How WWE Contracts Really Work
Vložit
- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- Stevie Richards in this video will explain the following:
What is a WWE contract all about; specifically a WWE Downside Guarantee contract?
What does "downside guarantee" mean?
What do you need to do to earn that money?
Can you make more from WWE that the downside guarantee?
Does a WWE contract include royalties, third party bookings or extra payoffs?
Can a WWE contract be frozen due to injury now or in 2008?
What else is in a WWE contract that you might not know about?
These questions and 3 others will be answered by former WWE/WWF pro wrestling Stevie Richards in this here video.
From The Stevie Richards Show episode 2
A new episode of The Stevie Richards Show every Friday on CZcams and all podcast platforms:
iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1naez8v...
Amazon Music: music.amazon.com/podcasts/18a...
iHeartRadio: iheart.com/podcast/122055421
Stevie Richards links:
Twitter: / bwostevie
Facebook: / michaelmannaakastevier...
Website: www.stevierichardsfitness.com/
CZcams: / @stevierichardsfitness
WSI Network links:
/ wsi_youtube
/ wsiwrestling
/ wsiwrestlingshootinter...
BOOK LINKS (Affiliate)
Owen Hart: King of Pranks (The Ultimate Anthology of Owen's Greatest Ribs, Pranks and Stories)
US Link: tinyurl.com/2ahedz57
UK Link: tinyurl.com/35rffufu
Canada Link: tinyurl.com/y77y627b
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: The People’s Champion - From WWE to Hollywood
US Link: tinyurl.com/mrxst8yk
UK Link: tinyurl.com/4nvke5wf
Canada Link: tinyurl.com/mu32uy8b
#StevieRichards #WWE #Wrestling
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WSI | Wrestling Shoot Interviews is part of the WSI Network
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WSI | Wrestling Shoot Interviews: / @wsi
Story Time with Dutch Mantell: / @storytimewithdutchman...
Don Muraco Podcast Archive: / @donmuracopod
James Romero: / @jamesromero - Sport
Stevie just basically said what my business professor in college told me. There's no such thing as a "free lunch" because everyone pays in the end.
So glad that Stevie Richards has decided to enter into the youtube fray. What an intelligent and likable person! I love hearing him chat about the business.
I feel the same way. He should be actively producing wrestling in the mainstream. Very clever, insightful, charismatic, and most importantly, compassionate.
I think he's the best along with Maven. They're better than some of the A-Listers. I find myself binging their channel than some of the more popular wrestlers.
@@One.Zero.One101 Agreed. I feel the same about Maven. It's possible that they internalized a lot of their successes and failures while on the sidelines. Probably made them more cerebral in the long run.
Basically what I'm hearing is this is not a great business to make money in and remain healthy your whole life. Unless you get over and your merch sells like crazy, you're basically making paycheck to paycheck money, and even less because you're traveling for 300 days a year. My hats off to all those guys and girls doing this for our entertainment, because they truly put it all on the line for us.
Undertaker was there 30 years and made "only" made 17 million
Now what about the guys at the bottom? @@michaelpeterson3736
@@michaelpeterson3736that’s not a ton of money, like my office job gonna do that easily
I wish I would've had a Stevie as a financial advisor long ago.
Highly underrated by everyone but the fans.. BWO 4 LIFE!!!
Stevie Richard’s right to censor hands down was one of the greatest heels of the 2000s they literally generated a lot of heat. His ECW career was amazing. Very talented and well respected thank you for the insight Stevie.
When I watched and heard that Stevie was canceling his old channel and moving to Wsi, I was honestly like, WTF? Why? But I am thoroughly enjoying all of this new content, good good shit. 👌
He was on the CZcams censor's radar thanks to "Don Stevens" he would have to do multiple edits of videos to the point where it wasn't workable
@@tullyDT Who is Don Stevens?
@@MMastaMthey say he can bite an apple through a chain link fence
@@MMastaM 🐎 🐴
What is Wsi?
Thank you Stevie for blasting JBL with that chair in 2005 👏 🙌
The real question is did Stevie gimmick the chair before plowing it into JBL or did he actually try to make the match a shoot?
@@mharris5047 Rumor is it was a shoot, as a receipt for JBL shooting on Blue Meanie.
