Koko B Ware enjoyed an 8 year WWF run that saw him land in the WWE Hall of Fame, but it wasn't all rainbows for him.
On a recent episode of Prime Time with Sean Mooney, Koko B. Ware discussed his WrestleMania debut against Butch Reed, and the payoff they received for the show.
"I was so grateful being there. If only I could’ve made a good payday out of it -- a good, good payday, then I maybe wouldn’t have to work as hard as I do now. It was a good living, but I wish I could’ve made a good lick. I was up there with Hogan, but I just didn’t make money. I don’t mind people knowing what I made, and I’ve talked to my partner about it. It’s no big secret, it’s water under the bridge, but it’s still history. I still love the business, I still love WWE. Nothing bad I’m gonna say about them at all. But you take $20,000 and you split it, gave me $10,000, give Butch Reed $10,000 Is that a good payoff?
“Some people say ‘That was good. Where are you going to make that kind of money?’ You’re not going to have these 93,000 people here every week. You’re going to give Randy Savage and Steamboat $500,000 apiece. I thought it was unbalanced big time. I thought Butch Reed and I should’ve gotten at least $40,000. I would have been happy with $30,000.
"I had to take it. I couldn’t go in there and fuss about it because I wouldn’t have had a job. I would’ve gotten fired over it. I didn’t like it then. I couldn’t say nothing. I didn’t have anyone to go in there for me or speak for anybody about the payoffs. They said something about a union one time, and man, they got wind of it and said ‘Anybody else mentions anything about a union is fired.’”
Despite the payoff issues, Koko spoke in a glowing manner about his time in WWE. He last appeared wrestling Rob Conway on WWE Heat in 2005.
You can hear the full interview at this link.
