MVP Blasts WWE For Abandoning Grassroots Fans

AEW star MVP has taken WWE to task for what he sees as the company abandoning its loyal fanbase.

When Endeavor completed its takeover of WWE in 2023, few could have foreseen how quickly major changes would come to the company. TKO boss Mark Shapiro recently claimed Vince McMahon priced WWE event tickets for families and indicated that policy is now over as they look to maximise profit.

That approach has not gone down well with fans who are now being squeezed like never before when it comes to tickets for WWE shows, and a former star of the company thinks the added revenue streams the company has also pursued are adding to fan frustration.

MVP Questions WWE’s Approach

Speaking on the Inside the Ring podcast, AEW’s MVP explained why he’s concerned about the growing number of ads in WWE programming and how that, combined with high ticket prices, means bad news for fans, and not just wrestling ones either:

Yeah. I think… I’m weighing my words here because I want to make sure I say this the right way — I like to think before I speak, unlike most people. I think there’s been an emphasis on profit with the increasing corporatization of one side, without enough regard for the fans who helped make the company what it is. Sadly, that’s happening not just in wrestling.

If you look at the NFL or the NBA, once upon a time you could take a family of four to a game. Now, with price hikes and the corporate suits, if you’re a father taking your kids to an NBA game — decent seats, four sodas, four popcorns — that’s a pretty substantial cut of your income.

MVP did concede that pro wrestling is a business, but questions chasing profit to the extent that you’re harming your longtime fanbase:

At AEW, we’re still very concerned about that grassroots fandom. At the end of the day, it’s all a business. I talk about it on Marking Out with MVP and Dwayne Sees all the time: professional wrestling is a business. You can have your artistry and creative vision, but you can’t forget that it’s the wrestling business.

If no one’s buying tickets, watching the TV show, or ordering pay-per-views — even that model is fading — then there’s no place for you to do what you want. So you have to remember the business aspect. However, I do question maximizing profit to the point where you price out those grassroots fans who have been there since day one.