@@mharris5047 Chris Evans good job now next week is cool now my right tomorrow is it so much you power back wwe soon now did you take me out now that you can find out now how much is that ok now do you see that you
Lol😂
His finisher could have been called "The Blue Screen of Death!"
😂 good one
Yesssssssssss
Wrek-support Stevie Richard's 😅
Him and Matt, hardy finisher, should be called ctrl alt DELETE DELETE
End Process!!!
I saw Stevie wrestle a WWE live event that was free at Venice Beach. He was the best one on that mini show. If I remember correctly that may have been his last match in WWE.
His last year in WWE was 2008. Also that’s awesome you got to go to a free house show. I’ve always loved the different feel between house shows and televised events
❤@@JesusPerez-nz4gi
I'm trying like hell to save my money for the future too. I don't know what the next few years (or months) will hold but I know I'll be in much worse shape if I don't keep working OT and saving.
I'm happy to say I, like many others are OG's to Stevie's original channel and this one now too!
Stevie is one of the most underrated talents of all time, the RTC was probably his best run but it's a shame that the WWE didn't really utilize him like they could have. I've found from watching multiple other channels the common theme is that it all comes down to the mood Vince was in that day, if you were one of the top guys you got by with a lot.
Really love this new format and show. Keep it up Stevie, don't let the copyright bs keep you down.
There's a reason Vince McMahon is a billionaire and most of the talent that worked for him is broke, hurt and jaded. You can say that the lowest card guys were reckless with their earnings but when you're busting ass like they are and still being paycheck to paycheck that's a raw fucking deal and Vince knew and took advantage of that.
Stevie sound like a guy who is smart with his money. I know understand better why so many wrestlers (most present) have sounded so money hungry. It must be a real uncertain business when it comes to money.
That's showbiz
YOU MUST BE A WWE FAN
as is life without a 9-5
75 a year??? Lol dam.. Stevie Richards wasn't valuable to them at all ..I made more than that driving a truck.
@@jaywortham697that was low end guaranteed meaning he wouldn’t even need to be in a match to make that
Steven looks like HBK's brother.
He sounds like HBK trying to speak with a Calgary accent
Funny because I thought he was similar to Michaels back then because he did have the Steven Kick. I always liked Stevie. He was just one of those wrestlers I just liked. He, Lance Storm and some of the "others".
Cousin twice removed
That is hilarious as an IT technician watching this Stevie! way to go!
I've been told by friends in bands that getting the plane tickets through their version of the office is in the end cheaper than taking a bigger paycheck and buying your own because the office gets better prices for plane tickets, hotels, et cetera
Every wrestlers contract was different, if you were one of the top guys they gave you so much more which may have included travel arrangments, hotel accomodations, etc...
@@2WheeledShenanigan-gs7cl Right, but every perk the office paid for came off the top of what they offered those top guys in actual money. *But* the office can "charge" you less than the airline would for first class tickets
This needs to be longer lol. So much knowledge in Mr Stevie!
Can’t say how excited I am that Stevie is a prominent voice again.
The young guy in me that used to pick nobody BUT Stevie in the Smackdown games is cheesing
Cringe
I feel that. Always nice when the people you looked up to as a kid turn out just as great as you expected. Usually its the opposite, unfortunately.
The thought that a wrestlers "push" was killed off or not given just so the company could keep more of their profits must be so disheartening. You take a 2nd or 3rd-tier wrestler whose push isn't really going to move the needle in the short term but it gives the company content and through no fault of his own ups said wrestler's pay... Those are the guys that get the shaft the most because most corps are looking to "trim the fat" Why pay a guy more when you can bring in a young guy to do it for half? As a pro wrestler, you put so much of your life into the sport, and guys like SR back in the day would get screwed because they weren't prototypical. They knew they were getting boned but just dealt with it to stay in the business Kudos to you man
Stevie is a great dude. Philly proud bro. Thank u stevie 4 being a solid human.
When JR said you can’t work outside jobs did they bump your salary?? Seems like the perfect time to ask that follow up
Man I got burnt out on wrestling podcasts til I found Stevie
Stevie Richards is handsome as hell!
It really makes sense to me Stevie did computer networking. I work with people who are just like him: likeable personality and extremely knowledgeable ❤
Stevie I know exactly what you mean. “End users” would have been great!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Pretty sure a lot of people know what an end user is..
