Jim Ross Claims WWE Paid $500,000 To An Undercard Talent To Stop Them Leaving Company
A talent moving to the likes of AEW isn't what WWE wants, it seems...
The likes of Luke Harper and Sasha Banks have made no bones about wanting to leave WWE in recent times.
While the pair have seemingly failed in their attempts to leave the company - Sasha is reportedly expected to be back at Money In The Bank on May 19 while Luke has seemingly been denied in a request for his release - it appears WWE are willing to do anything to stop certain talents becoming free agents - of course, the likes of Dean Ambrose, Goldust, Tye Dillinger and Hideo Itami have all managed to secure futures away from WWE over recent months.
WWE Hall Of Famer and new AEW commentator/Senior Advisor Jim Ross recently appeared on Busted Open Radio and claimed WWE paid an undercard talent $500,000 to stay with the company (thanks to Fightful for the transcription): "I asked about one guy in WWE, who’s an undercard guy -- been there a while, solid hand, could help the younger guys learn because he’s at that age now, early 30s, and they say, ‘Well he’s not available. He just signed for half-a-million dollars’.
"He’s not even on television. 500k Bubba [Bully Ray], just to keep him off the streets so to speak. So yeah, I would think there’s a reactionary phase of this deal that, ‘Hey, these guys got some cash and they’re willing to pay people’.”
While the pair have seemingly failed in their attempts to leave the company - Sasha is reportedly expected to be back at Money In The Bank on May 19 while Luke has seemingly been denied in a request for his release - it appears WWE are willing to do anything to stop certain talents becoming free agents - of course, the likes of Dean Ambrose, Goldust, Tye Dillinger and Hideo Itami have all managed to secure futures away from WWE over recent months.
WWE Hall Of Famer and new AEW commentator/Senior Advisor Jim Ross recently appeared on Busted Open Radio and claimed WWE paid an undercard talent $500,000 to stay with the company (thanks to Fightful for the transcription): "I asked about one guy in WWE, who’s an undercard guy -- been there a while, solid hand, could help the younger guys learn because he’s at that age now, early 30s, and they say, ‘Well he’s not available. He just signed for half-a-million dollars’.
"He’s not even on television. 500k Bubba [Bully Ray], just to keep him off the streets so to speak. So yeah, I would think there’s a reactionary phase of this deal that, ‘Hey, these guys got some cash and they’re willing to pay people’.”
Written by Ross Tweddell
Written and video journalist for Cultaholic Wrestling | twitter: @rossonrasslin | instagram: @rossonrasslin