10 Totally Ridiculous WCW Contracts You Won’t Believe

[@SethColby69]

the perfect job has never existe- *wcw paid the wall 75k just for him to point at hulk hogan*

[@Blugater]

If you point for too long your arm will legit hurt

[@williamblackfyre4866]

It's the Wall brother. Hey Wall, come down brother!

[@iLLBiLLsRoastBeats]

That’s the wall brother

[@RaySarasin]

@@iLLBiLLsRoastBeats I would do that for $50,000 and save you $25.000

[@Shabazz23]

I got a idea for the next video: 10 contract details that only Hulk Hogan could get away with!!!

[@monsterzinc9423]

Genius

[@youngboss87]

Gold!!!

[@mikelong2756]

Never doing the J O B.

[@mcaligariactivism]

8:30 $150 per annum? LOL BlooperMania

[@therealnickynurotic8930]

I'd watch that

[@Captain_Pudding]

Imagine making 78k a year just because Chris Jericho thinks you look funny

[@adamhovey407]

I could live with (and off of) that.

[@anthonyamadeo8386]

Ralphus was never paid 78k thats ridiculous. What culture is constantly full of shit

[@slumped378]

Sounds like a good job to me

[@willdallas53]

@@anthonyamadeo8386 These contract numbers were publicly disclosed during a lawsuit in 2001, goober.

[@billionairewillis6150]

@@adamhovey407 it's not enough doing what they do though.

[@Destino2493]

I’ve gone back and watched some 2000 WCW and honestly I would rather watch that than today’s RAW and that’s pretty damn sad

[@jonathancoleman7148]

😂 me too

[@Tony-fq5bn]

@@jonathancoleman7148 It is sad, cuz although there are still a few gems, WcW in 2000 is pretty fucking bad. Whats weird is that they changed the whole presentation of the show and thought it looked better, and in reality it looked way worse and cheap

[@TheRonin248]

But true

[@wayneking9997]

Shut up and watch it than

[@waynedoyle5584]

anything wrestling wise PRE 2004 is better than today

[@RodneySanders]

LOL... I'm sorry, I am not mad at Ralphus at all LOL... if WCW was gonna pay it, AND he got $750 for just showing up too... maaaan... good for him LOL. 😂😂😂

[@Kobra6510]

WCW was like: "Shut up and take this money!"

[@TheWazperviz]

WCW paid many wrestlers a lot but still gave us years of great TV

[@Hitomora]

@David Rosales WWE- Take this money, shut up, go home, and wait for us to call you

[@morningstar5535]

Lmao

[@medricadu8706]

I would not complain if I was a wrestler

[@dragonrana88]

What about Lanny Poffo? He had a contract with WCW for years and he was never used once.

[@davidmc5762]

Worth it to have randy savage

[@jedshaffer5956]

A $250K a year contract, no less. A quarter million dollars to not do anything at all, ever.

[@adamhovey407]

@@jedshaffer5956 I need to become a wrestler who doesn't wrestle

[@chrisochman4495]

Wow This was my guess for #1

[@merleshand2442]

Something similar with iron sheik

[@justinsanto2458]

Iron Sheik got $100k, wrestled 5 job matches and got sent home because he was so bad. Then they forgot that his contract rolled over. So he got ANOTHER $100k for staying home.

[@theceng]

Brad Armstrong got $150k a year and he was at home for 3 years

[@hezamachine]

Nailz (Kevin Kelly/Wacholz) was signed by WCW made 244K and they never used him.

[@iLLBiLLsRoastBeats]

That’s so hilarious I never knew that

[@JTeam45]

Whoa whoa whoa, Sting posing with Robocop is a win, how dare that be synced with "absolute worst"?

[@PaulRizzo]

8:29: Jeff Farmer got screwed...$150 per year. 😂😂

[@gotenks9222]

I was wondering if anyone else caught that.

[@Adz907]

We all caught that. I love whatculture but they tend to do quite a few of those mess ups

[@truthtella2661]

$250,000 a match for Scott Hall one year. Add a zero and that's Brock Lesnars contract smh

[@MegaTermsOfUse]

Scott Hall is worth 10 Lesnars. Fight me.

