Things To Know About WWE’s Travel Schedule

WWE is unlike any sport or form of entertainment. Like a circus act, the company is constantly traveling with its plethora of employees. Unlike professional sports, the company has no off-season. In one year, WWE Superstars were even asked to work during Christmas Day for a RAW event in Chicago!

Looking from afar, the life of a WWE Superstar might seem like a dream, especially to fans. However, it is far more grueling than most realize. When RAW is done with, most of us click the TV off and head to bed. For a WWE Superstar, things are just getting started. Following a show, they will usually take their rental cars and drive to the next destination. On the norm, they will probably hit their pillows at two or three in the morning. It is a tough life and one we have seen a lot of former employees walk away from.

UPDATE: 2024/03/28 14:30 EST BY MICHAEL CHIN

One of the unique elements of professional wrestling and particularly WWE is that, unlike professional or scholastic sports, television series, or most other major endeavors in athletics and entertainment, it has no off season. In addition to that, WWE has a history of criss-crossing the United States to visit different cities as well as touring abroad. This combination of factors makes for one of the most demanding travel schedules that any profession could possibly demand. Triple H taking over the creative side of the company has shown signs of change, though, for the betterment of a lot of performers’ health, sanity, and personal lives.

Life On The Road Has Improved Under Triple H

• As a former wrestler, Triple H understands what it’s like for the roster more than a lot of executives.
• Wrestlers have generally been complimentary of decisions under Triple H’s direction.
• Triple H is credited with WWE not holding as many live events over the holidays in 2023.

A lot of WWE fans have expressed their pleasure with WWE’s creative direction since Triple H took the reins as Chief Content Officer. That satisfaction carries over to the roster as well. Bayley cited that The Game took seriously her pitch for a female faction that wound up being Damage CTRL, where Vince McMahon had not. Other wrestlers have articulated that The Cerebral Assassin is less inclined toward last-minute changes that throw off the wrestlers than his predecessor was.

AJ Styles has voiced his opinion most recently on improvements to working for WWE since Triple H took over, citing points like talents getting time off to recuperate or to reinvent themselves to ultimately be the best versions of themselves on screen and in the ring. As another gesture, The Cerebral Assassin notably gave talent extra time off during the holiday season in 2023, which was also seen as a sign of him wanting to look after his wrestlers as whole people, ensuring they could spend time with loved ones and recharge.

The Challenges Of Main Eventing In WWE

Main Eventers Historically Took The Worst Of A Rigorous Travel Schedule

• Wrestlers don’t always stick around for a full show, but the ones closing out the show have to.
• Hulk Hogan spoke to the hardship of main eventing in the 1980s, when room service often stopped before he made it to the hotel and open restaurants were few and far between.
• Cultural shifts and technology have made life easier on modern day main eventers.

On a visit to This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Hulk Hogan discussed how one of the most challenging parts of his old travel schedule with WWE and WCW stemmed directly from main eventing night after night for the company back in the 1980s and 1990s.

To hear Hogan tell the tale, he frequently found himself closing shows, then getting back to his hotel after room service had already closed down for the night, meaning he had had few-to-no dining options available to him–let alone healthy ones. Fortunately for modern wrestling talents, an expansion in delivery services, eateries open later, and opportunities to use technology to one’s advantage for meal prep have improved this set of circumstances for the modern main eventer. Nonetheless, it’s a wrinkle of travel–especially for tip-top stars–that fans may never consider.

Bringing Family Along For WWE Travel Doesn’t Always Work Out

Wrestlers Who Mix Their Personal And Business Lives Sometimes Regret It

• The travel schedule of WWE keeps wrestlers away from their families.
• Some wrestlers have married within the business.
• Bret Hart shared a story of the perils of bringing his family on the road in his book.

One of the hardships that wrestlers often comment on regarding life on the road is the frequent stretches of time they have to spend apart from their families. At different times, the WWE schedule has entailed working one to three TV tapings in a week, in addition to house show matches and public appearances. The time away is only exacerbated by international tours.

It might seem like one antidote to being away from family would be to bring them on the road, and that has worked for some wrestling couples who’ve wound up married, as well as some talents who successfully navigated balances between the business and their personal lives. However, there have been far less successful instances. For example, Bret Hart wrote in his book about bringing his wife at the time along for WrestleMania 10, only for the shared travel experience to exacerbate issues in their marriage. That included The Hitman describing himself as on top of the world when he won the WWE Championship in the main event, only to wind up miserable afterward following another argument with his spouse.

Personal Buses Have Changed the Game For Some Talents

Personal Buses Have Alleviated Some Burdens Of Wrestling Travel

• Having a personal bus means someone else does the driving while a wrestler can sleep in between towns.
• A personal bus tends to allow for more space for big-bodied wrestlers not to be cooped up in a car.
• CM Punk, Randy Orton, and The Big Show are among the talents known to have used personal buses.

