Jack-Hammer
11-16-2020, 10:05 AM
There are a number of reports about stating that WWE is going to be making big changes to its touring schedule. According to what I've read, WWE intends to stop doing house shows even when the Coronavirus pandemic is gotten under control. This decision comes about due to WWE raking in record profits and revenue this year despite the lack of touring. According to the third quarter financial report, WWE has pulled in in excess of $750 million in revenue and looks to do at least equal the roughly $950 million it pulled in last year.
One of the reasons for the change, allegedly, is WWE viewed house shows as a way of moving merchandise but orders of merch from WWE's website are said to have skyrocketed over the course of this year. Also, during the past year or two, house show attendance had been going down and there were some instances in which it cost WWE money to put on the shows instead of making them money.
I'm assuming WWE will still hold Raw and SmackDown in front of live audiences once the pandemic has gotten under control, same for NXT, but I haven't read anything about that though it seems logical.
If all this pans out, then the days of WWE talent being on the road 270 to 300 days out of the year are over and they'll be working 4 or 5 days a month most of the time. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if WWE does do occasional house shows in certain areas, like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, though I'm also guessing this will put an end to international touring as well but that's just me guessing.
One potential problem, however, is that some of the lesser paid WWE wrestlers counted on house shows for additional revenue and as we all know by now, WWE is tightening up when it comes to talents earning additional revenue outside of the company. Zelina Vega was released due to her stance and refusal to give up her Twitch account and it's hard to blame her considering she was making as much, if not more money, with her Twitch account as she was via her WWE contract. I remember reading an story in which Paige said she was making over $100,000 a month via Twitch so it's hard to walk away from that.
One of the reasons for the change, allegedly, is WWE viewed house shows as a way of moving merchandise but orders of merch from WWE's website are said to have skyrocketed over the course of this year. Also, during the past year or two, house show attendance had been going down and there were some instances in which it cost WWE money to put on the shows instead of making them money.
I'm assuming WWE will still hold Raw and SmackDown in front of live audiences once the pandemic has gotten under control, same for NXT, but I haven't read anything about that though it seems logical.
If all this pans out, then the days of WWE talent being on the road 270 to 300 days out of the year are over and they'll be working 4 or 5 days a month most of the time. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if WWE does do occasional house shows in certain areas, like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, though I'm also guessing this will put an end to international touring as well but that's just me guessing.
One potential problem, however, is that some of the lesser paid WWE wrestlers counted on house shows for additional revenue and as we all know by now, WWE is tightening up when it comes to talents earning additional revenue outside of the company. Zelina Vega was released due to her stance and refusal to give up her Twitch account and it's hard to blame her considering she was making as much, if not more money, with her Twitch account as she was via her WWE contract. I remember reading an story in which Paige said she was making over $100,000 a month via Twitch so it's hard to walk away from that.