[@truthtella2661]

@@MegaTermsOfUse no disagreements. Say hello to the bad guy

[@TheWazperviz]

Regardless Scott Hall was a huge talent and had great talent and was a huge part of WCW

[@adamhovey407]

@@Qeder7771 Was, yes, no, I do not believe so anymore. How do I know you aren't one? I assume you aren't, but don't be so critical of someone else when we all have our demons.

[@drexlspivey5828]

But wrestlers don't get paid just to wrestle, there's the stuff on the mic, the behind the scenes interviews, they don't to that for free Using that logic I could say "How much money did Bobby Heenan make just to stand at the ring and watch the match with the occasional interference?" But I don't, because that would be ridiculous

[@Estolcles]

"WCW Performance Center" Is that near the WWE Power Plant?

[@raygowan1968]

I can understand these kinds of gaffs being made. What I can't understand is how they make it into the final, edited video.

[@WrestlingSmarks]

Depends on what you consider near. It was in Atlanta and the PC in Florida.

[@iLLBiLLsRoastBeats]

Lmao

[@johns1187]

Ralphus was a WCW bus/truck driver. He got to appear on TV as a perk. Well liked guy by all behind the scenes and earned every dime.

[@crackinlackin9105]

Damn I wish I worked for WCW lol!

[@lupillosanchez6620]

Hell yeah get pay to do nothing lol

[@adamhovey407]

I was 13 when they went out of business, so not sure what I would have done. That said, if they were still around, I would go apply to work for them.

[@JamesSmith-nk8vo]

No way would probably be the bulk of the company getting under 50 k

[@morningstar5535]

Hahahahahhaa

[@sportsmedia9647]

@@lupillosanchez6620 😂 i would’ve love it

[@e1eventhv1rus69]

Whatever they paid Russo definitely should’ve made this list. No matter how much it was

[@urbanentertainmentgodz]

Halfa a mil

[@Adz907]

You're not going to like or believe this but his WCW salary was... wait for it... $300,000 PER YEAR. The guy didn't even deserve $300

[@DJDoubleCee]

I always thought Bret Hart was given $9 million to join WCW. At least that’s what I remember him saying on his Wrestling With Shadows documentary.

[@misanchez305]

Maybe after bonuses, he made that much his entire tenure there, maybe a bit more, but not that much.

[@theceng]

His contract was reportedly 2.5 or 3 million a year on a 3 year deal

[@mattb6369]

@@theceng That is correct, with the estimated output that he would make roughly 9 million by the end of his three year contract. WCW's problem is they literally had no idea what to do with him, what's crazy is when Shawn considered jumping pre-injury/pre-screwjob because he missed his friends, Vince warned him of the same fate and sure enough that happened to Bret. Literally up to his chest-plate promo a year and a half after jumping, the company did nothing with him besides make the US title look relevant by putting it on him. It's a true shame because of how much momentum and fan support Hart had post-screwjob, I actually thought his first couple months were handled pretty well considering all the depressing baggage he left behind and a hand injury from punching Vince. The Starrcade referee angle worked well for Bret (not so much for Stinger due to the Hogan/Patrick politics) because he was limited in what he could do and the company elevated him right into the main event scene, serving a sequel to Montreal while providing a powerful climax to an 18 month saga, then a month later his first match on a payperview he beat Ric Flair. Sadly from there until the chestplate promo he was undoubtedly screwed, then with understandable reasons he needed time off after the loss of his brother at the height of an intense angle with Goldberg, when he did come back into the World title scene that damn head injury Goldberg caused sadly cut his career short. Bret did what he could in his last year post-January without anymore matches or taking any bumps, it's a shame his run there had to end as abysmally as the initial year and a half.

[@keithkelso9872]

Over 4 years

[@toddkurzbard]

RALPHUS~ deserved EVERY cent he was contracted for. As did Earnest "The Cat" Miller.

