MR. TITO: WWE Fans Could Learn from the ABC/Disney Situation with Late-Night Comedian Jimmy Kimmel

Note: This is a companion column or a sequel to what I wrote on 9/19/2025 entitled “Wrestling Fans Need to Stand-Up to the Price Gouging and Uncaring TKO-Owned WWE”. Have you seen the news? Jimmy Kimmel is returning from his ABC suspension to continue his late night comedy show on Tuesday 9/23/25. This came after ABC suspended Jimmy for his commentary on Charlie Kirk’s killer, as with time, there was a social media response that bubbled up to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr who challenge ABC to respond according to “do this the easy way or the hard way”. In response to that, Nexstar Media Group, who owns multiple ABC stations, tried to butter up the FCC Chairman by offering to pre-empt Kimmel’s show as they have a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna Inc. to form a bigger corporation who owns more stations together. Sinclair (former owners of Ring of Honor) also jumped in on the pre-empting action while also demanding an apology from Kimmel to Kirk’s family and a donation to Kirk’s company. ABC felt the pressure of its affiliates and opted to suspend Jimmy Kimmel “indefinitely”.

ABC is owned by Disney… Since Kimmel was suspended for providing his first amendment rights on their broadcast airwaves, the response by consumers has been swift:

– Disney parks over the weekend were filmed and it appeared that fewer people were attending (and those parks price gouge like hell, too)

– Many celebrities, film producers, and writers were about to boycott ever working with Disney or any of its side studios.

– Various protests have been held outside Disney’s corporate offices or studios.

But last but not least…

– MASSIVE Disney+ or Hulu cancellations by subscribers, many of them being long-time users of the service. The website for Disney Plus literally crashed because there were so many people rushing into the website to cancel their subscription(s).

The latter point could have a big impact in the new ESPN+ app that was just launched, as that app is being bundled initially with Disney+ and Hulu. ESPN+ just streamed its first WWE event, WWE Wrestlepalooza, which the own ESPN website gave a “C” grade.

Look, we could get into the politics about “cancel culture”. ABC has a history of quickly censoring speech, opting to remove people off the air rather than (a) suspending them and (b) giving them some chance to make it right. Bill Maher was nailed from his Politically Correct show for something he said on-air, while Rosanne Barr was terminated from her comeback show for stuff she was tweeting against a public official. Whether you agree or not with Maher, Rosanne, or Kimmel, they should at least be given a chance to explain or even apologize if they went too far. ABC, especially when backed by Disney, is quick to swing that hatchet.

Except this time… MONEY SPOKE, as Disney was estimated to potentially lose $4 billion in potential revenue and stock equity based on the backlash from Jimmy Kimmel being suspended “indefinitely”. Of course, Disney could be getting themselves into more trouble, as they’ll need the merger of the NFL Network and ESPN to be approved by the same FCC and current administration.

But let’s get away from that… The POINT IS that you, the CONSUMER, had power and CHANGED THE OUTCOME.

THAT is what I was challenging all of in the prestigious Internet Wrestling Community to do in my LAST COLUMN. Grow a set of balls and STAND-UP to the greedy TKO corporation who is not only price gouging the hell out of you as a wrestling fan, but allowing vendors like Ticketmaster for live events and Fanatics for merchandise to rip you off while forcing you to be a customer of Netflix and Disney’s ESPN+ to further price gouge you. I estimated that your television viewership between 2024 and 2025 would cost $30 more per month to be a viewer of all things WWE.

But you can make TKO and WWE pay…

Now, I am NOT encouraging piracy… I am 100% against that. If you are stealing someone’s art or entertainment that they spent time and money to produce to be consumed, that is THEFT and that’s on your conscience for doing it. Plus, if you get caught, that’s your fault…

No, what I’m encouraging is to DO WITHOUT.

Don’t watch RAW, as that will harm WWE’s relationship with Netflix and possibly cause the 5-year clause to be enacted by Netflix. Clips of RAW are all over Social Media and YouTube by WWE.

Don’t watch Smackdown, as that will impact WWE’s ability to push up cable/satellite TV rights which costs you more money with your cable/satellite service. Clips of Smackdown are all over Social Media and YouTube by WWE.

Don’t obtained ESPN+, period, or at least for all events. Maybe just buy the service for the big 3 Pay Per Views (Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam). By the way, clips of PLEs are also all over Social Media and YouTube by the WWE.

And if you don’t like Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania 43 going to Saudi Arabia, then don’t watch those shows. Saudi Arabia paid $100 million, reportedly, for Wrestlemania 43. Do you think that money will go to any of the wrestlers? Will earning more there cause the WWE to lower its prices on other products? NO IT WON’T!!!!

Screw the WWE’s merchandise. Their toys suck, their shirts are cheaply made, and the replica belts are overpriced and take up too much of your space! They are price gouging the hell out of you.

It’s 2025… It’s easy to follow a wrestling promotion without cutting off your arm and leg to do so. Just follow WWE’s official social media accounts, YouTube account, and follow great wrestling websites like NoDQ to keep up on the latest and greatest news/results. Literally that simple and you’ll save tons of TIME and MONEY.

Did you see the prices yet for the 2-day packages for Wrestlemania 42, which was moved to Las Vegas from New Orleans in order for TKO to squeeze additional bucks out of this event? In case you missed it… (Kudos to PWInsider for the information)

Section A1 on floor – $8,998.00

400 Section – $854.15

THAT is a rip off… On top of all of that, Las Vegas has been price gouging the hell out of visitors on flights, nickeling and diming people on hotel rooms, travel, fees, higher food and beverage prices, and fewer complimentary items for staying in the city. Visitation has been significantly decreasing this year, which is why, I believe, Las Vegas overpaid to give the WWE a second straight year there for Wrestlemania. Had to be a massive check, as the event moved out of New Orleans and they were heartbroken over it. However, the cost to Las Vegas to get WWE back for a second straight year is going to be eaten by not just anyone attending Wrestlemania 42 next year, but anyone traveling to Vegas right now.

