AEW's Jeff Jarrett Talks WWE WrestleMania In Saudi, Why Ari Emanuel Hates Sell-Outs

WWE taking WrestleMania 43 to Saudi Arabia in 2027 has been the talk of the professional wrestling world, and the announcement came after President of TKO Group Holdings Mark Shapiro publicly said that former chairman Vince McMahon priced tickets for families rather than maximize WWE revenue. As tickets for WWE events skyrocket and fans may need to purchase an additional streaming service to watch premium live events much earlier than initially anticipated, Jeff Jarrett commented on the various moves on his "My World" podcast. He said that is all should come as no surprise following the sale of WWE in September 2023.

"Vince McMahon, for better or worse, built the WWE and he did what he thought was best for the fans," Jarrett said. "That's how he built his business... Ari [Emanuel] and the board of TKO have the number one priority to deliver shareholder value at any and all cost."

Jarrett said he was puzzled by the fact Emanuel, the CEO of TKO, basically bought WWE from McMahon, after he bought it from his father, Vincent J. McMahon, in 1982. McMahon grew WWE to what fans know today before the sale in 2023, and Jarrett seemed to puzzle the lack of emotional attachment TKO has to WWE, and now the company is run comparably to TKO's UFC model.

"Ari hates sell outs because he feels he didn't price the tickets high enough," he said. "And so their mindset is, 'Yeah, Vince did a great job building this business, but he really didn't know what he was doing. He just didn't charge enough money. We're going to charge more money.'"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "My World" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.