TKO seems unable to catch a breath from the backlash, and this time, Kevin Nash has called out the parent company of WWE. During an episode of his Kliq THIS podcast, the Hall of Famer discussed how his royalty check under TKO was slashed in half and how vastly it differed from the time when he received the royalty checks during Vince McMahon’s WWE era. He said,
I was talking to Mr. Waltman this week. We had our weekly update. We both got our royalty checks. I said, ‘Holy f**k.’ I said, ‘the last one was good, this one was rotten.’ I mean, it was half.
The nWo member gave a detailed explanation of how there’s no proper breakdown of merchandise sales, each mentioned separately, but now it’s just mushed together as “nWo intellectual property,” leaving no room for transparency. He continued,
When I was making huge money in my royalties, it was broken down. It would say ‘nWo T-shirts,’ ‘nWo women’s T-shirt.’ Now it says ‘nWo intellectual property,’ and there’s just a number. There’s no subcategories.
Nevertheless, Nash was not thrilled with the check and believed it was TKO’s way of cutting corners and said, “I’ll f***ing sue them.” He felt this opaque disclosure of royalty would help the organization save millions of dollars, and he was not going to let them off the hook so easily.
Why does the WWE Universe Loathe TKO’s Takeover of WWE?
When TKO first merged with WWE in 2023, fans were thrilled with what they had to offer. However, as time passed, fans felt that the takeover had not delivered. This was more evident after Vince McMahon’s Janel Grant lawsuit forced him to resign; the company looked vastly different, especially after the Netflix deal.
But why do fans detest this business move? While there are many reasons, these four turn out to be the primary cause behind the backlash. They are:
4. Ticket Prices
It comes as no surprise that fans are fuming with the inflated ticket prices for each live event, paying at least double what they used to pay. TKO had given its reasons to increase the prices, but fans were not convinced enough, feeling that the organization had forsaken their interests and was focused on maximizing profit.
Though they have shown their resentment by skipping Money in the Bank 2025 and have even criticized the CCO, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, over the rising ticket prices. If that was not enough, they kept coming up with new strategies to empty the pockets of fans streaming the show from their homes. The situation has worsened so much that even a star from the MCU has called out TKO.
3. Global Expansion
With Triple H being the CCO of WWE, he has done an outstanding job of making the wrestling promotion brand a part of mainstream entertainment. However, this has also divided the fans, as they signed a historic deal with Saudi Arabia in 2018. The deal was part of the Saudi Vision 2030 project, where two premium live events will take place annually in the Middle Eastern country.
Despite helping the company financially, it challenged the traditions of the company and the vision that Vince McMahon had with his billion-dollar wrestling empire. To make it worse, it was recently announced that WrestleMania 43 will be hosted in Saudi Arabia. Thus, leading to an outpour of backlash from the fans.
2. 5-match PPV model
Under Triple H’s rule, WWE has undergone many changes, some being positive, while others have been subjective. One of them is the five-match PPV model, where he prefers to show only the biggest matches that will attract a large crowd. This was different from the long shows, where every championship was defended in one night.
The reason why this idea is subjective is that if the matches are booked poorly, fans would be bombarding WWE with criticism. For instance, Wrestlepalooza‘s bookings have left the viewers dissatisfied, as it didn’t meet their expectations. The longer format matches ensured that the PPV would be saved because of more matches, and a bad performance could be covered with the performance of other wrestlers.
1. John Cena’s Last Match
Perhaps the most important reason behind such loathing is an undeserving farewell to John Cena. With over two decades in WWE, Cena has rightfully become the ‘Last Real Champion’ of the company and now has a limited time before he hangs up his boots. The fans expected that WWE would give him a glorious farewell in a major PPV, but instead, they are going to feature him in SNME.
The fans felt it was disrespectful and a farewell that John Cena did not deserve for his services to the company. To make it worse, TKO has decided to fill their pockets by charging massive prices to watch him wrestle for the final time.
These moves have aged like milk, as fans are so detestful of TKO that they would rather have Mr. McMahon return and run the company than watch it slowly burn to the ground.
Kevin Nash Credits Vince McMahon for Shaping His WWE Career
Even though Vince McMahon’s name is reeved in controversies, he is not all evil and has been a creative genius when it comes to creating factions and gimmicks for his talents. The ideas have not only changed the career trajectories of the wrestlers but also have greatly benefited the company.
One such name is Kevin Nash, who recalled how The Genetic Jackhammer’s one move earned him fame in WCW. During an episode of Kliq THIS podcast, Nash recalled (via 411Mania),
I just wanted to say to Vince McMahon personally that right now I’m sitting in my oceanfront podcast studio, and my son and I will drive 1.6 miles down the beach to our oceanfront home. And without you believing in me, I would have none of this. There’s no NWO with no Diesel.
The nWo member was overwhelmed with gratitude and credited his career’s success to the then-CEO of WWE and said he’d have a cigar and a glass of wine with him any time.
With Kevin Nash’s comments about TKO’s latest move, do you think Vince McMahon should buy back WWE from them? Let us know in the comments below!