[@baz1388]

i wish work would pay me to sit at home for 2 years 🤣

[@starwind236]

If I remember my Cornette story correctly. I believe Iron Sheik had a deal in WCW of over 100K/yr where they only got a few matches out of him and then forgot to term his deal so he got paid another 100K to sit at home. I need a deal like this.

[@juicereviews4681]

Y’all forgot lanny paffo he didn’t wrestle once and was only on contact because he was macho mans younger brother

[@Rodzilla97]

Alex Wright was one of my favorites. he had good matches.

[@andywalker5044]

Surprised the Iron Sheik didn't get a mention - nobody knew his contract was running out and it was allowed to auto-renew

[@zlinedavid]

@@musicl0ver543 It’s true. I think his deal was “only” 100K, but he wasn’t used in over 2 years. So he made 200K for literally doing nothing.

[@traviszachery9672]

You see Horace Hogan, I see Prince Albert.

[@timmylong833]

About about Vinnie Ru’s contract. That was awfully hilarious as well.

[@moopert86]

$850,000 to ruin his credibility. Sounds like a great deal to me. Given the still underground nature of UFC at that point, Tank took a massive pay raise to make a fool of himself.

[@JoseFlores-xh5cj]

Blows my mind Stacy Kiebler signed a $15k annual conract

[@mydnyghtamethyst]

Right!? Minimum wage was just under $11k per year back then. Wonder how much she made when she signed to WWE, when she first got sign compared to when she retired?

[@imjusthere750]

Chris Jerichos flunky Ralphus wanted 2 grand a week and extra for meet and greet photo ops. This was quite more than what Jericho was making at the time. What a joke!

[@Nomad-Rogers]

Under Eric Bischoff WCW for the first time ever made a profit in 1996 & 1997. Jeff Farmer still plays nWo sting in Japan

[@noahdoerksen1908]

$150 that’s tough...

[@Kris_M89]

Lol yeah caught that too. They really must not care to fix mistakes.

[@MegaTermsOfUse]

The Cat was worth the money for the laughs he provided.

[@pikupanndropof7339]

8:29 - $150 dollars! That is a ridiculous contract. That's more than some indy's make per show!

[@ishfaqakram8260]

1. Should be Lanny Proffo. 0 appearances in WCW

[@hezamachine]

Rick Rude made 638K as a manager. Even though Rick Rude passed away in April 1999, he was on the WCW 2000 payroll sheet. He also had a Lloyd's of London insurance policy that he was collecting. Dennis Rodman made almost 1.7M in WCW.

[@colindaniels945]

I'm shocked that they didn't mention Hulk Hogan's 1994 contract. 775K a year plus an appearance fee plus a cut of ticket sales and creative control. Also at one point,he got a 2 million dollar signing bonus for renewing his deal

[@RyanParreno]

Happy for all these guys! Having said that the paltry sum Stacy Keibler was making was absolutely criminal

[@TurlWasTaken]

Norman smiley works in the wcw performance centre??? Something you're not telling us Andy

[@joshculver4381]

Ralphus got a contract because Chris Jericho helped him get it. Can't blame him for getting the money. He was hilarious

[@mor4665]

this video makes eric’s financial comments about aew funnier

[@shinigami146]

I can't believe Stacy Keibler only made $15,000. Sure she didn't "wrestle" much but she was spotlighted and depended on in angles so much more than so many wrestlers towards the end of this list that I never even saw work or even heard of, in some cases.

[@attiepollard7847]

I'm still pissed off that they gave Daphne 52K

[@HolidLove]

So, fake Sting signed a contract worth “One hundred fifty dollars per annum”? What a steal!

[@darrylchenoweth2855]

He did but sting ownes copy rights to his name so in turn he gets all the merch sales blah blah blah his net worth is about 9 million today

[@MichaelGonzalez-hd7kk]

If I remember correctly, Farmer did spend a lot of time working in Japan as they were running a NWO angle there as well.

[@MichaelGonzalez-hd7kk]

@@darrylchenoweth2855 He even said in an interview once that he could have prevented the singer from using the name if he so choosed.

