It’s Black Friday, so I’m assuming anyone reading this has already been involved in two or three department store tramplings while trying to lock down a $48, 50″ flatscreen. The urge to rush out in the wee morning hours and snatch up a deal is understandable. Everyone loves a good deal. But not all deals are created equal. Just because a 10 pack of Snuggies are on sale for $30, that doesn’t mean it’s worth sleeping in a mall parking lot to acquire them.
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The world or professional wrestling has seen more than it’s share of bad deals. During the Monday Night Wars Vince McMahon and Ted Turner had an arms war to acquire as many stars as possible to keep their brand’s ratings on top of the charts. While it’s hard to argue the return on overpaying for a star like Hulk Hogan, there are plenty of former superstars that should have been left on the department store shelves.
Here are the 5 worst deals in wrestling history.
5. Roddy Piper
It may seem blaspehmous to put Roddy Piper on the list. A former living legend and one of the greatest to ever pick up a microphone, the Rowdy one was the antagonist that made Hulkamania and the WWE’s golden age possible. However, that was in the 80s. When the WCW brought Piper in during the late 90s, he was well past his wrestling prime. To make matters worse, he was only obligated for a total of 51 appearances in his contract and 6 PPVs. Oh, and here’s the kicker, he also needed to have a 60 day notice period for an appearance. By the time Billionaire Ted brought Piper in to recreate that Wrestlemania magic, the WWE was already moving ahead with an entirely new generation of superstars.
Contract: $750,000 (year 1-2), $800,000 (year 3)
4. Sid Vicious
Sid Vicous will likely go down as the number one wrestler who should have had a bigger career than he did. He had the look and the push of every company he worked with, but somehow his runs at the top of the card never quite caught on with the fans. From the WCW to the WWE and back to the WCW, Sid never became the draw Vince or Ted had hoped for. While not completely worth his near million dollar contract, Sid will always be remembered for his amazing botched promos and for legendarily breaking his leg in the ring in one of the most disgusting in-ring accidents anyone has ever seen.
Contract: $850,000 (WCW)
3. Kevin Nash
If a seven year old asks you for keys to your car, you can’t get mad at him for getting into an accident. That one is on you. The same is true of Kevin Nash’s horrible deal in the WCW. You can, however, blame WCW. Nash was given a boat load of money and a spot on the writing team, which led to Nash, Hogan and Hall overstaying their spot on top of the WCW card while more talented wrestlers like Chris Jericho and Eddie Guererro left for the WWE.
Even worse, once the WWE purchased the WCW, Nash’s guaranteed contract allowed him to get paid for sitting at home. But don’t blame Nash for the death of WCW, he just asked for the keys to the car.
Contract: $1.45 mil (5 years), 180 day work contract
2. Bret Hart
Like most of the wrestlers on this list, Bret Hart was overpaid by not one, but two companies. The WWE had given a Hart an insane 20 year contract to keep him off the WCW payroll. Ironically, it would only be a year later that Hart would jump ship and join WCW for an insane amount of money. The most memorable moment to come out of this deal was the Montreal Screw Job, in which Hart foolishly thought Vince would let him leave the company while World Heavyweight Champion.ย
Once in WCW, Bret would become a victim of poor booking, as the former WWE champ was absorbed into the NWO and became just another one of Hogan and Nash’s lackeys. Sadly, Hart’s career would end abruptly after getting kicked in the head by Goldberg, which also explains the “you screwed Bret” chants from Goldberg’s appearance on last week’s Monday Night RAW.
Contract: WCW: $2.5 mil (5 years), WWE: 20 year contract
1. Tank Abbott
Tank Abbott was a legit Mixed Martial Arts fighter for the UFC, fighting in a couple of tournaments and having a career record of 2-5. So, at first sight, signing him to a WCW contract seemed like a good idea. The WWE had managed to find success with former UFC star, Ken Shamrock.ย decided to sign him to initially be an Initially brought into be an opponent for Goldberg, the former MMA bad ass became obsessed with the WCW’s boy band, “3 count.” Hard to believe, but dancing to an off-brand NSYNC actually hurt Tank’s reputation and he was never able to recover. He was, however, able to cash in on a ridulously horrible deal.
Contract: $650,000 (3 years)
