10 Wealthiest current and former WWE Superstars
Which current or former WWE superstars have turned their time in the spotlight to a fortune?
WWE has been ultimately responsible for making some of the biggest stars sports-entertainment has ever seen. Although most guys in the business make the majority of their fortunes from wrestling, more and more Superstars, both current and former, are starting to venture into gigs in movies or television.
Some of the guys on this list made the majority of their money in pro-wrestling, but most of the Superstars on this list benefited from crossing over into Hollywood.
Hulk Hogan was the first pro-wrestling star to really cross over into Hollywood and became an icon to fans all over the world, even some of whom weren’t particularly wrestling fans. Hogan brought a brand new audience to Vince McMahon’s product back in the early 80’s after landing a role in “Rocky III” and the company never looked back.
Since then, Superstars such as The Rock and John Cena have followed in Hogan’s footsteps to Hollywood. However, other Superstars have made a name for themselves outside the ring and have become very wealthy. Let’s take a look at the 10 wealthiest superstars, past and present, from the WWE.
*** This list is based on figures retrieved from TheRichest.com and CelebrityNetWorth.com
#10 Shawn Michaels ($17 Million)
The Heartbreak Kid was a mainstay in WWE for almost twenty-five years. In his time with the company, Michaels spent years being one of the top paid Superstars in the business, which would have left him pretty wealthy when his career was over.
However, HBK has stayed very busy since retiring from WWE in 2010. He hosts a television show called ‘Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures’ that airs on Carbon TV, and is based on Michaels and his long-time friend, Keith Mark, hunting big-game animals all over the world.
Michaels also recently tried his hand in the movie business, earning a starring role in the WWE Studios film The Resurrection of Gavin Stone. On top of his time on television and the big screen, Michaels wrote an autobiography in 2015 entitled Wrestling For My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar.
As if all that wasn’t enough, WWE are in talks with HBK that may lead to him becoming a trainer at the Performance Center for his old pal, Triple H.
#9 Mick Foley ($15-$18 Million)
Mick Foley is a Superstar that has wrestled all over the world, from small gymnasiums in front of a hundred people to cathedrals such as Madison Square Garden in front of thousands and thousands of people. However, Foley was always one of the few Superstars that looked ahead to his life after wrestling, while being an active superstar in WWE.
Foley has written everything from autobiographies to children’s fiction. His memoirs have made him a multi-time New York Times best-selling author, and his first one, ‘ Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks’ sat atop the Times best-selling list for many weeks in 1999 and received rave reviews, as did his next three books.
Also quite the showman, Foley spent time in front of the camera during and after his career was over, including a special guest appearance in Boy Meets World and having his own reality show based on his family on the WWE Network called Holy Foley.
He also enjoys doing stand-up and story-telling at various night clubs around the country. Foley was brought back to WWE as the co-General Manager of Raw in 2016 and stayed with the company until he left to have his hip replaced early in 2017.
#8 Chris Jericho ($18 Million)
Chris Jericho has been wrestling for almost thirty years now, spending 18 with the WWE, and has yet to slow down at all. His latest run with the company saw Y2J win the United States Championship twice; a title that had eluded “The Ayatollah of Rock-N-Rolla” his entire career.
As one of the most decorated Superstars in company history, one would think Jericho would be on this list regardless of his activity outside the ring. However, Jericho has spent a lot of his time outside of the ring involved in other aspects of entertainment, including being the lead singer of Fozzy, his heavy metal band.
The band has released several studio albums since its formation and just recently went back on tour where they will perform all over the globe.
Jericho also keeps busy with his podcast, Talk is Jericho and has guests that range from rock-n-roll stars to WWE stars to Indie wrestling promotion stars. Also, Jericho has made several cameos in different television shows throughout his career, including several appearances on Talking Dead and Dancing With The Stars.
#7 Big Show ($20 Million)
Paul Wight has always stood out in a crowd, considering that he was 6’2 and weighed 220 pounds by the age of 12. Wight grew up with Acromegaly, which is a condition that affects the endocrine system, just like Andre The Giant, but had surgery in the early 90’s that halted it.
After working various jobs after college, White was introduced to Hulk Hogan and later signed by WCW in 1995, where he debuted as The Giant.
The Big Show made his way to WWE a few years later and has never looked back. Due to his unique size (over 7 feet tall and over 500 pounds), White was an obvious choice to cross over into Hollywood.
After a small part in Jingle All The Way, where he was involved in a fight scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wight got some serious face time playing a wrestler in The Waterboy, making fun of Adam Sandler’s character during a phone interview.
He’s also made several appearances on television, including appearances on Saturday Night Live and Star Trek: Enterprise, and has also been featured in several ad campaigns for different products.
Wight has been wrestling for over 20 years and has been one of the higher-paid athletes in WWE for the past decade, and all of his appearances on the TV and silver screens, along with his time in sports entertainment, has made him one of the biggest and wealthiest superstars WWE has ever produced.
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