Ronda Rousey feels the WWE has a superior pay structure to the UFC given how they treats their performers.
During her time in the UFC, Rousey was one of the biggest draws for the promotion as she regularly earned million dollar paydays whenever she competed. When she later joined the WWE in 2018, it was reported that “Rowdy” was earning just over a million dollars per year in salary.
And while she could have made more money fighting a couple of times a year in the UFC, Rousey believes the WWE pay structure is ultimately better in the long run for the average superstar compared to the average fighter:
“WWE is even better because everyone’s on salary,” Rousey said on Steve-O’s podcast. “It’s not like you show up for a fight, you get paid, you show up for a fight, you get paid. I think in WWE, they’re actually considered employees. [They’re independent contractors] but they’re treated like employees. They actually are on a salary. It’s much more secure. If people get injured and they can’t perform months and months and months on end, they actually continue to pay them and pay for their medical treatment and make sure they’re taken care of.
“… They really try their best not to leave people high and dry. They really invest in talent and spend time on building and developing them. … As soon as they hire people, they’re on salary right away, which is very, very different than having these lumps of prize money. So I would say it’s definitely more secure and job-like.”
Rousey is definitely not wrong.
That said, despite the WWE being “fake fights for fun” at least according to her, she still seems set on not returning to action anytime soon. And the ungrateful WWE fans are a big reason why.
What do you make of Rousey’s comments on the pay structures of the two companies?