@@MarkFugitive-I don’t. What’s it mean ?!
finisher would be the blue screen?
Shauna Oliver pissed himself when Stevie said pay sheets. That jocksniffer couldn't comprehend life when Maven said it.
Context? I know who Shawn Oliver is, but what do you mean he pissed himself when Stevie said pay sheets?
@@watchreportstick with me. Shawn Oliver only knew what a guranteed contract was because of Nash's. Maven talked about his downside pay or getting paid for house shows & ppv or pay sheets. Oliver was not aware of any other pay structure in the biz other than upfront money.
To this day, I have no idea how guys like Stevie survived. You have to pay travel, lodging on $75k a year.
i don't know how the unemployed ever survive on less than 20k a year ... they also have to travel and pay rent
Sharing cheap ran down motels and squeezing 3-6 people in one small car definitely helped save money
That was good money back then
At one point bro gas was 1.00 a gallon
While I think wrestler's should've had a bus (multiple one's) it's not that hard too save money on cheap motels, ride share etc.
We got screwed out of a datacenter match (a-la boiler room brawl) 🤣
Learning Stevie going around as IT just pumped me up. Big tech nerd and wrestling fan, so that’s cool to see. Would’ve never guessed that about him.
Anyone else just happy to see stevie looking healthy again?? Big fan of this dude and happy for him
If I look as good as Stevie when I'm 52 I'll be happy!
Love this! The two of you have a good flow.
@@LoganardoDVinci Chris Evans thank you wwe on this soon now that we can do it tomorrow night Monday night you can find out now let go back next week on Thursday and yes you can find out now that it will do that soon
We love you Stevie philly represent ❤ u have always been one of my favs
came from the other channel
and subbed
expected no more vids and glad to see new vids rollling in
I don’t understand why anyone would want to be a wrestler as a career path. WWE has been pumping there contracted performers for decades! Unless you are a top performer you’re screwed!
Dreams of fame and money
First, if you are savvy, you can parley your career into the film industry, into being a content creator, etc, nowadays. Second, if one gets over, they profit from it. That is a wrestlers job. The wrestlers who are best at the totality of being a pro wrestler profit greatly. So, honestly, I don't understand this point
@@zaneplatt3533 it is not a guarantee that you will or be given the opportunity to get over. The first few years unless the machine knows or are going to make you a star who is paying for your travel, hotel and insurance. That’s the point you are gambling on being famous and not all good or even great talent gets that opportunity. So that’s my point.
Great stuff. I really liked Stevie in WWF. Right to Censor was a great heel group for the time, and him with Victoria on Raw was really good too.
And he just has some really good information from someone who's been there done that.
No doubt that Stevie would have made a computer guy gimmick entertaining
The more I learn about pro wrestling the less I’d ever want to be a part of it
Once I learned bout the schedule I was like oh no wwe is a slave job!! & they control to much of u even online..
Man I love me some Stevie Richards. It was a sad day for me when I stopped getting to watch you in the ring fella.
He explained the pay backwards. He meant if you aren't over the 75 they cut you a check for the difference since you u haven't made the guaranteed pay.
If you're over the 75 then they dont owe you anything.
On pay sheets yes, on weekly no.
If you're taking 75k over 52 weeks and end up making 150k, they will cut you the other 75k at the end.
If you're on pay sheets and make 150k over the year, they don't owe you anything, if you made 70k they will cut you the other 5k
@@davidcoulson3357 how would you make more than 75k per year if taking weekly?
Excellent video
Great, informative stuff. More, please.
Bro saw what maven was doing and is giving it a shot. Respect. I always liked Richards
Loving this new channel. Informative like Cornette, but so much more chill
If you think cornette is informative. You need to be labotmised
@@MisterJ355🤡.Cornette is a Legend
@MisterJ355 well, find me happily standing in the lobotomy line ...
