WWE and parent company TKO are experiencing another banner year when it comes to ticket sales, merchandising, and in particular, landing multi-billion dollar media rights agreements.
It is more than fair to say, however, that the honeymoon period with Paul 'Triple H' Levesque as WWE's Chief Content Officer has come to an end.
Fans have been more critical of the company's booking practices in 2025 than they ever were during Levesque's previous years in control. The headlining gripe, of course, has been the handling of John Cena's retirement tour.
His shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber was a very promising start, but despite a few glimmering moments — such as his pipebomb promo on CM Punk — many feel WWE has completely dropped the ball with Cena's final run.
That's not entirely on Levesque, as The Rock's abrupt departure from the story left Cena to carry the weight of the entire arc without the lead protagonist that finally talked him into abandoning his principles.
It wasn't working. WWE knew it. Cena knew it and the entire angle was dropped ahead of SummerSlam. However, just as Cena was catching fire with spectacular matches against Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn, the WWE creative team made the conscious decision to have Brock Lesnar squash him at WrestlePalooza.
He'll now face AJ Styles at Crown Jewel this Saturday, with absolutely zero build up on WWE programming. Outside of a few video packages highlighting their rivalry from 2016 and 2017, and Styles quite literally saying on Raw that they don't need a story for this match.
A lack of compelling storytelling overall, especially when it comes to many of WWE's female superstars, has been another cause of aggravation for fans this year.
Even some of the company's top champions have fallen victim to lackluster creative unbefitting of the talent involved. Tiffany Stratton's rivalry with Jade Cargill and the U.S. Title reigns of Zelina Vega and Giulia serving as prime examples.
Distraction finishes and post-match attacks have become heavily leaned on crutches. Almost as though WWE is overly concerned with protecting everyone, that as a result, no one ever truly goes over.
Pacing has been another major issue. Whether that's finding time to consistently feature the WWE World Tag Team Championships during a two and half hour Monday Night Raw, or on a grander scale, effectively moving from PLE to PLE with often just weeks in between shows.
No one is suggesting that the job of Levesque and his creative team is easy, and the product today is still miles ahead of where it was during the latter years of the Vince McMahon era, but WWE reportedly knows improvements need to be made.
The folks over at BodySlam say the company has taken notice of the audience's criticisms this year and meetings have been held recently to discuss how to best adjust the creative process.
"Sources indicate to Bodyslam that WWE is undergoing creative changes to their team to overall improve the product. Road Dogg will continue to be head of creative for SmackDown, but there will be additions to the team to make the show more enjoyable moving forward."
The general consensus is that Raw has consistently been the better of the two brands for some time now. Creative adjustments on the SmackDown side of things should be welcomed news to those who tune in every Friday night.
source: si.com
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October 9, 2025
WWE Reportedly Exploring Creative Changes After Recent Criticism
September 17, 2025
ESPN Will Create Its Own WWE Shows for Coverage of ‘Wrestlepalooza’
ESPN raised eyebrows when it struck a deal with TKO that gave it the rights to show WWE premium live events including “WrestleMania.” Now, the Disney sports giant may surprise further: it’s launching some of its own bespoke programing to accompany the professional-wrestling antics.
ESPN will produce two pre-event shows for the looming “Wrestlepalooza” event slated to take place September 20. An “ESPN Wrestlepalooza Special” will air Friday, September 19 at 3 p.m. on ESPN2 and the ESPN App and a “Road to Wrestlepalooza” show will be available on September 20 at 4 p.m. on ESPN’s social media feeds as well as on the ESPN app.
“Wrestlepalooza” is a new WWE event crafted for ESPN after the two entities struck a new five-year deal that had ESPN getting the rights to all of WWE’s live spectaculars in 2026. But the deal is starting earlier than expected. ESPN will also show WWE’s “Crown Jewel” on October 11, and “Survivor Series” on November 29.
The “Wrestlepalooza” card includes a main event that features John Cena squaring off against Brock Lesnar, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes taking on Drew McIntyre. The event starts at 7 p.m. on September 20 from Indianapolis, and can be seen by ESPN streaming subscribers with an “unlimited” tier subscription and also on the ESPN App.
The new pre-show events give ESPN a chance to meld its talent with WWE performers. Peter Rosenberg will host the “ESPN Wrestlepalooza Special” alongside guest analyst and Indiana Pacer Tyrese Haliburton. Various WWE personalities will also appear. The “Road” show will be co-hosted by actor and musician O’Shea Jackson, Jr. and TJ Jefferson, who host “No Contest Wrestling.” They will be joined by various ESPN and WWE personalities. “Road” will lead into pre-event coverage for the new WWE special.
