The Most Lucrative Pro Wrestlers in WWE History

Career Started: 1992 
Career Ended: 2011  
Net Worth: $14 million*

Edge (real name: Adam Copeland) was trained by professional wrestlers such as Ron Hutchison and Sweet Daddy Siki. He started wrestling in the nineties with various independent groups before he joined the WWE. Edge is one of wrestling’s most decorated participants. He has won thirty-one WWE championships overall.

Edge @CrowleyCarnival | @charismaratedr / Twitter.com

Edge was forced into retirement in 2011 after he broke his neck. He was famous for not faking his stunts, despite the industry being known for its fakery. After a brief return in 2019, he chose to focus on his acting career, taking the role of Ketill Flatnose in the hit History channel show Vikings.

In addition to his well-received role as Ketill Flatnose on Vikings’ fifth season, Edge has built up an acting resume for himself by appearing on Weakest Link, MADtv, The Flash, Deal or No Deal, and Mind of Mencia. The Ontario native was also in the movie Highlander: Endgame, a fantasy film. 

Career Started: 1974 
Career Ended: 1993 
Net Worth: $1 million*

Nicknamed “The Million Dollar Man,” pro-wrestler Ted DiBiase has held thirty titles throughout his professional wrestling career, and has a net worth of just that. He was described by the IGN as one of wrestling’s “most gifted technical wrestlers” to ever get in the ring. He is considered one of professional wrestling’s most notorious villain characters.

“The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase @WRESTLEZONEcom | @Darren_Headrick / Twitter.com

While he is one of wrestling’s biggest moneymakers, he is also known as one of the WWE’s best technical wrestlers. The Million Dollar Man has drawn both criticism and praise. He held thirty titles during his wrestling career, and he wrestled under many different names. But, of course, fans love “The Million Dollar Man” moniker the most.

The Million Dollar Man started his career in the mid-seventies, and retired after twenty years of terrorizing opponents in the ring. He was the first WWF North American Heavyweight Champ. He won three WWF Tag Team Championships alongside Irwin R. Schyster. He won the WWE’s 24/7 Championship once and the King of the Ring in 1998.

Career Started: 2000
Career Ended: N/A
Net Worth: $11 million*

Randy Orton, like Vince McMahon, is one link in a generation of wrestlers. Orton is the third generation, as his grandfather, father, and uncle were all pro-wrestlers. Randal Keith Orton is signed to WWE as part of the WWE Raw brand name, re-upping his five-year contract for a whopping $3 million in 2019.

Randy Orton @RandyOrton / Facebook.com

Orton formed a group called The Legacy, which featured Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. He has also been associated with The Authority, who briefly named him as the “Face of the WWE.” After that, he joined the Wyatt Family alongside Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt.

Randy Orton is most famous for the RKO, a finishing maneuver that is basically a jumping cutter. The RKO came from Orton’s name (Randy Keith Orton). The RKO is a good way to cause someone to get a concussion, and the WWE legitimately banned it because of its potential for harm. 

Career Started: 1989
Career Ended: N/A 
Net Worth: $8.5 million*

Rey Mysterio is signed to the Raw brand of the WWE, which with 27 seasons is one of the more lucrative offshoots of the sport. He is considered, according to ESPN, to be one of the greatest cruiserweights in the history of professional wrestling. He was born in Chula Vista, CA, and he began wrestling when he was fourteen.

Rey Mysterio, Jr. @wrestlingheads / Twitter.com

He signed with WCW in 1995 before switching to the WWE. Mysterio is best known for helping to popularize the now-famous style of fighting called the Lucha libre, which is a flying wrestling style that also helped jump-start the emergence of the cruiserweight wrestler category. 

Rey Mysterio is no stranger to feuds, and his conflict with Seth Rollins is his most recent. There was suspicion that Mysterio would retire after Rollins injured his eye at Extreme Rules’ Horror Show. However, Mysterio is slated for a triumphant return after doctors saved the day.

Career Started: 1998 
Career Ended:  2019 
Net Worth: $25 million*

Kurt Angle is still signed to the WWE, except he works backstage as a producer instead of getting in the ring himself, no doubt with a major pay cut. He started wrestling when he was in the NCAA, winning the D1 Heavyweight Wrestling Championship twice. He then won a gold medal in the WWC in 1995.

