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mysterious_w

How much do indy wrestlers actually get paid?

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For a long time I've wondered how much wrestlers make. After the WWE salary figures got leaked it cleared up some of the picture, but those guys are on yearly contracts plus there's probably all sorts of extras with merch and PPV appearances.

 

What I'm wondering is how much an indy wrestler will make in a match, from the very top in ROH, to lesser-known but still pretty big groups such as CHIKARA and JAPW, right down the little scummy promotions that run the odd show and that's it. Obviously with non of us being wrestlers it's all gonna be hear-say and guesswork, but I'd still like to know more on the matter.

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It really all depends. The absolute no name guys who are just starting out usually don't get paid at all, it's considered part of their training, at the most if it's a show that's requires long travel, they might get a stipend of like 20 or 30 bucks for food, but even that's a rarity.

 

I once read that Joe was getting like $2000 per shot at Ring of Honor, so that's probably the top of the ceiling for Indy Wrestlers to make.

 

Lower tier guys in ROH probably make between 200-300 per show.

 

"Legends" or unemployed former WWE stars that have made an established name for themselves can get between 500-1200 plus travel expenses for an appearance, but that all depends on how big of a star you were, and whether or not you've had any recent exposure. Christian Cage and Chris Jericho are at the higher end of this spectrum while say Romeo Roselli and John Toland are at the lower end.

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Rookies and nobodies often aren't paid at all. Depending on the promotion, sometimes even veterans get paid absolute shit; $30-40 is considered a GOOD nightly payoff on the Nashville indy scene.

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Rookies and nobodies often aren't paid at all. Depending on the promotion, sometimes even veterans get paid absolute shit; $30-40 is considered a GOOD nightly payoff on the Nashville indy scene.

 

Justin Credible gets paid 25 dollars a night here in Connecticut to wrestle in front of 30 people

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Guest Brett Wolverton
Rookies and nobodies often aren't paid at all. Depending on the promotion, sometimes even veterans get paid absolute shit; $30-40 is considered a GOOD nightly payoff on the Nashville indy scene.

 

Justin Credible gets paid 25 dollars a night here in Connecticut to wrestle in front of 30 people

 

 

I'm a ring announcer throughout North Carolina and a few shows here and there in South Carolina. I've made anywhere from $10-$40 depending on the show and promoters, but some places I don't even get the $10.

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Everyone whose posted is pretty much is correct on pay outs. Depending on who you are and what you've done and how big of a name you are, it really varies. Smaller names/rookies/lesser knowns/guys who haven't been around long enough free to 50.00. Bigger names/former TNA/WWE/WCW/ECW wrestlers/"Vets"/higher name value 100 or more.

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I dunno about the Trinity part, but it's true that most of the jobbers and Explosion workers never got paid in early TNA.

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I heard a story that early TNA couldn't pay lower card guys like Jason Cross so they just had Trinity change in their dressing room.

 

Wait a second. Their payment was seeing a girl change in front of them?

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I seriously doubt that Jennifer Garner's professional stunt double from Daredevil would get nude in front of a bunch of strangers just because the company was being a cheapskate.

 

Also, I've been in TNA's old backstage area. They didn't have split locker rooms. The only rooms with doors on it were Jeff's private office (about the size of a closet) and the room that contained the backstage toilet and shower, and that room was always filled up by the upper card cliques. The rest of the backstage was just one big open area. The girls usually went into a private bathroom inside the building managers' offices to change clothes.

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The later version of the story I was told was basically the above mentioned 1 locker room fact with implications they changed together, but the first time I was told it, it was "they watched Trinity change". That's the internet for you, lots of stories.

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