How do WWE stars get paid? Former talents disclose the 'Bucket System' of salary calculation

WWE contracts are not as readily accessible for public scrutiny as contracts in other sports such as Football, Basketball, or Baseball. Numerous variables and circumstances must be taken into account to determine a wrestler's earnings.

Recently, former WWE Superstars Mansoor and Mace made an appearance on Maven Huffman's official YouTube channel to shed light on how they were compensated during their time with the Stamford-based company.

They disclosed that wrestlers received a weekly guaranteed paycheck regardless of whether they were booked for events, not booked, or sidelined due to injury. Additionally, they mentioned that apart from flights, wrestlers were responsible for covering their own expenses such as hotels and transportation before every show.

Mansoor and Mace also discussed the existence of a 'Bucket System' within WWE. They explained that this system involved making invisible payments for various factors such as working house shows, merchandise sales, and other contributions to reach a wrestler's downside guarantee. Any surplus amount above the downside is then paid to the wrestler as a bonus.

Check out the full interview below:

What the future has in store for Mace and Mansoor remains to be seen.

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Who are the current locker room leaders in WWE?

During the same interview, Mace and Mansoor were asked about the current locker room leaders in WWE following The Undertaker's tenure in that role for several years.

They recounted an incident during a tour where they were playing a game of Tekken with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston. During the game, Woods and Kingston realized that they had been with the Stamford-based company for 10-15 years, leading them to acknowledge that they were now in the position of The Undertaker and no longer the newcomers in the locker room.

"At the end of the tour, Xavier Woods and Kofi, they were talking to us over a game of Tekken, and they were like, 'Hey, we should probably be watching the shows.' We were like, 'Why?' and he [Kingston or Woods] was like, 'Because I think we're Undertaker now!' It's always been Undertaker. To those guys it was Undertaker, but all of a sudden those guys realized, 'Listen, we've been here for 10, 15 years. We're the vets. We're not the kids anymore.'"

Mace also noted Randy Orton as someone who would spend a significant amount of time with the wrestlers in the locker room, a gesture that they appreciated.

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