Former WWE NXT wrestler addresses ‘common misconception’ about pay
Priscilla Kelly believes a lot of fans overestimate how much money wrestlers in WWE NXT are making.
The former Gigi Dolin was released from her WWE contract in a round of cuts that were made this May. In a new interview with Denise Salcedo, Kelly discussed the pros and cons of no longer being with NXT. One pro is that she has the freedom to make money through avenues like autograph signings and selling her own merchandise.
“I can do whatever I want now. I can take signings. I can sell my own merch. I can do whatever I want,” Kelly said. “And that’s a huge part of it, too. Is in WWE, you don’t have that freedom. You don’t have any freedom, really. Like, they own everything you do. They even took, I think, almost half of my Cameo earnings as well. That was like the one thing that they do allow you to do, is Cameo, and they even take a percentage of that.”
Kelly feels like some fans believe everyone in NXT is a millionaire, but that’s not the case. According to her, some contracts are as low as $30,000 per year — and the deals do not go much higher than that.
“The common misconception about, especially NXT performers, is that we’re millionaires, right? A lot of fans for some reason think that if you work in WWE, and you’re under that umbrella, you’re a millionaire, you live in a mansion, you’re driving a [Mercedes] Benz, you’ve got it made. That’s not the case. In NXT, there’s contracts as low as $30,000 a year. And they do not go as high as you think,” Kelly said.
“You have to live in Florida, which — it’s very expensive to live here. Going out to eat just for two people can run you $100+ because everything is marked up from tourism and Florida’s just the hotbed for people. So it’s very expensive living here. Having to pay for new gear all the time and all these expenses, taking care of your body and getting all these little things, like, it all adds up. And at the end of the day, especially because you can’t make money outside of what you make in WWE, you don’t make a lot. I think the common misconception is that we’re all just rich and rolling in money — and that’s just not the case.”
Though talent on the main roster are making good money, Kelly thinks fans even overestimate how rich a lot of them are.
“Even main roster talent, like, of course there’s people on main roster that are making the really big, big, big bucks — but that’s a small percentage,” she said. “A lot of people that are up there, like, they make good money, but they’re also paying for every hotel, they’re paying for all of their travel and all the food, everything they need on top of the other expenses of gear and taking care of your body and taking care of your sanity.”
Kelly stated that, because of how hard she’s hustling on the indies, she believes she’s making more money now than she did in NXT. She’s competing for MLW and indie promotions like GCW, AIW, and House of Glory in her post-WWE career.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.