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00:00Perhaps it's not the most noble way to earn a living, but who would honestly say no to getting paid for doing absolutely nothing?
00:07Especially given the ludicrous demands on a wrestler's body, mind and time.
00:11Can any of us honestly say we'd turn down an offer to earn our salary sitting home counting clouds?
00:17Don't lie now.
00:18With all that in mind, I am Gareth here from WhatCultureWrestling and here are 10 wrestlers WWE paid to do nothing.
00:2510. Shawn Michaels
00:27The body of Shawn Michaels' work is virtually unparalleled on the North American wrestling scene,
00:32with his magnificent second run miraculously managing to eclipse his phenomenal first.
00:38But perhaps the greatest work he ever did was the spell spent on the sidelines between 1998 and 2002.
00:44Chronic back injuries threatened to derail Michaels' career just as he was hitting his prime.
00:49After WrestleMania XV, the torch was passed to Steve Austin,
00:52though more accurately prized from a reluctant Shawn's hand.
00:56As the showstopper entered early retirement, inactivity didn't stop Vince McMahon keeping his buddy on the payroll,
01:03who for the next four years would infrequently turn up on Raw in a hat.
01:07In 2002 though, despite living the life of Riley, Michaels peculiarly decided to step back between the ropes.
01:13But we're all glad that he did.
01:15Wouldn't have had the sight of him performing a superkick in a chef's hat otherwise.
01:19Number 9. Neville
01:20Neville had had more than enough when he finally stormed out of the October 9th, 2017 Monday Night Raw,
01:26with all the fire he'd been storming into matches with since turning heel the prior December.
01:31The man that gravity forgot had had a transcendent year as 205 Live's end-of-level boss,
01:37routinely stealing pay-per-views and pre-shows with powerful encounters,
01:41against a variety of opponents clearly glad to be sharing some of his bright spotlight.
01:46Typical of any WWE lightweight division, the Cruiserweight League was underserved regardless.
01:52Neville's feuds and defences went largely unpromoted before and after the fact,
01:57most notably when his WrestleMania 33 kickoff clash with Austin Aries was booted from several versions of the DVD.
02:04He'd shown his value long before bailing on grounds of enormous creative frustration,
02:08and it was this reason Vince McMahon refused to let him back out into wrestling's wild.
02:13His contract was frozen within months of the dispute,
02:16before he was permitted to seek employment elsewhere in August 2018,
02:20and he hasn't done too badly in the years since deciding to give that elite alternative a try, has he?
02:25Number 8. Sting
02:26After evading WWE's tentacles for the better part of three decades,
02:31Sting, WCW's icon, and the last holdout from the Monday Night Wars,
02:35was finally caught in the company's dragnet in 2014.
02:39All it took was a deal which asked him to do a whole lot of nothing for a whole lot of something.
02:44With his aura firmly neutered following the obligatory introductory loss to Triple H,
02:49on his long-awaited debut at WrestleMania 31,
02:52the Stinger didn't make another WWE appearance until the following August,
02:56175 days later, when he pretended to be a statue.
03:00In other words, he literally stood completely still for 10 minutes,
03:04until he was unsheathed by a stupid, surprised Seth Rollins.
03:08Three weeks later, in retaliation for being humiliated by a Covent Garden attraction,
03:13Rollins seriously injured Sting, seemingly ending his career.
03:17In just over a year and a half,
03:18WWE had managed to eke out four matches from the one legendary figure fans still wanted to see.
03:24Sting had been destung.
03:26He always was a fan of water sports,
03:29so it was entirely fitting the company had metaphorically peed on him,
03:32before he eventually joined up with Tony Khan's company in 2020.
03:36Number 7, Hulk Hogan.
03:38After WrestleMania 8, the Hulk Hogan balloon was set to burst.
03:42The Hulkster had been walking tall in WWE for the better part of a decade,
03:46but his inflated physique simply could not be let down quick enough
03:50to mask the burgeoning steroid scandal which threatened to sink Titan.
03:53A disastrous appearance on the Arsenio Hall show only screwed up the scrutiny,
03:59and it was decided that for the good of the company,
04:01Hogan would take a leave of absence.
04:03Effectively, WWE was shoving Hogan in a metaphorical cupboard,
04:07in the hope he'd more closely resemble a literal skeleton when he emerged.
04:11It wasn't an ideal solution.
04:13They were paying him for his hermitude,
04:15and when he made a return in 1993 ahead of WrestleMania,
04:18fans had already turned against him.
04:20Even with his punier physique, Hogan still managed to muscle his way into the main event.
04:25Another sabbatical followed after a defeat to Yokozuna,
04:28before Hogan eventually wriggled out of his contract to earn even more in Atlanta,
04:33albeit with considerably more work.
04:35Number 6, Brock Lesnar.
04:37In the 504 days Brock Lesnar clung onto the Universal title like a baby Loris to its mother's back,
04:43he defended the belt on just 11 occasions.
04:46That's fewer than one per month, making a total mockery of WWE's 30-day stipulation,
04:52which is obviously entirely arbitrary anyway.
04:54It's not as though Brock was being paid to do literally nothing.
04:57Besides his sporadic title defenses,
04:59he did occasionally show up on Raw to do what could easily be achieved by a cardboard cutout.
05:04But as the top title holder,
05:06his absenteeism was conspicuous to such an extent,
05:09WWE made it into his gimmick,
05:11with the once impossible aim of making Roman Reigns popular.
