WWE clarifies Mark Shapiro's comments on moving away from Vince McMahon-created PLEs

The TKO President created chaos among fans with his recent comment.

In an interview last week on The Main Event with Andrew Marchard, TKO president and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mark Shapiro revealed that a conscious decision has been made to move away from PLEs created by former WWE CEO and co-founder Vince McMahon.

Shapiro commented on the work ethic of WWE President Nick Khan and creative head Paul “Triple H” Levesque, highlighting their openness to new ideas and willingness to “embrace a new challenge, take a risk, or seize a new opportunity,” including the launch of events like the aforementioned Wrestlepalooza.

“And yet, they’re open to new ideas. They never seem exhausted. They’re ready to take on a new shot, a new risk, a new opportunity. ‘Hey, Nick, let’s talk about launching a new event.’ 

Right now, a lot of our PLEs were really created by Vince McMahon. We need to get in the business of taking that torch and moving past that. Nick (Khan) and Triple H created Wrestlepalooza, which is the launch event for our new ESPN deal which did incredibly well and may turn into a super franchise.

Not to mention from a merch standpoint, I don’t need to tell you, securing the IP rights and then selling merch out at Wrestlepalooza. Let’s just say it was a real winner,” 

Shapiro didn’t explain the reasoning behind his view or whether it reflects a corporate directive for Khan. He also didn’t clarify whether WWE plans to create entirely new events, phase out long-standing shows like WrestleMania and SummerSlam, or simply add new PLEs to maximize profits.

These comments from Shapiro created a lot of confusion and chaos among fans who started speculating if WWE is planning to move away even from marquee events created during the McMahon era, like WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, among others.

After all, most of the current Premium Live Events were originally conceived and named during McMahon’s tenure. The promotion this year made two fresh additions to the schedule: Clash in Paris and Wrestlepalooza, which ushered in the ESPN era for WWE PLEs, both of which were created after McMahon’s exit.

However, these two events, especially Wrestlepalooza, failed to make the expected impact, as promised by the top brass. The show even received a ‘C’ rating from ESPN, further highlighting its underwhelming reception and lack of fan enthusiasm.

WWE sources clarify remarks made by Mark Shapiro

Amid confusion, a new report from Fightful Select has provided some clarity on the situation. Per the report, WWE officials believe Mark Shapiro’s comments were directed specifically at the company’s other monthly premium live events. One insider clarified that Saudi Arabia is not backing WrestlePalooza, but is instead providing funding for WrestleMania.

The source explained that this difference stems from the strong brand value of WrestleMania, which remains a top priority for the company.

They also noted that WWE has already finalized plans to hold future WrestleMania and SummerSlam events in Indianapolis and New Orleans, extending beyond the locations that have been publicly announced so far.

The promotion is also planning to make Wrestlepalooza into a major event on par with WrestleMania or SummerSlam. However, it remains to be seen if that plan comes to fruition, especially looking at the quality of recent shows and PLEs.

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