Former WCW Referee Nick Patrick Explains Why He Had To Take Pay Cut With WWE
Long-time WCW referee Nick Patrick has spoken on what changed when Vince McMahon purchased one of WWE's biggest competitors of the time — WCW. Patrick revealed on the "Monday Mailbox" podcast about going to WWE after the sale and how his pay was different.
"Oh, my pay, I took a tremendous pay cut, but really just by what you were guaranteed because, at the end of WCW, I was ... had made my way up to being an employee, and I was also, it was called an agent back then, and I guess they call them producers now," said Patrick. "But back then it was an agent, and I'd worked my way up to being a Turner employee at that point, so I was ... I [had] finally broken through and had guarantee, you know, with 401k and all that kind of stuff. So when Vince came, and bought it, none of that was offered."
Patrick also stated that he didn't want to be an agent in WWE because of what he heard about the role, and feels that he wasn't "thick-skinned" enough for the position.
Talking Pay Cuts
Nick Patrick then explained why he got paid less in WWE, and revealed the pay cut he had taken when he made the switch from WCW to WWE.
"They offered me a job just to become a referee, and they offer you a base pay, a guaranteed base pay, but you also get paid — you get paid a percentage of the deal. So if a territory is completely on its a**, you're going to make at least your base pay. But when it's good you're going to make more than your base pay, always," added Patrick. "I never just made my base pay up there. I made fairly close to what I was making, you know, I initially took a $50,000 pay cut if you just look at that on paper."
Patrick added that he never made that "low-end" ever, and it was actually more like a $15,000 or $20,000 pay cut, but he had no benefits and no more expense reports. The veteran referee had a seven-year run in WWE, which lasted between 2001 and 2008.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Monday Mailbag" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.