WWE announced it generated almost $256 million in revenue in one quarter on the same day it released multiple Superstars due to budget cuts.
The phrase too big to fail is often thrown around in the business world. Some fans might say WWE now falls into that bracket. It is a massive and well-oiled machine that has turned Vince McMahon from a millionaire into a billionaire. During the last quarter alone WWE generated $256 million, as was revealed during the company's latest financial report.
A Successful Quarter For WWE
The report was published on Thursday of this week and then dissected by a number of WWE higher-ups during a quarterly financial call. The $255.8 million of revenue is $34.2 million more than the promotion generated during the same three-month period in 2020.
Since that period took place during lockdown last year, WWE has attributed the uptick in revenue to ticket sales, for the most part. Fans were allowed to return to buildings, and WWE returned to touring, in late July, meaning almost the entire quarter included ticket sales for the first time since spring of 2020.
The Timing Was Terrible
What won't sit well with fans is the timing of this reveal. The financial call took place directly before news of WWE's latest batch of releases started to filter through on social media. That likely means the talent being let go was called and informed they were losing their jobs while the financial call was in process. It has also been reported that those released were given little more than “budget cuts” as the reason for being shown the door.
The wrestling world is still trying to digest who WWE released on Thursday and figure out where the company went so wrong with some of the soon-to-be free agents. Karrion Kross and Keith Lee are at the top of the list when it comes to head-scratchers. Scarlett falls into that bracket too, as does Hit Row's B-Fab who was only called up with the rest of the former NXT faction during last month's draft.