WWE Talent Unhappy At Reduced Live Event Schedule
Less shows = less money.
While yesterday brought word that the WWE live event schedule was being reduced for February and March, it’s now being reported that WWE talent are far from happy at this news.
Many presumed that a reduced house show schedule would be seen as a positive due to it allowing wrestlers to spend more time at home, more time to deal with niggling injuries, or pose less of a risk of actually getting injured. And while that is indeed true, there is of course another side to all of this.
Via the Wrestling Observer, WWE personnel weren’t made aware of these changes until they were handed their February booking sheets. While the top stars in the company will still be receiving major paydays due to their basic contract and merchandising numbers, that’s not the case for those wrestlers who are lower down the food chain.
For some stars, this reduced schedule is viewed in a negative light due to the simple fact that they won’t be getting paid as much as they previously would. Added to that, less live events give the greener talents less opportunities to get in the ring and practice their craft in front of a live audience or to try out new characters or gimmicks.
These changes mean that NXT will actually be running more house shows than either Raw or SmackDown. The catch for NXT talent, however, is that their deals usually consist of a flat salary rather than being paid per show. That means that if an NXT star works five shows a month or 15, they’ll still receive the same basic pay.