Jon Moxley Pushes for WWE Offseason, Explains Why Company Should Get Rid of House Shows
Jon Moxley, known by many WWE fans as Dean Ambrose, has been pumping out comments left and right [...]
Jon Moxley, known by many WWE fans as Dean Ambrose, has been pumping out comments left and right about his issues with the WWE over the past. After already going in-depth on his issues with the creative side of the company during his Talk is Jericho interview, Moxley turned his attention to the business side of things in his two-part interview with Wade Keller over at Pro Wrestling Torch.
According to Moxley, the WWE's schedule is so grueling due to the numerous live events (also known as house shows) that take place every week when the television camera aren't rolling. Moxley described the WWE's business model with live events as "outdated."
"This 80s model where everyone gets paid off the house show, but that's not where WWE is making their money," Moxley said. "They are making their money off giant TV contracts and the boys aren't seeing any of that. That's got to change. This whole house show thing has to change because it doesn't make any sense. The schedule is not why I left but I did that schedule harder and longer than anybody while I was there. It is brutal. Maybe it's not as bad as it was in the 70s, 80s, or 90s but it is brutal.
"The schedule is harder than it needs to be for quality of life," he continued. "They ride [talent] like a pony. They don't treat the talent like the commodity that they are. Without the talent, there is no show. At least eliminate half the house shows. Eventually, they are gonna have to do an offseason or cycle guys in and out or just lighten the schedule drastically. And they're gonna have to start paying guys more on their downside. Their whole business model has to change."
It's interesting that Moxley is bringing up road schedules, because his new boss over at AEW Tony Khan spoke about AEW's lighter schedule leading up to the Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
"[My] big goal is to establish a better work-life balance and quality of life for our performers with less time on the road [and] very good money comparable to what you'd get at the highest level in the world of wrestling, because we can make the bulk of our revenue from pay-per-view and television," Khan said. "I'm not planning on doing hundreds of non-televised events on tour, because I don't think that would represent a large enough revenue stream for us and profitable enough business sector for us to risk the health and well-being of all these wrestlers.
"I'm not gonna have an offseason, but there will be a lighter schedule and we'll work people in and out," he added.