JIM CORNETTE HATES THE WYATT6 😂😂😂
so sick of jim saying gd every other word
such a cool subject, very interesting !! thank you
I've ridden motorcycles throughout my adult life and I never thought about how contracts would prevent a person from riding. It makes a ton of sense though. I still went to work after getting in my accidents, even with broken feet a few times, but working in an office with broken bones in my feet is a big difference from having to compete athletically. I only played competitive sports into High School, and my mom wouldn't let me ride a motorcycle when I was a kid, so it was never a concern about getting hurt on one. I don't think they would've cared anyway I was a 2nd string tight end lol, and pretty sure they would've just shrugged and said "Eh, we can just throw someone from offense...or defense into his backup spot if he gets hurt. He's just a back up tight end" haha
Easy
You sign over your soul and Vince would make you do some weird performance art….because the bad acting and 15 minute dialogues in the ring is where the medium is going……
Could be worse. Could be AEW where your on tv for 3 weeks and then disappear for 6 months and when you do work your expected to do god awful dumbass spot after dumbass spot so you can be crippled by the time your 40 because nobody there has the brains to tell the indie darlings to save their bodies and the legend level people who are there get ignored by indie darlings who know so much better than the guy who has been doing it for 30 years.
"You're a WWF superstar, you can't be working outside jobs."
Wow Jim, way to open up the company to a lawsuit over the wrestlers being independent contractors even more than WWE already does.
Chris Evans soon now news WWF and wwe soon on Friday night soon now we go back and look at this video and see back on Monday ko now that we can go out and just like you just like you do that power back on this weekend
Lol ask Raven and those other two clowns how their lawsuits are going against wwe. People really need to learn how a contract works. If a contract that a willing participant signs that states they cannot work somewhere else that may interfere or competes against that company, then they legally cannot. Being an independent contractor doesn't magically make one immune to this. Is it a grimy? Absolutely. But be real WWE isn't going to pay someone around say 500k to 750k a year to go make another company more successful. IF wwe started paying for all these things people complain about such as insurance , travel expenses etc etc . That say 500k is now at 250k or even lower. It is better for the wrestlers to handle it themselves. Trust me wwe superstars can afford insurance and travel. It could also limit where they spend their time off at. Its like people always think they have something clever and insightful to say with absolutely zero knowledge how such things actually work.
@@lazyfrogeyes5949 the right to contract is held fairly sacrosanct in US law, but not to the extent you can contract around the law. For example, an employer cannot dodge labor and employment laws simply by naming all of their employees independent contractors and making them sign documents. If an "independent contractor" meets certain criteria, they are legally considered an employee of the company.
Stevie's last bit in this interview speaks to this, particularly that WWE knows where to lean their weight. WWE contracts live in the grey area and they accept liability risk with them. It's completely within the realm of possibility a court could find certain WWE talent to meet the test of an employee-employer relationship. But WWE has a legal team with a dedicated litigation practice, and litigation is a soul devouring and money eating experience. It's easy to sue someone but it's a long and difficult road to prevail, which is why most lawsuits end in settlement. TKO is a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company. Mid card wrestlers cannot afford to litigate against TKO, and even if they can, the juice is rarely worth the squeeze. Winning outright requires sweat and tears. Losing means money and time lost, the threat of counterclaims, and the possibility of losing your career.
@@lazyfrogeyes5949ravens lawsuit didn’t work cause he waited too long to file it, you dumbass.
@@lazyfrogeyes5949 Chris Evans did you take me out would you power it tomorrow on my life just me and now we can go back next week we will see you soon now back and look good with me hope you love you guys and did it all and time
Like joining the mafia
Great info. Really enjoy listening to stevie. He sounds like sounds a genuinely nice bloke, who got royally fucked financially by the wwf, 75 grand guarantee doing right to censor is ridiculous.
stevie richards looks like sum1 posiive -courtney fuller
THIS is the stuff that i've always wanted to ask about but I know would be rude/mean to bring up with wrestlers. Thanks so much Stevie!
I feel that. Thank you for being a kindhearted person who puts compassion over curiosity.
An IT tech support character would have gotten over huge. Imagine Weird Al from the All About the Pentiums video cutting promos on dumb terminals. That's money!
Thanks for the content
Stevie reminds me of a mix of CM Punk and the more modern-day wrestler. I believe he would be making better money today, He just came into the business 30 years too early
Really good video
Seems crazy how shady the contracts are
WWE today is a DREAM JOB lol. Not even a third of the amount of work days these guys had to go through while getting paid 4 times a much or more
I was shocked when I saw how small the amount of house shows is these days. It is almost like AEW now where most days they are only working 1 day a week. Raw or Smackdown.