Even “SportsCenter” will be dispatched. SportsCenter with Elle Duncan hits the road. Anchor Elle Duncan will be on site in Indianapolis ,and her segments covering “Wrestlepalooza” will feature meet-ups with WWE stars.
Katie Feeney, who joined ESPN in August as a sports and lifestyle creator, will offer her own perspective on the event as he attends her first WWE live spectacular.
Meanwhile, WWE personalities are expected to appear on ESPN programs throughout the week leading up the to “Wrestlepalooza.” Among those scheduled to turn up are WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch, AJ Lee, CM Punk, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso, Drew McIntyre and Bron Breakker.
Careful ESPN viewers may have already noticed some activity. Jey Urso appeared on ESPN’s regulary Sunday-night baseball coverage, tossing out a ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park, live on ESPN before a telecast of the New York Yankees taking on the Boston Red Sox.
October 5, 2024
Paul "Triple H" Levesque Reveals Brand New WWE Crown Jewel Championship at WWE Bad Blood
He said that at Crown Jewel, the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion willbe taking on the World Heavyweight Champion, and the WWE Women's Champion will take on the Women's World Champion. He explained that none of the belts will be on the line, but the winners of the two matches will win the Crown Jewel Championship, a large belt Levesque unveiled in the middle of the ring.
November 8, 2022
WWE Internal Memo Touts Crown Jewel 2022 As Most-Viewed International PLE In WWE History
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports that WWE sent out an internal memo to company executives in which it stated that Crown Jewel surpassed Clash at the Castle to become WWE’s most viewed international Premium Live Event of all time.
Per Sapp, the top five most-viewed events WWE has held in Saudi Arabia are as follows:
1) Crown Jewel 2022
2) Greatest Royal Rumble 2018
3) Elimination Chamber 2021
4) Crown Jewel 2021
5) Super ShowDown 2019
WWE also highlighted Crown Jewel’s seven-figure viewership number on Peacock in the United States.
October 22, 2021
WWE Female Referee Makes History At Crown Jewel
WWE referee Jessika Carr made history at today’s WWE Crown Jewel event from Mohammed Abdu Arena on The Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Carr worked two matches on the Crown Jewel card – the Hell In a Cell opener between Seth Rollins and the winner, WWE Hall of Famer Edge, plus the King of the Ring Tournament finals between Finn Balor and King Xavier Woods.
With the matches, Carr became the first female referee to call a WWE match in the Kingdom.
Carr tweeted about the opportunity:
“I am so blown away at the opportunity that I was blessed with tonight. Thank you #CrownJewel I’ll absolutely share more of this in the days to come,” Carr wrote.
Carr was covered up in her referee gear, due to local religious laws, as were the female Superstars competing on the show
After a brief stint on the indies as a wrestler, WWE signed Carr to a deal in 2017, to work as the first female WWE referee since the 1980s. The first full-time female WWE referee in history came to the main roster from WWE NXT in December 2019.
October 21, 2021
August 22, 2021
WWE Announces History-Making Return To Saudi Arabia
June 17, 2020
WWE Lawyer Responds To Former Wrestler's "Crown Jewel" Allegations In Lawsuit
A former WWE Superstar is now a witness in an amended class action complaint against WWE, filed by Firefighters Pension System of the City of Kansas City Missouri Trust, which includes dealings with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Allegations from the still-anonymous former WWE talent matches several claims that had made been made about the Saudi travel debacle that several WWE employees dealt with in November 2019. The wrestler recalled an alleged "hostage situation" where the crew was stranded in the Kingdom. The lawsuit stated that the wrestler worked for the company from 2012 to April of 2020 and participated in the Crown Jewel event last October.
Longtime WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt of the K&L Gates law firm issued a statement to Alfred Konuwa of Forbes today, denying the allegations.
McDevitt noted that three different firms had been on the suits, but the first two dropped their lawsuits to avoid sanction motions. The third firm continued with their suit and that's where the anonymous wrestler was cited.
McDevitt referred to the wrestler as "disgruntled" and said they have no knowledge of the facts. He added that WWE is preparing their response to the lawsuit and will be moving to have it dismissed.
