The road to WrestleMania 41 takes the scenic route this year as WWE has headed to Europe for a short tour, with the next three weeks of “WWE Raw” and “WWE SmackDown” taking place in Spain, Belgium, Italy and (my homeland) the UK, starting this past Friday with a raucous show in Barcelona.
How much importance should we place on the tour? European shows have proven highly lucrative for WWE in the post-pandemic era, with a number of records being set — and then topped — for gate revenue over the past two years. For 2024's Premium Live Events (PLEs) in France, Scotland and Germany, even nosebleed seats went for upwards of $200, making these relatively weaker shows competitive with major US events like SummerSlam for gate revenue.