Before he was the “Final Boss,” a movie star, or even one of the hottest heels in the business, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a wrestler whose initial contract with WWE was about to come to an end due to a burning desire to negotiate with Vince McMahon for a brand new deal.
The son of a WWE Superstar who could trace their family history in the promotion back to “High Chief” Peter Maivia, The Rock had no real interest in taking his talents elsewhere or even to the highest bidder – gosh, could you imagine The Rock in ECW or WCW? – but in an interview with Patrick Bet David, he let it be known that he wanted to be paid what he was worth, which, at the time, he felt was much more than his initial $750,000 contract.
“The relationship between Vince and I was a great relationship because it was based on my willingness to work for every dollar. Our relationship was about the work, willing to put in the work, and I have a tremendous, boundless respect for the business of pro wrestling that is so deeply important to him. That's his life. That's his world. It's his blood. I grew up in the business of pro wrestling. My grandfather wrestled for Vince's dad in the '70s. My dad wrestled for Vince in the '80s. I went into this with a tremendous amount of respect and reverence. Willing to put in the work, let's get to work. I shared this with Vince when I became The Rock and things started to take off for me. He said, ‘What's next?' I said, ‘I feel what's next is to take this brass ring and take it to places it's never been.' He said, ‘Where is that?' ‘I don't know. Let's figure it out together,'” Johnson told Fightful.
“I was coming up, and my very first contract with WWE with Vince was a five-year contract for $150,000 a year. Keep in mind, not only taxes, but in the world of pro wrestling, I had to pay for everything. Hotel, food, transportation. $150 grand per year is great…when you're wrestling 250 dates a year, do the math with what you're getting per match. It was what it was. It was an opportunity for me. I came from seven bucks. This, great.”
While The Rock was interested in sticking it out with WWE and was happy to negotiate with McMahon, he did have one very specific request for his contract, as he wanted to lap this one wrestler in particular in his pursuit of being the face of professional wrestling.
The Rock wanted to be better paid than “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
Continuing his conversation with Patrick Bet David, The Rock broke down his desire to earn a downside guarantee that, at least at the time, lapped the promotion’s biggest star, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
“I said, ‘Who is the highest paid, if you don't mind me asking. Between us, who is the highest paid on the roster?' He said, ‘Stone Cold Steve Austin.' ‘What's his guarantee?' ‘One million dollars.' ‘I want two.' ‘Two million?' ‘Yes.' ‘Guaranteed?' ‘Yes.' He said, ‘I'm just curious, where do you get that from? What are you figuring in your mind.' ‘I love Steve, I respect him. If he's getting a million dollars. Where I see myself going is past a million dollars. I think it should be two,” Johnson noted.
While Mr. McMahon wasn’t initially open to such an unsophisticated negotiation, he did offer Johnson something more valuable than a simple counter-offer: a chance to learn the ins and outs of the business. After spending some time learning the overheads of running a professional wrestling promotion, Johnson returned to McMahon with a more sensible offer, which ultimately led to even more opportunities for “The Great One” down the line.
“(I learned) what the overhead costs were, what the costs are of the venue, what the state tax is, the allocation for the wrestlers, the percentage of the gate,” Johnson explained. “I didn't take three months. It was maybe two weeks. It was baptism by fire, and I learned to absorb as much as I could about the business. I went back to Vince, I thanked him and gave him a big hug. I said, ‘I understand now. I'd like to match it at a million dollars, what Steve is getting. Thank you for taking me through it.' We had a great conversation and he said, ‘How much do you think you're going to make this year?' ‘My guarantee is a million. I've been averaging about 50% over my guarantee. So, maybe 1.5?' He said, ‘Now that you've taken yourself through that and understand the business, you're going to make $15 million.' He did the math and could see where it goes. ‘You'll make $15 million.' By the time we had 1999-2000, wrestling has a boom period.”
Would The Rock have still become, well, The Rock if he didn’t have this talk with McMahon’s guy? You bet; this development is brand new in the greater Dwayne Johnson mythos, which means it really didn’t make that much of an impact on his career, what with his story being among the most well-known in wrestling today. Still, you can’t knock him for sharing it, as it is interesting all the same.
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