You can see McDevitt's full statement below:
"These false allegations were originally made in two suits filed by two different law firms. After the Court appointed a third firm to be lead counsel, WWE provided all three law firms with specific detailed facts from the persons with actual knowledge of the situation, including the phony allegation about the plane. The first two law firms then dropped their lawsuits to avoid sanction motions, but the third firm chose to ignore the specific facts they had been provided, and instead cited an unnamed disgruntled former wrestler with no knowledge of the facts. WWE is preparing its response to the lawsuit and will be moving to have it dismissed."
June 15, 2020
Multiple Lawsuits Filed Against WWE Regarding Saudi Arabia Deal; Former Talent Supports Original Crown Jewel Flight Reports
Dave Meltzer is reporting on his post WWE Backlash edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that well over a dozen class action lawsuits in the the same vein have been filed by people who have stock in WWE for allegedly misrepresenting to investors the nature of the situation with Saudi Arabia, the television deal being the primary bone of contention.
According to Meltzer, the key to the lawsuits is that the filers have two secret witnesses, one of which happens to be wrestler and another is an employee from the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC) which is the station that was negotiating with WWE for the new TV deal.
The lawsuit filed states that the parties could not agree on basic assumptions of a proposed deal. The MBC witness recalled that “WWE had wildly unreasonable expectations of the revenue expected from a potential broadcast partner. It proposed an $80 million licensing fee and a projection of a 100 million plus over-the-top subscribers which were based on the large number of OSN subscribers who also watched WWE.” (It should be noted that subscribers in this case don’t mean WWE Network, but television subscribers for people in the Middle East who watch WWE)
April 28, 2020
WWE Hit With Multiple Lawsuits On Behalf Of Shareholders, Top WWE Officials Named
WWE and top company officials have been hit with multiple lawsuits on behalf of shareholders.
The class actions mention WWE's recent history with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and make several accusations against top executives in the company, who are named.
The Gross Law Firm recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of shareholders, accusing the company of making "materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose" that they perpetrated a fraudulent scheme. The suit noted that investors would've been affected between February 7, 2019 and February 5, 2020. Full details on the suit are here. The press release on the class action reads like this:
"A class action has commenced on behalf of certain shareholders in World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. The filed complaint alleges that defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: Defendants perpetrated a fraudulent scheme which: (i) deceived the investing public regarding WWE's business and prospects; (ii) artificially inflated the price of WWE Class A common stock; (iii) permitted certain senior executives of WWE to sell more than $282 million worth of their personally held shares at fraud inflated prices; and (iv) caused the public to purchase WWE Class A common stock at artificially inflated prices."
November 4, 2019
WWE and The Saudi General Entertainment Authority Expand Event Partnership
STAMFORD, CONN. and RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, November 4, 2019 – Following the historic Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, WWE (NYSE: WWE) and the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) have expanded their live event partnership through 2027 to include a second annual large-scale event. WWE and GEA also continue to work towards the completion of a media agreement in the MENA region. This long-term partnership demonstrates WWE and GEA’s commitment to bring sports entertainment to the region and supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
September 23, 2019
Shawn Michaels On What Drew Him Out Of Retirement for WWE Crown Jewel
After years of being committed to his decision of not returning to the ring, Shawn Michaels finally came back for one final match at the Crown Jewel event last year.
During a recent interview with State Of Combat Podcast, the former World Champion talked about a number of things and he also revealed the most important reason he chose to do that match.
The Heart Break Kid said that the most important thing about his return was being out there with his best friend Triple H, and it’s the biggest reason he agreed to the match:
“The most important thing to me was being in there with Hunter, more than any reason at all, that is why I did it. As silly as it sounds, I am so fortunate to have the last ride with your best friend in the sunset, which is what I wanted to do with him.”
According to Michaels, he was pretty certain about this but he has always been a bit concerned about saying it out loud in fear that it was the one time he can’t.
Shawn Michaels retired from active competition after he put his career on the line against the Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI and lost the bout.
He returned to the ring for one more match at the Crown Jewel event on November 2018. He teamed up with Triple H to face the Brothers of Destruction at the show and the duo was able to defeat Undertaker and Kane in this bout.
Quotes via WrestlingInc
November 2, 2018
Triple H Set To Undergo Surgery After Suffering Injury At WWE Crown Jewel
WWE has announced that Triple H suffered a possible torn pectoral muscle at WWE Crown Jewel in the main event.
The Game teamed with WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels as DX to defeat The Brothers of Destruction, Kane and The Undertaker. The finish saw Triple H pin Kane to win.
WWE noted that Triple H is headed back to the United States from Saudi Arabia to undergo surgery. There's no word yet on if he will be re-joining the crew for the upcoming international tour but we will keep you updated.