05:14It did not work.
05:16Brock was simply made into a pariah for his parasitism.
05:20Number 5, The Ultimate Warrior.
05:22In the weeks prior to SummerSlam 91,
05:24The Ultimate Warrior, who was advertised for the MSG show's headline main event,
05:29retreated to his hideaway in parts unknown.
05:32Frustrated with the lack of parity between his own remuneration and that of company megastar Hulk Hogan,
05:37Warrior demanded his salary be topped up to match his rival,
05:41and wouldn't work until he received satisfaction.
05:43Vince McMahon wasn't about to waste months of build for the pay-per-view,
05:47but nor was he going to let Warrior have him over a barrel.
05:50He acquiesced to the disgruntled grunter's demands in principle,
05:54just long enough so he could compete in SummerSlam's denouement,
05:57and then promptly slapped him with a suspension,
05:59but not without doling out a huge $75,000 payoff,
06:03effectively bogarting him until early 92.
06:06Number 4, Scott Steiner.
06:08The most memorable thing about Scott Steiner's second WWE run
06:12was the peculiar pink thong he thought appropriate for one of his leaden-footed lummox fests opposite Triple H.
06:18Look at that bad boy.
06:19That physique was certainly impressive, if not a little concerning,
06:24but it alone wasn't enough to prop up a successful main event run for the slow-as-snails Steiner.
06:29Perhaps it was just too impressive for his equally muscled opponent.
06:33Steiner was surprisingly asked to undergo a pre-wellness steroid test,
06:37but refused unless his gym rival did the same.
06:41Hunter refused, and coincidentally,
06:42Big Papa Pump soon found himself tumbling down the card.
06:46He made his final appearance at Royal Rumble 2004,
06:49but was bizarrely kept on the payroll until that August.
06:53Spikefully fired just as an injury limited his options elsewhere.
06:56Number 3, The Undertaker.
06:582018 was a busy ol' year for The Undertaker.
07:01Other than his customary WrestleMania cameo,
07:04The Deadman also sprung back to life to bury Rusev in the desert,
07:07and faced off with Triple H Down Under in a match promised to be their last ever.
07:12Like their other last ever.
07:14Then there was that infamous crown jewel tag team car crash.
07:18Frankly, it was about time he pulled his finger out.
07:20After falling to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33,
07:23Taker did a very dainty bit of in-ring folding,
07:26hinting at his retirement, but not confirming it.
07:29The ambiguity allowed him to sit on the sidelines on a retainer for a whole year,
07:34a nonsensical Manhattan promo notwithstanding,
07:37before he was again exhumed for duty in New Orleans against John Cena.
07:41Undertaker's age and failing physical prowess stipulated a scarcity of appearances,
07:47but it was his longevity and loyalty rather than value that kept him on such a lucrative deal,
07:52before he ultimately called it a day in 2020 and started earning that legend's dollar.
07:57Rest in pennies, baby.
07:59Number 2, CM Punk.
08:01Charles Montgomery Punk's acrimonious WWE exit became a very public affair.
08:06In January 2014, Punk was being vetted for a WrestleMania victory over Triple H
08:11in what he saw as a doggy prize,
08:14whilst Batista sauntered back into the company to take all the headlines.
08:18Absolutely sick of his lot, he took the proverbial ball home,
08:22with Vince McMahon later confirming he was on a sabbatical.
08:25The eventual AEW World Champion's gap year was funded by his disapproving WWE parents.
08:31Though he was slapped with an initial two-month suspension for deserting the company,
08:35he continued to sit out of action until July,
08:38a month after announcing his retirement,
08:41presumably spending the time taking in UFC shows.
08:44For all the good that did him.
08:45Now bring the boy home, Paul.
08:47Number 1, JTG.
08:49JTG's last televised WWE match,
08:52an unedifying defeat at the hands, or gloved hand, of Santino Marella on a Superstar's taping,
08:58came on the 16th of September 2013.
09:01He wasn't released from his WWE contract until the following June.
09:05By that point, the one-time partner in Crime Time's continued tenure
09:09had become something of a running joke.
09:11His WWE spell became an online meme,
09:14with message board tikes ironically questioning which would go on longer,
09:18JTG's employment or The Undertaker's streak.
09:21There was even a countdown clock tracking his days in work.
09:24In the end, the neighbour hoodie outlasted the phenom's vaunted record by 67 days.
09:30Even JTG was in on the gag though.
09:32On the day of his release, he posted a satirical tweet asking,
09:36Damn, why I pick up my phone?
09:37What a guy.
09:38He then eventually returned to the company in 2022,
09:41appearing alongside the late great Shad Gaspard's wife and son,
09:45as his heroic one-time tag partner was awarded that year's Warrior Award at the Hall of Fame.
09:50And that's our list.
09:51Do you know of any other wrestlers WWE paid to do nothing?
09:54Well, let us know all about them in the comments section right down below,
09:57and don't forget to like, share, and click on that subscribe button while you're down there.
10:00Also, if you like this sort of stuff, then please head on over to whatculture.com
10:03and find some more fantastic articles,
10:05just like the one this video you're watching right now is based on.
10:08I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Wrestling.
10:10Thank you, as always, for sitting back and enjoying a bit of wrestling stuff with us today.
10:14Hopefully, we'll see you again soon,
10:15but in the meantime, be good to yourself.
10:17Bye-bye!