Accounting for inflation, these guys are underpaid lmao
WWE is trash nowadays so not a dream job. Back in the Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression era it was amazing to watch. Nowadays it feels like WWE are a bigger version of an indie company
@@anthonyfaucy2761 You're looking at it from a mark's point of view saying "it's trash."
@@KahoriYamada I don't think the WWE itself does house shows anymore. NXT may, I am not sure on that one, but I haven't heard of a WWE house show in years. I actually attended a house show in Muskegon, MI right after Vince Jr. took over the then WWF, it was done on a shoestring with no announcers and talent that no one had ever heard of. I think it was done simply to evaluate possible talent for promotion to the bigger shows. IIRC admission was cheap, too, maybe $15 per person in about 1983. I overheard a HS age person say that he would rather have attended the local school district's wrestling competition taking place the same night.
Brer Hart tried to beat the office in 96
Im going to say it again.... If Stevie Richards didnt leave ECW and go to WCW, i truly believe he would've been one of the biggest stars in the business. Even after the injury. And i get it he had to take the money but he was sooooooooo hot(pause) at the time. When he went to WCW I was really disappointed because i knew they had no clue how cool Stevie was. Im happy he's doing good but he was one of my favorites and i felt he was going to be a Superstar.
Theres so many fans that think that talent in wwe are so rich, and you also should check out Maven Huffman's take on this .
The minimum main roster salary today is 350000 Dollars. All the mid carders make at least half a million. And the amount of work days is only a third of the amount it was back then so they have much less expenses. So they are pretty rich lol
@@cutiemarshall6502 all true facts ,except for talent In NXT, but all true facts
@@cutiemarshall6502corny calculated the paydays in the 80’s and accounted for inflation, turns out the talen is making less money now 😂
HE’S DEFINITELY A WWE FAN
@@cutiemarshall6502last year Triple H said minimum was 250k, I doubt very highly it jumped an additional 100k
Cool info
We love you Stevie!
Insane how wrestler's don't get health insurance from WWE (doesn't matter if U.S. had universal healthcare )athlete's have different insurance for obvious reasons, yet corporate office guys do (who probably never did anything physical in their life since they were kids, do um what?
Now that Vince has gone, things will change drastically.
Ayyy a fellow IT guy!! 💪
Stevie, would love to hear about your face push in wwe-ecw, it was around you fueding with kevin thorn. What were you told about the push, was it even an actual push?
Love to hear about your last match, against Brian kendrick? What led up to it, did you know it was your last wwe match?
And who's idea to pair you with Victoria? Loved you both together, stevie night heat was amazing.
The WWE network screwed a lot of wrestlers out of a lot of money. But these days a lot of these wrestlers are college educated and are hopefuls learning the numbers. TKO might let them go off and make money in the side without the company taking some of the talent's earnings
WWE Should bring him in for the pre-shows breaking stuff down
ngl... 75k doesn't sound like a whole lot.
This was 20 years ago so it was more than that, but yeah still not a lot for the work they do.
25 yrs ago, that was…
@@_WF23 136k, around that. Still not a lot, considering all the expenses they had.
He totally right its not what you make its what you safe
Maven sent me here!
Steve Richards did such a good job as heel. I hated him so much in the Right to Censor stable.
"You're a wwe superstar. You can't be working outside jobs." It's like, oh, sorry for keeping my options open. Freaking dictators. Hope it's changed these days. Edit: always watch the full video before commenting because he just talked about Drew and it hasn't changed. 🙄
Gee its almost like its common sense, your a person who could be on television weekly being paid maybe 75k or more, how strange that they might not want their television personality working other jobs possible running the risk of there being someone who might just make some stuff up besides it making you not seem like a "superstar"
AND NOW WWE WRESTLERS ARE WRESTLING AT GCW EVENTS SO YOUR POINT YOU WAS TRYING TO MAKE IS INVALID
That policy would call into question the independence prong of the independent contractor statutes in tax law. I had two contracts that if the client wanted could have legally paid me as an independent contractor (I was a compliance consultant for a couple of local credit unions, both decided to pay me as a W-2 employee even though I clearly met the requirements for being paid as a 1099 contractor) and I was allowed to take other work if I wanted it. I didn't really give a damn about the other work provision, I had about 30 hours a week at $90 an hour plus my five figure a month retirement pension and benefits from the state university system that I retired out of as a professor of accountancy and taxation but if I wanted to consult every credit union in town and work constantly I could have legally did it and I had several other credit unions wanting my services.