Kurt Angle @hsmzyo | @wrestlheadlines / Twitter.com

Angle began a professional career in his favorite sport in 1996, signing with the WWF. He made waves almost immediately, with John Cena stating that he was one of the most “gifted performers” of all time. He was named the Wrestler of the Decade in 2004 by Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Angle began a professional career in his favorite sport in 1996, signing with the WWF when the league was in its heyday. He made waves almost immediately, with John Cena stating that he was one of the most gifted performers of all time. He was named the Wrestler of the Decade in 2004 by Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Career Started: 1992 
Career Ended:  N/A 
Net Worth: $40 million*

Triple H (born Paul Levesque) is a business executive, as well as an actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, and he also works backstage as the executive VP of Talent, Creative, and Live Events. He has held that role since 2013, earning money on the side in addition to his lucrative contract.

Triple H @instvnza | @JsmallSAINTS / Twitter.com

And, as part of the founding member of the Attitude Era, Triple H kept that bad-boy persona. He adopted a Pedigree (a double underhook facebuster) as his finishing move, and Fox Sports selected that move as the ninth-best wrestling finisher in the history of the sport. It’s a major reason why Triple H is so feared in the ring.

Triple H gained fame in the nineties for helping to usher in the “Attitude Era” of pro-wrestling. He won five Intercontinental Championships, two World Tag Team Championships, a Grand Slam Championship, and many other accolades. He is part of the Generation X stable.

Career Started: 1983 
Career Ended: 2012 
Net Worth: $18 million*

Mick Foley is a former pro-wrestler who is currently signed as a color commentator to the WWE. Throughout his career, Foley was known for wrestling both under his real name and under the guise of various creative personas. One such persona was Cactus Jack. Cactus Jack was a bloodthirsty, physical brawler who used sharp objects to terrorize his opponent.

Mick Foley @CCS_Radio | @JosJorquera5 / Twitter.com

Foley also wrestled as Mankind, a masked, boiler-room-dwelling, mentally-unstable loner and Dude Love, a relaxed, hippie-like character, very different from the other two. Those three personas not only earned him the nickname “The Hardcore Legend”, but earned him millions of dollars as well as viewers tuned in religiously to watch his next move.

You might not know this, but Foley has a very profitable writing career as well. He has been a New York Times bestselling author a few times, and he has an ongoing memoir series. His first autobiography was written sans ghostwriter. It topped the non-fiction NYT list for weeks. He has also written two novels and four children’s books. 

Career Started: 2002 
Career Ended: N/A 
Net Worth: $22 million*

Brock Lesnar is not just a professional wrestler who is signed to the WWE. He is also both a former MMA artist and NFL player. He had an amateur career at Bismarck State and the University of Minnesota, before signing with the WWE right out of college. He became the youngest title champ in the sport’s history at the age of twenty-five, signing for a whopping $5 million.

Brock Lesnar @thebrocklesnar | @Michael64064176 / Twitter.com

Since Lesnar debuted, he has been dubbed both “The Beast” and “The Beast Incarnate.” The wrestler debuted in (and helped found) what has been known as the “Ruthless Aggression Era.” Lesnar became known for his fireman’s carry facebuster, which is his go-to finishing maneuver. He also is a big fan of suplexes and taking his rival to “Suplex City.” 

Lesnar began to pursue a career in the UFC, becoming a box office sensation in the more straight-forward sport for his physical style of fighting. He returned to the WWE in 2012, and he was the Universal Champion there from 2017 to 2019.

Career Started: 1987 
Career Ended: N/A 
Net Worth: $17 million*

The Undertaker is one of the more terrifying members of this list. Born Mark Calaway, The Undertaker is a 6’10” member of the WWE who is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the sport, and his net worth reflects it.

The Undertaker @IAmTravaughn | @Amit32546/ Twitter.com

He started his career in 1987, but it wasn’t until the Attitude Era that he deployed his current horror-themed gimmick. The Undertaker once won twenty-one straight victories at Wrestlemania. He has held seventeen championship titles with the WWE.

Despite his larger-than-life persona in the ring, the Undertaker has been downright secretive about his personal life. This is to preserve the gimmick and ensure that fans never see him as anything. However, the Undertaker has relaxed that in recent years with the documentary, The Last Ride, making fans question if he is truly retiring. 

Career Started: 1999
Career Ended: N/A 
Net Worth: $55 million*

John Cena has managed to amass such a high net worth through not just his WWE career, but also his career as an actor and television show host. He first signed with the WWE in 2000, and he gained industry notoriety for his gimmick as a smack-talking rapper. He changed that up after winning his first singles’ championship.

