The TKO Group Holdings President and COO Mark Shapiro addressed the WrestleMania 42 reaction, including ticket sales and the recent WWE creative backlash.
In recent years, WWE has increased ticket prices for major events. WrestleMania remains the company’s biggest annual show and usually generates huge revenue. However, many fans online criticized the rising prices this year. Discussions around attendance and ticket demand also became part of the conversation.
Fans also criticized some creative decisions tied to WrestleMania 42. One major talking point involved McAfee’s role in the storyline between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. Now, Mark Shapiro has responded to those discussions publicly.
Mark Shapiro says TKO is not concerned about WrestleMania 42 criticism or ticket sales discourse
Speaking during the Q1 2026 TKO earnings call, Mark Shapiro addressed both the ticket sales conversation and the creative backlash. He said, “We fielded some investor questions about WWE demand and the state of creative, driven by online commentary and the year-over-year WrestleMania ticket sale performance. We are not concerned about the ticket performance whatsoever. It was unrealistic to expect year two growth in Las Vegas.”
He also pointed to the financial success of the event. “Even with that, WrestleMania 42 was still one of the highest gates in WWE history and easily outperformed anywhere else we could have staged it. 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 it turn a deaf ear, but these are not new criticisms.” [H/T: Fightful]
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