[@MichaelGonzalez-hd7kk]

Ahh. Wrote that comment about Farmer prior to watching the video were they mentioned his Japan work. Though he was playing the "evil" Sting gimmick there. But yes WCW would pay his salary while he worked in Japan BUT New Japan would do the same for their talent working here like Ultimo Dragon and Great Muta.

[@HolidLove]

Odd that people are responding on this one-plus-year-old comment, but I shall clarify: my point was, in the video, he said “$150, per annum,” not “one hundred fifty THOUSAND dollars, per annum.” There is a significant difference between those numbers.

[@Bukejuice22]

I imagine Scott Hall got paid to say "Hey Yo".

[@johnv6806]

I mean it got the crowd goin

[@MGBillionaire]

Randy got $10k for every “oh yeah”

[@thefi5th86]

We owe Vince russo an apology...WCW was straight trash years before Russo was even there

[@seansimms8503]

Well said, shit the way they were tossing out loot...its a wonder they lasted as long as they did, nothing wrong with guys getting theirs but there ain't no way in hell those guys thought they were bringing the company bread to justify these ridiculous salaries.

[@johnbush5347]

I don't know Andy, wcw lasted much longer then both runs of the xfl combined

[@BrotherChrisBuffalo]

Ernest had the snow connections that made the majority of the roster happy, so there!

[@soulcrusher807]

Ted Turner did not care about it losing money. He was a fan and just wanted his own company. So it wasn't a surprise when he sold that Time Warner wanted out.

[@TheWazperviz]

Agreed. Ted loved wrestling and wanted the best product and he wanted to defeat Vince McMahon

[@MoneyHoneyBunny]

The Cat was hustling WCW hard lol but he was entertaining in their worst days. He was like R Truth before R Truth honestly.

[@michaelgriffith5747]

I take exception too Ralphus. He was a truck driver for the company and 78k is barley enough for that job... he essentially took bumps on tv for 150$ per. While having a "real" job with the company

[@dazzaMusic]

I came to this video wanting to know how much Hulk Hogan was getting because he also had the creative control in his contract especially if Nash and hall were making close to $2 million.

[@pgplaysvidya]

razor ramon made 1.6 million dollars and he's now a washed up reject? I'm so upset RN

[@DavidRagan3134]

Honorable mention to the Iron Shiek getting paid $100k in 1989 for sitting at home because his matches were so bad...and it got even better that they paid him $100k again in 1990 to do nothing because they forgot about his contract rolling over.

[@hezamachine]

Arn Anderson made 460K after his career ending injury as an agent.

[@flaco171ac]

No mention of Lanny Poffo's contract and he never appeared in WCW during it?

[@lindenstromberg6859]

Unrelated question: is Adam Clery any relation to Jon Richardson?

[@cengiztemi8713]

Hulk hogan's 1998 wcw contract was insane

[@subzrodagr8689]

WCW had a seemingly bottomless budget, awesome talent, and prospects, and a great working relationship with New Japan. Hell, they had enough talent to run 3 brands of their own!!! Nitro, Thunder, and a sort of “new prospect/developmental as well. They dropped the ball BIG TIME! I miss WCW.😞

[@cmoneyno5]

WCW Saturday Night as well

[@cmoneyno5]

WCW World Wide

[@JW-do2wc]

The company is suppose to pay them to perform, not to spoil them rotten.

[@tomgrasso4818]

@8:27 the fake sting made $150 a year? Missing the "thousand" after the 150 😂

[@DylanInBaja]

I do recall Tyson Fury's and Cain Velazquez going for a shoot fight with Lesnar. WWE is WCW 2000

[@claude122]

also paid tyson fury 15 millions for his appearence...not for a year but for 1 appearence...

[@bubbathegreat78]

You needed Glacier on this list. One of the worst contracts they ever signed.

