Expert: James Triggs - 11/2/2009

Question
HEY JAMES HOW YOU DOING?
I JUST ALWAYS WONDER HOW
MUCH DOES A WWE DIVA GETS
PAID?..

Answer
Hello Mara,

WWE Divas, like anyone else in professional wrestling, get paid in a different way to most people. They don't get wages or salaries. They aren't paid in any regular amount. Think of it this way: WWE Divas are technically NOT considered employees- they are independent contractors. WWE signs them to a contract for them to do work with them. They are paid according to how much work they do, rather than just being paid on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis, because they aren't considered to be employees. It's like substitute teachers, they are paid only for the work they do because they aren't officially part on staff, even though they can be called for work at any time.

So, a WWE Diva will get paid in different amount from week to week. They get paid more for doing PPVS than TV tapings. They also get paid for house show appearances- where they get a percentage of the live gate- ticket sales- with the percentage determined by how responsible they are considered to be for the turnout. The higher one's placement in the card, the more they get. So, the WWE Women's Champion, who appears more than other Divas, gets paid more because they work more. Makes sense? On TV tapings, they get paid according to how well they do. So, say, Mickie James is involved in a match that went very well, she might get paid a bit more that week, because that match helped make the show that extra bit better. Ratings come into this too. The more the ratings, the more one can get paid.

There isn't a set amount because what they get varies so much. Wrestlers do have what is called a downside guarantee. This is the bare minimum amount possible- and is guaranteed, even if the wrestler does nothing all year due to injury, they get this money. It helps to keep things fair. WWE Divas often would get a downside guarantee of about $30,000-50,000 and if there are WWE Divas considered to be particularly successful in drawing an audience, they may get more. A downside guarantee is higher the more the company values a wrestler. These guarantees are higher for the wrestlers the company really wants to keep. The range given above is equivalent to that of mid-card wrestlers in the WWE. Of course, as this is the bare minimum, they certainly get more. How much more is hard to say, because each Diva is different and even for any one Diva the pay they get one year will be different to every other year.

PPVS give a lot, especially the major ones- WrestleMania gives by far the highest pay, with Summerslam, the Royal Rumble and Survivor Series also giving big payoffs. Divas can get over ten thousand in a night at these major PPVs. Minor PPVs might give about $5,000-$15,000,depending on various factors, including placement on the card, the live audience and the PPV buys. How much they end getting in a year also depends on merchandise and no exact amount can be given.

It is difficult to even give a range as to how much they get, considering the sizeable difference PPV appearances make over the year, not to mention of course, the lack of financial data as WWE doesn't hand that out. They are making a lot of money and I would it that Divas generally obtain payment in a year that within the $75,000-$200,000 range- champions perhaps getting up to $250,000- but this is just a guess.