The days of WWE house shows drawing big money and the promotion depending on them to be the key revenue source was replaced with other revenue streams such as big money television deals.
For decades, ticket sales from events were how wrestling promotions earned the majority of their money. Even in the Attitude Era, WWE earned a significant amount of money off ticket sales, merchandise, and PPV buys.
In the last decade, WWE has seen its TV rights skyrocket while ticket sales have declined dramatically. To the point where in recent years, the company has either made a small profit or sometimes lost money by running live events.
Dave Meltzer was talking about Brock Lesnar working a limited WWE schedule during today’s Wrestling Observer Radio when he shared a nugget about how WWE is considering cutting back on how many house shows it does even when they’re allowed to run shows with fans against after the COVID-19 pandemic is under control.
“It’s not like he’s [Lesnar] wrestling 200 days a year, no one is any more nor will they be going forward. That’s one of the things I heard, WWE is very much contemplating cutting way, even when things go back to normal, cutting way back on live shows. I don’t know if they will eliminate them completely.”
Meltzer added that he thinks WWE should run some house shows, but perhaps not do them four nights a week in addition to airing Raw and SmackDown.
