How much do you think a WWE and/or NXT Superstar gets paid per year?
According to one recently released former WWE NXT performer, the annual rate for an average NXT Superstar, and in many cases, even main roster WWE Superstars, is much lower than fans would think.
During a recent in-depth interview with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture, former WWE NXT Superstar Gigi Dolin (Priscilla Kelly) addressed misconceptions she feels fans have about wrestler pay in WWE and NXT.
The topic came up while she was speaking about her contractual abilities right now due to the confusion surrounding the new lengthy non-compete clauses in WWE contracts.
“I can do whatever I want now,” Kelly said of her status. “I can take signings. I can sell my own merch. I can do whatever I want, and that’s a huge part of it, too. Is in WWE, you don’t have that freedom. You don’t have any freedom, really. Like, they own everything you do. They even took, I think, almost half of my Cameo earnings as well. That was like the one thing that they do allow you to do, is Cameo, and they even take a percentage of that.”
As the conversation continued, the women’s wrestling star spoke about how fans may think wrestlers in WWE and/or NXT are millionaires.
“The common misconception about, especially NXT performers, is that we’re millionaires, right,” Kelly said. “A lot of fans for some reason think that if you work in WWE, and you’re under that umbrella, you’re a millionaire, you live in a mansion, you’re driving a [Mercedes] Benz, you’ve got it made. That’s not the case. In NXT, there’s contracts as low as $30,000 a year. And they do not go as high as you think.”
Kelly continued, “You have to live in Florida, which it’s very expensive to live here. Going out to eat just for two people can run you $100-plus because everything is marked up from tourism and Florida’s just the hotbed for people. So it’s very expensive living here. Having to pay for new gear all the time and all these expenses, taking care of your body and getting all these little things, like, it all adds up.
“And at the end of the day, especially because you can’t make money outside of what you make in WWE, you don’t make a lot,” she said. “I think the common misconception is that we’re all just rich and rolling in money, and that’s just not the case.”
Priscilla Kelly moved on to address the wrestler pay for talent working on the WWE main roster via Raw and/or SmackDown.
“Even main roster talent, like, of course there’s people on main roster that are making the really big, big, big bucks,” she said. “But that’s a small percentage.”
She added, “A lot of people that are up there, like, they make good money, but they’re also paying for every hotel, they’re paying for all of their travel and all the food, everything they need on top of the other expenses of gear and taking care of your body and taking care of your sanity.”
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(H/T to Joseph Currier and F4WOnline.com)
