WWE legend and current AEW star Chris Jericho shed new light on what WWE stars currently make, and it may shock some wrestling fans.
During an appearance on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast recently, Chris Jericho opened up about how he and AEW are changing WWE’s salary structure. He compared his move to AEW, to NHL legend Bobby Hull’s 70’s move to the World Hockey Association (WHA) and how it raised salaries in the NHL.
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“What happened was all of the players in the NHL got a huge raise to stay because they didn’t want to lose anybody else to the WHA,” Jericho said on the popular podcast.” Ted Irvine went from 35 grand a year to 100 grand a year just because of Bobby Hall and the WHA. So ipso facto, Chris Jericho is the Bobby Hall of wrestling. Because the moment I left to go to AEW, suddenly the entire salary structure changed.”
In his eyes, AEW forced WWE to re-examine its salary structure. Jericho said during his time in WWE the maximum guaranteed salary was $1 million a year. Although top guys could make more with bonuses and merchandise sales, the base salary stayed the same. But since he’s left AEW, he’s seen a change and revealed the staggering figures WWE talents are now making.
Chris Jericho Reveals Top WWE Stars Earn $30 to $40 Million
“Now, opening match guys are getting a million dollars a year, and top guys are getting 30, 40 million a year. Not all of them, but a few, 15 million, 20 million,” he said.
For Chris Jericho, his move to AEW wasn’t just about the money — it was a wake-up call for WWE. AEW didn’t just raise the bar, they forced WWE to step up and rethink how they valued their talent. He pointed out the power of competition in wrestling and how AEW’s rise made WWE offer bigger and better contracts to keep their stars.
“So I don’t think that ever would have happened had there not been AEW to scare the WWE cognizant into paying people more,” he claimed. “That’s good for all of us. [..] it’s just good for everyone, good for the fans to have an alternative. So it’s always good to have high-level competition.”