Madusa Reveals How Much She Was Paid In WWE And WCW

Madusa (aka Alundra Blayze) worked for both WWE and WCW over the course of her 16-year in-ring career. Although the WWE Hall of Famer 2015 is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern women's wrestling, the paychecks back in the day didn't match the distinction. Professional wrestlers are still considered independent contractors today, but there's been a notable increase in their pay.

Appearing Friday on "The Angle," the former three-time WWE Women's Champion reflected on how women's wrestling was viewed in her day and what she made during her WCW and WWE runs.

"Now I'm really glad to see finally after all these years the women are getting million-dollar contracts for the first time," Madusa said. "In one year, I never made over $100,000 in pro wrestling. And then when I got to WCW, Eric [Bischoff] only gave me $75,000 the first time."

Madusa said she was labeled "difficult to work with" even while being billed as a force and trying to pave the way for women's wrestling in general. She said she was looked at differently simply for daring to ask a question. When the landscape began to change in terms of what promotions were asking of its female performers, she knew the writing was on the wall, but she never held it against the other women.

"By the time I left I finally got six digits — $150,000," Madusa said. "Then I knew it was time to go when they brought in girls that were bikini models and they were making $250,000. Nothing against the girls. It's not angry at the individual, it's angry at the situation."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Angle Podcast" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.