Again, DO WITHOUT… Make the WWE pay for letting the greedy bastards at Endeavor causing their TKO holding company to screw YOU, the consumer, out of your hard earned money. After all, if was YOUR loyal support of the WWE for years that built this great promotion for Endeavor to purchase. Shouldn’t you get rewarded for your loyalty rather than being price gouged even further?

WWE has seen massive revenue increases for its new NBC/Universal Smackdown deal, Netflix RAW deal, CW brand new deal for NXT, various Saudi event deals including Rumble and Wrestlemania, deals with United States cities to host WWE events, deal with Fanatics to distribute merchandise, and SO MANY SPONSORS all over the WWE ring and pimped all over each WWE event.

When will the cost savings be translated to you, the loyal WWE fan?

When will wrestlers get paid more?

WWE released wrestlers this year, yet they had a metric ton of cash coming in to afford contracts like R-Truth that were larger because he was a long-time company man who earned multiple promotions. They still cut many wrestlers or let their deals expire.

You, as a fan, are paying more to simply watch the WWE than ever before. You’re paying more to attend WWE events more than ever before. Merchandise costs are BRUTAL. And you’re also asked to watch 6-8 hours of weekly WWE content on 3 different platforms and then watch PLEs once a month on an entirely different platform.

And don’t give me Vince McMahon “looked out for the fans”. It is a FACT that Vince McMahon started the deals with Saudi Arabia. It is a FACT that Vince McMahon forced the sale of the WWE to Endeavor. Literally the same week that the Netflix deal was announced, Vince McMahon’s lawsuit with Janel Grant dropped which means that Vince McMahon was there negotiating that deal. Fact is that he switched the classic $9.99 WWE Network to Peacock, which cost up $5 more if you wanted it commercial free than it did before.

FACT is that Vince McMahon couldn’t charge the higher ticket prices because his Creative SUCKED during the 2010s and the COVID-19 pandemic eroded his live events during the early 2020s. The bounce-back after the pandemic plus the Bloodline actually drawing caused the live event boom that you see to day. FACT is that ticket prices for WWE were steadily going up during 2022, 2023, and through early 2024 when Vince was around to make executive decisions. While Vince didn’t put sponsors on the holy ring, he sure as hell put them on everything else. Every Pay Per View had a sponsor, and wrestlers where whoring themselves out for sponsors. I still have nightmares about the Miz and Dolph Ziggler doing those KFC commercials.

And, Vince McMahon had multiple NDA settlements with multiple women. Why do you McMahon marks constantly defend this bad man?

Vince McMahon sold to Endeavor because he wanted their help to make WWE a cash cow just like UFC had become. FACT. And that includes doing the same exact thing that UFC has been doing for years, and that has been equally price gouging their fans.

So, wrestling fans, GROW SOME SACK and learn do DO WITHOUT…

Disney fans are doing that right now, and unlike the WWE’s situation of just purely being too corporate and price gouging, the situation with ABC and Jimmy Kimmel is heavily entangled with the Federal Government. You’ve got battles over broadcast licenses, billion dollar mergers, NFL rights, and a backlash from the other political side to how the other political side responded on the way…

This WWE protest over its corporate greed is easy by comparison… Your actions just screw the WWE and force it to change its ways.

– Not watching RAW lowers Netflix viewership, threatens the 5-year opt-out.

– Not watching Smackdown lowers USA Network’s viewership, threatens the next Smackdown deal.

– Not watching all of the WWE’s PLEs on ESPN+ causes Disney to re-think their app and how its being priced.

– Not attending WWE events causes live events to be unprofitable, especially in relation to larger arena lease agreements.

– By not purchasing merchandise, it causes inventories to pile up and forces price cuts to clear out excess inventory (called a “clearance sale”).

Oh, you don’t think that you have power right now?

Let me remind you of these FACTS:

(a) Netflix has over $14 billion in debt
(b) Comcast reportedly has around $100 billion in debt (holy cow!)
(c) Disney has over $36 billion in debt
(d) Endeavor has over $7 billion in debt, while TKO itself has around $3 billion in debt

GEE, why is it that each of these corporations are raising prices for their services or squeezing in as many advertisers as possible?

If you keep letting them take your money, you deserve of feeling the effects of “No Vaseline”.

Don’t watch RAW, don’t watch Smackdown, don’t attend live events, don’t buy merchandise, sparingly watch PLEs, and just follow the WWE through its own social media accounts or YouTube. And then, of course, following great websites like NoDQ to remain informed and let our good buddy Aaron Rift “try before you buy” on your behalf. Let him pay for this overpriced crap and then you can check it out later.

You’ll save MONEY and TIME with that simple plan, while teaching TKO a valuable lesson that WRESTLING FANS MATTER and your corporate greed sucks!

Again, if you don’t believe me, just watch Jimmy Kimmel return tomorrow night DESPITE the massive corporate and governmental pressure that is being applied. Doesn’t matter, consumers WON.

You can win too, wrestling fans, if you just learn to DO WITHOUT on WWE products and services.

And trust me, the quality of WWE programming through 2025 is NOT worth the high prices that they are charging. Creative peaked through 2023 and WWE has been riding on the fumes of that ever since.

You’re welcome for the sound advice, as always.

Follow me on Blue Sky!

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