I used to help an indy promotion put on shows and was friends with the “promoter” (a wrestler who was basically handed a promotion by a money mark because the mark wanted out). This was back just before Chris Hero went to NXT. My friend told me he wanted to get the Young Bucks, but they charged like 600 bucks each plus travel or something similar. Hero himself charged less than that, but he was also putting on a seminar which he charged for.

So if you think about it, just a few years ago, some of the biggest names on the indies were only making a few hundred bucks per show. Do the math, and you’ll very quickly find that almost all of these wrestlers are fucking broke. If they’re not broke, they’re not making their money from wrestling, that’s for sure.

Idk what New Japan pays, but it can’t be as much as people think it is.