John Cena @BANGTANNIESSOT7 / Twitter.com | ©Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia.org

John Cena would often use underhanded tactics to win, such as hitting his opponent with a chain behind the ref’s back. He would host rap battles to hype up the crowd. Cena, despite all of this, has still maintained a hero persona and a fan favorite.

Though he’s still active in the world of wrestling, he’s made many of his millions in other endeavors, crossing over into other forms of entertainment. Most notably, he appeared in the Amy Schumer comedy Trainwreck, which was distributed by Universal Pictures.

Career Started: 1978 
Career Ended: 2000 
Net Worth: $14 million*

Bret “The Hitman” Hart is a retired pro-wrestler who became a champion in the eighties and nineties as part of the WWF. He was in charge of the Hart Foundation Stable. The Canada native helped give the WWF an international audience, and he was called “one of the greatest” by Sky Sports, which is reflected by his multi-millionaire status.

Bret “The Hitman” Hart @SI_wrestling / Twitter.com

The Hitman wrestled for years until a fateful incident in 1997, which led to him leaving the WWE and joining the WCW until his retirement in 2000. The Montreal Screwjob Incident, as it was known, was an unscripted incident where the referees fixed the outcome of the match beforehand.

Hitman and Vince McMahon, the founder of the WWE, had a scripted rivalry that eventually went behind the scenes, too. McMahon agreed to let Hart rejoin the WWE with a clean slate after years of conflict.

Career Started: 1984 
Career Ended: 2018 
Net Worth: $17 million*

Retired pro-wrestler Shawn Michaels is best-known by his ring-names “The Heartbreak Kid” and “Mr. Wrestlemania.” He has wrestled for the WWE throughout his entire highly-lucrative career, starting in 1998 and continuing for a decade until a back injury forced him into his first retirement. He made a comeback in 2002 and wrestled until 2010.

Shawn Michaels @historylvrsclub | @FanSidedDDT / Twitter.com

He co-founded and led the D-Generation X stable and headlined event after event. When he went to the AWA (while still signed to the WWE), he and fellow performer Marty Jannetty formed The Midnight Rockers, which had a very high-profile breakup in 1992. Michaels has won the WWF World Championship four times. 

As of late, Michaels has limited his WWE career to special appearances only. One of his most recent appearances, which thrilled fans, was in a 2018 episode of Raw. The wrestler came out to promote—and later take part in—the Super Show-Down between Triple H and the Undertaker. He helped Triple H win the match.

Career Started: 1972 
Career Ended: 2012 
Net Worth: $3 million*

Ric Flair has had a wrestling career that has spanned forty years. He has wrestled for the JCP, WCW, and WWE (also wrestling for the WWE when it was still the WWF). He began using his famous moniker, Nature Boy, in the mid-seventies. He has attracted millions of viewers throughout his career, not to mention millions of dollars in earnings.

Ric Flair @BradshawWilson | @RicFlairNatrBoy / Twitter.com

He has won Wrestler of the Year six times after PWI nominated him repeatedly. Wrestling Observer Newsletter named him Wrestler of the Year eight times. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, the first wrestler to ever be inducted two times. He retired in 2012.

Rick Flair has reflected on his later career, describing wrestling with TNA as the “number one” thing he has regretted most. Flair has been analyzed by fans for being unable to distinguish between real life and his in-ring gimmick. Despite the criticisms, there is no doubt that Ric Flair is a memorable wrestler.

Career Started: 1996 
Career Ended: 2019 
Net Worth: $280 million*

Many people don’t know that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a professional wrestler before he was a Hollywood actor. He was also a college football player, and he chose to go into wrestling after an injury cut short his hopes of becoming an NFL player. Johnson developed his lucrative wrestling persona, The Rock, during the Attitude Era of the nineties.

The Rock @HReview73 | @mraleemz / Twitter.com

His gimmick was being a boastful trash-talker. He won his first WWF title in 1998, and he helped the WWE boom in the nineties and 2000s, getting the organization to its highest-ever television ratings. He left wrestling in 2004 to pursue an acting career, which helped him more-than-double his wrestling career earnings.

Now, as everyone knows, The Rock is also an acting legend. His movies have grossed over $10.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors in the history of the film industry. The Rock has several new movies coming out in 2021, including Jungle Cruise and Black Adam.