8 Ways TKO Has RUINED WWE
5. Ticket Prices
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference in September, TKO COO Mark Shapiro said, "WWE is not where the UFC yet is on ticket yield. We have our work to do there. We know we have a lot of room there because Vince McMahon was primarily pricing tickets for families and wasn’t totally focused on maxing the opportunity there."
Read that again should you need to. The brutal practice of TKO's ticket pricing has resulted in a scenario in which Vince McMahon is the situational babyface. WWE is increasingly not a family event but a luxury item for the very wealthy or very least cash-rich in society.
The market has and will always decide, regrettably. Tickets have been getting out of control for most live events since the pandemic, dynamic pricing has rigged the game against consumers even further, yet people still attend arena shows of all kinds, WWE included. They attended them in incredible numbers over 2023, 2024 and some of 2025 despite the costs, and likely still will for the right shows. This is merely "maxing the opportunities" as far as TKO are concerned, historic working class hobby of pro wrestling be damned.
Randy Orton himself was caught expressing shock at the prices for WrestleMania 41 when informed about them from fans at the WWE talent hotel in Las Vegas. When even the millionaire wrestlers are cartoonishly left in disbelief, what chances do unassuming fans have?