Jim Cornette on How Much Money Wrestlers Made

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[@lukeboard696]

I can never get enough of Cornette. Down to his road travel stories I find myself on here looking up and listening to everything I can find. Hell I've listened to the 10 hour burial rant more than once. He's a legend we are lucky to have his knowledge as fans. To me he's the man even bigger than Vince McMahon. I know I couldn't sit through McMahon doing any type of shoot interview because in my opinion it would be bullshit. Jim gives us the truth and what actually happens to the best of his knowledge. If you ever see this Jim thank you so much for the teachings and entertainment. Your name is etched in professional wrestling forever.

[@fayezfawzi3255]

truly well said.

[@Tony-pp6de]

James E. Cornnette is officially the "Professor of Pro Wrestling"!

[@dibrahim08]

this lady sounds like my navigation

[@gregorylevi1826]

As a kid I could never understand why some wrestlers were content to stay in one spot(like The Von Erichs for example) until I got older & realized they made a lot of money no matter how small the territory was & didn't have extra costs that came with a whole lot of traveling.

[@georgesouth4469]

Hope you learned since then that the Von Erichs never lfet Dallas because they owned it.

[@gregorylevi1826]

@@georgesouth4469 not sure if you're that wrestler George South but yeah I did learn Fritz owned WCCW. Just like Lawler was part owner of the wrestling organization in Memphis, Tully Blanchard 's father owned his own wrestling organization in San Antonio, and of course Eddie Graham owned FCW Organization in Florida. Shoot why travel when you're making bank in one place. My childhood wanted to see fan matches but(Kevin & Kerry Von Erich vs The Hart Foundation for example)the adult me understands they were making bank in one spot, without the extra cost that traveling almost 365 days a year bring across the country.

[@BrandanTheBroker]

Say what you want about Lawler, I don't blame him one bit for staying home and making big money while being able to sleep in my own bed

[@gregorylevi1826]

EXACTLY! An he wasn't the only wrestler who could & did do it too. Lawler was very smart.

[@georgesouth4469]

He was such a genius to own the territory. Sure, he wasn't much outside Memphis, but that was part of the genius!

[@SAMagic]

"I'm thinking of leaving the territory." "Here, have a house."

[@kamala8883]

Love JC breaking things down.

[@willestepp944]

I loved bogalusa la, lived there for 9 months. After I got used too the smell of the paper mill I had too leave.

[@guardianofchaosBD]

JC and VG!!!!!! cant believe I didn't find this sooner, been out of the industry over 10yrs till recently, WOW! LOVE IT! PAPW tv and CenterRing316, than u again!!!!!!!!!

[@Desstrik]

A lot of ppl hate Ole. But the guy is not only intelligent about wrestling, but in general. And was a decent in-ring wrestling talent, and did have some technical skill. He also was not bad on promos.

[@TheStevehuff]

Desstrik For some reason Ole Anderson just seams to be very bitter. I actually thought he was dead

[@DIESEL0759]

Ole has dementia. From someone with a family member with the same disease, your personality changes with dementia.

[@dcard228]

because Ole was a massive pile of shit

[@blacquesjacques7239]

Thank the Brisco Bros

[@nonchalantstu54]

This is all really interesting!

[@mytigger1957]

I would love to know how the "separater" calculations actually worked. I could see a lot of things going "missing"

[@gregorylevi1826]

LMMFAOOF! 🤣😂

[@Gwolf888]

excellent review

[@davem1212]

I heard Christy Mack was coming to TNA ... wonder what she'll get paid. She's going to manage some guy that has a gimmick like Val Venis..

[@SpaceGhost92]

dave m You serious? I’ve seen her take some bumps 😏

[@Rocksteddybelmont]

vince killed all that shit

[@jeremybackman2782]

$30,000 a year was damn decent money in the 80's

[@TheAaronChand]

How much is that in 2019 in today's money

[@jeremybackman2782]

@@TheAaronChand not sure but I know my parents house was valued about $35,000 in 85 and they could sell it for $200,000+ today.

[@calhockley180]

@@TheAaronChand You can figure that out using an inflation calculator. 30k in 1980 equals to 93k in 2019

[@sirthames]

Listening to those salaries, where did the money go?

