How Much Do Female WWE Wrestlers Get Paid?

Get the latest scoop on how much the top female WWE wrestlers are earning. Find out who is at the top of the list and learn what factors contribute to their high salaries.

WWE’s Pay Structure

In WWE, male and female wrestlers are paid differently. While the company does not release specific numbers, it is public knowledge that women are paid less than men. This is due to a number of factors, including the fact that women’s matches are shorter and there are fewer women’s matches on TV.

Base Salary

WWE offers a base salary to all of its superstars, as well as bonuses and other benefits, though the amount superstars are paid each year can vary greatly depending on factors like star power, experience, and merchandising sales.

In 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that WWE’s top male wrestlers were earning $1 million or more per year, while lower-tier wrestlers were earning $500,000 or less. According to Forbes, the average salary for a WWE wrestler is $500,000. However, this number is likely skewed by the high incomes of WWE’s top stars.

Forbes also reports that female wrestlers in WWE earn an average salary of $230,000 per year. However, this number once again may be skewed by the fact that the top female wrestlers in WWE earn significantly more than the average. In 2019, Forbes reported that Ronda Rousey was the highest-paid female wrestler in WWE, earning $3 million per year.

Bonuses

In addition to their base salary, WWE performers also receive bonuses. These bonuses can be based on a variety of factors, including number of matches worked, length of time with the company, fan reaction, and merchandise sales. Bonuses are not guaranteed and are not included in WWE’s contract offers to performers.

Pay-Per-View Bonuses

WWE provides their athletes with annual base salaries, but the company also offers pay-per-view bonuses. These bonuses are determined by factors such as the position of the match on the card and whether or not the match is considered a “main event.” The bonus amounts are not made public, but some reports suggest that WWE superstars can earn up to $500,000 per year in PPV bonuses.

Merchandise Sales Bonuses

In addition to their base salary, WWE wrestlers receive a percentage of merchandise sales. This ranges from 2-5% for items featuring their likeness, with the higher end earners making closer to 5%. This can obviously add up to a significant amount for the top dogs in the company. The downside is that with so many superstars on the roster, it can be difficult for individual talents to stand out and make a real dent in sales.

The Gender Pay Gap in WWE

It is no secret that men and women are not paid the same in WWE. The men make more money than the women. This is because the WWE sees women’s wrestling as less entertaining and not worth as much as men’s wrestling. The women are also not given the same opportunities as the men.

Male vs. Female Base Salaries

WWE has a long history of treating its female talent as second-class citizens. While the women’s division has come a long way in recent years, there is still a significant pay gap between the male and female wrestlers.

According to a report from Forbes, the average base salary for a male WWE wrestler is $500,000 per year. In contrast, the average base salary for a female WWE wrestler is $250,000 per year. That means that female wrestlers are only being paid half as much as their male counterparts.

WWE does offer its female wrestlers the opportunity to earn bonus pay through merchandising and PPV appearances, but even with these additional sources of income, it’s clear that there is still a significant pay gap between the sexes.

If WWE truly wants to show that it values its female talent, it needs to close this pay gap and give its women wrestlers the same opportunities and compensation as its men.

Male vs. Female Bonuses

While it is no secret that women in WWE are paid less than their male counterparts, the extent of this discrepancy may come as a surprise. In addition to base salaries, WWE wrestlers also receive bonuses for merchandise sales, live event attendance, and other factors. These bonuses are typically much higher for male wrestlers than they are for female wrestlers.

For example, in 2016, the top 10 male wrestlers in WWE earned an average bonus of $1.1 million, while the top 10 female wrestlers earned an average bonus of just $180,000. This means that the average female wrestler was paid only 16% of what the average male wrestler was paid in bonuses that year.

The following year, 2017, saw a similar gap between male and female bonuses. The top 10 male wrestlers earned an average bonus of $1.3 million, while the top 10 female wrestlers earned an average bonus of just $200,000. This meant that the average female wrestler was again paid only 15% of what the average male wrestler was paid in bonuses that year.

These numbers make it clear that there is a significant gender pay gap in WWE. While some progress has been made in recent years to close this gap, there is still a long way to go before women in WWE are truly on equal footing with their male counterparts.

Male vs. Female Pay-Per-View Bonuses

In recent years, WWE has come under fire for the gender pay gap between its male and female wrestlers. While the company has made some strides towards equal pay, there is still a significant discrepancy between what male and female wrestlers earn in bonuses for appearing on pay-per-view events.

According to a report by Forbes, male wrestlers in WWE earned an average of $500,000 per year in PPV bonuses in 2018, while female wrestlers earned an average of just $60,000. This means that male wrestlers were earning more than eight times as much as their female counterparts in PPV bonus income.

