When CM Punk broke into the business, becoming the champion and main eventing shows directly equated to how much money you earned.
The world of professional wrestling has undergone significant transformations over the past decade, with the WWE being at the forefront of this evolution.
One aspect that has seen considerable change is the way in-ring performers are compensated with the move away from pay-per-view to streaming platforms. It’s not about buys anymore, it’s more broadly about subscribers.
WWE superstar CM Punk recently shared his insights on the current contract payout structure, highlighting both the positive and negative effects it has on wrestlers. In an appearance on the Mostly Sports with Mark Titus and Brandon Walker show, Punk delved into the intricacies of WWE contracts, comparing them to when he first signed with the company in 2005.
“The business has radically changed. It was a different place when I signed than when I debuted and then when I came back. Like, it’s such a radically different place,” Punk said.
Everyone makes more money overall, which he sees as both positive and negative.
“The thing with the title too is also it means you made more money. That does not exist anymore. It’s good and bad.
Like, we all make more money now, which is thumbs up. My paycheck was always predicated on how many people were in the building, so I was driven towards ticket sales and the business of it.
And when you’re in the main events, you got paid more money. Now everyone is just kind of on salary. I think that’s good and bad. It’s good for the boys. But also I feel there’s not the same ambition, you know?”
He admitted that this new system removes the old motivation to chase main event spots and perhaps saps the competitive juices out of the company.
“I always wanted to be in the main event because it got me more money. Now I don’t care if I’m the opening match, because I’m still going to make the same. I can shower and watch the show now.”
The WWE’s business model has shifted significantly, with a greater emphasis on television deals and broadcasting rights. The company generates over $800 million annually from its television contracts for Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, with an additional $325 million from its recent broadcast deal with ESPN for PLEs.
This change has reduced the reliance on ticket sales, allowing the WWE to focus on other revenue streams. Although, the company have sky rocketed prices in recent years to capitalise on the demand.
As a result, the company is more inclined to offer guaranteed money to its wrestlers, partly due to increased competition from promotions like AEW, TNA, New Japan, and CMLL.
This shift in the WWE’s business model has also led to a change in the way wrestlers are viewed outside of the ring.
In the past, wrestlers like John Cena were hesitant to turn heel due to the potential negative impact on their outside business ventures. However, with the WWE’s more transparent approach, as seen in their recent Netflix docuseries, the company is no longer as concerned with maintaining a certain image for its stars.
Also, there used to be a tangible way to say whether someone was a draw or not and that’s often a metric in the GOAT debate. Steve Austin was undoubtedly a huge draw, as was Hulk Hogan and many others.
They sold pay-per-views, sold out stadiums, moved merchandise and drew TV ratings when they were ‘on top’.
Now, one could argue WWE the brand sells tickets when it’s hot and that has been the case for the last few years. However, Punk can still have his quarterly ratings and merch to prove he’s still one of the top dogs – and the latter does help your pay packet.
