Brock Lesnar, John Cena Top Forbes List for Highest-Paid WWE Superstars
April 10, 2017
Brock Lesnar topped the list of highest-paid wrestlers in WWE, with the WWE Universal champion earning $12 million over the 2016 fiscal year, Forbes reported Monday.
John Cena came in second, earning $8 million. Below is a look at the top 10 earners:
| Top 10 Highest-Paid WWE Wrestlers | ||
| Pos. | Wrestler | Earnings |
| 1 | Brock Lesnar | $12 million |
| 2 | John Cena | $8 million |
| 3 | Triple H | $3.8 million |
| 4 | Roman Reigns | $3.5 million |
| 5 | Dean Ambrose | $2.7 million |
| 6 | AJ Styles | $2.4 million |
| 7 | Shane McMahon | $2.2 million |
| T8 | The Undertaker | $2 million |
| T8 | Seth Rollins | $2 million |
| 10 | Randy Orton | $1.9 million |
| Source: Forbes | ||
Lesnar overtook Cena for the top spot. Forbes reported Cena earned $9.5 million in 2015, while Lesnar took home $6 million.
Cena's fall makes sense considering his role in WWE has diminished as his outside commitments have grown.
The 16-time world champion had shoulder surgery in January 2016. After returning to the ring in May, he took a break to film the second season of the reality series American Grit. After teaming with Nikki Bella to beat The Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania 33, Cena is taking another hiatus to film The Pact.
Lesnar, meanwhile, remains one of WWE's biggest stars. He beat Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 to claim the WWE Universal Championship, and Forbes noted much of his 2016 pay came from his July fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200.
AJ Styles is the biggest riser in this year's list, which makes sense since he didn't debut until the 2016 Royal Rumble. The Phenomenal One went from failing to crack the top 10 at all to coming in sixth place with earnings of $2.4 million.
Considering the rapid way Styles has become one of WWE's main event stars, he'll likely be even higher when next year's list is unveiled.
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