WWE’s roster cuts weren’t just clearing names off the depth chart — in some cases, they were clearing monster salaries off the books. Sean Ross Sapp says wrestlers released over the last few years included talent earning between $2 million and $3 million per year, while other people who got cut were somehow making less than what wrestlers believed was WWE’s main-roster minimum.
Sapp broke down the money during a Fightful Select Q&A after being asked just how much some of the wrestlers affected by WWE’s recent cuts were actually making. His answer showed WWE was dealing with wildly different salary situations at the same time.
First came the low end, and even that surprised people inside the company. Sapp said at least two wrestlers released this year were making less than what other talent understood to be the main-roster minimum, which left people wondering why WWE couldn’t find a use for them at that price.
“Yeah, I can tell you that. I know there were at least two Talent that got released this year that when other talent found out how much they made, they were shocked because they were making under what was supposed to be the minimum on the WWE main roster. That’s, that’s what shocked a lot of people. And they were like, well why’d they get, why’d they get cut then? Because they would have been very useful on the roster.”
Then Sapp swung to a very different example. He said one lower-midcard male wrestler had a three-year contract worth $500,000, even though WWE seemingly didn’t have much lined up for him.
“Now I know there was one, I would say lower Mid Carter who had a three year deal for $500,000. And I, they, they clearly had no plans for that guy or girl. It’s a guy. And they were there to make the money at that point. That’s, that’s the reality of that situation. They were there to make that money and they were just going to take it while they could make it and ride it out as long as they could.”
That $500,000 figure wasn’t even close to the biggest money being dumped. Sapp said some wrestlers released over roughly the last two or three years were sitting on multimillion-dollar annual contracts.
“But there were a couple other talents that were making well into the six figure or seven figures. Sorry, I’m talking like 2 to 3 million a year in some cases over, I’d say releases over the last couple years, two or three years that were in the millions, multi millions.”
Those numbers add some serious context to WWE’s contract purge. Ringside News previously covered how WWE was tasked with shedding “millions” from its talent payroll in 2026, with some wrestlers even being asked to swallow seven-figure reductions to stay under contract.
WWE apparently wasn’t just slashing money and leaving those roster spots empty either. Sapp said the company was able to bring in or bring back names such as Big Cass, Zilla and Baron Corbin for a fraction of what some released talent had been collecting.
“And I’ve said this before, there is an awful lot of moving around money at this point. And big cast Zilla and anybody else that they resigned, Baron Corbin, they got all three of those people for less than 30 or 40% of what some of the people that got fired were making.”
Sapp said WWE got those deals at bargain-level numbers compared to the contracts it had dumped. He described the new arrangements in very simple terms.
“They, they got a good deal on that on, on these new deals. They basically got them on vet minimum deals.”
That also fits with Ringside News’ coverage of only a limited number of WWE wrestlers being approached about reduced contracts, showing WWE wasn’t simply handing every person on the roster the same ultimatum. The company was picking its spots while trying to rip millions out of the payroll.
Sapp did not name the released wrestlers who were pulling in $2 million to $3 million a year, but the numbers alone paint a pretty brutal picture of WWE’s new math. When one contract can cost more than several replacement deals combined, a wrestler doesn’t need to be terrible to become expendable — they just need to be expensive while creative has nothing worth that price tag.
WWE has plenty of money coming in, but TKO clearly isn’t interested in paying premium prices for wrestlers sitting around without major plans. Cutting a multimillion-dollar deal and replacing it with several cheaper contracts is the kind of cold business decision that can change a locker room very quickly.
What do you think about WWE cutting wrestlers who were making as much as $2 million to $3 million per year while bringing other names in at a fraction of the price? Leave your feedback in the comments and let us know what you think.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
