The REAL Reason WWE Just Cancelled 5 House Shows

WWE have scrapped 5 Raw live events on two weeks' notice.

by Andy H Murray
WWE Cancelled
WWE

WWE's live event business is receding faster than your writer's hairline, with attendances and revenue tumbling with every new financial report and the promotion cancelling swathes of shows throughout recent months.

This week brought news that WWE had scrapped planned Raw house shows in Bossier City, LA (23 August), Lafayette, LA (24 August), Mobile, AL (25 August), Banger, ME (30 August), and Portland, ME (31 August). Interestingly, those first two dates were shows that Kane, of all people, was supposed to wrestle on.

Dave Meltzer wrote about the situation in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, noting that the cancellations are almost certainly due to "bad advances" and that the promotion want to hide the decline of their live event business to investors. This makes sense, as their next quarterly drop could be huge if they hold too many shows with attendances below the Q2 2019 average of 4,700.

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Meltzer notes that WWE also plan on doing more dual-brand "super shows" going forward, and hope that SmackDown's increased exposure after moving to fox will spike house show business in the fall, though this is obviously dependent on them hitting the ground running.

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.