The mid-2000s WWE was an era to behold. While the likes of Edge, Kurt Angle, and Eddie Guerrero were in their peak years, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista were writing the first chapters of their incredible stories.

With this period in WWE featuring one of the most stacked rosters in the company’s history, the financial outlay for talent across the board was understandably high.

The vast majority of Superstars at the time were earning six figures, with some of the more popular wrestlers securing lucrative add-ons to their contracts.

Seven-time Women’s Champion Trish Stratus, bringing in $618,000 in 2006, also managed to negotiate a 20% cut of her merchandise sales. Arguably the most popular female Superstar at the time, that would have earned her a fair few additional pennies. The likes of Ric Flair and Kane also had all of their flights – in first class, no less – paid for by the company.

But when it came down to the most important figure, the actual salary, many fans would expect that the 17-time world champion John Cena would be 2006’s top earner. During that year, he captured his second and third world titles, defeating Edge both times. With these accomplishments, Cena had established himself as the face of the company, a position he would hold for the next decade. But despite his star player status, he wasn’t the company’s biggest earner at the time. Surprisingly, he wasn’t even in the top two.

John Cena Third Highest-Paid WWE Superstar of 2006

However, considering the longevity and prestige of the two Superstars above him, Cena couldn’t be too displeased with his more than ample $1,743,000 salary plus benefits.

Finishing their careers with a combined 21 world titles, Triple H and The Undertaker were deemed WWE’s most valuable assets at the time of Cena’s ascent. Triple H topped the list with his $2,013,000 annual pay. Chief among his additional benefits was access to WWE’s private jet 10 times a year.

The Undertaker was close behind with a cool $1,811,000. ‘Taker continues to be a strong visual presence following his in-ring retirement in 2020. He appeared during WrestleMania 40’s main event, assisting Cody Rhodes in his win over Roman Reigns. More recently, he has featured as a mentor on LFG, WWE’s reality television programme.

Triple H, meanwhile, continues to lead the company creatively, having been CCO of WWE since 2022. He was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for a second time last year.

As for John Cena, who retired from in-ring competition himself at the end of 2025, his rise to wrestling success came from extremely humble beginnings. He earned his first contract with WWE in 2000, and it was far below his seven-figure earnings just six years later.

“My first contract with WWE was $12,000 a year,” Cena revealed to Kevin Hart on his Peacock show Heart to Hart. “I quit my job the day I was signed. I think my rent was $1,000 a month. So all my money is now rent. When I told my mom, she’s like, ‘I hope you’re okay.'”

Thankfully for Cena (and his mum), the WWE legend’s gamble paid off.

Mark Clattenburg is arguably the most famous referee in recent Premier League history. The 51-year-old officiated some of the biggest games in football, including European Championship and Champions League finals. Before leaving England to become Saudi Arabia’s Head of Refereeing in early 2017, he was the best that the top-flight had to offer – and the players (mostly) liked him, too.

Referees have a pretty poor reputation, though, and there are some managers, players and fans who can’t stand them. However, it turns out they aren’t always fond of the footballers they referee either. Clattenburg dealt with some rowdy, over-the-top characters, so it’s only natural that he came across several that he found annoying.

Clattenburg refereed during an era filled with feisty players, many of whom presented a challenge or two. Indeed, in a column for the Daily Mail, Clattenburg – a Premier League official for 13 years – revealed the five most annoying players he presided over.

Craig Bellamy

Described as a ‘nightmare’ to referee

Action Images/Alex Morton

Let’s face it: Craig Bellamy will probably be on most referees’ lists when it comes to the most annoying players they officiated. The former Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United man was known for his hot-headed personality, and he certainly had a tendency to rub people the wrong way – just ask Clattenburg, who said:

He added: “As a referee, it is difficult when you have a problem player like that because you are drawn to him and it’s a distraction.”

Clattenburg had sent Bellamy off while he played for Manchester City in a game against Bolton in 2009, which led to their relationship becoming increasingly strained. The former ref added: “I had booked him for dissent – I could have shown a red, the language was that bad – and I then gave him a second yellow for diving, although replays showed it was a penalty. I was wrong. He went mental, as you can imagine.”

Roy Keane

A player capable of being nasty

Action Images/Tony O’Brien

Roy Keane is another player who was famously a handful. He was known for trying to, and sometimes succeeding in, intimidating his opponents and the officials. The former Manchester United man was always regarded as a tough guy on the pitch, but Clattenburg didn’t like the way he used to try to “bully” referees.

He said: “When he played he was hard to manage. Remember the incident with Andy D’Urso when he screamed in his face, that attempt to bully the referee is what he was like. I do think that came from Sir Alex Ferguson as well, though. It was never about influencing the decision that had gone with Manchester United, it was always about applying more pressure ahead of the next one.

“That was a disgrace, it was premeditated. He always came across as stone-cold and wanted to be the hard man. That causes problems for referees because the ego kicks in, and it becomes a fight, like it did between him and Patrick Vieira.”

Keane’s no-nonsense attitude certainly earned him a few enemies over the years but, on the flip side, it has also helped make him one of the most entertaining football pundits on television.

Pepe

Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine

Like Keane, Pepe was notorious for his aggressive attitude that rubbed a lot of players, fans and, yes, even officials up the wrong way. His antics made him a fan favourite at Real Madrid, but just about everyone else disliked him. Clattenburg wasn’t a fan himself, commenting:

The former ref recalled what it was like to deal with the Portuguese centre-back in the 2016 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, adding: “Everyone always asks about the incident in the 2016 Champions League final when I did that thing with my tongue as he was rolling around on the floor, play-acting. In my head, I was thinking: ‘How soft are you for a big man?’