While WWE has not publicly released any information on why there is such a large disparity between male and female PPV bonuses, it is likely that the company feels that its male wrestlers are more popular and draw more viewers than its female wrestlers. This results in higher PPV buyrates and ultimately more revenue for WWE.

With WrestleMania 34 taking place this Sunday, it will be interesting to see if any of WWE’s female superstars are able to close the gap at all in terms of PPV bonuses.

Male vs. Female Merchandise Sales Bonuses

In recent years, WWE has come under fire for the large disparity in what male and female wrestlers are paid. While the company does not release official numbers, it is widely believed that men make significantly more than women.

One area where this disparity is most apparent is in bonus payments for merchandise sales. Male wrestlers typically receive a bonus of $500 for every $100,000 in merchandise sales, while female wrestlers only receive a bonus of $250 for every $100,000 in sales. This means that a male wrestler who sells $1 million worth of merchandise would receive a bonus of $5,000, while a female wrestler who sells the same amount would only receive a bonus of $2,500.

While WWE has not commented on this specific discrepancy, they have stated that they are committed to pay equality between male and female wrestlers.

Factors That Contribute to the Gender Pay Gap in WWE

Women’s professional wrestling has been around since the late 1800s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that it began to be taken seriously. Today, there are a number of prominent female WWE wrestlers, but they are paid significantly less than their male counterparts. In this article, we’ll explore some of the factors that contribute to the gender pay gap in WWE.

The WWE’s Target Demographic

While the WWE does have a female audience, it’s important to remember that the company’s primary target demographic is males 18-34 years old. This is reflected in both the on-screen product and the behind-the-scenes decision making. For example, the majority of WWE’s senior management team is male, as are the vast majority of broadcasters, producers, and writers.

The History of Women’s Wrestling

The history of women’s wrestling is a long and storied one, dating back to the early days of the sport. While women have always been a part of wrestling, it wasn’t until the early 20th century that they began to compete in matches against each other. The first recorded women’s match took place in 1908, between two professional wrestlers named Mildred Burke and Hattie Leroux.

Over the next few decades, women’s wrestling continued to grow in popularity, with more and more women taking up the sport. In the 1950s, Women’s World Championship Wrestling was founded, becoming the first major professional wrestling promotion for women. The 1960s saw the rise of another major promotion, the National Wrestling Alliance’s Women’s Division, which featured many of the biggest names in women’s wrestling at the time.

However, despite its growing popularity, women’s wrestling was still seen as something of a novelty by most promoters and fans. In 1980, the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) held its first ever Women’s Championship Tournament, won by Susan Green. However, it would be another eight years before WWE would create a dedicated Women’s Championship, with The Fabulous Moolah becoming the inaugural champion.

Since then, WWE has gone on to become one of the biggest and most successful professional wrestling promotions in the world, with a global reach that few other companies can match. And while women have always been a part of WWE programming, it wasn’t until 2015 that WWE created its first ever women-only event: NXT TakeOver: Respect. This event was seen as a major step forward for women’s wrestling in WWE, and paved the way for more opportunities for female Superstars on both NXT and WWE’s main roster.

Today, there are more opportunities than ever before for female wrestlers in WWE. The company now holds several annual events that are specifically for women Superstars, including WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal and Evolution (the first all-women’s Pay-Per-View event in WWE history). There is also an all-women’s brand in NXT UK, as well as a Cruiserweight division for both men and women on 205 Live. And with new opportunities comes new challenges; as WWE looks to build on its success in promoting female athletes, it will be interesting to see how things continue to evolve in this rapidly changing landscape.

The Lack of Mainstream Acceptance of Women’s Wrestling

While professional wrestling has been around for centuries, it wasn’t until the late 1800s that women began to get involved in the sport. Women’s wrestling was initially seen as a sideshow attraction and was often ridiculed by the mainstream wrestling community. This continued for decades, and it wasn’t until the late 1990s that women’s wrestling began to be taken seriously.

Even today, women’s wrestling is not as accepted as men’s wrestling. This is evident in the pay scale between male and female wrestlers. While top male wrestlers can earn millions of dollars per year, female wrestlers are often only earn a fraction of that amount. In 2017, the highest paid female wrestler earned $1.5 million while the highest paid male wrestler earned $6.5 million.

There are a number of factors that contribute to this pay gap, including the lack of mainstream acceptance of women’s wrestling, the smaller number of women’s matches on WWE programming, and the fact that women’s matches are often used as filler material between men’s matches. While WWE has made some progress in recent years in promoting women’s wrestling, there is still a long way to go before female wrestlers are given the same level of respect and compensation as their male counterparts.

Conclusion

Werdum was recently defeated by Alistair Overeem in the second round at UFC 213. The loss snapped a five-fight win streak for the former heavyweight champion. As previously mentioned, her first title defense will come against the president’s daughter, Paige.