During Wednesday’s investors call to discuss the robust TKO financials from the first quarter of the year, company head Mark Shapiro both acknowledged and went on the offensive around the narrative regarding creative around WWE WrestleMania 42.
Shapiro addressed that narrative and discussion during his portion of pre-recorded remarks on the call, followed by a question later in the Q&A portion where he went further into his thoughts.
In the pre-recorded portion, he said TKO has fielded investor questions “about WWE demand and the state of creative, driven by online commentary and the year-over-year WrestleMania ticket sales performance,” saying they weren’t concerned about the sales as it was “unrealistic” to expect WrestleMania 42 to surpass what 41 did.
“As it relates to the creative, there will always be periodic fan dissatisfaction around creative execution, commercial load, and celebrity usage. We listen to all the feedback. We do not turn a deaf ear, but these are not new criticisms,” he said.
During the call, he did not mention, nor was he asked, about how the ticket sales story was brought into WWE creative by Pat McAfee who was one of the celebrities grumbled about on social media.
Later on the the call when asked about creative again, Shapiro said, “We take any and all feedback, especially from our core fanbase….extremely serious, high priority. We listen, we learn. At the same time, balancing the fan experience…with the business of sports is never easy whether you’re talking ticket prices or commercial integration. It’s as old as time and crosses genres.”
At last month’s WrestleMania 42, fans watching at home were deluged with ads throughout both nights of the broadcast, amplified by frustrations with match time.
Shapiro made comparisons about rising prices at the movies, increasing ads on ESPN from one to two minutes on SportsCenter, NBA sponsorship patches, naming rights on the Dodgers Stadium field, and ad breaks for major sports events as things fans have complained about in the past and eventually, learned to live with.
“Change takes getting used to,” he said, adding that WWE is “truly new to commercial integration and sponsorship” and that “change will be more glaring for some as we inevitably commercially integrate.”
He said there will be trial and error with their approach and that they have experimented thus far, pushing boundaries with some events while pulling back from others. He reiterated that with WWE or UFC, “our product comes first” and that marketers want to reach their young, unique, hard to reach and super passionate fan base.
“Remember this: our audience is resilient. We don’t take it for granted. It doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want to do, absolutely not, quite the contrary. But, it is resilient. Currently, we are experiencing record attendance, record viewership, and record engagement,” he said.
Shapiro, someone who appears frequently at major events and is a public face for the company, earned $42.6 million in 2025, according to public records.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez is back with tons to talk about as news breaks throughout the show. We have the latest on Road Dogg being axed from WWE, a RAW creative promotion, WrestleMania selling not tickets and why WWE’s response is misguided, RUSH returns from injury and what he did for his knee, the Dynamite report and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including another WWE class action lawsuit, a look at TNA’s debut on AMC next week and some big stars that have been added to the show, WWE creative team shake-ups, how Bryan is NOT influencing the direction of AEW or anything else, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Meltzer writes that Paul “Triple H” Levesque is the person making all of the key decisions in WWE creative right now. Vince McMahon is currently out of the process, but the term “at the moment” was stressed to Meltzer and it’s possible McMahon’s involvement could change in the future.
Meltzer wrote:
Regarding the creative process, right now Paul Levesque is the person in charge. He’s the one making all the key decisions. Bruce Prichard is a conduit between creative, talent relations and talent services. Ed Koskey is the operations person who keeps the scripts flowing. At the moment, Vince McMahon is out of the creative process, but it was stressed to me the term ‘at the moment.’ McMahon is still the person in charge of the company with the most power but Levesque is running creative and Nick Khan is making the business moves.
Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE became official last month. With the deal, WWE and the UFC have been merged into one publicly traded company named TKO Group Holdings. McMahon has the title of “executive chairman of the board” in TKO.
In addition to running creative, Levesque will be making an appearance on SmackDown tonight (October 13). It’s being billed as the season premiere episode of the show.
It has been a transformative last few months for WWE NXT, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
PWInsider reported more details on the reporting structure Tuesday, including that the creative team no longer is operating independently of WWE as had been the case in the Paul Levesque “black and gold” era.
For now, according to the report, NXT creative will directly report to Bruce Prichard and Christine Lubrano similar to how both Raw and SmackDown’s creative teams operate.
They also reported that longtime creative team member Johnny Russo will head up NXT creative. After moving to the NXT brand in August 2019, Russo (no relation to Vince) had been the lead writer for the brand since July 2020. He had been involved with main roster creative dating back to the fall of 2011.
