AEW’s House Rules Show Was Possibly A ‘Bought’ Event

AEW held their first House Rules event, and it was quite a show. Tony Khan’s company might have targeted an embarrassing video from the event, but they still made a lot of cash on the gate.

Wrestlenomics filed a public records request to the City of Troy, Ohio for information about AEW’s first House Rules event. They posted their findings behind their paywall, and, as we previously noted, AEW’s first show was just shy of breaking that $100k mark.

It was also noted that records indicate that AEW’s first House Rules event could have been a “bought show.” This is not out of the ordinary in pro wrestling, even with WWE’s Saudi Arabia shows, but it is interesting to note about AEW’s first live event.

Given Variety Attractions’ involvement, it’s possible that this event was a “bought” show or similar arrangement, that may have reduced financial risk for AEW. A bought show is when an event promoter pays a flat fee to an artist or, in this case, a wrestling company, to put on a live event. The promoter then keeps all or most of the ticket revenue and assumes all of the expenses associated with the event. 

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This may have been desirable for AEW because house shows are difficult to run profitably due to lack of media revenues, like TV rights fees or pay-per-view sales, to offset expenses. WWE, despite its overall financial success, has struggled to report positive operating income for its live events division in recent years, before and after touring was paused due to the pandemic.

As previously noted, it was also reported that, “Ticket revenue of just under $100,000 was driven in part by some general admission ticket prices being as low as $20. The most expensive ringside tickets were priced at $75. For context, AEW’s highest-grossing ticket events have surpassed $1 million.”

AEW has plans to continue their house show touring. This will include even more events as the company carries on. Jeff Jarrett will probably be very busy in his new role, but it seems that he is loving the ride so far, by all accounts.

Do you think AEW should be running house shows? What’s your take on how Tony Khan is booking the show? Sound off in the comments section!