The Undertaker Says He Was Making $1200 A Week In WCW

The Undertaker talks money in WCW. 

Before he joined WWE and became The Undertaker, he was  “Mean Mark” Callous in WCW. Undertaker worked for a year in WCW before his contract was coming up and he ended up joining WWE. 

Speaking on his Six Feet Under podcast, Undertaker recalled asking for a raise in WCW. 

“The meeting was to renegotiate my contract. I had asked for the meeting because my contract was coming due. I was on the standard entry-level contract, which was maybe $1200 a month. This is 1989, early 1990. It was time to renegotiate my contract. I was, at that point in my career and life, I was a WCW guy. I enjoyed that product better. Being from Houston, we didn’t get a lot of WWF until Vince [Vince McMahon] went to cable. I was more drawn to guys like Flair [Ric Flair], Arn Anderson, Rock N Roll Express, Road Warriors, and those guys. I was happy there and where I wanted to be. I wasn’t going in to ask to break the bank. I knew it was going to be my second year with the company, I just wanted a little bump in pay,” he said. 

Taker continued, “I went in and meet with Jim Barnett, Ole Anderson, and Jim Herd. I give them my speech, ‘I love it here, I’ve learned so much this year and am really happy. My contract is coming up.’ I was at $1200, I was trying to get to $2000. I said a month earlier, it was a week. $2000 a week. I gave them my whole story and it was like crickets. It was quiet. Ole was the first one to speak and he’s like, ‘You know, kid, you’re a great athlete, but no one is ever going to see you wrestle.'”

Taker said the air went out of his body and that let him know where he stood. 

Undertaker would eventually land a meeting with Vince McMahon and WWE, finish up his time at WCW, and the rest is history. 

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