“He did it twice in that game, trying to get an Atletico Madrid player sent off. Another referee might have fallen for it but I’d done my homework and, while you should try not to pre-judge, I knew exactly what his mentality was like and I needed that knowledge to handle him.”

Clattenburg continued: “He was another player you just couldn’t trust. A game could be easy and straightforward then he would do something sly. In that final Real Madrid went 1-0 up in the first half but the goal was slightly offside and we realised at half-time – it was a hard call and my assistant missed it.

“I gave Atletico a penalty early in the second half when Pepe fouled Fernando Torres. Pepe was furious and said to me in perfect English: ‘Never a penalty, Mark.’ I said to him: ‘Your first goal shouldn’t have stood.’ It shut him up. People might think that sounds odd because two wrongs don’t make a right and referees don’t think like that, but players do. I knew by saying that to him it would make him more accepting of the situation.”

In his prime, Pepe was the sort of player teams wanted to play alongside but despised playing against. His trophy cabinet speaks for itself, though, so he must have done something right.

John Obi Mikel

Clattenburg is still waiting for an apology

Action Images/Tony O’Brien

John Obi Mikel wasn’t exactly known for being a nuisance to officials on the pitch, but it’s a personal incident between the two men that saw him included here. In 2012, Chelsea lodged a formal complaint to the FA after Mikel accused Clattenburg of making a racist comment during a game. Despite being cleared by the governing body, the incident still hurts the official.

Clattenburg said: “I have picked Mikel because of the incident during a Chelsea v Manchester United match in 2012 when he accused me of making a racist comment, which was not right, and I was later cleared by the FA.

“I fell out of love with refereeing for a while after that but couldn’t quit because I had a family to support and no other career to pursue. It all left a bad feeling that still lingers today. Mikel only heard the allegation from his teammate Ramires, who did not speak English. Other Chelsea players have since apologised but nothing from Mikel. He had the chance to say sorry and speak to me about it during a Nigeria friendly in the United States before the World Cup in 2014, and I would have welcomed that, but nothing, sadly.”

There aren’t many examples of Mikel getting on the wrong side of someone like this, but falsely accusing someone of racism and then failing to apologise when they’re cleared is certainly enough to cause a vendetta.

Mikel was given a £60,000 fine and banned for three games following the false claims. Speaking to the Athletic in 2021, Mikel revealed why he still hasn’t apologised.

He explained: “In the heat of the game, players go through emotions. Your colleague said they heard something, but they may not have heard right. Did he say it or not? I didn’t know.

“But if your colleague comes up to you, of course, you’re going to trust what they say, someone you see and speak to every day. So I can’t apologise for something that my colleague said he (Clattenburg) did.”

Jens Lehmann

Arsenal hero would never stop whinging

Action Images/Richard Heathcote

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann sounds like a miserable player to referee. The German had a solid career in the Premier League for the Gunners and played a key role for the club during the 2000s. He was loved by fans of the club but apparently wasn’t someone that referees enjoyed working with. Indeed, Clattenburg believes his penchant for whining actually became a weakness.

The retired ref said: “He was just so irritable and never stopped, one of those miserable blokes who would whinge about everything and everyone. If the ball was round, he would whinge. If the ball was white, he would whinge. You would think, ‘Just give it a rest’.

“He was a great goalkeeper but I honestly think this was a weakness in him and other teams identified that. They would stand on his toes at corners and he would react by pushing them.

Fans are always giving officials a hard time, and sometimes the stick is not entirely undeserved. There have been many poor displays of refereeing over the years, with some terrible mistakes costing teams dearly; however, at the same time, hearing the stuff they have to deal with from players on a weekly basis, maybe it’s time we cut them more slack.

Stats via Transfermarkt

Donald Trump has once again had his golfing abilities called into question after he announced he had won the Senior and Super Senior Men’s Club Championship at his Bedminster golf course in New Jersey.

The octogenarian United States of America president has emerged as a polarising figure on the golf course, where viral videos showcasing the convicted felon’s fairway prowess have captivated social media.

Trump has claimed to have posted a two-under 70 to win the Senior and Super Senior Men’s Club Championship at his Bedminster golf course in New Jersey. According to the president, this is the 43rd Club Championship he has won across his collection of golf courses.

According to the club’s PGA Championship page, Trump won both titles simultaneously in 2023, as well as recording a sole Senior Championship victory in 2024.

Donald Trump’s Controversial Reaction to Golf Win

On his own social media website, Truth Social, Trump was quick to exult in his own bravado.

“I won with a score of 70, and am so honoured in that, unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practise, because I’m focused on many other things.

Following Trump’s triumphant win, however, editor-in-chief of Media Touch and former attorney Ron Filipkowski posted two videos to his X account which have called his claims into question.

The first is a one-minute montage of 13 seemingly easy putts that any semi-good golf player could sink. No person is expecting Trump to make all 13 shots, but his peculiar way of hitting the ball with his putter has fans asking questions online.

One commenter humorously said: “He’s as good a putter as he is a president. Maybe better!”

The second video Filipkowski posted shows Trump on the fairway, looking to chip the ball onto the green.

After having a few tentative swings, the US president squares up to the ball, keeps his eye firmly locked, swings his club back… before shanking the ball far to the right, compounding his distance from the hole.

As these two videos gain traction on social media, Trump’s claim of hitting a two-under 70 has been cast into serious doubt.

This is, of course, not the first time the president has been accused of cheating in his favourite pastime.

American sports writer Rick Reilly’s book – titled Commander in Cheat – has previously suggested that Trump has been known to blur the lines at golf.

“At Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: Pele,” Reilly said in his book.

Trump, however, has denied any allegations of cheating, adhering to his familiar pattern of never admitting a mistake.