MR. TITO: WWE Smackdown’s Attendance Decline is an Indicator for PAIN for WWE and TKO
As I stated in my LAST COLUMN, I’m not going to write unless there exists something important in the world of pro wrestling to discuss. The recent drop in WWE Smackdown’s attendance is an alarming event for WWE and its TKO Corporation that merits my return for today only and I will only write when a legitimate topic peaks my interest.
And this column is actually a follow-up to columns that I’ve written for the past year or so. For example, on October 16th how Netflix may have severely overpaid for a WWE product in decline. They are paying $500 million per year for a RAW show that has already lost 1.4 million viewers WORLDWIDE, while also getting denied the opportunity to also host Premium Live Events when WWE took ESPN/Disney’s money instead to host PLEs.
However, I’ve been all over WWE’s push the jack-up ticket prices to live WWE events.
10/25/24 – The Economics of Higher Ticket Prices for WWE Wrestlemania 41 in Las Vegas
1/12/25 – Will WWE’s Rising Ticket Prices Have Harmful Effects on its Loyal Fanbase
3/20/25 – ASK TITO: Follow-Up on Rising WWE Ticket Prices
9/19/25 – Wrestling Fans Need to Stand Up to the Price Gouging and Uncaring TKO Owned WWE
So yeah, I’ve had you covered here at NoDQ.com regarding WHY the WWE was raising ticket prices. In summary, it’s based on YOU the Consumer enjoying the WWE product and being more willing to pay for it, WWE expanding its product with more live event opportunities which drives up operational costs, cost of venues going up in price, and what was a rebounding economy through 2023 and 2024 following COVID-19 and the excess liquidity from the 2020-2021 policy responses that drove up inflation.
However, here were are in November 2025 and several things have changed.
• WWE Smackdown’s live attendance for its television shows has cratered. According to Wrestlenomics (Source), WWE Smackdown’s live attendance averaged 11,018 during the 3rd quarter 2025 but has since averaged 6,814 so far from October to early November.
• The economy is in rougher shape. ADP not only reports slower job growth for 2025, but 3 out of the last 5 months have seen NEGATIVE job growth. Challenger’s job report showed over 150,000 announced job cuts for October 2025 alone, while reporting that 2025 has seen the highest amount of job cuts, by a wide margin, versus what was seen during our last recession of 2020. Moody’s economists project that 22 out of 50 states are in a recession right now with more to potentially follow soon.
• Inflation has yet to go away, increasing in some places. The recent CPI Report shows a moving 12 month number of 3.0%, which is just at the tip of the Federal Reserve’s comfort level on inflation. This number would be higher hand it not been for gasoline prices reducing because the supply increased due to few shipments made by trucks while apparel sales are down with consumer’s cutting back on their spending at retailers, malls, or shopping centers. Food is up 3.1%, Electricity is up 5.1%, piped gas utilities are up a massive 11.7%, shelter (or housing) is up 3.6%, and medical services is up 3.9%. Who can afford increased ticket prices at WWE events?????
Now, one could argue that WWE Smackdown being on Fridays is an issue during the end of the third quarter and throughout the fourth quarter. I 100% agree, as people would rather attend high school sports or go out on a date rather than watch WWE programming on USA Network. HOWEVER, the drop in live attendance for Smackdown hasn’t dropped like this during prior years. For example, 2024’s 3rd Quarter had an average of 11,982 while the 4th quarter 2024 dropped to 10,156 (source). Compare that, again, to a drop of 11,018 for 3rd quarter 2025 (which is lower versus 2024) to the current average of 6,814 through October and early November. Sorry, but losing over 4,000 attendees is greater than losing about 1,800.
Yes, you may counter my argument because according to Wrestlenomic’s numbers, WWE RAW is doing well on attendance and is in fact growing. Hey, you got me and you make a great point… But WWE has obviously shifted over its top stars to RAW rather than having them appear on Smackdown. Since John Cena’s feud with Cody Rhodes, he’s appeared more on RAW. Roman Reigns is exclusive to RAW, if and when he actually appears. Thus, that leaves WWE Smackdown with Cody Rhodes as the main star to hopefully draw viewers. Well, as you saw during 2024 after Wrestlemania 40, viewership AND attendance did, in fact, fall through the end of the 2nd quarter and 3rd quarters of 2024 with Roman out and Cody carrying the ball in his feuds with Logan Paul, AJ Styles, and the Solo-led Bloodline. Even with Roman back, the dreaded 4th quarter saw no rebounds for 2024. Now with Smackdown on the USA Network, it went from being on over 100 million households on FOX to maybe 60-70 million for USA Network.
But, WWE has toured more internationally lately to help pump up some of those RAW attendance numbers… And the FACT remains, as I wrote in this column, RAW on Netflix has already lost 1.4 million viewers and keeps declining worldwide on viewership.
For wrestling fans to be WILLING to depart with some of their income to attend WWE events, the quality of the shows has to be there. While it’s been nice to have John Cena back for 1 more year and CM Punk functioning again without injury, the WWE doesn’t have the magic that it once had during 2022-2023 when the Bloodline was on absolute fire with the combined group of Roman, Heyman, the Usos, Sami Zayn, and Solo. Those first 4 months of 2023 mattered, as Royal Rumble was on fire and Wrestlemania 39 is arguably a Top 10 (maybe 5) Wrestlemania. After that, the group disbanded and limped along until The Rock came along and breathed new life into it with “Hollywood Rock” returning. The thought was that maybe we’d get Rock vs. Roman for Wrestlemania 41, but we didn’t and we may never unless the Saudi Arabia check is big enough for Wrestlemania 43.