[@sarahdunworth9989]

$150 per annum! Where do I sign up? 😆

[@alvinh5153]

Damn seeing how much this guys actually make shows why wwe thought the whole “independent contractor” thing was a good idea also it make me more made that some wrestlers made millions and then blame wwe later down the years that they don’t have money

[@theceng]

Hulk hogans contract was insanely high. I wonder how much they paid Randy savage and the ultimate warrior. Then there's wrestlers such as Manny poffo and brad Armstrong who were getting paid and not working

[@longgoneblind]

cengiz temi I’m sure I’ve read warrior was paid $1m for 6 months and they stopped using him after 3 months lol. The hogan contract was the most insane. A flat fee per ppv or if it grossed a certain amount he got a percentage of it. On top of a $25000 appearance fee at live events and his base contract for millions. Then add in the TV movies he did on tnt and his cut of the nwo merchandise.. easy $40m a year.

[@theceng]

@@longgoneblind and his $2 million signing bonus for re-signing in 1998

[@longgoneblind]

cengiz temi Nice work if you can get it brother...

[@theceng]

@@longgoneblind it sure is

[@BreadFred3]

I remember hearing Lanny Poffo(RIP) made $250K per year and only wrestled one match during his tenure.

[@josburd6429]

150, k a year is a lot Most got free airplane tickets But they also had to pay themselves there own motel room and rental cars Plus a lot of taxes But still even at 80,k after it all, is still great for only working 150 days a year

[@dannowak2652]

Vincent told me he made $1 million a year and only had to work Nitro.

[@BrotherChrisBuffalo]

I do believe it. Teddy Turner and his organization was hell bent on beating WWF/WWE no matter the cost. Kinda like Optimus Prime being hell bent on beating the Decepticons in The Movie. Where does it end? Oh yeah, turning grey and pooping out.

[@seanthebaptist6757]

Ralphus and Jericho were gold.

[@mt_baldwin]

Paying wrestlers huge amounts to sit at home is a clear sign of a poorly run promotion on the edge of disaster. Not to mention floundering from one terrible PPV to another. Isn't WWE doing these same things, right down to the PPV thing?...

[@cubsallthawayin09]

What about Master P , Dennis Rodman , Even karl Malone got paid good in them day's?

[@jeremyjamm3131]

Notice how both Nash and Scott got a raise in 2000? WCW offered the raise because Vince was hyping the return of razor and diesel, WCW didn't want to get left high and dry, so they offered the pay bump. Turned out to be fake diesel and razor, Vince looked like an idiot while getting them a raise.

[@joenintendo]

Ralphus was amazing. Deserved every bit of that 78,000 and then some!

[@marcespinoza6068]

Paying Tank Abbott to goof around and ruin his.....credibility? You mean his losing record in MMA?

[@blinkth3dog]

yesterday i listend to jericho talking how ralphus started out super nice and humble but got ego'ed and got his own ring rats lmao

[@zlinedavid]

Can you even imagine what a Ralphus rat looks like? Probably makes a day shift stripper look like a 10 by comparison.

[@stanimal187]

Horace hogan with the travis barker shirt 😂

[@alejandrodiazfrancia1562]

That's some incredibly efficient money laundering tho, and Vince Russo is the perfect cover. I mean, that's a next level play. I can totally see an attorney telling the jury that who in his mind would ever use Vince Russo to actually make a profit out of something

[@awkc63]

The Boogie Knights LOL

[@christopherbako]

"Nice work if you can get it" A song by Gershwin

[@Zhikute]

I guess you could say " The winds have change"

[@hezamachine]

Horace Hogan was at home for 2 years (outside of 1 Worldwide appearence) made about 200K until he was a member of The Flock.

[@Doomsday604]

3.5 million a year. Really isn't that much for a top star like Goldberg. Considering how much he drove fans to the arena and TV screens. His money generating ability completely justified this price tag. I know shitting on WCW is the thing to do , but like many others have said. WCW "dying" was still more popular and a better watch than modern day WWE.

[@attiepollard7847]

I would have at least given him 1.5 million a year after 1998

[@newerest1]

bischoff has explained on his podcast that any time his talent worked for new japan that they paid for the talent, by paying wcw. so yeah, it actually was a source of revenue to have jeff farmer working overseas and equaled out to zero.

