5 Superstars and how much they earned when WWE signed them

#1 The Rock’s first WWE deal: $150,000 per year

In 2019, Forbes reported that eight-time WWE Champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson earned $89.4 million between June 1, 2018 and June 1, 2019, making him the highest-paid actor in the world.

WWE Superstars do not get paid anywhere close to that amount, but The Rock still earned a decent figure after signing his first contract with the company.

Writing on Twitter in 2018, “The Great One” responded to a tweet about his Survivor Series 1996 debut by revealing that he agreed a $150,000 per year deal when he signed with WWE.

An overnight, 22 year success lol. *little inside fact, I had just signed my contract with @WWE backstage right before I went to the ring here in Madison Square Garden. For $150k per year. I also signed a separate contract with Chia Pet for my awful haircut 😂🤦🏽‍♂️ https://t.co/Sd1gITjYrK

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) November 18, 2018

The Rock, known as Rocky Maivia at the start of his WWE career, joined forces with Jake Roberts, Marc Mero and The Stalker to defeat Crush, Goldust, Jerry Lawler and Hunter Hearst Helmsley on his WWE debut.

Two years later, “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment” won the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 1998 and, along with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, he went on to become one of WWE’s highest-paid Superstars during the Attitude Era.