Why WWE is Sticking With Five-Match Cards for Premium Live Events

:wwe5:

Under the watch of Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, WWE’s main roster has undergone several changes, with one of the biggest coming to the PLE cards. Once stacked with matches, most modern-day PLEs now have five matches, in a decision that has divided opinion. While some appreciate these shorter, more concise PLEs, there are those who feel that deserving talent are missing out and are having their biggest matches relegated to TV.

WWE has a variety of reasons for sticking with five matches for Premium Live Events, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports. The shorter card has significantly reduced the costs of these events, as fewer Superstars mean fewer travel costs. Wrestlers not booked for these events now enjoy an extra day off, a rarity to many considering WWE’s weekend house shows, though TKO intends to scale back on WWE live events.

While the five-card shows mean fewer Superstars are traveling, there are still some who attend a PLE even if they’re not competing. WWE has been using backstage segments to get people on the show, which also includes the use of legends, as seen at WWE Bad Blood 2024. WWE has started producing packets for younger wrestlers to let them know the legends in attendance if they want to ask questions or seek advice.

The WWE Universe can expect more changes in January of next year when WWE Raw moves to Netflix as part of a lucrative, decade-long deal. With Triple H being unsure about the duration of Raw on Netflix, fans will have to stay tuned to see what’s to come in the future for WWE and its broadcasts.