The Disturbing Truth Behind WWE's Backstage Talent Crisis

Fightful gave Rush the opportunity to speak his mind on 1 May. The claims made within took the story to a whole new level, and it's a shame that they aren't being reported as heavily as the allegation that an old Ring Of Honor foe is spreading falsehoods to get Lio fired.

Rush said the following when asked about his current situation:-

"My issue has never been with Bobby Lashley. My issue isn’t with my onscreen role. My issue is the fact that I haven’t been on meet & greets with Bobby, haven’t been getting paid for merchandise for us that has my catchphrases on them. (I) have been sent to live shows and TVs and forced to pay for my own rental for 5 days as well as hotel while not making enough money to do so. Walking around broke in the biggest sports entertainment industry that there is while having two kids and a wife to support."

This is newsworthy. A full-time main roster member with the biggest promotion in the planet (who was making television every week until recently) is alleging that not only are his employers withholding royalties, but also that he isn't being paid enough to cover basic road expenses.

Let's run the numbers on that, starting with a recent Sports Business Journal article stating WWE's developmental wrestlers typically earn somewhere between $50,000 and $150,000 a year. Rush didn't move to the main roster until June 2018. Thus, we can assume his salary isn't too far removed from those brackets at all, and could still sit beneath the upper limit.

Randy Orton once estimated that his road expenses came out at $100,000-200,000 a year. That's food, hotel rooms, flights, car rentals, fuel, and anything else incurred along the way. Trent Beretta made similar claims shortly after leaving WWE in 2013, stating he had next to no money left after deducting these costs from his salary.

Granted, Lio probably isn't spending as much as a megastar like Orton, but there's smoke to this fire.

CONT'd...