Since 2023 and with TKO fully owning the WWE, thanks to Vince McMahon forcing the sale of the WWE company to Endeavor, we’ve seen an erosion with the WWE. Like TKO’s other owned entity, the UFC, the emphasis was taken away from the performers and more towards the brand. What the folks at Endeavor, who created TKO as a subsidiary to corporately manage WWE and UFC, want is a product that’s accepted by the mainstream that attracts corporate sponsors. Once Endeavor hooks them in, then sponsors go everywhere. UFC have been littered with sponsors and corporate whoring for years, but now it’s happening to WWE. Ask any loyal UFC fan about the current product, and they’ll tell you the same thing that WWE has become. Too corporate, gouges on ticket prices, shows are getting harder to access thanks to increased paywalls, and nickels and dimes you on everything.
However, according to Nick Khan, ”we’ve increased prices appropriately with the marketplace”.
But WHO is the market place now?
Corporate sponsors and high rollers.
Have you attended any MLB, NFL, or NBA games lately? How are those ticket prices? How are the parking prices? How are the food prices? How are the merchandise prices? UFC is now in this class an overpriced experience, too.
If you’ve noticed the economy for the past 10 years, it has literally split into two classes. Corporate interests and upper class income earners, and then everyone else. Go look at the delinquency rates and charge-offs on credit right now. Consumers are struggling, but businesses are low on debt and operating like clockwork. Any increases in prices can be easily passed on to the Consumers, which is why their increases in utilities, property taxes, tariffs on imports, and other increased costs aren’t seen by them but are impacting Consumers directly through higher prices.
And WWE is passing along their increased costs to their Consumers, too.
And Disney/ESPN are, too, as the $29.99 and reportedly increasing price for 2026 will impact many WWE fans who just want to see the WWE’s best events which used to be priced at around $10-15 on Peacock and $9.99 on the previous WWE Network.
Anytime Netflix signs a big deal, their prices go up and in fact, they did right after they signed the WWE deal. Now that they are losing viewers, it will become an even larger expense to Netflix especially as they have desires to obtain the NFL or possibly Warner Bros, among many other content opportunities.
I still say that the full impact of selling Royal Rumble 2026 and Wrestlemania 43 hasn’t been felt by WWE’s fans just yet. Both the Rumble and Wrestlemania were events that many wrestling fans traveled to, both domestically and internationally. Just flying and then traveling around Saudi Arabia isn’t the easiest thing to do compared to other countries. Those were events that many WWE fans saved up to attend and used their vacation days as an annual ritual. Now, they can’t attend it because traveling to Saudi will be expensive and restrictive.
My main issue with TKO is by obtaining MORE money from TV deals, Corporate Sponsors, and Saudi Arabia, why do you need to raise ticket prices?
And why aren’t you paying wrestlers much more?
This decline in WWE’s Smackdown attendance is a “canary in the coal mine” moment. Wrestling fans are rejecting the secondary show and WWE is sustaining RAW’s attendance by placing their bigger stars there. However, that ship is sinking, too, as John Cena will be gone after 2025, CM Punk will be another year older, and Roman Reigns is unfortunately on the downslide of his career because Hollywood has his attention and he never got that big victory over the Rock, the last big accomplishment and feather in his cap.
If WWE fans are rejecting the gouging ticket prices for John Cena’s final event, they surely will reject the absurdity of ticket price gouging happening for Wrestlemania 42, WWE’s attempt to double-dip on Vegas money. Have you seen reports on Las Vegas lately? It has become a ghost town based on its price gouging. Travel, hotel occupancy, and overall visitor numbers are all down and there is no end in sight to course-correcting the price gouging causing that. And WWE has zero intentions of lowing prices for Wrestlemania 42, either.
Floor seats for Wrestlemania 42 are selling between $3,000 and $20,000 per night, depending on what type of packaged you’ve purchased (double those prices to attend both nights). $300-$900 per night in the nosebleeds, and double those if you attend both nights.
WWE and TKO are raising prices on a declining product… But with the massive TV deals firmly in place for the next 5 years, they’ll keep raising those prices because WWE already as its money and getting any fools to take the bait on live events is just gravy to them.
Want to take a stand? Boycott attending live events, and REFUSE to watch RAW and Smackdown on the official networks that air them. Pick and chose when you want to spend the money on PLE events, too, while cutting back on the overpriced WWE merchandise thanks to Fanatics. THAT simple, and bookmark NoDQ.com to keep up on what is happening as Aaron Rift has to pay for all of this overpriced WWE crap. Let him pay, and just enjoy our website… That simple.
Until you adequately respond to a price gouger as a fully informed and disciplined consumer, they’ll screw you every time.
WWE isn’t worthy of these higher prices UNLESS they can find a brand new draw in their developmental system who can replace the top stars like Cena, Reigns, Punk, Seth, or Cody. Nobody that WWE has added to their roster, nor anybody on the NXT roster, can replace them at this moment.
Rude awakening may be coming during 2029 when Netflix opts out of the RAW deal that they signed, and then there won’t be anyone willing to pay $500 million per year for a PLE infomercial, nor will anybody be willing to attend an event in-person due to quality and prices.
Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