A number of wrestlers have cited car travel as one of the hardest parts of their tenures in the business. From the rigors of getting from town to town, to wrestlers often having big enough bodies to not fit comfortably in normal automobiles for long stretches, to wrestling backstage culture dictating that everyone stayed awake on long drives, it’s little wonder that a lot of talents have legitimate complaints.

Advances in technology and a little ingenuity have changed the game for some wrestlers. The Big Show, CM Punk, and Randy Orton are among those wrestlers known to have at different points chartered private buses to manage their travel. Buses afford them room to stretch out, the ability to manage their own travel schedules, and the capacity to grab some shut-eye while someone else navigates the road. Orton in particular is famous for taking advantage of old wisdom and new technologies to ice immediately after matches and get full nights of sleep on his bus before rolling into a new town on tour, which were keys to his body aging gracefully over the years and extending his career.

A Holiday Doesn’t Necessarily Mean A Day Off

Historically, Holidays Have Meant Big Business For Wrestling

• Historically, holidays like Christmas have meant big business for live wrestling.
• WWE has even done live Raw tapings on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
• WWE has thrown some perks like throwing backstage Christmas parties for talents.

In the past, WWE has mostly opted to tape events which occur around Christmastime, but there has been the odd occasion in which wrestlers have had to compete on a live Christmas edition of Monday Night Raw, with one year seeing the employees forced to be away from their families on Christmas Day.

As a consolation, WWE had a Christmas party behind the scenes that night. They also paid for all the hotel bills for both the RAW and SmackDown shows. Despite the company’s bonuses, it was likely tough for all the superstars to be away from their families. Of course though, from Vince McMahon’s standpoint, the most important thing is “putting smiles on faces.”

Wrestlers Are Responsible For Their Own Ground Travel

A Lot Of Unlikely Clusters Of Wrestlers Have Hit The Road Together

• Wrestlers are traditionally responsible for renting their own cars and driving themselves.
• A lot of talents have banded together to share rides and save money, in addition to building camaraderie.
• WWE documented some of their wrestlers’ travel on the show Ride Along.

According to a WWE contract, the wrestlers aren’t regarded as employees but instead, as independent contractors. That means limited privileges as opposed to other lines of work. Given the travel schedule, WWE can’t provide everything. The wrestlers and other employees need to take care of certain things themselves while on the road. One of those things happens to be ground travel.

WWE doesn’t rent a wrestler a car nor do they provide a tour bus – something they used to do back in the day. These days, WWE talent must book their own rental cars or means of transportation once they arrive at the destination. WWE has produced some Network shows such as Ride Along to document these journeys, but they feel more like a glorified version of what real life is like. One minor positive is that WWE pays for air travel. It must be noted that for PR work, wrestlers sometimes get their travel and accommodation sorted, though they don’t receive extra pay.

Hotels, Food, And Fitness Are Left To The Wrestlers

It Can Be Difficult To Maintain A Super Human Physique While Traveling

• Wrestlers like Mick Foley were notorious for cutting corners and sharing to reduce the costs of rental cars and hotel rooms.
• Wrestlers are responsible for figuring out how to stay in shape on the road.
• Finding a gym is often a top priority when a wrestler arrives in a new town.

Similar to renting a car, WWE Superstars are also in charge of booking their own hotels. This has always been the case, even back in the ’90s. Some wrestlers were cheaper than others when it came to hotels. Who can forget the likes of Mick Foley trying to save every penny by sleeping at a cheap Motel or at times, his own car. The playing field has definitely changed nowadays. In addition, the talent can expense a portion of their hotel stay. Some save a buck or two by rooming together while on the road. The same goes for renting a car. We have seen groups of four ride together and book a hotel together.

It is hugely important for WWE’s wrestlers to stay in great physical condition – which can be tough. It is up to the wrestlers themselves to sort this, with them needing to find their own fitness facilities, sort their own food, and make sure that they keep in strong shape without help.

Wrestlers Quickly Learn How The Harsh Schedule Is

Veterans Often Focus On Better Travel Stipulations In Their Contracts

• Wrestlers and staff have often driven to the next town immediately after a show, traveling through the night.
• Wrestlers signing new contracts often keep an eye on travel.
• Wrestlers can negotiate fewer travel dates or to have travel accommodations built into their deals.

Since RAW or WWE PPVs usually finish at 11:00pm, most fans just shut the TV off and head to bed following the shows. However, that is not the case for a WWE Superstar, although they wish it would be. For WWE employees, once a show is done with, it is time to head towards the next destination. Wisely, WWE usually books the next show nearby, so it’s usually a drive to a different town a mere couple of hours away. Still, it isn’t the easiest part of being a WWE Superstar.

However, the schedule is something which is supposedly made apparent in WWE contracts prior to signing, which is why upon extensions, some wrestlers tend to make some amendments that promise better travel, limited dates, and better accommodation. It is no surprise that big names take a huge payday and see their schedule is so reduced, much like Roman Reigns.

