Kurt Angle set a lofty financial goal for himself as a rookie in the WWF.
On the latest episode of The Kurt Angle Show (via AdFreeShows), the Olympic Gold Medalist discussed his wildly successful first year in the wrestling business. Near the end of the conversation, host Conrad Thompson asked Angle if he was shocked by how much he made or if the monetary incentive was outweighed by the stresses of travelling and working such a hectic schedule. Angle shared the following:
"You know what, my guarantee was $75,000, so I made well over that. What I was surprised about, and I promised J.R [Jim Ross] this when I accepted that contract, he said 'you're going to get $75,000 a year for five years.' I signed the contract, I said 'don't worry about it because I'm going to make a million in my first year.' He's like, 'whatever you say.' So I did, I did make a million, which I'm really proud of. I wasn't expecting to make a million dollars my first year in the business, especially not having any kind of merchandise. I wasn't selling merchandise. They weren't hopping off the shelves and people weren't buying Kurt Angle stuff because I was a heel. So i didn't make a lot on that. I got paid to wrestle and I got paid very well to do it. So making a million dollars a year without any kind of merchandise, I made maybe 30 or 40 grand with merchandise, that was about it. I made a lot of money wrestling and I did exceed the goal that I told JR I would do."
Angle would continue on to reveal that he made his downside guarantee at SummerSlam alone that year, a number that was uncommon for PPV's not called WrestleMania. He competed in the main event of that show alongside The Rock and Triple H.
Kurt Angle made his on-screen debut in the WWF at Survivor Series 1999. He won the WWF Championship less than 12 months later at No Mercy 2000, defeating The Rock in the main event.
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