TKO-led WWE running low on good faith following spring talent releases

Once upon a time, long before CM Punk became “PG Punk,” he sat out on a stage, much like the one we see every Monday and Friday, held a microphone up to his mouth and said this as part of his infamous pipe bomb promo:

“After I’m gone, you’re still going to pour money into this company. I’m just a spoke on the wheel. The wheel is going to keep turning and I understand that.”

That was true in 2011, and it’s true as recently as last week. The wheel keeps on turning no matter who enters or exits WWE. Smackdown, Raw and NXT all passed by this week as though nothing happened, which is something we’ve all become accustomed to. The wheel keeps spinning, as it will continue to.

TKO and WWE released a contingent of their roster late last week to seemingly make way for an influx of NXT talent, and also so the greatness of Evil can corrupt the future of WWE. The talents’ experience with WWE historically varies, and for most on the list it wasn’t their first time. Some have been released previously; as recently within the last few years. For others it’s their first time. Regardless, I think this sums up the relationship between TKO, WWE and its talent.

When talent have been released in the past we take moments to feel bad for them. We take moments to wonder where they’ll land next. In cases like Aleister Black, you can assume it’ll take exceptional groveling to get AEW to take him back. That’s the folly of assuming safety within a WWE contract.

Vince McMahon is a terribly flawed individual with awful allegations levied against him. Even within that potential reality becoming legally true in a court of law, and even given the incalculable number of times talent was released with a “sorry pal,” and a garbage bag of their belongings, there was always a baseline of what you should expect from his WWE. His business practices were what they were, and this is not to even hold them in high regard because they don’t deserve it.

This is also not to sit here and act like AEW and Tony Khan are perfect either. In the past both Khan and McMahon are tremendously guilty of letting talent sit on the sidelines without grounds or reason for doing so. Whether it was overtly vindicative to keep them from the other’s clutches, or just skirting the issue altogether in Khan’s case with him stating, “blah blah blah is a great talent who has done great things in AEW. Maybe one day we’ll see them again, blah blah blahcetera,” the impact and results are the same.

Vince McMahon is more than likely one of the scummier people to have ever been involved in wrestling. Tony Khan has a number of faults, despite being one of the arguably nicest people to ever be involved in wrestling. Somewhere in the middle they both share similarities where they care about the business, no doubt love the business, and have an inherent passion for professional wrestling/sports entertainment. For all their faults, that is true for both.

To their credit the men in charge of TKO do not have court cases pending, and from appearances are relatively clean if not shrewd businessmen. What is true however is that since TKO has been the controlling entity of WWE, we have seen anti-consumer, anti-talent practices go in place that would make McMahon blush. We have seen ticket prices skyrocket for WWE shows, and at least in the U.S. American fans have to pick and choose which platforms they can subscribe to in order to keep up with even a fraction of the WWE’s overall content.

In 2026 the average American wrestling fan can expect to pay $70-95 USD a month for 3-4 subscription services, compared to past iterations of live streaming WWE content on either the WWE Network, or the variation that called Peacock home. This breaks down as:

• WWE Raw
  • Netflix– $7.99 (ad tier) to $17.99 (standard)
• WWE Smackdown
  • Either pay for cable or replacement such as Sling, YouTube TV, Hulu — $45-60/month
• WWE PLEs
  • ESPN streaming service — $29.99/month)

Tack on any content still on Peacock or whatever is required to watch NXT on CW, and it becomes expensive. This is all occurring under TKO, and it’s a far cry from the days of the $9.99 Network. This is true in conjunction with statements from TKO executives that flatly state that WWE under Vince McMahon failed to maximize its profits for live shows akin to the UFC, which is to say, in their eyes it’s egregious for you, me, two people in a relationship or a family of four to go to a WWE show without selling a vital organ.

Where weekly TV tickets are still reasonable, using WrestleMania as a baseline ticket prices have dramatically increased since TKO assumed ownership. These are the average ticket prices over the last five years at WrestleMania as reported by both Wrestlenomics and Sports Illustrated. Let this sink in:

• WrestleMania 37 (2021): $170-194 USD
• WrestleMania 38 (2022): $136-147 USD
• WrestleMania 39 (2023): $171-178 USD
• WrestleMania 40 (2024): $341-$348 USD
• WrestleMania 41 (2025): $635 USD
• WrestleMania 42 (2026): $1,500-1,700 USD

WrestleMania 40 was TKO’s first WrestleMania cycle. This paints a picture of a corporate entity 100% focused on business in its purest form, not the health of the wrestling business in and of itself, nor the fans and wrestlers who combined make this all work. The brain trust and corporate folks might be the stewards, but we and people like those released make wrestling tick. It isn’t our interactions with Vince McMahon, Tony Khan, Ari Immanuel or Mark Shapiro that make wrestling what it is, it’s how we interact with the champions who stand tall on the shows, the personalities who make us laugh, love and hate them all at the same time. They are the conduit for things worth believing in, or media that help us forget our troubles for a little bit. That’s them, not TKO, WWE, AEW, or whatever else.

