11 WWE Superstars Who Were Given Huge Contracts

10. The Big Show

Paul Wight seems to have been around forever, initially signing with WCW way back in 1995. Given his sheer size, Wight is a special performer who has managed to command some huge contracts throughout his career. If you believe some stories, Eric Bischoff actually gave Wight a $1 million per year deal as his first ever professional wrestling contract. Usually this type of story would sound far too ridiculous to be true, but is WCW we€™re talking about here€ When Wight joined Vince McMahon€™s WWF and become The Big Show in 1999, he was handed a 10-year deal with a $950,000 annual guarantee. This contract would end up being renegotiated to an 8-year deal, although Show€™s current WWE deal is even more impressive. As it stands, The Big Show is currently taking home a basic $1.2 million per year and has his own personal WWE tour bus to get him from city to city. Many fans question Show€™s placement within the current WWE product, but with such a hefty salary don€™t be expecting to see him drop down the card any time soon. In fact, he will likely be in the upper echelons of the roster until he retires.
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.