When you think of the greatest wrestlers of all time names like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and Bret Hart often rise to the top of the list. However, a wrestler who never seemingly gets quite the credit he deserves is Arn Anderson.
Anderson could do it all. He was a great talker and terrific in-ring worker. Because of this talent, he’s still working today in AEW. However, he never quite broke through as a top guy in the singles division.
He was often the guy you beat to get to Ric Flair or a guy you could have lose to a top babyface to get him over. However, this allowed him to work for a long time and get opportunities to wrestle some of the top guys in the business.
So, what does a guy in his role earn for matches? Arn revealed his biggest payday for a single match on his podcast The Arn Show.
“It was for Crokett. It was for the one that I quit on. I had stated earlier on one of the podcasts – I think I misquoted and said $11,700 or something. $12,500 was exactly half of what Crockett had told me he was going to pay me, and that’s what I got. It was supposed to have been 25 [thousand], but it was $12,500, and I guess that was still even the single biggest payoff I ever got. I never made the top money that top guys made, and I’m not complaining because it’s a ton of money and a lot more than I’m worth.
“It’s more than I’m qualified to make anywhere else in the real world. I’m not lost on the fact that I’ve been very fortunate, and I’m very grateful for the money I’ve made but it was not anywhere near what most top guys have made in the business. You would be shocked if you looked at 20 years of my salary per year compared to what other guys made.”
If it makes Arn feel any better, with inflation, $12,500 in the 80s would be worth over $25,000 today. I’d happily take 25k for one night’s worth of work.
Thanks to Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions of the podcast.
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