WWE SummerSlam 2021 Location Reportedly Confirmed
WWE's summer schedule for 2021 will see Hell in a Cell on June 20, Money in the Bank on July 18 [...]
WWE's summer schedule for 2021 will see Hell in a Cell on June 20, Money in the Bank on July 18 (reportedly the first non-WrestleMania pay-per-view to take place in front of fans) and SummerSlam at some point in August. The location of WWE's second-biggest annual show had been heavily speculated in recent weeks, and on Thursday Sports Illustrated's Justin Barrasso dropped a report stating the show has been confirmed for Nevada. The report also mentioned Money in the Bank taking place somewhere in Texas.
"Once WWE hits the road, there are no plans to return to the ThunderDome," the report reads. "Weekly travel will then commence for Raw and SmackDown, with the summer storylines built around SummerSlam in August. SI has confirmed SummerSlam will take place in Nevada."
The report didn't outright state it would be in Las Vegas, but that's where WWE would have the best options in terms of venues. Spectrum Sports 360's Jon Alba reported earlier in the month that Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, was being considered. That venue can seat up to 72,000 fans at maximum capacity.
WWE officials have repeatedly stated the return to touring had been circled for the second half of 2021. The Mat Men Podcast's Andrew Zarian recently dropped a report stating the fans would be back on the July 16 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, though @WrestleVotes noted on Thursday that FOX has been pushing for the return even sooner.
Heard from a very reliable source that FOX has privately pushed for a return to live crowds over the past few weeks, actively seeking updates on timeframes, etc. They’d like their billion dollar investment on the same playing field as the MLB, NBA & others.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) May 20, 2021
"Any plans? Yes. Any plans we can share? Stay tuned," WWE president Nick Khan told Variety shortly after WrestleMania. "But just know that once we're back on the road, we're on the road full time. We're not looking to do other one offs. Again, this was WrestleMania. And we felt it needed to be done for the fans. So look for news coming soon."
Khan also mentioned during the latest investors' conference call that the company believes the shows returning to arenas will also help with television ratings.
"... As it relates to live events that [the audience] always matters to us. Our fans are our fourth wall, if you will," Khan said. "We know immediately from them what's working and what's not working. The ThunderDome was a phenomenal creation by the creative team here, but to get live fans and to get our performers in front of them, we yearn for that as much as our performers do. And we think it's going to have a direct impact on all parts of our business in an overwhelmingly positive way."