It has been a wild few years in WWE. Some of it has been bad, like the scandals surrounding Vince McMahon, but even that has led to some good. After being forced out, McMahon returned to sell WWE to Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor. This turned into the creation of TKO, a partnership between WWE and UFC. McMahon was eventually pushed out of WWE for good and Triple H took over creative control. New, exciting storylines and characters led to ratings and attendance going way up. Last year, WWE’s success led to three new TV deals, including with Netflix. The company can’t do anything wrong at the moment, yet according to a recent report, employees behind the scenes are very unhappy and morale is at an all-time low. How could this be?
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WWE Had Huge Profits In 2024
The Netflix Deal Is Just One Of WWE’s Wins
- Raw, SmackDown, and NXT all found new homes in lucrative TV deals.
- Saudi Arabia gives WWE $100 million per year.
- The 2025 Royal Rumble had the highest grossing non-WrestleMania gate.
In 2024, all three of WWE’s shows found new homes. SmackDown left Fox for the USA Network for around $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, NXT left USA for the CW at a price of $200 million. Before all of that, there was the big shocker when the news dropped that Raw was going to streaming, as it jumped ship from USA to Netflix for a whopping $5 billion over the next ten years. On top of that, WWE also takes in $100 million a year from working with Saudi Arabia and has huge PLE gates. The most recent Royal Rumble had a gate of $17 million, which is the largest ever for a show that wasn’t WrestleMania.
According to Brandon Thurston Wrestlenomics:
“TKO will report fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings on Wednesday. The parent of WWE and UFC has guided investors to expect adjusted EBITDA—its preferred measure of profit—between $1.22 billion and $1.24 billion for the year, with annual revenue projected between $2.67 billion and $2.75 billion.”
That’s great, right? It is for WWE and TKO, but it’s not for their employees.
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WWE Employees Are Being Left Behind
Many Employees Aren’t Making More Money
- Many employees were laid off following the formation of TKO.
- Stock discounts, initiative programs, and complimentary tickets are all gone.
- Many WWE employees only got a 3% raise.
Wrestlenomics reports that WWE employees working behind the scenes, the actual people who keep the company running, are not happy and “feel increasingly undervalued”. This is because of several moves made against them. First, with the formation of TKO, there were a large number of layoffs in September 2023. On the surface, WWE was doing their best business ever, which they love to tout, while they were also firing people left and right.
Then there’s WWE’s stock program. Before the merger, WWE employees could buy shares of their stock at a 15% discount. After the formation of TKO, stock prices have jumped a very impressive 50% over the past year and a half. That would be a good thing had WWE not ended the stock purchase program as soon as the merger was done. Now, WWE employees can’t get a discounted price to invest in a company that is doing so well.
It’s not all WWE has done away with. There was a peer-recognition initiative program that allowed employees to get points that could be used for bonuses, but that’s gone. Employees used to be able to get complimentary tickets to shows. Kiss that goodbye too. Worst of all is this:
“Employees told Wrestlenomics, however, that WWE’s financial success hasn’t translated into meaningful pay increases. Multiple staff members said they received a 3% cost-of-living raise this year, which they argue hardly keeps pace with the rising living costs in Connecticut and New York, in the region around WWE’s headquarters.”
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WWE’s Top Executives Have Received Large Bonuses
Triple H And Nick Khan Were Given Millions Of Dollars
- Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro received massive bonuses and stock shares.
- The Rock received $9 million worth of stock after WrestleMania 40.
- Many WWE employees have stopped putting in extra effort.
A three percent raise is a spit in the face to WWE’s employees. That right there shows more than anything else just how little they are valued. Meanwhile, according to Wrestlenomics, TKO’s biggest executives are making millions. TKO CEO Ari Emanuel received $20 million after the merger as well as 388,162 shares of stock. That stock is now worth $60 million. He’s getting that while the little guy can’t even get their discounts any longer. TKO’s COO Mark Shapiro received $5 million and $50 worth of stock. As for WWE President Nick Khan, he got $15 million. What about Triple H? Paul Levesque, who is WWE’s Chief Content Officer, received a $5 million bonus. Even The Rock, who is on the TKO board, got $9 million worth of stock after WrestleMania 40. Yet employees are only worth 3%.
Some WWE employees told Wrestlenomics that they’re now working 50–60 hours per week, and there’s nothing they can do about it since there is no union. The frustration is summed up in this comment to Wrestlenomics:
“One WWE employee noted to us that morale has suffered to the point that some staff are less willing to go above and beyond in ways they once did.”
So, the next time you hear Triple H at some PLE post-show press conference talking about how successful it was and how much money it made, don’t celebrate it. That success does not trickle down. It means more money in the pockets of TKO’s biggest execs, but the employees who make it all possible are getting screwed over in the process. It’s beyond shameful.
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