Cody Rhodes Admits Cutting Back on WWE Live Events Could Hurt His Wrestling Game

Last year, WWE and UFC were combined under the TKO umbrella, bringing about a major change in the sports entertainment industry. As adjustments continue, one notable change is the decrease in the number of live events. Cody Rhodes has also commented on this development, sharing his thoughts on how it affects him.

Since WWE’s merger into TKO Group Holdings, several changes have subtly reshaped the promotion, including a clear reduction in live events. While WWE continues to air multiple live TV broadcasts each week, there’s been a noticeable decline in their focus on house shows.

TKO President Mark Shapiro announced that WWE plans to reduce the number of live events in 2025, decreasing from approximately 250 events in 2024 to around 200. WWE usually schedules live events on Saturdays and Sundays during weeks without a Premium Live Event.

While speaking with Josh Martinez of Superstar Crossover, Cody Rhodes talked about the decision to cut back on live events. He mentioned that there are good and bad sides to this change. One big advantage is that it gives wrestlers more time to rest and recover. With WWE focusing on health, nutrition, and mental well-being, having fewer events helps performers stay healthy and spend time at home.

However, Rhodes is worried about how this might affect his wrestling skills because he thinks the best way to get better is to wrestle often. To deal with this, he plans to train at the Nightmare Factory, where he can practice. He believes wrestling schools aren’t very helpful unless you’re performing in front of an audience, but he knows he needs to find ways to train effectively to stay sharp.

“Pros and cons. Pro is more time for rest and recovery. Modern WWE with all the medical protocols that exist, in terms of to have the best nutrition, to have the mental clarity and focus to be dialed in physically, we still very much are a, I guess toxic to a degree, there is a vanity element to professional wrestling and sports entertainment. In terms of everyone’s preparation, that’s a good thing. In terms of being able to get that mental clarity and getting your time at home, but also be able to be locked in on work. To be able to get the best nutrition, the best recovery, especially.

The con for me is I only get better at wrestling by wrestling. That’s a con for me. How I can mitigate it is that I have the Nightmare Factory where we can wrestle and do things and train. Training for wrestling, I never believed in wrestling schools growing up because the only way you can really do wrestling is by wrestling in front of an audience. You have to do it in front of an audience. That will be a challenge for me because I feel like I’ve slid into the prime of my career and I feel really great, but I know if I take some steps back in terms of that, I’m going to have to mitigate it some way. I’m going to have to find, ‘How do I train for this if I’m not able to do Saturday-Sunday house shows heading into Monday Night Raw.’ I think the majority of the locker room and roster probably looks at it as a great thing, and from a company standpoint, business-wise, it makes the shows when they do come to your city more special versus just being a given. It’s mainly pro across the board, I just have to find a way to keep the wrestler in me wrestling.”

With that said, Liv Morgan is genuinely sad about WWE cutting down on live events. WWE’s 2024 schedule shows a major change, with only 11 house shows planned. This is a big decrease from previous years, where there were many untelevised events every weekend. This cutback is part of a larger strategy to improve profits while still keeping WWE’s strong brand presence, so it will not be changing anytime soon.