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Andrew Yang, a former Democrat presidential candidate and an American entrepreneur, took a swipe at TKO Group Holdings on Sunday over WrestleMania 42.
Yang was critical of TKO’s handling of the Las Vegas event, which took place last week at Allegiant Stadium for the second year in a row, and reached out to the company over the recent wave of WWE departures. TKO Group is the parent company of WWE.
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Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang speaks during the Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame Dinner on June 9, 2019, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen)
“Looks like TKO really screwed up WWE/Wrestlemania with ads and celebs and getting away from the heart of pro wrestling – and talented performers are paying the price,” he wrote on X.
Several WWE superstars announced they would be leaving the company during the week. The wrestlers were either cut outright or their contracts were not renewed by WWE.
Yang echoed concerns from pro wrestling fans, who apparently took issue with the number of commercials during the show.
Regardless of any criticism, WWE said it still put together one of the highest-grossing events in company history. More than 106,000 people attended the two-night show.
Roman Reigns is introduced before the World Heavyweight Championship match against CM Punk at WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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WWE said in a press release that WrestleMania had records, or near-records, in gate, sponsorships, merchandise sales, WWE World paid experience sales.
“WrestleMania Saturday was the most-watched telecast of the year on ESPN2, while WrestleMania Sunday was the most-watched telecast of the entire weekend on ESPN,” the announcement read.
“At WWE World, a five-day interactive fan experience in partnership with Fanatics, paid experience sales reached all-time highs. WWE World also featured a lounge for attendees who signed up for Club WWE, the recently announced Gold membership experience for fans.
“Additionally, WrestleMania 42 set a new digital record, generating more than 1.3 billion views across all social platforms – an 18 percent increase from the record set at WrestleMania 41.”
Austin Theory, IShowSpeed and Logan Paul enter the arena during the first night of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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RAW, NXT and SmackDown each started off their recent episodes hot with new faces being called up and making their main roster debuts.
