WWE’s return to live events during its current European tour and talent are saying that they have enjoyed the experience.
Fightful Select spoke with a number of talents after WWE had its first untelevised live events in some time as part of their European tour.
One veteran talent said the change has been a game-changer for quality of life. “I don’t miss house shows at all. They’re fun to wrestle on, but the current method is much better,” they said. “It makes sense that they still do them here and there, and it makes them much more special.”
Another wrestler said working house shows is a different experience than TV, but since WWE cut them down by roughly two-thirds, they now feel more special and enjoyable.
The company is still planning their holiday tour of house shows after Christmas, and higher ups say right now there’s no talks of increasing the scedules outside of overseas tours. The person said the events still do big business for WWE and help cultivate local fans, and that the decision to cut back the scehedule was related to costs, scheduling, keeping talent healthy and other pros and cons. It has also helped with contract negotiations as it keeps dates down significantly.
WWE has currently run just 15 house shows this year compared to almost 50 through the same time last year. One source said that since cutting back the schedule, events get more attention on social media when something big happens.
