10 Weird (But True) Facts For WWE In 2024

3. Gate Crashers

WWE Raw The Rock Cody Rhodes
WWE

One record that WWE continually broke in 2024 should be celebrated by the company and its shareholders, but it’s hardly the kind of record that should serve as an applause line. 

WWE regularly broke its own arena gate records, setting the mark at Backlash France and then breaking it at two more PLEs: Clash at the Castle: Scotland, and Bash in Berlin. Bad Blood would go on to set WWE’s domestic arena gate record (though it wasn’t clear whether this also set the overall arena gate record). The company also reported that Money in the Bank was the highest gate for an arena show in Canada. And of course, WrestleMania 40 set a record for WWE’s largest live event gate in the company’s history. 

On one hand, WWE being extremely profitable is a good thing for fans of the brand. However, it’s worth noting that these repeated record-setting gates in 2024 were due in large part to exorbitant ticket prices. Rather than achieving these records by squeezing a few hundred more fans into the arenas, the company squeezed a few more bucks from the WWE Universe. 

It also scans as hollow and tone-deaf for WWE to treat a “record gate” announcement as an applause line, bragging to the fans in attendance that they’re responsible for making TKO and its shareholders wealthier. Then again, the fans have responded with seal-like clapping, so it’s hard to solely blame WWE for issuing the proclamation. 

While final numbers aren’t yet out, it’s safe to assume that 2024 will end up being WWE’s most profitable year for PLEs, possibly live events in total, and maybe even overall in the company’s entire history.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.