The Rock is extremely successful in many industries now, but previously opened up about how he went about making ends meet in his early days of wrestling.
Speaking to The Pivot in 2023, The Rock (real name Dwayne Johnson) talked about his career and how it began. When it came to money, he revealed how shockingly low the amount of money he was guaranteed to participate in matches.
“My first paycheck, in wrestling, my first paycheck was $40. That’s what our guarantee was. This was before WWE,” said Johnson. “As you’re starting out, I wasn’t ready for WWE. I made my bones down in Tennessee. I wrestled down there, USWA, everybody came through there, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, everybody who became somebody went through there, and that’s where you made your bones and cut your teeth. The guarantee, every night, was $40. Didn’t matter where you were at on the card, that was your guarantee.”
When it came to making more money, Johnson explained how wrestlers would make sure they got a little more than the $40 they were guaranteed, even if it wasn’t much more.
“Additional money, there was the intermission and we’d go to the gimmick table. We’d have our polaroids,” Johnson said. “Anyone who wanted to take a Polaroid, you’d sign it, $5. Take [the photo], $5. Sign it, $10. That’s how we made additional money. On a good night, I could make maybe $80.”
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