New Controversial WWE Policy Reportedly in Place for Elimination Chamber

A new controversial WWE protocol that was put in place for WrestleMania 42 this April appears to also be in effect for Elimination Chamber next weekend in Chicago, Illinois.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported earlier this month that any venue within 50 miles of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will be unable to broadcast this year's 'Showcase of Immortals', even if they pay a licensing fee. This practice essentially wipes out localized watch parties.

The belief was that it was being done to increase ticket sales for the event, which are lagging behind where sales were for WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas at this time last year. Furthermore, Ross Sapp is now reporting that the new blackout policy is going to be in effect for Elimination Chamber as well.

"We are told that there are Elimination Chamber watch parties in the Chicago area also being blocked due to WWE's new blackout rules in an effort to increase ticket sales."

Ticket information tracker WrestleTix released a new report on Elimination Chamber on Friday evening that showed 14,895 tickets for the event had been moved thus far. The current set up for the show is 17,016, which leaves a little over 2100 tickets still available now a week out from the show going live on ESPN.

The high cost of tickets for WWE events has been a hot topic of conversation amongst wrestling fans recently. As of this writing, the cheapest seat available for Elimination Chamber through Ticketmaster will cost you $261.05. As you can imagine, news of the watch party blackouts for local markets has not been received well online.

"So WWE is going to black out an ESPN PRODUCT (that they’re making MILLIONS from) from local bars and restaurants so people can spend 10x more money on tickets?

It’s concerning how greedy they’ve become," said DanteOnDeck.

So WWE is going to black out an ESPN PRODUCT (that they’re making MILLIONS from) from local bars and restaurants so people can spend 10x more money on tickets?

It’s concerning how greedy they’ve become. https://t.co/g3Gmn8NRfh
— Dante Turo (@DanteOnDeck) February 21, 2026

"WWE blacking out Watch Parties so people have to either spend money for the ESPN app or buy their overpriced tickets because sales are low.

Sc-- a-- behavior all around," said JPJLovesGaming

WWE blacking out Watch Parties so people have to either spend money for the ESPN app or buy their overpriced tickets because sales are low.

Scum ass behavior all around. https://t.co/gsAewbRBdg
— JPJ l LoveWrestlingCA | Coast to Coast | Bodyslam (@JPJLovesGaming) February 21, 2026

"Someone in WWE saw how everyone hated MLB’s blackout problem and said, “Oh why didn’t we think of that!” Genuinely some of the most incompetent people are in charge over there," wrote TrevTheBeat10

Someone in WWE saw how everyone hated MLB’s blackout problem and said, “Oh why didn’t we think of that!” Genuinely some of the most incompetent people are in charge over there https://t.co/8xislMUwPY
— Trev-The-Beast (@TrevTheBeast10) February 21, 2026

The new blackout policy is not exclusive to WWE, as Sean Ross Sapp has reported that there are concerns it could significantly affect UFC business, especially in Las Vegas.

Elimination Chamber will be headlined by Chicago native CM Punk defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Finn Balor. AJ Lee will also be wrestling her first singles match in over a decade when she challenges Becky Lynch for the Women's Intercontinental Championship, and two more Superstars will punch their tickets to WrestleMania 42 by winning the Men's and Women's Elimination Chamber Matches.