L. Anne Carrington  

Show Notes

• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 5/27/2009 5:51 PM UTC

  The Life of a Wrestler
  

  We've all heard about the figures and wage packets that wrestlers like JBL, Cena, Austin and HHH earn, but is life as appealing for the smaller stars in the WWE? I guess we all just assume that they do extremely well for themselves as well.
  
  I would suggest, then, that you read on and let me show you nothing can be further from that assumption.
  
  Most wrestlers in the WWE today are making a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year (or in the case of some superstars, a little under that or considerably less), which can be very good when you think about it, but I have spoken to fans who have assumed that they are earning more than a million dollars a year.
  
  Now subtract taxes, personal expenses and travel expenses (something that the WWE does not pay for) and the numbers aren't as appealing anymore, are they?
  
  The average developmental contract is around $40,000-75,000 a year for new talent. From that, take your usual tax deductions, and if they net perhaps half that amount after those deductions, consider themselves lucky.
  
  Then comes the expenses of daily living, as well as the majority of those on the roster have to pay for their hotels, rental cars, flights, and all other expenses that come with traveling to and from shows.
  
  In other areas, you're making around 2000 to 3000 dollars a week, forced to job because of politics, work regularly at house shows and wrestle on a show like Superstars and at the end of every week, you're left bruised and battered; hardly the luxurious life that so many of us perceive it to be.
  
  Now this is where things get serious. You're in a match and you blow a move and then next thing you know, you require surgery and you're out of action for a year. Suddenly, that $2500 a week drops to about $300-$500 a week, because the WWE is only going to pay your "downside" wage when you're hurt.
  
  You've gone from upper middle class status with a mortgage, car payments, a family, and decent medical insurance to working class with a mortgage, car payments, a family, and medical bills that your insurance, as good as it is, can't fully pay off. At $2500 a week, these expenses aren't that bad, but at $500 a week, they're a big deal.
  
  After a while, you either have to HOPE that the WWE will give you some sort of non-wrestling job while you're recuperating so they'll pay you more, or you're just going to have to fight through your pain and try to get back into the ring as soon as possible.
  
  Now during this stage, a wrestler usually goes down one of the following three paths.
  
  They can just give up, realizing that their dream isn't possible and to get back into the ring is overly ambitious. They can work through to pain but returning as a shadow of their former self , or they can resort to drugs.
  
  Now, let's look at the drug problem that can occur in a wrestler's life.
  
  And now, we come to that particular problem. For most wrestlers, its pain killers, and many times (and of course, we've recently heard about the problems of alcohol and marijauana), they get hooked on them while they are injured, working to get themselves back into the ring much sooner then they ought to.
  
  I could list wrestlers by name who many us of know have had a history of problems with painkillers, but I could be here for an eternity, and this is where the problem, for many, begins.
  
  In my mind, at least, the WWE needs to stop this vicious cycle. Naturally, they cant, or they won't. WWE won't spend the money to make sure their wrestlers are able to take care of themselves and their families while they're injured. While they have taken some steps to give many of their injured talent jobs behind the scenes to make extra money while they recuperate, some still feel that they aren't doing enough to stop this cycle before it begins.
  
  Unlike what some people believe, or want to believe, there are very few (if any) medical benefits in wrestling, outside of wrestling-related injuries. They say they'll pay you enough to cover your medical expenses while you're gone, but ask some of the wrestlers just how true that is.
  
  Another area these men and women in this industry have to deal with is the fans. Though many of them can be respectful, polite and well-behaved, nevertheless, like any other industry where one is in the public eye, wrestlers do have their share of fans that can be unruly and rude, just to name a couple of situations.
  
  Also take into consideration crimes such as terrorism and stalking ever on the rise; even the superstars have to be more careful than ever before, despite the beefed-up security at most venues, airports and hotels.
  
  For example, if a stalker wants to get through to a superstar bad enough, they will usually pay, say a private investigator, a undetermined amount of money to obtain information they could not otherwise get themselves (home addresses, phone numbers, travel and flight itinerary, etc.), or if they are savvy enough, can find other vital information via the Internet (This is more difficult, but not impossible).
  
  Imagine the fear that targeted wrestler must have inside of hemselves of the possibility of encountering such a person at any moment, not knowing if that "fan" is either harmless, or wanting to commit some act of violence against them.
  
  Fortunately, for them, as well as any other person in any other industry that deals with celebrity, anti-stalking laws are being dealt with more efficiently than ever before. For example, home addresses can no longer be released from any Department of Motor Vehicles to anyone that is not authorized (law enforcement agencies are authorized) to receive such information-thanks to the passing of anti-stalking laws in several US states.
  
  Lastly, being away from family and loved ones, especially over the holidays and other special times (children's birthdays, etc.) is not easy for a wrestler to deal with either, considering they are on the road at least-what-250 to 300 days a year? Even the single wrestlers have difficulty sustaining a long-term relationship of sorts with boyfriends/girlfriends, unless the partner is a strong, secure and understanding individual in their own right.
  
  Even harder, are the spouses of the married superstars; dealing with a constantly absent husband/wife can never be easy for the average couple, and these couples can never be described as average.
  
  Youngsters may not understand why Mommy/Daddy is gone so much and some teens may resent that parent for a period of time (and eventually outgrow that resentment, strange as it may sound now). Nevertheless, road life for wrestlers affects everyone in the end.
  There are also the "temptations" of being on the road, e.g.: those known as "ring rats"; usually groupie-types that are very likely sexually active with wrestlers, increasing the risk of spreading AIDS and other STDs, among other worries.
  
  To sum it all up, whether we are seeing a house show, RAW or Smackdown/ECW, (or even Superstars), we are only seeing a very small part of these superstars' lives. But before your mind wanders off , dreaming of that "glamorous life" of these people, think about the points made in this particular column.
  
  It may look all glitter and fun, but most those men and women aren't earning that "glamorous" living; they are taking those many risks because they want to entertain us, the fans.
  
  And for that alone, they earn my utmost respect.
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