We found out how much revenue WWE, UFC, and other TKO properties brought in during the first three months of 2026 when the Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro-led holding company reported their Q1 financials on Wednesday (May 6).
Those reports are usually accompanied by a call between executives and investors, and it was on that call Wednesday evening that we heard from TKO president Shapiro Wednesday evening. Quotes below are taken from Post Wrestling and Wrestling Observer’s coverage of the call.
Creative criticism and WrestleMania ticket sales
During
a pre-recorded open before taking live questions, Shapiro said TKO received questions from investors “about WWE demand and the state of creative, driven by online commentary and the year-over-year WrestleMania ticket sales performance”.
Regarding the latter, TKO’s president sounded like WWE president Nick Khan did heading into WrestleMania 42. Shapiro said, “We are not concerned about the ticket performance whatsoever, as it was unrealistic to expect year two growth in Las Vegas.” Despite that, he praised this year’s attendance and highlighted “financial incentive package” numbers (money from local governments and business) as “meaningfully ahead of last year.” He also shut down criticism of running the show two years straight in Vegas by saying this year’s ‘Mania still has “one of the highest gates in WWE history”, and that it “easily outperformed anywhere else we could have staged it.”
No one on the call asked, and Shapiro didn’t offer, any details about how ticket sales may have influenced the decision to add Pat McAfee to WrestleMania 42’s WWE title program, or if TKO directed changes to the event’s creative. About criticism of the WWE (and UFC) product from fans and media covering the industry, Shapiro tried to claim their opinions are important before ultimately dismissing most of them:
“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 not turn a deaf ear, but these are not new criticisms.”
Asked about creative again later on the call, Shapiro lumped criticism of that in with criticism of the number of commercials and advertising sponsorships that made up WrestleMania, and make-up most WWE shows under TKO:
“We take any and all feedback, especially from our core fanbase….extremely serious, high priority. We listen, we learn. At the same time, balancing the fan experience…with the business of sports is never easy whether you’re talking ticket prices or commercial integration. It’s as old as time and crosses genres.”
Sponsorships and “commercial integration”
The genre and era-crossing challenge of “balancing the fan experience” was illustrated by examples ranging from rising movie ticket prices, the increasing length of ads on ESPN SportsCenter, sponsor logos on NBA unforms, the selling of naming rights to Dodger Stadium’s field, and increased commercials at major sporting events like the Super Bowl and NCAA basketball tournaments.
“Change takes getting used to,” Shapiro reminded his audience. TKO’s president also refreshed our memories that Vince McMahon insisted WWE not sell ads on things like the ring mat when he was in charge (even a narcissistic sociopath is right twice a day, or something like that) when he said WWE is “truly new to commercial integration and sponsorship”. Getting used to all those marketing tie ins, Shapiro said, “will be more glaring for some as we inevitably commercially integrate” — presumably those who recognize the societal destruction caused by the particular brand of capitalism that America’s come to not only embrace, but champion.
Whether talking about WWE or UFC, Shapiro insisted the “product comes first” for TKO. But it ultimately sounds like no one’s losing sleep over any of these criticisms, and the numbers back up their restful nights:
“Remember this: our audience is resilient. We don’t take it for granted. It doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want to do, absolutely not, quite the contrary. But, it is resilient. Currently, we are experiencing record attendance, record viewership, and record engagement.”
That’s also why Nick Khan and WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s recently received contract extensions and raises. But if you read much about the Q1 WWE numbers, you know they were largely dependent on “financial incentive package” figures. Which is why Shapiro opened the call with…
Saudi Arabia’s commitment to TKO “is unwavering”
Investors had concerns about WWE and UFC’s upcoming slate of lucrative shows in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, mostly because the Saudi Public Investment Fund pulled funding for another big sportswashing play.
Along with confirming that TKO will bring eight more events to the Middle East and Northern African region in 2026, including a “historic TKO doubleheader” on June 27 featuring WWE Night of Champions in Riyadh and a UFC Fight Night in Baku, Azerbaijan, Shapiro said:
Following the news of PIF withdrawing its funding in LIV Golf, our partners in Saudi Arabia have confirmed that will not be the case with TKO. Their commitment to our properties in 2026 and beyond is unwavering.
Saudi shows bring upwards of $50 million each in for WWE, and an unwavering commitment sounds like it means the KSA plans to honor their existing deal, which includes next year’s WrestleMania 43. With revenue like that all-but-guaranteed, we guess we get how Shapiro can write off all the criticism WWE’s received this year as “not new” .
Weigh in on the latest TKO investor call, and any of the WWE topics covered within it, in the comments below.
