Perry Saturn has opened up about the circumstances surrounding the end of his WWE career, revealing that injuries, addiction and a dispute over a proposed pay cut all played a role.
Perry Saturn arrived in WWE alongside Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko as The Radicalz in 2000 after the four left WCW. While Guerrero and Benoit would eventually rise further up the card, Saturn’s run included his memorable storyline with Moppy, before injuries ultimately brought his time with the company to an end.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Saturn recalled suffering serious injuries to both legs while teaming with Shawn Stasiak. Saturn said the injuries occurred after he took a chop block during a match and required surgery. He was also struggling with drug addiction at the time and admitted that his condition did not improve while he was away from the ring.
“In that time at home I just never recovered,” Saturn said. “While I was home injured, they decided to cut everyone’s pay.”
Perry Saturn Recalls WWE Pay Dispute
Perry Saturn said he believed Vince McMahon signed The Radicalz partly to get one over on WCW and gave the group lucrative contracts that protected them from pay cuts. When John Laurinaitis approached him about taking a pay cut, Saturn refused.
“He goes, ‘Well, then we won’t re-sign you?’ And I go: ‘Okay, I have nine months left. You’ll have to pay me for nine months.’ And he goes: ‘Yeah, Vince isn’t going to be happy,’” Saturn recalled.
According to Saturn, Laurinaitis contacted him again the following day and told him WWE would pay the remaining nine months of his contract in a single payment, but made it clear the company did not want him to return.
Saturn admitted he was already struggling personally by that stage of his life. Having spent his career focused on professional wrestling, he said losing that part of his life made his problems worse.
“Once I was down, I just didn’t want to get up, so I stayed down for a long time,” Saturn said.
Saturn’s WWE run ended in 2002, bringing his two-year stint with the company to a close.