[@michaelinhouston9086]

Remember that this is wrestling - you have to view all numbers very skeptically. However, some of the guys seemed to be making decent money but when you take out the amounts they spent on travel expenses, alcohol, drugs, ex-wives, mistresses, child support, etc., there may not be much left. Something quite telling is that they throw out these big numbers but then you hear the stories of the guys living a middle class life style - that is, routinely eating at fast food restaurants, staying at modest motels, driving 5 year old middle class cars, and living in a middle class apartment. And most, if not all, of them had to provide for their own medical care and their own insurance.

[@gregorylevi1826]

@@michaelinhouston9086 exactly. An folks can't understand why wrestlers like Ole Anderson, "The King" Jerry Lawler, "Bullet" Bob Armstrong, Greg Gagne & The Von Erichs hardly ever left their territories it was because they made a lot of money just staying put without the extra cost of traveling.

[@mox19380]

drugs, alcohol, women, bad investments, lavish spending on depreciating items.... all the typical stuff athletes, actors and others waste money on. also a lot of them were really not good at understanding the tax laws, which is tough enough when you live in one place let alone working territories and being in different locals, townships, parrishes, cities, states, etc.

[@78bcat]

It's fascinating how Jim tries to make Memphis this massive thing...but listen to Lawler and Jarrett and they describe it as a small business that made them good money, but not massively wealthy on it's own.

[@DIESEL0759]

I find it amusing that since Jerry Lawler is a commentator for WWE, people make it seem like he is bigger than Bockwinkel or Flair or Hogan, when the reality is Lawler was a big deal in Memphis, but not so much anywhere else. Why do you think it took Jerry so long to go to WWE? Because he enjoyed being the big fish in the small pond. He went to the WWF once all the money was gone working anywhere outside the WWF.

[@countrymusicexplosion9974]

If it wasn't for lawler and memphis wrestling,alot of the big stars in wwe and wcw wouldn't of happened..hogan,austin,rock,undertaker,kane and many more came through memphis..heck lawler even gave rock n roll express their name and look...also you are wrong about the kaufman feud..the slap on the david letterman show made one of the top 100 tv show scenes

[@Criminalupper2200]

@@DIESEL0759 He took so long because WHY WOULD HE? it wasn't about being the big fish, it was the fact he was MAKING LIKE 10K A NIGHT, all while not even having to leave his hometown. Lawler was already making about as much money as anyone at the time, all without needing to go on the road. Also, if you listen to the vid, Lawler had an actual stake in the memphis promotion itself, as in, he was a partial owner. why would he leave and go wrestle for other promotions, when he literally is one of the owners in Memphis and gets a cut of all it's profits? If Lawler did even 1 show a week(they often did more) at the nightly money he was making, he'd be making well over half a million dollars a year in today's money, all while still being able to go to his own house at the end of the night. Why THE FUCK would he ever leave Memphis if he didn't have to?

[@DIESEL0759]

+Criminalupper2200 Can you please share the scans of Jerry Lawler's checks? Since you know how much he was making. Thanks!

[@jimpimmers5387]

Why not just listen to what the hell Cornette is saying.

[@wildcelt88]

Friend of fargo for 20 years...quite the character

[@sugartbube]

Sounds like big money back then. Even decent today

[@gregorylevi1826]

Yep, and it was even better if you could make that money in one territory too. Imagine making excellent money & still be able to sleep in your own bed Johnson. I don't blame Lawler one bit

[@testodude]

Is Patti Williams "Precious"?

[@forlornvaalan7630]

The effect of all this, is that several, if not hundreds, of professional wrestlers brought home more money than much of the top talent of the music and movie industry. Even when the gross was lower, overhead was much, much lower. Also, people went outside and went to events more often as a percentage of the population, so more people went to concerts, wrestling shows, etc etc.

[@mauricegilliam7102]

This is golden. I like hearing about the business side of wrestling.

[@sheppygawdog1954]

Does he mention that for many decades and the ones he wax fond of that the income tax rate was 50%? He doesnt'? I thought so.

[@lalosrizo8129]

even tho wwe has a working relationship with ESPN now it's still kinda hard for me to imagine pro wrestling on ESPN especially these days

[@DIESEL0759]

WHAT working relationship with ESPN? (That's a legit question).

[@robminmonaca]

There both based in Connecticut and not far from New York the media Capital of the world. Wwe thinks it helps get ratings and buzz.

[@gregorylevi1826]

ESPN had wrestling organizations on their networks before The WWE.

[@davidlewis5312]

These days yes. But both AWA and WCCW in their heyday had cracks on ESPN. Some of the later shows probably in a regrettable fashion.

