Jim Ross reveals Vince McMahon paid Shawn Michaels $750,000 a year to sit at home and not go to WCW between 1998 to 2002.
The WWE is the standard bearer of wrestling in North America; perhaps even the world. There was a time however, when that wasn’t the case. The rise of WCW in the 90’s saw the WWE not just dropped off their pedestal but even run the risk of extinction.
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Several top WWE stars moved ship to WCW such as Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart just to name a few. Vince McMahon wasn’t too keen on losing another star to them. So much so that according to Jim Ross, the WWE chairman paid absurd amounts to the Heart Break Kid to stay retired.
Jim Ross reveals Vince McMahon paid Shawn Michaels $750,000 a year to sit at home and not go to WCW
“Vince loved him. It’s proven. We paid Shawn $750,000 a year for about four years to do nothing because he was Vince’s guy,” Jim Ross said on his “Grilling JR” podcast. “Every time we go over budgets and things, where are we at with the Shawn contract? Nothing, leave it alone. Ok”
“Vince didn’t have to do that,” he continued. “Here’s the deal. All Shawn wanted to do was go work and go play with Kevin (Nash) and Scott Hall. So that would have been for WCW nice to get a gift of Shawn Michaels, wouldn’t you think? So he took good care of him.”
HBK would eventually return to the promotion in 2002. He wrestled actively until Wrestlemania 26 after which he retired once again. He would come out of retirement once again in 2018 to take on Brothers of Destruction at Crown Jewel.
H/T WrestlingNews.co
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