8 Incredible Wrestling Paydays You Won't Believe

4. Dennis Rodman ($1.1m - 1999)

Dennis Rodman
WWE.com

You had to know that WCW would pop up here at some point. Their relentless pursuit to knock the WWF machine of its lofty perch, something Eric Bischoff and company did between 1996-1998, would end up costing them big style eventually. WCW threw a crap ton of cash at celebrities who wanted to play wrestler.

'The Worm' was one of the most famous.

NBA star Dennis Rodman worked two matches and appeared on three pay-per-views for WCW in 1998; after teaming with Hollywood Hogan to face Lex Luger and The Giant at Bash At The Beach, he struck Luger with a baseball bat at Road Wild then teamed with Hogan again opposite DDP and Karl Malone at BATB '98.

Rodman was raking it in for these appearances, but they paled in comparison to his earnings for 1999. Then an LA Laker, the unpredictable basketball player wrestled Randy Savage at Road Wild in Sturgis. WCW's own financial info includes a $1.1m payment to Rodman for just one match. That added to his previous earnings of 500K, meaning he pocketed close to $2m in total from the promotion.

Yikes.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.