As of 2025, John Brzenk's net worth is He is a former American professional arm wrestler regarded as “the greatest” of all time. Brzenk has won over 500 championship titles.

• His victory in the 1987 Over the Top tournament also earned him a tractor-trailer rig valued at approximately $100,000.
• He is universally acknowledged as 'the greatest arm wrestler of all time'.

As of 2025, John Brzenk's net worth is ; he is arguably the richest arm wrestler. Brzenk's dominance in arm wrestling from the 1980s through the 2000s earned him much prize money.

According to reports, he earned over $5 million in tournament winnings alone. Notably, in 2015, he secured a $250,000 prize at the World Armwrestling League (WAL) Championship. His victory in the 1987 Over the Top tournament also earned him a tractor-trailer rig valued at approximately $100,000.

Brzenk loved arm wrestling because of his father, John Brzenk Sr., who was also active in the sport. He credits his strong forearms to genetics. He started arm wrestling during middle school, regularly challenging his peers. In eighth grade, he broke his arm during a match with a close friend of his father, a setback he believed helped strengthen his tendons.

Brzenk became a professional arm wrestler in 1982 at the age of 18. He won his first world championship on ABC's Wide World of Sports TV program a year later.

Between 1982 and 2015, he lost one super match and had a few tournament defeats, most of which occurred later in his career. Among the more well-known losses were bouts against Alexey Voyevoda in 2004 and Devon Larratt in 2008.

Due to his victories over larger opponents, Brzenk earned several nicknames throughout his career, including "The Giant Crusher," "The Golden Boy," "G.O.A.T.," and "The Perfect Storm."

Over the years, Brzenk secured world titles in multiple weight divisions, including four in the heavyweight class and one in the middleweight category. His last major win came in 2015 when he defeated Marcio Barboza in the WAL Heavyweight Championship. Following that victory, he stepped away from the sport to recover from injuries.

In 2018, Brzenk returned to competitive arm wrestling. He faced elite opponents such as Devon Larratt, Khadzimurat Zoloev, and Kydyrgali Ongarbaev across various events. On September 23, 2023, he faced Alexey Voyevoda at King of the Table 8 in a highly anticipated rematch of their 2004 bout, which Voyevoda had won initially.

However, with Voyevoda having been inactive for several years, Brzenk secured a 4–2 victory. After his match against Yoshinobu Kanai, Brzenk officially announced his retirement from the sport.

John Brzenk works as a mechanic for Delta Air Lines. He once mentioned that the role isn’t physically demanding and allowed his arms to recover and rest.

John appeared in the 1987 film Over the Top, starring Sylvester Stallone. Although his role was uncredited, the film is iconic in the arm wrestling world.

His most notable film appearance is in the 2009 documentary Pulling John, where he is the central figure. The documentary, directed by Vassiliki Khonsari and Sevan Matossian, chronicles Brzenk's legendary arm wrestling career and the challenges he faced from a new generation of competitors.

According to an episode of Voice of Armwrestling, there isn’t a fixed salary for professional arm wrestlers. Their earnings depend on the total revenue generated by each event. This includes income from ticket sales, advertising, sponsorships, pay-per-view streams, merchandise sales, and social media engagement.

Depending on the scale of the event and the athlete’s popularity, a professional arm wrestler can earn anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand per match. Top-tier athletes in high-profile events may take home between $5,000 and $20,000 or more.

Final word

As of 2025, John Brzenk's net worth is estimated to be between $1 million and $5 million. His worth has come from decades of competitive success, prize winnings, endorsements, media appearances, and a Delta Air Lines mechanic.

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Source: TUKO.co.ke