With WrestleMania 42 just now two weeks away and ticket sales for the event still falling short of internal expectations, WWE would be wise to follow Nikki Bella’s direction.

At this point, every ticket sale matters, or least should matter, to WWE. According to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WrestleMania 42 is down 18.8 percent in ticket distribution when compared to the same moment in time ahead of last year’s big event.

In recent weeks, WWE officials have attempted to close the gap and boost ticket sales by providing various discounts (first at 25%, then 31.6%, and now, by excluding fees) for prospective buyers. They’ve also knighted 17-time world champion John Cena as the guest host for “The Show of Shows,” setting the stage for his first post-retirement appearance in the company. Still, tickets sales are nearly a fifth behind in comparison to last year’s event from the same exact venue.

Much of this problem could have likely been prevented by setting tickets at more affordable prices to begin with. But with us now being past the point of no return, something as simple as clarifying which matches are on which night of WrestleMania could actually make a difference.

I personally know a number of prospective buyers that are delaying their ticket purchase until they are certain as to which night their favorite superstar (such as Nikki Bella) is competing on. After all, not everyone can afford to attend both nights of the action, so some fans prioritize one over the other to at least see the star they cherish most. Similarly, some fans prioritize one over the other based on which they perceive to have the overall better match lineup. It’s those somes that WWE should be focusing on right now if they wish to further increase sales, because at this marker of time, I’d take what I could get.

If you didn’t know, WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg (Brian James) is no longer with the Stamford-based promotion. In early March, it was confirmed that the retired wrestler turned former co-writer for “WWE SmackDown” left the company. While it was unknown why the sudden departure, Dogg finally answered that question during a recent virtual signing.

“It was moving too fast,” he revealed during his autograph session through “Signed By Superstars,” which was obtained by Fightful. “It was just moving too fast for me. We talked about my brothers and their grandkids and I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with mine so, I’m gonna do more of that now.”

Sitting alongside former D-Generation X ally and now AEW star, Billy Gunn, during this session, it was asked if Dogg would take the leap that many who leave WWE do, and that’s to join its archrival, AEW. He immediately replied with a “no,” indicating he won’t be in or near any AEW production room anytime soon.

Dogg wore many hats behind the scenes in WWE after his in-ring tenure came to an end, including running creative for live events, road agent, producer, lead writer for “SmackDown,” Performance Center coach/trainer. The decision to exit the company was made after his annual performance review.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Signed by Superstars” with a h/t to Fightful for the transcription.

Ticket sales for this month’s WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas have been moving a little slower than last year, which has become a significant point of conversation online over the last several months. Today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter features an update on tickets from Dave Meltzer, and the two-night event still has yet to reach the 2025 benchmark, despite WWE taking measures like discounts and announcing John Cena as host. Samantha Burkardt/Getty Images

There are a few reasons for the drop in ticket sales, and none of them are all that mysterious. WWE made the decision to move WrestleMania 42 from its agreed-upon destination, New Orleans, to instead return to Las Vegas for a second year in a row. Company executives likely received a larger offer from the Las Vegas tourism board compared to NOLA, and Las Vegas is seen as more of a destination city that people will travel to for a show like WrestleMania.

That decision wound up backfiring on them. I’m no economist, but it seems like people all over the country are being a little more careful with their finances right now for various reasons. That means less people feel comfortable planning a trip to Vegas, especially if they were just there the year before. Plus, anyone who was used to buying tickets in years past is no doubt facing “sticker shock” at the cost of entry.

Beyond that, there’s also the fact that the card took a long time to come together, and it’s relatively light on high-profile matches. The two men’s world title bouts are doing a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of name recognition for the more casual audience.

Now that I’ve explained why all of this was inevitable from the moment they moved the show back to Vegas, let’s get to my real point: the people running companies like TKO/WWE need to understand that this idea of never-ending growth is a pipe dream. Each year, the company is supposed to show its shareholders that it’s making more money than it did the year before. They’ll only be able to do this for so long, however, and the more ruthlessly they milk their audience, the faster they’re going to hit that wall. It’d be nice if the executives to that lesson to heart this WrestleMania season, but I’m not exactly holding my breath.