Ex-WWE Stars Reveal “Bucket System” Used To Pay Them

Have you ever wondered exactly how WWE Superstars get paid? Well, Maven, Mace, and Mansoor have the answers you’ve been looking for.

Former WWE star and Tough Enough winner Maven comes from a different generation of talent than that of the Maximum Male Models, Mace and Mansoor. Together they recently sat down to explain in-depth how WWE Superstars get paid in a video on Maven’s YouTube channel.

The conversation reveals that in Maven’s time in WWE, stars could be paid using a paysheet that meant they would get a percentage of revenue from the shows they worked as their weekly pay. They could be put on their downside guarantee if they were injured but the former Hardcore Champion explained that working on pay sheets gave the talent that chance to make more money.

Mace and Mansoor were released by WWE in September 2023 and have since embarked on a career on the independent wrestling scene together. They revealed that downside guarantees are now used regularly and talent make the same money each week whether they worked a full loop of shows or not.

WWE Use Bucket System To Manipulate Pay

The Maximum Male Models also explained the slightly bizarre “bucket system” WWE uses for pay. As they explain, the money they make can be put in a theoretical bucket until it reaches the top – the top of the bucket would be the amount their downside guarantee is for.

WWE stars can make more money if their bucket “overflows” meaning they will be due more than what their downside guarantee is worth. However, they also noted WWE has ways of making sure that doesn’t always happen. Should a talent sell a lot of t-shirts and be due a sizable amount of merchandise royalties that reach the top of their bucket, as they explain, the company might then pull that talent from live events to ensure they don’t go over their guaranteed dollar amount.