Bad news for WWE fans

There is some bad news for WWE fans. A week ago a fan confronted WWE President Nick Khan at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights about the company's high ticket prices for its events.

Khan said that he understood the concern, raising hope that there might be some relief for fans in the coming months. However, a statement by TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro indicates fans should expect a further increase in the prices.

During the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, Shapiro discussed WWE’s live event pricing strategy and said it had work to do on its "ticket yield" compared to UFC.

"We know we have more room to go. Why do we know that? UFC is breaking records everywhere they go. 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. We see what we can do with the UFC and we’re replicating that in terms of ticket yield and advance sales when it comes to OnLocation on the WWE side. It’s really working out well,” he said. [H/T: Fightful]

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Shapiro mentioned that WWE saw a meaningful increase, as "evidenced by the 59% margin we did in the second quarter." He said that ticket sales and site fees "play a big part" in driving that.

WWE's high ticket pricing is yielding beneficial results for them. The second quarter of 2025 reportedly saw its live event and hospitality revenue at $185.7 million, an increase of $41.4 million for its year-over-year comparison.

Hence, fans can expect the prices to remain the same in the near future with a likelihood of a spike.

Vince Russo criticized WWE for exorbitant ticket prices

WWE has faced criticism from fans for high ticket prices. The recently announced prices for Wrestlepalooza continue that trend.

Front row seats near the ring have been listed at $5,988. Last month, talking on Sportskeeda's BroDown podcast, Vince Russo criticized the pricing for WWE events. He pointed out data that showed that a significant number of households in the U.S. are making less than $30,000 annually and questioned who will buy these tickets.

While the concern remains genuine, given Shapiro's latest statement, it does not look like WWE will be coming down on the high ticket prices anytime soon.

About the author

Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.

While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.

Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.

If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.

When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.

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Edited by Sherjeel Malik