For a long time I’ve said above all that we have more in common with the wrestlers than the people who run the wrestling alphabet of companies. Our loyalties should be with them, the released in this case, and not TKO. And what’s important is to keep that same energy across the board, like with how idiotic AEW keeping Danhausen on the sidelines for so long truly was. It’s the same with Ricky Starks-turned-Ricky Saints. Talent over company. And as a sidebar, while I’m not saying Danhausen is the greatest wrestler ever forged in the pits of wherever Danhausen was forged in, he will surprise you in due time.

WWE Releases 2026

The list of recent releases is startling and telling. In addition to NXT talent like Andre Chase and some other developmental talent, the list is populated by:

• Aleister Black
• Zelina Vega
• Kairi Sane
• Apollo Crews
• Zoey Stark
• Alba Fyre
• Santos Esobar
• Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)
• Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy)
• Nikki Cross
• Dexter Lumis
• Joe Gacy
• Erick Rowan

There are a lot of things worth pointing out in that list. You have people like Santos Escobar and Zoey Starks who were at varying stages of recovering from injuries. Escobar is particularly interesting because a) he was obviously injured while under WWE contract, b) he was released while recovering from his injury, and c) reportedly won’t be permitted to use the WWE performance center for rehab during his 90-day non-compete period, which was seemingly common practice.

Then you have Kairi Sane who left Stardom and an IWGP title run in Japan behind to rejoin WWE, and Aleister Black who burned his AEW connections to ashes to rejoin WWE and enter a storyline with wife Zelina Vega to act as proxies in effect for Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux. Both their storylines are unresolved. In the same vein Alba Fyre had been paired with Chelsea Green and had been solidly featured for most of Green’s run as U.S. champion. Conversely, after a bidding war between WWE and AEW, the Motor City Machine Guns signed with WWE, quickly won the tag team championships, had a short reign of 42 days, and then otherwise were only featured in 47 matches in 18 months. The duo has only wrestled 5 times in 2026.

This is all par for the course. People sign all the time, and in turn are released all the time. They all have hopes for what their careers could be, and the result is either their expectation or something short of it. This is the same for anyone, whether this occurred last week, last year, etc. What I think really crystallizes the situation of what WWE is in 2026 though is the Wyatts.

They were a nostalgia act in some ways. They were a tribute band of sorts to the rock ‘n roll of what wrestling is. They were inspired by Bray Wyatt, consisting of his friends, family and people he inspired. His footprint is heavy enough that people like Alexa Bliss still paid tribute to him at WrestleMania with her gear. They as a group might feel differently, and say what you will about them and their marks, but in my view WWE and the concept of legacy have always been synonymous. That’s true with Bray Wyatt considering his impact, who he impacted, the fact he was so beloved, the fact they made a documentary about him and ultimately put the Wyatt Sicks on WWE TV for a nearly two year run.

The pessimist in me wonders if their departure is a matter of the Wyatt’s vision no longer being easily monetized. Maybe the sheen is worn on it, or maybe it’s just questionable story directions that led to a relatively pointless feud with the MFTs over the possession and symbology of the lantern and its synonymousness with Bray. Maybe someone just doesn’t like them. It just feels puzzling and systemic to the larger concern I have over the direction of the TKO-led WWE. Holistically these releases are comprised of people who double-downed on their dream, chose one company over the other, worked themselves into an injury, or people who were simply paying tribute to a friend and family member. It feels less to do with an emotional connection, something WWE had prided itself on, and more so toward a reality where the larger question is not only defined by whether or not something can be monetized, but predominantly how can the return on that investment be maximized.

Yes, that’s always been the case to a degree, but ask yourself if your perception of WWE as a whole has ever felt like this before. These cuts were not made for budget cuts, nor is WWE roster’s bloated. They’ve literally just exited WrestleMania season, where fans paid what they paid to watch it live as noted, and HHH recently also got an extension and I presume a raise to go with it.

TKO and WWE executives have said irksome statements over the last year, whether it’s a prevailing belief WWE undercharged on its tickets, the increased focus on virality and shock-and-awe moments, to the almost inarguable over-exposure of celebrities in WWE storylines. Kudos to Pat McAfee for seemingly acknowledging that, and stepping aside, I assume because deep down he loves and respects wrestling as an art and business concurrently enough to understand the “why” behind the backlash of his inclusion in the Rhodes-Orton WrestleMania match. The same one that TKO officials felt needed to be jazzed and pizazzed up.

It’s important to understand that WWE has always been a business, but it’s also important to recognize the differences in how it was run contrasted against how it is run now. The creative is also going to be a mixed bag, and some can love how HHH books, and some will hate how he books. Tonally though the overall optics of the company under TKO don’t look positive. Sure they’ll make money, and their quarters will look great with those heftier salaries off the books as they call up the cheaper NXT talent, but I think what we need to ask ourselves as fans, viewers and supporters is whether that’s something we can support in 2026 and beyond. Can we reconcile supporting WWE talent with a company that can cast them aside in a moment and overcharge us for tickets to a show featuring people we barely know anymore?

Wrestlers work hard and deserve better, but it comes down to choice. For them and for us in every respect. And if you can reconcile that, no harm nor foul. It’s your prerogative as much as it is theirs to sign deals. It needs to be understood though that WWE is transforming in front of us.

The wheel continues to turn, and this isn’t the McMahon family business anymore.

Now it’s just a Tuesday.