WWE did not say when the injury occurred but it was noted on commentary that a ringside doctor was checking on Triple H after Kane chokeslammed him through the announce table towards the end of the match.
Below is WWE's announcement on the injury:
Triple H suffers possible torn pectoral muscle
During the epic showdown between D-Generation X and The Brothers of Destruction at WWE Crown Jewel, Triple H sustained what appears to be a torn pectoral muscle, WWE.com has learned.
As a result, The Game plans to return to the United States this week to undergo surgical repair.
October 31, 2018
WWE Adds Hulk Hogan To Friday's WWE Crown Jewel Event
WWE is quietly advertising Hulk Hogan for Friday's WWE Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday, the company added Hulk Hogan to the list of scheduled Superstars set to appear on their official website and mobile app.
Hogan himself has also been telling friends and media that he will be heading to Saudi Arabia with the company, which means if he appears on Friday, it will be the first time appearing on a WWE show since 2015.
October 30, 2018
Triple H To Host WWE Facebook Watch Party
Triple H will be hosting a Facebook Watch Party on Facebook at 4pm ET on Thursday. The Game relive classic DX moments as he and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels prepare to face Kane and The Undertaker at Crown Jewel the next day.
Linda McMahon Asked About WWE Crown Jewel In Saudi Arabia, If She Talks WWE With President Trump
Former WWE COO Linda McMahon recently spoke with TMZ Sports and said she's not responsible for WWE business when asked about the decision to move forward with Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, despite the recent state-sponsored killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
"If you want to talk WWE, you're talking to the wrong McMahon," Linda said.
TMZ pointed out how WWE is essentially a family-run business but Linda referred them to husband Vince McMahon.
"I don't run it and I'm not responsible for it," Linda said. "You gotta talk to Vince."
Linda, who now works as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, was also asked if she ever talks WWE with her new boss, President Trump, considering he's in the WWE Hall of Fame.
She said, "I talked to the President last about my trip going down to Panama City, which is where we're going to see what relief we can get for the folks down there."
Renee Young Cleared To Join Announce Team At Crown Jewel
Renee Young will be traveling to Saudi Arabia to don the headset behind the Raw commentary desk during Crown Jewel. It's being said WWE has been pushing in this direction since September. At this point, it is unknown if Young will have restriction in her role given the country's policies against women.
October 28, 2018
WWE Crown Jewel Reportedly Sold Out
Earlier today, tickets went on sale for WWECrown Jewel on November 2 at the King Saud University Stadium in Saudi Arabia.
According to the Chairman of the General Sport Authority, the show has sold out. On Twitter he wrote, "In less than three hours, WWE tickets were sold in full."
In April, WWE Greatest Royal Rumble was held at King Abdullah Intentional Stadium and had an attendance of around 60,000 fans. The venue for Crown Jewel holds about 25,000 seats.
Earlier this week, WWE confirmed Crown Jewel would indeed take place from Saudi Arabia by releasing the following statement during their's Q3 Earnings results.
"WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled."
October 26, 2018
Vince McMahon Asked During Earnings Call About WWE Continuing With Crown Jewel
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was quiet on WWE's working relationship with Saudi Arabia and the upcoming Crown Jewel event during today's third quarter earnings call from WWE HQ in Stamford, CT.
Vince noted in his opening statement that the company is looking forward to Evolution and Crown Jewel this weekend, but he did not name Saudi Arabia. WWE Co-President George Barrios later mentioned in his opening statement how it was a difficult decision to continue with Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.
The Q&A with investors opened up with a caller asking Vince about the Kingdom being a key market for WWE now. The caller also wanted to know Vince's thought process when deciding to keep Crown Jewel in the Kingdom. Vince responded by saying they were not going to talk a lot about that today. He added that it's naturally a very sensitive subject these days, and their statement in this morning's press release says all they want to say about the situation, for today at least.
Another investor later asked if WWE would hold more events in Saudi Arabia next year. Barrios answered and said they will know more about those plans in the next quarter when they have the plan for that year locked in. Another investor asked about potential outside risks WWE can't control when doing business with Saudi Arabia, such as government economic sanctions. Barrios turned the question down, citing the complexity of the situation and said everything they will say on the topic was in the statement from this morning.
WWE has faced growing criticism over their relationship with the Kingdom due to the disappearance and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. WWE confirmed in today's Q3 earnings report that the event will go on as scheduled. Crown Jewel will take place on Friday, November 2 in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. For those who missed it, below is their statement:
"WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled."
