Report: Update On The Future Of WWE House Shows
Will they return after the pandemic...
Nov 13, 2020
A couple of months ago, Dave Meltzer reported WWE was considering running far fewer house shows when the company can resume touring.
WWE's long touring schedule is now seemingly a thing of the past. In an update on the situation in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer noted the company has told talent during recent contract negotiations that the old touring schedule won't be returning.
WWE laid off 10-15 employees last week and many of them were in the live events division, including Director of Venue Merchandise, Remote Operations Derek Casselman who had been with the company for 27 years.
Even without house shows for much of 2020, WWE has been able to bring in record profits, primarily because of its TV deals with FOX and the USA Network. The company has actually been losing money on house shows over the past couple of years.
Furthermore, many of the fans who bought merchandise at the arena have migrated to buying WWE products online during the pandemic, making house shows somewhat redundant as a method to generate revenue.