Additionally, Dewey Foley and Anthony Golden Jr. will remain on the NXT creative team.
The news comes after last week’s developments where William Regal, Brian James, trainers and referees were released due to the “continued evolution of NXT 2.0.”
We’re looking for reports from Raw in Cincinnati tonight with any matches or anything else that’s not on the live show, as well as reports from the Progress Strong Style tournament to [email protected].
We’re looking for your thoughts on both Dontaku shows from New Japan so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from each show to [email protected].
Smackdown and 205 Live are being taped on Tuesday in Louisville.
The WWE European tour opens on Wednesday in Belfast, Ireland.
A brother vs. brother match will be one of the key pieces of All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing card.
After weeks of teases, Dustin Rhodes was confirmed as his brother Cody’s opponent for Double or Nothing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 25. Dustin issued a statement about his status with WWE after the announcement was made, revealing that he had requested his release from WWE and was granted it. Dustin also posted a video where he said goodbye to his Goldust character.
One of the biggest news issues of the year, a double issue, leads off with a basic state of the industry right now. Read about how WWE business fell in the first quarter, what is and isn’t the long-term prognostication, usage of fake stats in business that history shows are meaningless to growth, WWE injuries, WWE getting behind new talent, changes in October, and more.
Read a lot more on Brock Lesnar staying with WWE and not returning to WWE, such as how the ESPN deal has changed things for top stars in UFC, when Lesnar can command so much money, what has happened over the last year with Lesnar, UFC and WWE and more.
Read the update on Money in the Bank and Double or Nothing and the ticket demand for both.
Look at the front runner for 2021 WrestleMania, notes on 2020 WrestleMania plans including what match is off the books, Dean Ambrose becomes Jon Moxley and what that means, update on situation with Luke Harper, The Revival, Gallows & Anderson and others.
Read rundowns on the UFC and Bellator shows this past week, with business notes, how much the fighters got paid and match-by-match rundowns of both events.
Read more on the Japanese legacy of The Destroyer, listing all of his championship matches in Japan, as well as his biggest wins and his infrequent losses in All Japan in the 70s and 80s.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight to talk Raw, XFL, AEW, NJPW Super Juniors and all the other news for what should be a very busy Wrestling Observer Radio show tonight. Only questions on the XFL and its TV deal will be on the show tonight so if you’ve got questions on that subject send to [email protected].
While there has been no official announcement, a number of cable companies are listing Double or Nothing as a regular television PPV event. It’s listed thus far only for cable systems, with nothing announced for Dish or DirecTV, but one would think it would make sense from both sides to be on those systems.
Ryan Callahan, who was the lead writer for the home (the crew that doesn’t travel) team writing crew on Raw was fired. Sean Sapp on Fightful was the first to report this and we confirmed it. We’ll have more on this is the new issue. Callahan clashed with longtime writer Dave Kapoor and Kapoor won the battle.
Sasha Banks has said she wants to do a match with Tessa Blanchard. That will take some work and it’s not likely. I have a feeling WWE will freeze Banks’ contract so long she’ll think she’s in Antarctica.
WWE
Bobby Lashley and Bill Goldberg are going at it on Twitter so that could be the Saudi match.
The Raw crew files out after the show tonight to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the start of the European tour.
Listed for Smackdown tomorrow is Shane McMahon crowning new tag team champions, Ali vs. Andrade, Charlotte Flair & Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. Ember Moon & Bayley & Carmella, plus Mike Kanellis vs. Akira Tozawa in a no DQ match is on 205 Live.
WWE will be involved in the Upfronts on 5/13 from both NBC Universal at Radio City Music Hall and FOX at the Beacon Theater in New York. With most of the talent in Europe for Raw, it’ll be interesting to see who they have as guests.
There is a Table for 3 with wrestler wives tonight after Raw with Reby Hardy (Matt’s wife), Giovanna Angle and Kim Orton.
A lot of WWE talent will be appearing on 5/29 at a benefit show from Samula Anoa’i, who is battling liver cancer. The show will be in Allentown at the Ville Sports Center. Samoa Joe, Michael Hayes and Kassius Ohno will all be appearing at the show.
MISCELLANEOUS
The Super Juniors tournament bracketing and cards will be announced shortly. The information should be out around the time we do our show.
David Starr beat Jordan Devlin to win the Super Strong Style 16 tournament but on the past three days by Progress. There were complaints about so much WWE talent beating the locals with Progress’ affiliation with WWE, but Starr is a non-WWE talent who went over at the end. Heard lots of really strong matches today. (thanks to Karl Giles)
Session Moth Martina will be wrestling for PWA on Friday night in Sydney, Australia.
