U.S President Donald Trump was paid an eye-watering amount for an appearance at WrestleMania, and his contract reportedly included a ‘special clause’.
Before Trump, 78, entered the world of politics, he would regularly be spotted at sports and entertainment events around the world.
And this was the case back in 2007 when the now-President made an appearance at WrestleMania 23.
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He and WWE co-founder Vince McMahon each selected a wrestler from the company’s roster to represent them in a match dubbed “Battle of the Billionaires”.
Trump’s selection was Bobby Lashley while McMahon opted for Umaga, and the former reigned victorious, meaning the WWE boss had to have his head shaved by Trump.
As you may have expected, for Trump to run the risk of such a public embarrassment, he was paid handsomely.
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As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Trump had no intention of shaving his head even if Lashley had lost, as he had his team review his contract to "ensure that under no circumstances would McMahon be allowed to shave his head, even if Mr. Trump's wrestler dropped dead in the ring".
The claim was made by a member of the team who supposedly reviewed the contract.
And due to the fact that the event was a success and attracted huge numbers on pay-per-view television, Trump was paid an extra $1m as a bonus, taking the total amount to around $5m, which was given to the Donald Trump Foundation.
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According to WWE journalist Bryan Alvarez the show grossed the most PPV buys of any programme up to that point.
"There were a lot of matches on that show," he said via BBC.
"But people were super into the idea of one of these guys getting their heads shaved."
Two years later, in 2009, Trump made another appearance in the WWE as part of a storyline where he had bought the “Raw” brand, and as a result, he reportedly pocketed $100,000 as well as another $1m donation from McMahon to his charitable foundation.
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And despite their clash at WrestleMania, Trump and McMahon have had a close relationship for many years, so much so that he chose Vince's wife, Linda, to be secretary of state for education back in 2024.
Topics: Donald Trump, WWE, WrestleMania, Vince McMahon, Bobby Lashley
Luke Alfred Davies