Major Clarification on WWE Scrapping Its Staple PLEs Following Contentious Mark Shapiro Comments About Moving Past Them

An update from Fightful has essentially curbed the misinformation regarding WWE going all-out on introducing new PLEs by replacing the old ones.

Major Clarification on WWE Scrapping Its Staple PLEs Following Contentious Mark Shapiro Comments About Moving Past Them

Mark Shapiro and Nick Khan at WWE WrestleMania 41 [via- WrestleZone]

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TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro recently cited the urge of taking the torch and moving past Vince McMahon-created WWE PLEs. While acknowledging the dynamic nature of WWE’s top brass, including its president Nick Khan and CCO Triple H, Shapiro erroneously stated that they created Wrestlepalooza. The said name came into existence as early as 1995 when ECW held an event under that billing.

Shapiro’s zeal to replace long-existing WWE PLEs with new ones or rebrand them evoked severe backlash from the fans. However, in a noteworthy clarification on Shapiro’s comments, a report from Fightful has affirmed that the TKO executive’s remarks were primarily directed towards monthly PLEs, or simply those that don’t fall under the Big 4 umbrella.

Tentpole events like the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series aren’t expected to go anywhere. While that should’ve been an obvious belief, what Mark Shapiro said certainly caused a lot of stir. But the fans are more than likely to witness a facelift in existing PLE names. The aforementioned Wrestlepalooza event was merely an example of it.

WWE already has location-specific PLEs on its event planner. Take, for instance, Clash in Paris this year, which was named so due to it being held in the French capital. Meanwhile, back in 2022, WWE ran a PLE under the name of Clash at the Castle due to it emanating from the United Kingdom.

It’d be interesting to see if WWE tweaks the name again depending upon which country they’re in. With previous main roster PPV/PLE names like Extreme Rules, No Mercy, and Battleground now being picked up by NXT, the main roster is bound to have some unfamiliar premium live events on its annual calendar.

What is WWE’s stance on its ticket prices touching the exorbitant mark?

While he doesn’t have a say in creative dealings of WWE storylines, Mark Shapiro has already become a typical villain in the eyes of diehard wrestling fans. And why is that so? It’s simply due to the fact that his stance on how pro wrestling should be viewed is completely foreign to the people who’ve actually spent years in that business and have a knack for it.

Nick Khan will remain bullish on WWE ticket prices being high
Nick Khan will remain bullish on WWE ticket prices being high [via- SeScoops]

Shapiro said in a Goldman Sachs Conference in September that WWE is nowhere near the UFC in terms of ticket yields. The TKO president alluded to further increasing the ticket prices of WWE shows to match the financial metrics of its other property. The wrestling fans have already borne the brunt of skyrocketing ticket prices, and Shapiro’s intentions of doubling down on them have only triggered the fanbase even further.

An average WWE ticket that used to cost $60 in 2023 has almost doubled following the merger. A few days ago, WWE president Nick Khan ticked off his fanbase. Speaking on TKO’s Q3 Earnings Call, Mr. Khan noted that they’ve increased ticket prices appropriately with the marketplace. He claimed that the event capacity has remained high despite the hike in ticket prices.

Khan vowed to remain bullish on it despite fans complaining about price gouging. In fact, a fan who met Khan inside Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights event gleefully told the WWE exec that he enjoys their on-screen product and has for a long time but made his point about the ticket prices being a “little crazy.”

Khan quipped if he thought they were too cheap, but the fan laughed it off and made it clear that the prices were high, at least for him. Khan said he understood. However, it seems like he’s not going to do anything about the issue with other TKO board members being hellbent on maximizing the profits.

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