Slex defends the MCW Intercommonwealth title against Lochy Hendricks on 5/11 in Melbourne.
Robbie Eagles announced he was doing an open challenge for any junior heavyweight on Friday night’s show in Sydney. That’s right before leaving for Japan for Best of Super Juniors. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
Dragon Lee is listed in the main event at Arena Mexico on Friday night. If he’s there, that’ll be his only appearance in Mexico for some time since he’s booked in Japan through Dominion on 6/9.
Ooh La La Lucha from Saturday night in Detroit: Mano de Diablo b Ridiculoso, Joe Coleman & Idris Abraham b Gavin Quinn & Junhtai, Mojo McQueen b Trador & Golden Dragon, Alyx Skyy b Queen Aminata, Ultimo Dragon & Mysterious Movado b Sam Adonis & Gringo Loco.
Gamechanger Wrestling on Saturday night in Summit, IL: KTB won over Nate Webb, AJ Gray & Egotistico Fantastico, JJ Garrett, Isais Velasquez and Reed Bentley, Marko Stung b Tony Deppen, Shane Mercer b Jake Atlas, Orin Viedt b Eric Ryan, Alex Colon b Jimmy Lloyd, Marcus Crane b John Wayne Murdoch, Joey Janela b Orange Cassidy, Nick Gage b Mance Warner to keep GCW title.
Gamechanger Wrestling from Friday night in Asbury Park, NJ: Marko Stunt b MJF, Orange Cassidy b Lucky 13, Mance Warner b Homicide, KTB won over Teddy Hart, Facade, Grim Reefer, Joe Gacy and Pinkie Sanchez, Tony Deppen b Jonathan Gresham, G-Raver b Shlak, Dan Maff b Chris Dickinson, Jimmy Lloyd b Colby Corino, Nick Gage b Joey Janela to keep GCW title. (thanks to Leonard Brand)
The PFL’s first show of the new season takes place Thursday night from the Nassau Coliseum. There will be fights on ESPN+ from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern, and then on ESPN 2 starting at 9 p.m. The main event has changed due to an injury. Kayla Harrison, the two-time gold medalist in judo, will now face Larissa Pacheco from Brazil.
Combate Americas on Friday night from Stockton, CA airs live on Univision at midnight Eastern headlined by Hector Sandoval (14-4) vs. Jorge Calvo Martin (10-4). Sandoval comes from Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, Team Alpha Male’s Erick Sanchez (8-4) vs. Alex Velasco (8-3) and former Bellator champion Zoila Frausto (14-5) faces Simone Duarte (8-1) in a women’s bantamweight fight.
559 Fights on 5/18 in Fresno at the Rainbow Ballroom.
Allisyn Kay, who did not have her NWA title belt, captured the Shine title from Miyu Yamashita earlier today on the Tokyo Pro Wrestling show in Sapporo, Japan. She won with the discus lariat and will return as champion for the Friday night Shine show in Livonia, MI at the Knights of Columbus Hall against the debuting Samantha Heights. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wresetlingwithdemons.net)
The Shine show will be a prelude to Friday’s Evolve show in Livonia, MI at the same building at 8 p.m. on www.wwnlive.com which has:
Austin Theory vs. Adam Cole non-title
JD Drake vs. Joe Gacy for the WWN title
Kassius Ohno & Harlem Bravado vs. AR Fox & Leon Ruff
Eddie Kingston vs. Curt Stallion
Josh Briggs vs. Adrian Jaoude
Anthony Henry vs. Juntai
Anthony Greene vs, Stephen Wolf
Shotzi Blackheart will also be on the show.
There is a tournament on MLW television with Alexander Hammerstone vs. Gringo Loco on this Saturday’s Fusion show, Rich Swann vs. Brian Pillman Jr. on the following Saturday and the winners meeting for the newly created National open weight championship on 6/1 in Waukesha, WI. Tom Lawlor and a mystery partner face the Contra Unit on that show.
Defy Wrestling on Friday night in Seattle at Washington Hall with Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix vs. Schaff & Chris Ridgeway in the main event, plus Josef Samuel & Jacob Fatu defend the Defy tag titles against former champions the Amerikan Gunz, Ethan HD & Mike Santiago plus Tom Lawler vs. Randy Myers. Spectators must be 21 or older to attend.
