10 Wealthiest current and former WWE Superstars
Which current or former WWE superstars have turned their time in the spotlight to a fortune?
Kurt Angle was a household name with a lot of sports fans before he ever stepped foot in the WWE. After becoming a two-time NCAA Division I champion in amateur wrestling and three-time All-American at Clarion University, Angle continued to wrestle and won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics (with a broken freakin’ neck) in Atlanta, Georgia.
A few years after his monumental Olympic victory, Angle signed with WWE and was a star instantly. A twenty-year pro-wrestling career in WWE and TNA (among other promotions) on top of his accomplishments in amateur wrestling has made Angle a pretty rich man.
However, it wasn’t just in-ring where Angle made his fortune. Angle has appeared in a few films and several TV shows, including an appearance on Duck Dynasty. Although he has made appearances in movies on TV, Angle is one of the few wrestlers on this list that made the majority of his fortune from the squared circle.
#5 Hulk Hogan ($25 Million)
A case can be made that none of the people on this list (or the list itself for that matter) would be here without Hulk Hogan and what he did in the 80’s and 90’s for himself and pro wrestling. Hogan’s first appearance in Hollywood was huge for him and the WWE, as he portrayed “Thunderlips” in Rocky III.
From then on, Hogan made quite a name for himself in Hollywood, with starring roles in Mr Nanny and Thunder In Paradise.
For the next decade or so, Hogan spent his time being one of the highest paid Superstars in pro-wrestling history, while still making appearances in Hollywood. After his wrestling career was over, Hogan continued to be an ambassador for WWE and also starred in a reality-TV show based around him and his family.
Now, some people reading this will question his net worth considering the lawsuit he had against Gawker, in which he was awarded $115 million for defamation, loss of privacy, and emotional pain. However, The Hulkster is yet to receive the money and it will probably be a while before he sees a penny from the lawsuit.
#4 Triple H ($40 Million)
Most people that are reading this article knew that Triple H’s name would appear somewhere in the top 10.
However, I don’t know if many people expected him to be this high on the list. A wrestling career that has spanned over 20 years and counting, “The Game” made a lot of money as one of WWE’s top guys for most of his career. However, it was Triple H’s decision to begin dating Stephanie McMahon in the late 90’s that really catapulted him up this list.
Triple H married Steph in 2003 and was put in line to help run the company with her and her father, Vince when his wrestling days were over. However, Triple H has balanced keeping his wrestling career going, while being the Executive VP of Talent, Live Events, and Creative for the company and has even founded NXT, which is used as a developmental brand for WWE.
According to TheRichest.com, Trips made over $5 million from 2012-2013 from his talent contract, his salary as Executive VP of Talent and the value of the stock he has in the company. With those figures in mind, it isn’t difficult to see how Trips came in at #4 on this list.
#3 Stone Cold Steve Austin ($45-$50 Million)
Stone Cold Steve Austin is arguably the most popular Superstar to ever step foot in a WWE ring. His wrestling career spanned over almost 15 years, with almost half coming with WWE, where he was a top paid Superstar and merchandise seller for the company for most of his career with them.
After his days in the squared circle were behind him, Austin spent a couple years in various on-air roles with the company, including a stint as Co-General Manager.
After he was done with wrestling, Austin continued to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry, claiming several key roles in motion pictures and television. Austin’s recurring role in MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch lasted for over three years. He also had a recurring role on Nash Bridges and appeared in an episode of Dilbert.
However, Austin really made a name for himself on the big screen after his wrestling career was over. His first huge role was as a prison guard in the remake of The Longest Yard, starring Adam Sandler. His other large roles on the silver screen include a starring role in The Condemned and minor roles in The Expendables and Grown Ups 2.
Other than his work in Hollywood, Austin continued to work for the company filming special episodes of his podcast, The Stone Cold Podcast, up until the early stages of 2017.
However, Austin continues to do his podcast (available on PodcastOne) and has even begun hosting reality competition shows, such as Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge that airs on CMT and has been running for three seasons.
#2 John Cena ($55 Million)
Over the past few years, John Cena has begun to take Hollywood by storm. Still smack dab in the middle of his wrestling career, Cena has begun making a name for himself outside of the wrestling ring and on the big screen in major motion pictures.
His first action as a movie star came in 2006 in the WWE Film The Marine, then again a few years later starring in the WWE Film 12 Rounds.
For the next few years, John Cena made it his priority to become one of the biggest Superstars WWE has ever produced, and he did just that. Over a career that has lasted over 15 years, Cena has tied Ric Flair with 16 World Heavyweight Title reigns, which is the most in pro-wrestling history.
Cena will almost certainly break that record in the years to come and become the most decorated Heavyweight champion of all-time.
However, the seventeenth World title reign may have to wait. Over the past two years, Cena’s prospects in Hollywood have exploded thanks to his role in 2015 in the movie Trainwreck, where he starred alongside Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, and even Lebron James.
Since then, Cena has made the jump from wrestling Superstar to global icon, as he’s recently hosted Saturday Night Live and the 2016 ESPY Awards. He’s also begun filming and producing a reality show called American Grit for FOX and stars in Total Divas and Total Bellas as well.
Cena landed another huge Hollywood role in the film Sisters, starring alongside Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, and then a small role in Daddy's Home, that starred Mark Whalberg and Will Ferrell.
With upcoming roles in the new films The Wall and Daddy’s Home 2, it’s clear to see John Cena’s role in Hollywood is just starting to take shape and with rumors of Cena’s WWE days coming to an end sooner rather than later, he may be a mainstay on the big screen in the years to come.
#1 The Rock ($185-$190 Million)
The Rock was on the fast track to becoming one of the most decorated Superstars in WWE history early on in his career.
A seven-time WWE Champion by the age of 30, The Rock decided to take a hiatus from the ring to pursue Hollywood full-time after hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live in 2000.
What started off as a part-time hiatus, however, turned into much more as The Rock shined on the big screen, with starring roles in The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King, The Rundown, and Walking Tall.
Knowing what we know now about The Rock’s ability to act and his movie star charisma, it’s safe to say “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports-Entertainment” made the right choice.
From 2005-2010, The Rock had starring roles in thirteen major motion pictures, ranging from Doom to Gridiron Gang to The Tooth Fairy, making him one of the higher-paid actors in Hollywood.
His movie career exploded shortly after, with a role in the latest film in the Fast & Furious franchise, Fast Five in 2011. From that point on, The Rock was to be considered one of, if not the premier actor in all of Hollywood.
Starring roles in GI Joe: Retaliation and Pain & Gain the following year and his recurring role in the next Fast & Furious movie would solidify The People’s Champ’s spot in Hollywood. With not much else to do in Hollywood, The Rock came back to WWE to pursue another Heavyweight title run and was successful in doing so when he defeated CM Punk at Royal Rumble in 2013.
However, the title reign was short-lived as he lost to John Cena at WrestleMania a couple of months later.
That lead to The Rock heading back to Hollywood for good, where he would become undoubtedly the biggest box-office star the movie world had to offer. The biggest role of The Rock’s life was next, as he starred in San Andreas, which was one of the highest grossing movies of 2015.
Since then, The Rock has starred in another movie from the Fast & Furious franchise, The Fate of the Furious, and also starred opposite Kevin Hart in the comedy, Central Intelligence, and will soon star in another major motion picture, Baywatch.
0 comments:
Post a Comment