Former WWE Champion Reflects On Being Paid $500 Per Week

WWE

Former WWE Champion Big E has reflected on being paid $500 per week when he first signed with the company.

Big E joined WWE developmental in 2009 when it was still FCW, and was then part of the early days of NXT before being called up to the main roster in late 2012.

Speaking on Stuck In My Thoughts, E commented on his journey through developmental, and specifically accepting the $500 per week deal because he knew if he worked hard enough, he’d be able to achieve more.

He said:

“If you wanna get into entertainment, any facet of it, any pursuit in general, if your reason is money, it’s not gonna last, you’re gonna burn out. If your sole motivator is money.

“I came into WWE barely just being able to pay my bills, under contract, but $500 a week is not gonna take you very far, even in 2009.

“For me, it was knowing where I wanted to go, that was always the focus. I was always good at… to be able to hold off on gratification knowing where I wanted to go. So okay, I don’t have very much right now, but I know if I hustle, I know if I show up early, if I stay late, if I work hard, if I do what I need to do, in three years, in five years, I’ll be where I wanna be.

“So delaying that gratification is so huge for me, because it’s like, okay, I have to deal with less now because I know where I wanna go. I have to make sacrifices now, because I know what the end goal is.

“So that was it for me is just understanding that the riches weren’t coming right out the gate. That I had to get there.”

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This week, NXT’s Jazmyn Nyx left WWE due to not being happy with the financial offer she received to re-sign, which she’s confirmed was less than $100,000 per year.

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