Sorry to report the death of longtime reader, promoter and hardcore fan Paul Spiegel of Florida, who passed away today from a stroke at the age of 70. Spiegel was involved in the area independent scene and used to attend a lot of major shows and fan conventions. He was a good guy.
A story on the first famous Tupelo concession stand brawl with Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee vs. Larry Latham (Moondog Spot) & Wayne Farris (Honky Tonk Man). (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25
Raw and SmackDown’s post-WrestleMania rosters were confirmed over the past week as WWE held their third annual Superstar Shake-up.
The most notable names to switch brands were AJ Styles and Roman Reigns. Styles had been the face of SmackDown since the 2016 brand split but is now a member of the Raw roster. Reigns had been on Raw since the 2016 draft but was moved to SmackDown in this year’s Shake-up, which comes in advance of SmackDown debuting on Fox in October.
After week one of the Superstar shakeup, things changed again. The who’s and the why’s is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. Also look at what the original plan for Kevin Owens was and why it changed, and also seems to indicate bad news for one of the company’s biggest stars.
Read an updated depth chart for Raw and Smackdown with new rosters and positioning. This also points out problem areas, and we also look at the card for Money in the Bank, and notes on a lot of directions.
Read about C.M. Punk doing a run-in on an indie show, why and what happened.
Also look at the change for the Backlash PPV and how that affects the schedule, how the Saudi Arabian government made WWE look bad once again, analysts bullish on WWE and what their predictions were that missed, update on the next Saudi Arabia show, and more on WWE ratings drops.
This issue contains a rundown of New Japan’s Sengoku Lord show and the booking direction of the company.
Also look at UFC’s return to Russia.
This issue has a lengthy feature on the Viceland documentary on the 1997 Survivor Series, filling in a lot of the pieces regarding who was in on it, how the finish was done, and a look at some of history’s biggest double-crosses.
Read a feature on Mighty John Quinn, one of the greatest heels in U.K. wrestling including the build for his two big main events at Wembley Arena including the record crowd with Big Daddy.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
Additional notes by Joseph Currier
WWE
WWE SmackDown tonight is at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. Raw & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch will square off against Bayley in a one-on-one non-title match. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston will also respond to Kevin Owens turning on him last week, and the SmackDown side of the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches will be revealed.
Drake Maverick announced that 205 Live tonight will have Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese taking on Drew Gulak in a non-title match. It’s a rematch from this year’s Cruiserweight Championship tournament.
Michael James Nelson (NBC’s Off Their Rockers) and Andrea Kail (TruTV’s Comedy Knockouts) have been added to WWE’s creative team, PWInsider reports.
Rey Mysterio made his debut 30 years ago today. He wrote on Twitter: On this day at the age of 14 I made my debut and it’s a very special day in Mexico “ Día del niño” “Day of the Kid” if I had the opportunity to [relive] these 30 yrs I would do it all over again. Thank you to all my fans!! Much love and respect!”. He also spoke about it on WWE’s YouTube page.
Kurt Angle told Wrestling Inc that he has signed a five-year deal with WWE. Angle said he’ll be working as a producer and may make part-time non-wrestling appearances on TV if WWE needs him in that type of role.
Kofi Kingston spoke to The Mirror about being stuck in Dublin, Ireland during the Iceland volcanic eruption in 2010.
Pro Wrestling
Kento Miyahara will next defend the AJPW Triple Crown title against Shuji Ishikawa on 5/20.
Impact will be taping at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City on June 6 and 7.
Jeff Cobb, Jay Lethal, Rush and PCO will face off in a four corner survival match at ROH’s War of the Worlds TV tapings in Villa Park, Illinois on May 12. PJ Black vs. Karl Fredericks has also been added to the tapings.
Joey Ryan announced yesterday that he is having a “Farewell to the Indies” tour: I guess the word is out now. Am I signing somewhere? Have I already signed elsewhere? One thing is certain; my time on the indies is coming to an end so pick up this ‘Farewell’ tour shirt for a limited time only! Get em before I’m gone!”
Kimber Lee opened up on Instagram about joining Alcoholics Anonymous and reaching two months sober.
Rory MacDonald reiterated on Twitter today that he has not retired from MMA, and will face Neiman Gracie at Madison Square Garden on June 14th.
Retired fighter Renato Sobral says that he believes he is showing the first signs of CTE, saying he can’t walk a straight line and has lost sight of his left eye.
Felice Herrig is out of UFC 238 due to a torn ACL that requires surgery.
Greg Hardy says he hopes to fight Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis next.
This past weekend’s UFC prelims on ESPN averaged 720,000 viewers.
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25
