9 Big Problems With WWE Heading Into WrestleMania 41
1. Complacency, Shortcuts Mask Issues
On paper, WWE is the hottest it has been in nearly a quarter-century. Seemingly every month, they set new gate records. Trips abroad produce wild, energetic crowds filling arenas. They’ve inked a massive deal with Netflix for the next decade. They’re the unquestioned leader in sports entertainment.
And honestly, that might be the biggest part of the problem right now: WWE is too big to fail. The Netflix deal is guaranteed money – a staggering $500 million a year for 10 years – and there still are the deals for SmackDown and NXT. The company is charging more for tickets than they ever have (hence the record gates). And they have other various properties turning in more revenue for their coffers.
AEW is a distant number two in the ratings and in footprint. WWE has programs on A&E. They’ve launched WWE ID to snatch up independent wrestlers. They’re everywhere. And when you’re that big (cliché alert), there’s eventually nowhere to go but down.
If you look closely, there are cracks forming. WrestleMania 41 is on track to be the lowest-attended two-night Mania in the post-pandemic era. Unless they move a good 15,000 tickets these last couple weeks, it will have the lowest single night attendance since WrestleMania 22.
As noted throughout this article, the booking and storytelling has been shoddy at best. The well-crafted, intricate angles and characters that dominated WWE in late 2022 to early 2024 have evaporated. There are indications that WWE is resting on its recent successes, and that’s a dangerous situation.
The impact has been obscured in part due to shortcuts like taking WWE on the road. The European tour this spring, the reliance on PLEs abroad last year and other tactics are smart on one hand, but they also mask the problems with loud and energetic crowds that simply are happy WWE is in their country. Attendance might be holding steady for the most part, but take note if arenas seem quieter. Use your own judgment looking at the feuds heading into their biggest show versus the feeling a year ago.
The combination of complacency and masking can make it difficult to diagnose the problem, which in turn might make it tough to make changes as needed. Time will tell if this is a warning or was a hysterical reading of the tea leaves.