[@evdallas123]

the only person that makes big money is the promoters

[@DIESEL0759]

Welcome to corporate world. Do you think any employer is going to willingly open up his wallet more than he has to? It's why you look at employers posting job notices that they will pay you the huge sum of minimum wage to perform 3-4 different, separate jobs.

[@gregorylevi1826]

@@DIESEL0759 yep. Or they have you on salary and have you do 5-6 different jobs and usually you have to stay past when you are supposed to get off with no extra pay too.

[@DIESEL0759]

@@gregorylevi1826 Well, that's a different story, Being a salaried employee generally reflects there is going to be some more work outside of the 9-5, 8 hours kind of workday. I worked at a place that did trade show support and the employees going to the shows week in, week out, were all hourly associates. They made great money, but they could never spend it, because they would be working from move-in to move out, and 10-12 hours a day. I always thought the company should have salaried everyone, but whatever. In any case, a salaried position generally is thought of as having more responsibility.

[@louishurd133]

Jim smart

[@tomh8821]

Did los Angeles California have. A territory

[@syvyn11]

If memory serves, it was Olympic Wrestling.

[@gregorylevi1826]

Championship Wrestling From Hollywood

[@gregorylevi1826]

Forgot that NWA Hollywood Wrestling was first, they were in the 80's through the 90's & than after them came CWFH.

[@ghettowizard378]

Ole was always jealous of Rick flair and dusty Rhodes!!! He should have been content with all the money he was making!!!

[@Swoliosis1]

who's alice radley?

[@jordandennis6794]

Dead person Jim Cornette killed to increase his listeners

[@78bcat]

A person who found out the hard way what every TV/advertising/sponsor executive learned long ago: There's nothing to be gained from the hardcore wrestling fan....google Barry Diller's quote and you'll understand..

[@scottbreon9448]

Bitter SJW feminazi who quit after Cornette said how much he hated Islam

[@johnjohnson7036]

I'm with Jim, we should shut down all of the Walgreens and CVS around the world. Just think of all the local drug stores that closed down and can't open up today because those companies went national. It just isn't fair. The sad part is this guy actually believes what he's saying. Lol

[@byrdcliffetvwoodstock6801]

Cornette's the man

[@shawnhendricks9711]

Her fake laugh after the flea market joke...smh

[@robrunyon3146]

Alice sweet Alice oh so did you not know what awaited you

[@mrsanatra1]

what do you mean?

[@amahdcole9827]

In my opinion I bet this wreslters are not getting paid much

[@davidmcsween4338]

RIP Alice ..... your breasts will never be forgotten

[@kael2450]

Didn't Alice supposedly DM saucy photos to people on Twitter or something.

[@NinjaTylerBlack]

r.i.p. alice radley

[@ikeikerson7329]

Xtremebyrd2k6 she is dead now

[@saibisureddo5657]

hence him sayin r.i.p.

[@mattdawg83686]

ike ikerson Alice Radley is dead; Alice N. Radley, age 74, NOT Alice Radley formerly of Corny’s show.

[@leonardsr.1389]

Alice is terrible

[@brucewhite360]

🤓🎾

[@Batman-wv5ng]

The wrestlers make more money today then before.

[@baliw33]

Khloe Kardashian was a terrible wrestler.

[@scottbreon9448]

But a great whore

[@lalosrizo8129]

hahahaha lmfao 😅😅😅

[@darkastonvillafan]

Spoonie G but a sexy bitch

[@kingofqueens83]

Alice Radley is not dead. She quit Cornette's podcast due to his dislike of Islam. She's an SJW who gets offended by every little thing.

[@cliftonsmith4013]

Kristoffer Bakken I find it funny that when women, minorities, & the LGBT community correct white males on the bullshit they seem to get away with constantly, you've created this term "social justice warrior" or SJW, to make people seem diminished for fair treatment

[@kingofqueens83]

You're right. How dare Cornette say anything negative about that peaceful and tolerant religion. Kudos to Alice for sticking up for a faith that embraces murder and pedophilia.

[@tomwalker389]

Kristoffer Bakken Are we talking about the chick with the Buff Bagwell haircut.

[@theiconicmr.perfect7499]

I agree! Islam is sadly getting a bad rep lately. Cornette should be beheaded. The nerve of him knocking a religion of peace.

[@cliftonsmith4013]

vincentrich no I just like to call out the instances of white privilage when I see it.

[@scottbrown7497]

I could listen to Jim talk wrestling all day But his political leanings suck