Matt Hardy He explained details about a murky practice that, according to him, WWE used with respect to the bonuses, suggesting that the company regained extra payment after Jim Ross rewarded The Hardy Boyz for his good performances at the end of the 90s.
During an episode of his podcast 'The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy', the former WWE, He shared an interesting anecdote about how commentator Jim Ross made sure that he and his brother Jeff received fair compensation for their outstanding fightingespecially when the show stole in their first fighting against Edge, Christian and Gangrel. Matt recalled that, every time his fighting were praised, JR rewarded them with bonuses in addition to their regular salary.
“I think I have never explained this anecdote. When Jeff and I had our first great fighting, Jim Ross began to give us bonds every time he wrote that we were the protagonists. We received bonds of about $ 300, in addition to our salary. I wish he recovers soon from his cancer, I love him very much “
But the story took a turn after the famous TLC fight in Wrestlemania X-Seven. Hardy explained how Bubba Ray Dudley suggested that the legendary commentator asked an additional financial compensation due to the impact of the fight on the great event. Ross accepted and promised them a bonus.
“JR said: 'Well, if they thought they were so attractive to Wrestlemania 17, it was a great fight, no doubt. I am sure that many people saw them and loved it. I will give you a bonus. I will give you x quantity of dollars'. I mean there were about $ 5,000 more per personor whatever, it was something unexpected for us “
However, after receiving the bonds, Matt Hardy He states that his payment checks began to show a decrease in their PPV earnings, which suggests that WWE silently recovered those bonds by reducing their future payments.
“We talk about this later, a little in solidarity … We realized that our payments per event had collapsed a little later. I'm quite sure they ended up taking those $ 5,000 to each: 500 here, 500 there, 700 here, whatever. But JR did fulfill his word and gave us a bonus “
This statement raises serious doubts about the management of talent compensation by WWE and suggests that, although Jim Ross could have acted in good faith, the company found a way to recover bonuses by reducing future wages. It highlights WWE's internal practices, where talent could have been manipulated for profits.
