WWE Hall of Famer Madusa had a prolific wrestling career around the world, despite this, she has revealed that she was only paid $150,000 while working for WCW.
In 1986, Madusa began her career in the American Wrestling Association where she would become both the Women’s Champion and Manager to Curt Hennig. During her time in the company, she was named Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Rookie of the Year, the first woman to receive the honour.
In 1989, she headed to Japan where she wrestled for All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling for two years, the first non-Japanese woman to do so. After this, she had a brief run in WCW as Rick Rude’s Valet before moving to the then-WWF in 1993.
In the WWF, Madusa was known as Alundra Blayze and became the company’s first Women’s Champion since the title was deactivated in 1990. She then engaged in feuds with Bull Nakano and Bertha Faye before leaving the company for WCW in 1995 with the belt still in hand.
This led to one of the most infamous moments of the Monday Night Wars as Blayze dropped the title in a trash can live on Nitro. The incident saw her blacklisted from the WWF for the next 20 years.
In WCW, the star reignited her rivalry with Bull Nakano, defeating her at Hog Wild. The company then introduced their own Women’s Championship, but the veteran was unsuccessful in her attempts to capture the gold.
In 1997, she took a two-year hiatus from WCW, returning in 1999 as part of Randy Savage’s Team Madness and later moved on to managing Evan Karagias. After he won the Cruiserweight Championship, Madusa turned on her charge and defeated him for the title at the 1999 Starrcade. Her reign lasted a few weeks before she lost the championship to Oklahama at Souled Out.
The legend left WCW in 2001 when it became apparent Vince McMahon was about to buy the company.
WWE Hall of Famer Madusa hits out at WCW pay
Looking back on her time under Eric Bischoff, Madusa says her pay was quite low, initially only getting $75,000 for a year.
“Now I’m really glad to see finally after all these years the women are getting million-dollar contracts for the first time.
“In one year, I never made over $100,000 in pro wrestling. And then when I got to WCW, Eric [Bischoff] only gave me $75,000 the first time.”
When she left, this had improved to $150,000 but was still well below her male counterparts and even the models they had started bringing in towards the end of her time there.
“By the time I left, I finally got six digits — $150,000. Then I knew it was time to go when they brought in girls that were bikini models and they were making $250,000.
“Nothing against the girls. It’s not angry at the individual, it’s angry at the situation.”
Madusa and Vince McMahon put the past behind them in 2015 when she was inducted into the Hall of Fame. since then, she has had cameo appearances on Raw and SmackDown, even briefly winning the 24/7 Championship from Candice Michelle in 2019.
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the above transcription.