In a shocking turn of events (and by shocking, I mean everyone’s loving it), WWE is cutting back on its live events in 2024. According to TKO President Mark Shapiro, who delivered this earth-shattering news at the recent Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference (sounds like a rave, right?), the days of endless house shows are dwindling faster than Vince McMahon’s hair dye supply. While premium live events (PLEs, for those of you who skipped Wrestling 101) and TV schedules are sticking around like a bad storyline, the “low-margin” house shows are about to take a chair shot to the head.
“The WWE brand, while we still have to grow it — it’s on fire right now,” Shapiro casually mentioned, likely while twirling his corporate mustache. “We don’t need to carry these marginally profitable events… What was 300 last year will be roughly 250 this year. And next year, we’ll be close to 200.” And with that, the road schedule shrinks faster than The Rock’s chances of winning the Presidency.
The WWE locker room? Absolutely ecstatic! You can almost hear the cheers from here (well, except maybe from the merch sales department). According to the latest whispers from the WWE grapevine, wrestlers are thrilled to have more time at home, binge-watching Netflix like the rest of us mere mortals.
For those keeping score at home, Vince McMahon was always a fan of the “more is more” philosophy. He believed house shows were a vital way to win over fans—perhaps the same way he thought people were vital to winning elections. But it turns out, WWE’s not sweating the small stuff anymore. With UFC now under the same roof, the newly merged TKO brand (owned by media giant Endeavor) is proving that it’s all about quality over quantity. McMahon? Well, he’s officially no longer WWE’s head honcho after that whole “allegations of sexual misconduct” thing. But don’t worry, he’ll always have WrestleMania… and probably a few lawyers on speed dial.