"It was a flawed system anyway" - Major Triple H change in new WWE era addressed by legendary former World Champion
WWE has made some major changes to its programming lately. Right from the Vince McMahon era to the Triple H era, several notable changes have been seen in the company. One of the major ones is the live event schedule of the company. Legendary world champion Mark Henry recently commented on the live event scene in wrestling.
For years, WWE used to exhaust their superstars with wrestling shows almost every day. Starting the week with RAW to adding live events and then SmackDown, the live events schedule was quite packed. However, things have changed now. WWE has started reducing the number of live events, giving the superstars ample amount of time to heal their bodies and deliver their best performances every week.
During a recent appearance on the Busted Open Podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry addressed the change in live events schedule and what it was like back in the time when he was an active wrestler. The 53-year-old stated that the system was 'flawed' anyway and that he was against a tight live event schedule for superstars.
"It was a flawed system anyway from the time that I got into pro wrestling. There were tours like the ones that had Stone Cold and Undertaker, when The Rock and Austin were running against each other. There were several tours that were just explosive. Any series with The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels — if you were on those cards, man," said Henry. [6:54 onwards]
He continues to say that only a house show loop can be done during non-football season.
"You could do a house show loop, like, you know, we’d go to work on Friday, do Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday, and then Monday. Sunday night, we’d drive after the show to the next town to be there for Monday Night Raw. It was cool when football season wasn't on, and I always used to say, for those 13 weeks, we should take off. Let the well fill up, let everybody's bodies heal up," he added.
WWE has shifted their focus to international events now
In a recent media appearance, TKO President Mark Shapiro addressed the live events schedule and stated that they were reducing the number of non-televised events in WWE.
"WWE has over 300 events a year, with 170 televised. There is probably, while all those other superstars events, there is a reason to have them because it's good for the brand, we're building the audience, we're putting them on C and D counties, so we're really stretching the brand and amassing a greater array of eyeballs for all demos, it's good for our long-term growth. For a margin perspective, they are dilutive. There are probably opportunities, as we go through our efficiencies and synergies, to cut back those non-televised events, which will, of course, push our margin up. We're going through that exercise now," Mark Shapiro said. [H/T Fightful]
In place of live events, the company was now focusing more on international premium live events and international tours. The company's recent PLE, Bash in Berlin, was held in Germany, along with a series of live events in the country, keeping the health and energy of superstars a priority.
It remains to be seen how the live event schedule will shape up in the near future.