I found this video, in-which 10 wrestlers are alleged to have profited more post-WWE than they did during their peak in WWE.
http://youtuberepeater.com/watch?v=9ukMw3x0m_g&name=10+Ex+WWE+Wrestlers+Who+Got+Richer+After+Leaving+CM+Punk+Ryback+and+more
Going by the match frequency and the charge-per-appearance some of those guys do, it seems feasible those listed are commanding a higher hourly wage -- but not annual total wages.
For instance, Ryback charges at-least $4,500 per appearance.
Source:
https://www.inquisitr.com/3406974/ww...wwe-departure/
If he were to wrestle a schedule comparable to what he had done in WWE, then he'd be earning:
$4,500 * 200 matches = $900,000, which would be comparable to his WWE salary.
However, Ryback wrestles about one-fifth of his WWE schedule, which reduces his annual earnings to $180,000.
What I'm saying is that some of the claims in the video seem ill-supported.