It is the second straight year that WWE held its biggest event of the year in Las Vegas. Last year’s two-day event generated record revenue for the company.
Instead of moving on to another city (ahem…New Orleans), it decided to roll the dice one more time with Las Vegas. It seemed like a great opportunity to capitalize on something that worked. But the city is wrought with stories of people gambling one hand, one roll, one night too many.
Ticket sales were sluggish this year due to a variety of reasons. Last year was a letdown, as it ended with Travis Scott as part of the biggest storyline of the weekend. Moreover, it did not produce The Rock despite being the architect of the Jon Cena “heel turn” which had to be rewritten because of the lack of direction.
The economy, the lack of interest in the product or story lines and the high ticket prices are all culprits as to why Wrestlemania tickets sales are falling behind. Certainly the ticket prices are a major talking point with TKO. Both WWE and UFC events have been criticized about the ticket prices. UFC 327 in Miami had the lowest gate for a UFC event at the Kaseya Center. Wrestlemania ticket sales have been low compared to last year.
Notwithstanding the issues, WWE won’t be going bankrupt anytime soon. One need only look at TKOs earnings and know that it may not be growing at record rates, but its still making a healthy profit.
But, its clear that when WWE has multiple ticket discounts throughout the buildup for Wrestlemania, and actually advertises it on its shows, ticket sales are sluggish. Instead of hiding the issue, WWE included it in story lines as CM Punk called for WWE to lower its ticket prices so that families can watch the product. Also, Pat McAfee announced that ticket sales for Saturday’s Wrestlemania would be discounted through the Monday before the big event.
For the “firesale,” WWE indicated that ticket sales have “surged” leading up to the event.
Being at the event this weekend, I can say that people are still spending. At WWE World, there are giant lines for photo ops with the talent. WWE Replica Belts, which go for $600-$750, are selling at a big pace. You can’t walk around the Vegas strip without seeing an individual walking around with a WWE belt. There are throngs are people still here with WWE shirts on that are enjoying the festivities.
Regardless of what you read on social media, fans are still fans. They will spend the money for things that they like. Similar to sporting events, fans will fork over hundreds (and thousands) of dollars to travel for events. They’ll buy the tickets and the merchandise because it makes them happy. Yet, its hard not to think that WWE is throttling its own fan base by gauging prices to the point it makes it hard for people to come to these events. TKO’s thirst for squeezing out every dollar out of its fan base can be seen as great for its shareholders, but bad for its customers.
The call to include Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll in key parts of the buildup to Wrestlemania’s Night One main event is off-putting if you believe that it was not WWE creative that came up with the McAfee/Jelly Roll storyline. Did it not learn from the Travis Scott debacle last year? This part of TKO meddling in the creative process seems generated by social media and the need for clicks. Trying to cross-over with mainstream stars that want to play wrestling is a cute sideshow but should not be included in the main event of WWE’s biggest show. Since Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper, pop culture stars have been a part of Wrestlemania, but this differs from the past because of social media that plasters it up to your face each day. Many fans of pro wrestling don’t want the main event muddled with McAfee or Jelly Roll, but this is the new standard for WWE.
We will see how the next two days play out.
Originally posted on Patreon
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