The Plane Ride From Hell Caused WWE To Scrap Their Private Plane

This Incident Lives On As One Of WWE’s Most Infamous

• There was a history of WWE booking a private plane to transport talents abroad.
• A number of high profile stars got themselves into trouble during The Plan Ride From Hell.
• The issues on The Plane Ride From Hell led WWE to stop chartering a private plane for talents in scenarios like this.

For some long-distance traveling and for some overseas events, WWE used to use a private plane to take their superstars from destination to destination. However, after the infamous Plane Ride From Hell following a UK PPV event, this perk was scrapped, and it is no surprise as to why.

From legitimate fights to drug use, to alleged sexual abuse involving the likes of Brock Lesnar, Scott Hall, and Ric Flair, this was a huge scandal and WWE made the correct call to change up how they took wrestlers to different locations.

Many WWE Wrestlers Travel And Don’t Get Used

There’s A Long History Of Wrestlers Making Towns Only To Find Management Doesn’t Have Anything For Them

• Wrestlers are often told to travel in case the need for them arrives as background players or to fill-in for someone who gets hurt.
• Having excess talent on hand is not a new practice.
• WCW was particularly notorious for booking travel for talents they didn’t actually use.

Just imagine traveling somewhere for work and just chilling with your co-workers at the event. Now the real kicker is you aren’t asked to work or help in any way at the event. Basically, you were just asked to make the trip nonetheless.

That’s a reality with WWE. Back in the WCW days, as noted in the book The Death Of WCW by R.D Reynolds and Bryan Alvarez, the company would buy tickets for the entire roster all the way until the year 2000. While WWE may not buy tickets for their entire roster, they will fly in more people than they need. At times, WWE has opted to make talent stay at home, such as Aleister Black and Mustafa Ali, but many undercard talents do fill up catering at different arenas.

Overseas Travel Isn’t Always Glamorous

Traveling Abroad Can Complicate Matters

• Norms can vary from country to country.
• Major stars have struggled with getting swarmed by fans who don’t get to see them live often.
• WWE often makes the most of being abroad with an extra rigorous travel schedule.

When the company travels abroad, things are quite different as various countries have different norms in comparison to Canada and the U.S. We have seen in the past, that security isn’t exactly top of the line when it comes to overseas shows. Randy Orton grew frustrated at all the fans approaching him during one visit. We saw a similar occurrence with Triple H. He was basically mobbed by fans in and out of the airport, with security seeming like an issue.

In addition, the schedule isn’t lighter on these overseas tours either, with WWE visiting different cities and countries every day during their European tours. To make matters worse, the wrestlers often have very little time to even sight-see and properly experience these places that they go to.

The Intense Schedule Means Less Family Time

Missing Holidays, Special Occasions, And Sheer Time Are Among Wrestlers’ Biggest Complaints

• WWE Superstars have often worked three or more shows per week.
• The weeks of PLEs intensify the WWE travel schedule.
• Active wrestlers often don’t get to spend more than a couple consecutive days with their loved ones.

WWE employees aren’t working a show a week. On average, a WWE Superstar travels to three different shows a week. Usually, the schedule features a TV taping along with two live events. It is also common for a wrestler to work four shows, in four different cities. At least once a month, WWE holds a PPV event too.

For a Superstar on RAW this means a hectic schedule. The schedule consists of a live event Thursday, Friday or Saturday along with back-to-back shows Sunday and Monday. Now that’s some crazy traveling. Due to this, wrestlers very seldom have full weeks where they are at home, with them perhaps managing to spend just two or three days with their loved ones and families.

A Union Could Make Things Better

Organized Labor May Be A Pipe Dream For Wrestlers

• The idea of forming a union in wrestling, and particularly WWE, has been around for a long time.
• Wrestlers are termed as independent contractors.
• Young wrestlers tend to be too wrapped up in living their dreams of working for WWE to stop and think about a union.

Given the demanding travel schedule, some might be asking, why don’t the WWE Superstars start a union? Zelina Vega was someone who discussed this, but the union discussion seems to have died down in recent months. Unionization could improve the travel schedule a great deal. However, it really feels impossible due to their status as “independent contractors.”

This likely won’t change any time soon. New employees are typically so blinded by living their dream with the company that they will sign just about anything, no matter how one-sided the terms are.

Vince McMahon Had Peculiar Rules About Travel

The Luxuries Of Travel With The Former Chairman Probably Weren’t Worth The Hassle

• Vince McMahon was known to travel via private jet.
• One of the things Vince McMahon was known for behind the scenes was his odd set of idiosyncrasies.
• Vince McMahon didn’t like anyone falling asleep on his private jet.

Vince McMahon is no longer at the top of WWE, but his sometimes weird way of running things will be hard to forget. McMahon always traveled via his own private jet, which is to be expected, but he had rules about non-wrestlers who traveled with him.

McMahon allegedly disliked anyone falling asleep on his private jet. It isn’t clear why, though McMahon is known to have very odd rules, likes, and dislikes, such as hating sneezing and a bizarre sense of humor.