Cost of house shows
By Scott Keith on 13 November 2019
Hi Scott,
I know house shows have not been major money makers for awhile, but with the new contract extensions are they going to be cost prohibitive?
With Vince handing out 6 figure contracts to low level talent like candy won’t that result in huge talent costs for small shows with a couple thousand tickets sold? I would think they can’t dilute the star power too much or no one will show up.
Or do you think they just eat the losses as being good for brand awareness and just brush it off?
The guys aren't really paid per show worked, so you can't really factor salary costs into house show expenses. Running a show with a bunch of people doesn't incur more pay, although there's certainly more expenses on the backend due to transportation costs and labor for setup and stuff. As it stands, WWE drawing at the current level is apparently breaking even or sometimes losing a bit, but as noted, they really do it for brand awareness and for letting the guys work out matches and practice and such. The sad thing is that they have a zillion guys under contract who really do need the work and practice and would probably love going around the country and doing 200 shows a year, but instead have to get paid to sit around backstage for RAW waiting for their 30 seconds of TV time in a 24/7 title skit.