[@hezamachine]

Rick Rude made 638K as a manager. Even though Rick Rude passed away in April 1999, he was on the WCW 2000 payroll sheet. He also had a Lloyd's of London insurance policy.

[@declangaming24]

Rick Rudes family got the rest of his WCW contract payments

[@hezamachine]

Dennis Rodman made almost 1.7M for his time in WCW.

[@the6footplustree75]

It seems like WCW is the basketball equivalent of James Dolans New York Knicks.

[@jeffreyblock16]

How much did they pay James Brown, Kiss, ICP, the Misfits, and any other musicians or celebrities like Robocop and Chucky? Ralphus was worth every cent of it. Jericho vs Goldberg was setup so awesomely by Jericho and never acted on by WCW

[@p.d.l7023]

WCW: What's your name? Jeff Farmer WCW: Yikes! You can be fake Sting. Seriously though, he got the fake Sting over in Japan and it went on much longer than it should have.

[@p.d.l7023]

Before Ralphus was Ralphus he drove the ring truck. Trivia: Ralphus was named after a character in Jerico's favorite horror film 'Blood Sucking Freaks'.

[@lorddude]

The best thing about Ernest "The Cat" Miller was how WWE created the "Somebody Better Call My Mama" song for him. I've heard that the Signature Sounds: the Music of WWE documentary from back in March of 2014 (available on the WWE Network) tried to claim that the song was created for Brodus Clay's Funkasaurus gimmick. But anyone can look back on the WWE Network (specifically a dance break segment in 2004 Royal Rumble match) to see that Miller was using the theme almost a decade before Brodus. This may be off topic, but you mentioned Ernest Miller, so I had to toss this factoid in. Also, wasn't Miller a karate instructor for Eric Bischoff's son? I swear I heard that's how he got into WCW.

[@justinmartin1831]

Yeah he was. Bischoff has said so.

[@uncannycerebro]

Shiiiit, I need that kind of guarantee that Ralphus had lol.

[@EmmettXIV]

9:33 Stacy Keibler just 15k. unfair.

[@hezamachine]

Steve McMichael made 862K working for WCW.

[@eldonpedro0818]

Hall and Nash had favoured nations clauses in their contracts where they could name 10 wrestlers and if WCW brought them in at higher contracts then theirs would have to be adjusted accordingly to be in line with them.

[@attiepollard7847]

God I wish I can go back in time and fix their contracts. I would tell both Nash and Hall I'm going to give you lots of money but you going to work for it and you ain't getting no creative clauses

[@dickflair4538]

Macho Mans brother being under WCW contract for 75K a year for 5 years and not Wrestling a single match

[@WoodstockProd]

“To this day I love Goldberg!” *posted November 2019* sure you do Andy, sure you do

[@nexusgiga]

“Hall never came to wcw for the monieeeeeee””””””

[@dieselkilgore]

Lanny Poffo and Mike Awesome are 2 that come to mind. What about Warrior? I wonder what kind of cash they threw at him to be around for 2 months.

[@understandthat9817]

I thought Hall & Nash had Favored Nations Clauses in their Contracts? Which means Nobody Earns more than them or their Contracts go Up as Well. 🤔

[@andrewkruzienski770]

Only for certain guys though and they had to be from outside the company. Also it just entitled them to a raise. Not to match the contract of that performer coming in.

[@i077]

Another reason why WWF/WWE was always destined to win. They were(are) viewed as the star making company and wrestlers were taking non/partial guaranteed deals for higher upside. WCW have to offer at least twice the guarantees, since there were way less earning opportunities there. Bill Goldberg, at his peak, made $16k for the whole year on merch... Of course his agent asked for that massive guaranteed. Stone Cold made more than that on T-Shirt sales in one TV taping.

[@Grassyknolldallas]

Gee I wonder why Time Warner wanted to dump WCW? Probably because they seen their books and how much they were paying these guys who didn’t ever wrestle, Nash and Hall

[@mrj3217]

Never heard of H. Hogan lol.

[@halmartin7417]

I've always wondered.... is that Jeff Farmer that same "Yup" Jumpin Jeff Farmer?