http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE
there is some pretty cool stuff on wresting in here and other linked articles.
"The WWF/WCW feud reached new heights in 1996, when WCW offered a contract to Bret "The Hitman" Hart worth up to a reported nine million dollars over the course of three years. The WWF and Vince McMahon countered with an offer worth much less, but for a much longer period of time, with greater creative control. Bret Hart took the offer, but after several months of financial hardship and sharply falling profits, McMahon was uncertain if he could write Hart's paychecks."