Bischoff noted that when he returned to WWE in 2019 as an executive director, he spent the first couple of months meeting with department heads and getting to know their processes. What he found was that live events were in trouble.

“So I got to spend a lot of time with the folks that were heading up the live event side. They were getting their ass kicked,” Bischoff said. “Those numbers were horrible. It was interesting because when I was there in 2019, the stock was around $70-74 and people were pretty damn excited about that. There were elements of the company that were, from a revenue perspective, still functioning very well and the stock reflected that. But the one obvious weakness to me at least was people were just not going to live events.”

Bischoff stated they did have serious discussions about how the live event portion of the business had evolved and was perhaps no longer viable. Whether it be because of viewing habits or the cost to attend, WWE considered doing fewer house shows pre-pandemic. Now, four years later, WWE is reporting record revenue.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Strictly Business” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.