World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) Hall of Famer Scott Hall passed away Monday following a series of heart attacks over the weekend.
While fans may remember Hall for his iconic WrestleMania 10 ladder match, his central role in the Monday Night Wars between WWE and WCW or his personal battles with addiction outside the ring, Hall also leaves a lasting legacy on the business side of professional wrestling.
Guaranteed Money: Hall and close friend Kevin Nash turned the pro wrestling world upside down when the two popular WWE stars jumped ship together and signed with competitor World Championship Wrestling in 1996.
One of the reasons WCW was able to land Hall and Nash is because they offered them guaranteed contracts, a step the WWE was unwilling to take at the time.
Hall reportedly asked WWE CEO Vince McMahon for a raise and a guaranteed contract, but McMahon refused.
"I would have stayed for less. I just wanted a guarantee, and he just wouldn’t do it," Hall later said. The legendary wrestler indicated that his WWE contract at the time guaranteed just 10 days and $150 per day, or $1,500 in guaranteed pay.
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Higher Pay: Hall and Nash also fueled the bidding war between WWE and WCW that drove talent pay higher across the board. McMahon famously changed his stance around this time, and began offering contracts with downside guarantees in 1996.
Today, WWE talent earn more guaranteed money than at any other time in history, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Benzinga's Take: WCW may have outbid WWE for Hall and Nash and been willing to take on the risk of guaranteeing their contracts back in 1996, but the investment paid off in a big way over the years that followed. With Hall, Nash and the rest of the New World Order routinely headlining shows, WCW "Nitro" beat WWE's "Raw" in ratings for 84 consecutive weeks starting in mid-1996.
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