@@lutherheggs451should pay and treat them like a “superstar” then shouldn’t they if they don’t want to be exposed 😅
If you’re on the main roster; you make $250k now regardless of whether or not you’re on TV now if I’m not mistaken.
I'm so glad they finally made Mercedes go heel that's where she's at her best.
It sounds like a cut throat business that if you’re not intelligent and smart with your money you can end up in a really horrible financial position. We have even seen some wrestlers spend like the money won’t run out (Flair being the definite prime example)
If I were in the business, I’d hire an accountant and find something good to invest in. Put your money to work.
What business or job is there that if you’re not smart with your money you WONT be in a really horrible financial position?
Besides owner of AEW 🤗
@@analiysanchez9949 your need to be sarcastic is unwarranted and childish.
@@thepalatrpro HIS WERID ASS
I am a retired accountancy and taxation professor and with that knowledge I can see where wrestlers need a good accountant. I wonder how many get screwed on their taxes not knowing that they can deduct most of their work travel expenses from their income and pay less in tax as a result.
Do you think Stevie would make a good manager for anyone? I'll probably get hate for this but he should manage the bucks
Can you have a part strictly talking about December to dismember? Why did it end so early? That was the ppv when hey man left too right?
@Stevie Richards back in the 80’s Jesse Ventura wanted there to be an actual wrestlers union. If there was a union or wrestlers were hired not as employees of a special nature(high chance of injury, constant travel, etc.)where they get benefits as well. I heard your story that you had another job, and you get told your an employee, I thought wrestlers were independent contractors. My question is would you rather a wrestler union, actual employee, or current status going into the future with future talent?
Damn you missed out on the opportunity to have your fans called "End users," if you were to have had an IT/Mirosolft gimmick in '95 😂
Finisher = Hard Reset
I love how wrestlers always complain about pay yet they work 5-20 minutes 4-5 nights a week lol
Stone Cold didn't want to lose to Brock Lesnar and no showed and sat at home. Not sure what the penalty was at that time
Could the wording of contracts be different now than it was when Richards was apart of the wwe?
Basically confirming what I've suspected to be the case for all the Superstars. And you need to pay for your own work-travel expenses, and paying for away-gym-use on your own, and paying for your own ring-gear costumes (which hopefully makes the crowd like you more) because of how well paid you are. I assume you also pay for your entrance music composer, video, pyrotechnics, etc... hopefully making the fans like you and buy your tshirts/merch.
No idea how the injuries work. I like watching their matches, but as an adult I feel the exact emotion that those Refs are feeling as they supervise the safety of all the matches.
No, wrestlers don’t pay for their music, entrance videos, or the pyro. Wwe does, for example, cm punk fought tooth and nail to get wwe to license cult of personality back in 2011 but wwe wanted to make a in house theme so it’d be cheaper.
stevie needs to come back and win the world belt, come on khan make it happen
The chair shot to Bradshaw was worth 75 grand to me
ideal “real life perspective”📈
If you're classed as an independent contractor, then why cant you take another job in an unrelated field? It amazes me given how litigious America is that the WWF/E hasnt faced constant legal challenges
Stevie Dunn Good
I would be happy to make 150 all the way every year as a US IC champion
So you call for IT help and a guy shows up in daisy dukes, torn up tshirt, long hair. ;-)
HIGHLY ILLEGAL for Ross / the company to tell a 1099 contractor to not work other jobs. Employment lawyers would have leaped.
How do the new games work? I see they recently added Mosh & Thrasher into 2k24 any chance Stevie would get added in?
This Guy makes me want to clear my throat
It's you, the dirt, the worms in the dirt, Popo's stool, Kami then Popo!
I'd pay to watch Steve in a movie ... I see it in him
why didn't the bWo get the massive push it deserved in the WWE? why didn't we ever see bWo vs nWo?