Why They Were a Positive
Traditional house shows offered clear benefits across multiple aspects of the business.
Financial Revenue: House shows were a straightforward, additional revenue stream for WWE. They generated income through ticket and merchandise sales without the immense production costs of a televised show- even for a highly successful company like WWE, the expenses for a single live broadcast like Raw or SmackDown are substantial. By scaling back this circuit, WWE may be leaving money on the table, especially markets that don't get a lot of opportunity to see live WWE action, like Lehigh Valley, PA, or parts of Central New York, for example.
Talent Development and Skill Honing: A house show circuit was a low-pressure environment for talent to hone their craft. They could practice new moves and test out new gimmicks without being seen by a live national/worldwide audience. This was particularly valuable for new talent or those not being utilized on television. Without a consistent schedule, these performers have fewer opportunities to gain important live-crowd experience. For example, Shinsuke Nakamura was put on WWE main roster house shows while he was in NXT to adapt him to the WWE style and to give him exposure to the main roster audience before being called up.
Rehabilitating Injured Talent: House shows provided a perfect, low-stakes environment for talent returning from injury to get back into the rhythm of performing. In this way, these events acted as a form of rehabilitation. Talent could shake off ring rust, test their physical limits, and regain their confidence in front of a live crowd before a high-pressure, televised return. An example is Finn Balor, who began doing house shows in 2017 upon his return after recovering from a 2016 shoulder injury before a televised comeback.
Fan Engagement: For the audience, house shows provided a different, more intimate experience. With no commercial breaks and no television production, the focus was directly on the in-ring action and interaction between the WWE Superstars and the crowd. The atmosphere was fun and more laid-back, for both the talent and the audience.
Visibility and Consistent Work: There were times when a WWE Superstar was not appearing on television or a part of Premium Live Events, only appearing on house shows. Talent benefited greatly from being on them, as the house shows provided significant opportunities for professional development that the talent wouldn't have received had they not been used at all. These non-televised events were an essential training ground that allowed talent to stay sharp, relevant, and employed.
Why WWE Was Smart to Reduce Them
While the benefits were notable, there were also very valid reasons for WWE to scale back the house show schedule.
Superstar Work-Life Balance: The biggest reason for the change was to improve the work-life balance for its performers. The physically demanding travel and performance schedule of a full-time house show circuit can lead to physical and mental burnout. Consider the constant cycle: fly to a new city, perform, travel to the next city, sleep, and repeat. This continuous routine can take a massive physical and mental toll, often cited by performers as a reason for seeking a lighter schedule or leaving WWE entirely. An example is Nathan Jones, who cut his WWE run short after 11 months due to the demands of the travel schedule, which Jones described as a "rock star's lifestyle".
Lost Revenue vs. Increased Costs: While house shows can generate revenue, they may not be as profitable as they once were, especially with the increased demand and ticket prices for televised events and Premium Live Events. Plus, the modern WWE business model is driven by something far larger: media rights deals.
For context, a house show in a market like Allentown, PA might generate a few hundred thousand dollars in ticket and merchandise sales. That's a great number, but it's much less than the deals WWE has signed as a part of its multi-platform domination. In this new landscape, the effort and cost required to staff and tour to run a profitable house show for $200,000 may not be a key priority when a single streaming deal generates 2,500 times more revenue. The cost of touring and staffing multiple events might not be worth the return in today's industry.
A Smart Way to Bring Them Back
There is a way to bring WWE house shows back, but it would have to be a balancing act. While they offer definite benefits in terms of revenue, talent development, and fan engagement, they also pose challenges related to talent well-being and the evolving business model of sports entertainment. The solution isn't to go back in time but to create a new, modern approach.
The bottom line is that WWE should bring back house shows, but not in the same way they existed in the past. The old, constant schedule was a risk to performer health and well-being. A modern, analyzed method would be a smart house show model, carefully managed to increase revenue by strategically hitting underutilized markets, developing talent by providing a low-risk environment for skill development, and prioritizing performer wellness by implementing a limited, strategic schedule that avoids the burnout situations of the past. This hybrid procedure would leverage the proven benefits of house shows while avoiding the difficulties of a past era, ultimately creating a stronger and even more sustainable business for WWE.
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