Airing Some Grievances

I'm really mad at WWE and Apple

When I started this newsletter, it was going to be an outlet for me to write about what was on my mind. Sports. Pop culture. The news.

It has (predictably, tbh) turned into a women's sports newsletter 90% of the time.

Hey, I am who I am.

Just like these one-line paragraphs that I use.

But today is going to veer away from that. Because really, I need to vent about two things.

Is it OK if I have a complaining session here?

You Sold Out

There's a book that I reference all of the time. I may have referenced it here before, but admittedly, my brain is working at about 2% after having a wake-up call at 3 a.m. this morning to catch my flight home.

The book is Loving Sports When They Don't Love You Back by Kavitha Davidson and Jessica Luther. The topic is within the title, but it essentially takes a look at different leagues and sports and the issues that they present to sports fans around certain moral and ethical aspects.

There are issues with every single sport. And really, there are issues with every single form of entertainment. But living in this shitty, shitty, cold world, we need to find our joy where and when we can.

So we oftentimes overlook those dark areas of entertainment. And I'm not here to be the moral gatekeeper and tell you who or what to support and where your line should be.

That's on you to decide. Again, there are issues with just about everything.

It's been awhile since I've watched WWE. And like I've mentioned a few times, I've been a huge wrestling fan for most of my life. It's a nice escape for me, but lately, I've been even more thankful for alternatives out there, because it's hard to support or watch The Fed aka WWE.

It's not because of the product. It has been much better under Triple H aka Paul Levesque. But it's reached a point where I can't, in good faith, support them with my morals.

It's hard to pinpoint when exactly it's changed, as I've shifted away over the years. From watching RAW each Monday, NXT on Tuesdays, and SmackDown on Fridays, to just watching the Premium Live Events.

But now, it's none of it.

I drew a line in the sand initially when WWE announced its partnership with the Kingdom of $audi Arabia for the shows they would run over there two times per year. It was something that I refused to watch with their treatment of women, human rights issues, and murdering of  Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist.

A league being in bed with $audi Arabia isn't new, but WWE was ahead of the curve when it came to using sports to wash over all of the issues within the country.

"We murder journalists, but look at what we are doing here!"

"We now allow women to wrestle. They must wear full bodysuits, but we allow them to!"

It's propaganda. It's sportswashing. It's disgusting.

Last week, the WWE announced that it would be hosting WrestleMania 43 in $audi Arabia in 2027, making it the first WrestleMania event to take place out of North America in the history of the event.

We shouldn't be surprised. It's not just because WWE is in bed with $audi Arabia, it's because it's the latest example of TKO (the organization run by Endeavor that owns and operates UFC, WWE, and certain boxing promotions) doing TKO things.

See, it was the fear when WWE was purchased and put under the TKO brand that they would operate like UFC does, even though the overlap between fanbases is minimal.

But we've see it happen. From little things like advertisements on the mat, to bigger things like being very upfront about their support of the Donald Trump administration.

It's the right-wing wrestling company, for a fanbase that isn't right-leaning, and it's hard to argue otherwise.

During the announcement, Turki Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the Kingdom of $audi Arabia, even said that Nick Khan, the President of WWE and a member of the TKO board of directors, is continuing Vince McMahon's legacy.

Yes, he meant the legacy of working with $audi Arabia, but is that really what you want to say, regardless of the context?

It's a business decision. Point. Blank. Period.

WWE doesn't care about its customer – it cares about the bottom dollar.

They even went as far as to admit it this week:

“WWE is not where the UFC yet is on ticket yield… Vince McMahon was primarily pricing tickets for families and wasn’t totally focused on maxing the opportunity,” TKO COO Mark Shapiro said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference, adding that TKO is “replicating” UFC tactics, including holding back inventory and leveraging On Location packages to boost revenue.

And this is the latest example of it. Remember, that WWE had WrestleMania in Las Vegas in 2025, hosting a two-night event, where the ticket prices sparked outrage among fans.

And get this – WrestleMania 42 in 2026 was supposed to be in New Orleans. There was a bid in place, an agreement in place, and WWE backed out to host it in Las Vegas for a second straight year.

And now, it's in $audi Arabia, where the rumor is WWE is getting a 9-figure amount from the Kingdom of $audi Arabia for the event.

So that's three straight years where WWE will be making it hard to attend WrestleMania for its fans due to pricing and location.

Because spoiler alert, assholes – people aren't traveling to $audi Arabia for WrestleMania. Even if The Undertaker's MAGA-ass asked us to (really, he did).

Even the wrestlers who were brought out for the announcement looked less-than excited about it.

Blink twice if you need help.

It's disappointing on every single front. And don't get it twisted – it has nothing to do with the people who live in $audi Arabia. They deserve entertainment, too. It has everything to do with the government there.

An international WrestleMania could have been exciting. London or Paris would have been great for it. Puerto Rico would have been, too, after seeing how energetic they were for Backlash a few years ago.

But instead, WWE is sullying the WrestleMania brand in addition to damaging the WWE brand.

People will watch. That's fine. I can't. I won't watch the Royal Rumble when it is in $audi Arabia in January. I won't watch this WrestleMania. I likely am just done watching WWE.

I listen to wrestling podcasts to say up-to-date on what's happening with WWE, but that's the extent of my consumption.

It sucks, because it's what I grew up with, but it also makes me thankful that there are alternatives like AEW, NJPW, Stardom, CMLL, MLP, and others that I can watch.

They all have their issues, too, but they haven't crossed that line like WWE has. It's a company that I just can't support any longer.

Fuck You, Apple

I wasn't expecting to write so much about WWE, so I'll keep this rant short.

When I returned my rental car this morning at 3:30 a.m., waiting for the shuttle to take me through the city of hell (Philadelphia) to the airport from hell (again, Philadelphia), there were two lads sitting beside me.

And of course, the one had videos blaring from his phone at full volume, without headphones.

I feel you, Abe. And I'd say that it is me getting older (it is) but then on the shuttle, a person later in life was doing the same thing.

At the airport gate, the same thing.

On the plane? Yup, the same thing.

It's easy to be annoyed by the people (I am, trust me), but 99% of the annoyance and 100% of the anger should be directed at Apple.

They removed the headphone port from their iPhones a few versions ago (iPhone 12 or 13, maybe? A real journalist would find the answer, but I'm being a fake journalist today) making it harder for people to wear headphones.

Remember, there used to be buds that would come with the phone! You could also plug in any number of earbuds that you had at your disposal to listen to music.

But now, you have to buy AirPods or some other version of Bluetooth-capable headphones to pair with your phone.

Again, it's a money grab.

But by grabbing that money, you're hurting the accessibility (and save me with the yOu CaN aFfOrD a SmArTpHoNe argument. It's 2025 – we all have them) and therefor annoying the shit out of everyone else.

Until Next Time

I'm going to get some sleep so that I'm in a better mode. I'll also be returning to the world of sports on Friday – unless something else pisses me off that I want to write about without fear of someone getting me fired from my day job.

I love you awesome nerds.