Marc Mero has opened up about the animosity that he and Sable received from WWE Superstars in the 1990s.
Mero, 60, worked for WWE between 1996 and 1999 after performing as Johnny B. Badd in WCW for five years. The former WCW star signed a guaranteed contract with WWE, meaning he got paid even when he was injured and/or not booked on shows.
Speaking on the Such Good Shoot podcast, Mero recalled how other WWE Superstars did not have guaranteed contracts at the time. As a result, his eight-month absence due to a knee injury caused problems for him backstage.
“I’m getting this huge guaranteed contract every week, getting paid the same for eight months sitting home, so obviously it doesn’t sit well with the guys who are on the road making less than I’m making sitting home,” Mero said.
“So it did cause a lot of animosity. And when I look back now I can understand why it was tougher to make friendships or have lasting relationships with people because of the fact we were kind of gifted, in a way, that we had those opportunities.”
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon enjoyed Marc Mero’s work as the flamboyant Johnny B. Badd character in WCW. He was initially reluctant to offer Mero a guaranteed contract, but he changed his mind when Mero’s WCW deal expired in 1996.
Marc Mero on Sable’s success causing jealousy backstage
Marc Mero’s ex-wife, Rena, went on to become known as Sable in WWE. Although she was not a wrestler, she held the WWE Women’s Championship for 175 days between November 1998 and May 1999.
Looking back, Mero understands why his WWE co-workers were unhappy with Sable’s title victory.
“And of course, then they’re pushing Sable to the roof,” Mero added. “I mean, her merchandise sold just under Steve Austin’s. It was incredible how well she was doing with everything. And not everybody was happy. Of course, when they made her a wrestler, made her a world champion, it didn’t sit well with a lot of people either.
“So there was a lot of things that at the time you’re in it, you’re not seeing it like you do when you step back and go, ‘Wow, I can understand why people would be upset or mad or whatever.’”
Marc Mero and Sable divorced in 2004 after 10 years of marriage. Sable has been married to one of WWE’s most well-known stars, Brock Lesnar, since 2006.
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