Look no further than Sheamus. He's on a million dollars guarantee a year. Want to know why he has been continually pushed for years as a top guy? It is because WWE need to recuperate as much of that million as possible. But there are guys out there who have justified the big bucks. Between the downside guarantee and add-on royalties, some WWE wrestlers have made millions. And they've been worth every cent of it, because when you make it big in WWE, you make it really big. Television ratings, arena attendances, pay per view sales and Network subscriptions... some wrestlers just have the golden touch when it comes to generating business. The following is a look at some of the WWE's big earners who deserved their weight in gold, and the big money they made between guarantees and bonuses.
11. Randy Macho Man Savage - $1 Million In 1988
Randy Macho Man Savage earned a million dollars during his year as WWF Champion, from March 27 1988 to April 2 1989. Vince McMahon easily made that money back, several times over. Savage was a gold mine when it came to merchandise, and he headlined two WrestleMania shows in that period. The first one, where he won the title, did 485,000 buys. The second one, when he jobbed the title to Hulk Hogan in one of the biggest main events ever, did 767,000 buys. That's what happens when mega powers collide! However, Savage is also a good example of a wrestling star who earned more than his worth, and that was for his work as a WCW wrestler in 1998. He spent most of that year injured, yet still pocketed a million dollars. He was well past his prime, as were many other WCW millionaires.
