The men and women in the middle of the action earn a more modest sum despite the same amount of travel and work.

Legendary referee Mike Chioda revealed just how much his annual salary in WWE was in an interview from 2023.

Legendary referee Mike Chioda, who spent 31 years as an official in WWE between 1989 and 2020 revealed the average earnings for the role.

“If you are a referee for WWE, you don’t get any royalties,” Chioda told Insight with Chris Van Vliet. “The average referee makes about $125,000 but there will be around $30,000 in expenses.”

He added: “There’s fuel and travel costs for example. Then after that and paying taxes, the take home is about $60,000.”

That means referees earn $75,000 less than the lowest-paid WWE stars and far less than the company’s top stars.

Former WWE star Chris Jericho had an incredibly lucrative run with the company before making the jump to AEW.

The star has revealed just how much the average pay has jumped up in modern times, however, and he’s revealed an eye-watering sum top stars are getting now in WWE.

“Now, opening match guys are getting a million dollars a year,” explained Jericho on Insight with Chris Van Vliet.