WWE is hosting its annual showcase SummerSlam this weekend from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and instead of the traditional Sunday night slot they usually use for pay-per-views, they’ll instead host the show live on Saturday, August 21.
Why the change? Multiple reasons.
In an interview to promote SummerSlam this week, WWE President Nick Khan indicated that the decision was based on the fact that Las Vegas is a “Friday and Saturday night city”. The city is geared to host big early-weekend events and the company will have its fair share of competition that night with Cirque du Soleil in town and the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas also happening at the T-Mobile Center that night.
In an earnings call last month, Khan also indicated that he’s glanced over openings in the sports calendar and saw slots where the company could hold Saturday ppv’s in the future. the company had already announced last month that they will hold a ppv at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on this upcoming New Year’s Day, which falls on a Saturday.
Nick Khan says WWE see an opening on the sports calendar with some openings, and are using it to implement some Saturday PPVs
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) July 29, 2021
Saturday will mark the first time the WWE has hosted SummerSlam on a Saturday since the legendary 1992 show they did from Wembley Stadium in London. This is the first time they’ve ventured outside of the traditional Sunday parameter for a ppv since the Taboo Tuesday events of the mid-2000’s.