The WWE has reached a significant turning point in its history, with many referring to this period as the “Renaissance era” or “The Triple H era” for Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the Chief Content Officer of the WWE, and the man in charge of everything you see on Raw & Smackdown. This comes after years of talent dissatisfaction and fan calls for change about previous management. With more than 60 sold-out events, enormous revenue from Premium Live Events (PLEs), attendance and gate records being shattered, viewership continuing to soar, and stars being created, have all contributed to WWE’s tremendous success in 2024.
This success follows the departure of Vince McMahon, the former Chairman and founder of WWE, from the company in January 2024. In 2019, Janel Grant, a former employee, accused McMahon of sexual assault and human trafficking, which prompted a thorough investigation that lasted until 2022. In July of that same year, McMahon resigned as Chairman, tweeting from his ‘X’ account, saying, “At 77, time for me to retire.” I’m grateful, WWE Universe. Together. Then. Now. Forever.” After a break of six months, he came back to aid WWE and the UFC in their merger to become TKO Group Holdings, a $21.4 million deal under Endeavor.
With many sold-out events in 2023, including WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, Backlash in Puerto Rico, Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, and Survivor Series in Chicago, the company continued to flourish during this time. WWE proved the company was not going to stop climbing the top rope in 2024 with events like the Royal Rumble in Florida, Elimination Chamber in Australia, Backlash in Paris, and Bash in Berlin, Germany, continuing to take over even overseas. The popularity of WWE, however, became clear with WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, which brought in a total gate of $38.4 million for both nights. Viewership was up 41% over WrestleMania 39, and the event was dubbed the “most successful event in company history.”
Names like Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Undertaker, and The Rock were the talk of the event, as all were involved in the show’s conclusion which marked the culmination of a two-year journey that saw Cody Rhodes emerge as “The Guy” in the company after defeating Roman Reigns to become the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion. The match concluded the end of what is perceived as the Superbowl or the finals of the WWE year.
WWE is still going strong today, with lots of events and remarkable things planned. The network’s flagship shows, Raw and Smackdown, will be moving to new places: Raw will premiere on Netflix on January 6, 2025, Smackdown moved to the USA network on September 13th, and the developmental show NXT debuted on the CW network on October 1st. Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, Survivor Series in Canada, Royal Rumble in Indianapolis, and WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas to cap it all are just a few of the many events that are ahead. It’s reasonable to say that the WWE is here to stay and that they’ll keep entertaining their fans with spectacular events and storytelling for years to come.
