WWE star pocketed biggest career payday for 11-second match with legend Kane at WrestleMania
WWE stars are no strangers to big-money paydays, and none more so than at their biggest event of all, WrestleMania.
For 40 years, ‘Mania’ has represented the biggest, grandest and most outlandish of all WWE’s mass carnival of an offering.
From the culmination of high-profile storylines, mass celebrity involvement and mainstream publicity, there’s little that compares to the show that made its debut back in the mid-1980s.
Throughout the years, many names have taken the opportunity of a major WrestleMania payday, including Mike Tyson, who famously appeared at the megashow in 1998.
Then still a household name at the tail end of his boxing career, Iron Mike featured as a the special enforcer in the WWE Championship match between Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
For his work in the lead-up to the event and the showpiece itself, Tyson was paid an eye-watering £2.5 million – a handy sum for the megastar who desperately needed the funds to ease crippling debts.
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Even up to the preset day and the most recent WrestleMania XL the paydays continued as wrestler turned Hollywood mainstay Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson scored big for his efforts up to and including the Philadelphia spectacular.
The Smashing Machine star was given a share payout worth $9.41 million – around £7.4 million after the event, the culmination of a long-running storyline between Rock, Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.
While it’s probably fair to say The Rock’s staggering payday is perhaps a little higher than your average WrestleMania payoff for WWE stars, it’s also no exaggeration to say many wrestlers do very well out of the star-studded event.
Some are forced to work longer and harder at the Show of Shows for their money, too. While some wrestle for an hour or fly through tables and off ladders, others can earn good amounts from a far shorter day at the office.
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One case in point would be that of Chavo Guerrero, the veteran performer and multi-time former Tag Team and Cruiserweight Champion.
Back in 2008 at WrestleMania 24, he was tasked with battling iconic performer Kane for what was Guerrero’s ECW Championship when timing issues threatened to derail their planned clash.
Speaking in an with Captain’s Corner, the now 53-year-old and his foe came up with the ingenious idea to prevent their match being cut to a length of time that rendered forgettable – by making it so short it would always be remembered.
The former WCW star explained: “…About a week before, they started to shuffle things around and we weren’t on WrestleMania.
“Me and Kane went to Vince McMahon and said: ‘If we’re not on WrestleMania then this championship doesn’t mean anything’ and Vince is like: ‘You’re right, you’re right. Okay, you guys are definitely on.’â€
“When we got to WrestleMania, Vince called us in. He goes: ‘Guys, I have to cut time. I’m cutting time all over the place… I can only give you guys two minutes.’
“Well, I’m like: ‘Two minutes? What are we going to do in two minutes? No one remembers a two-minute match at WrestleMania.
“So, we’re like: ‘Well, what if we say we can do this in 10, 20 seconds?’ and he was like: ‘What? What? That’s great. How can you do that?’â€
The scene at WrestleMania started with Kane winning a Battle Royal to earn the right to face Guerrero later in the night.
In a perfect twist of irony against the rogue champion who would often cheat to win his matches, Kane would then sneak up on his rival come match time and attack him – pinning him in a record 11 seconds.
It solved McMahon’s time worries perfectly yet still enabled the on-screen bad guy the perfect excuse to cry foul – all while earning him a sizable sum for the swift cameo.
Guerrero went on: “Vince loved it, we end up doing it and to this day, that eight seconds [sic], that was the most I ever got paid for one match. It’s true, totally true.
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“By the second, it’s incredible but it’s for the whole match. It was the most I got paid for one match… if you break down the second, it was pretty lucrative.â€
Guerrero is no stranger to quick outings in the ring. In 2009 he was KO’d by Ricky Hatton in Sheffield as the boxer won his one and only WWE match.