Cody Rhodes Explains Purpose Behind WWE’s Expanded European Live Event Schedule

Cody Rhodes says WWE’s recent European tour is serving a purpose beyond live events, with the company using the schedule to evaluate potential destinations for future major shows.

Speaking in a new vlog documenting WWE’s latest run across Europe, Rhodes explained that the expanded tour gives WWE an opportunity to measure fan interest in different markets and determine which cities could eventually host larger events, including Premium Live Events.

According to Rhodes, WWE has not hidden the fact that some of these stops are effectively auditions for bigger opportunities down the line (via Fightful).

“It’s a lot of work, but when you’re actually on the tour, you find yourself wanting more tour, and you can tell this is a good one because I think everyone here wants to kind of keep going. There’s a couple guys here who are used to this base, and then there’s people who are completely not used to it, and it’s fun to see them get with it, and it’s a reminder for us how we used to. But I mean, the whole thing’s different because when you’re in a new country, that’s a different responsibility. I think we’ve done really well by all the cities we’ve gone to, particularly feeling them and touching them and having that moment with them individually. Well, I “think the biggest takeaway is it’s not a secret that some of these events are potentially to gauge places that WWE can go with a bigger setup, with a bigger show.”

Beyond the shows themselves, Rhodes said WWE has focused on building strong connections with local audiences in every city it visits. He said fans across multiple countries have been trying to outdo one another in noise and atmosphere at events.

“A PLE like Clash, for example. I don’t think that’s a secret anymore, especially over here, these countries, to a degree, in a very positive manner, have been competing with each other on who’s the loudest. We get the sound meter, the decibel level, and what city could potentially this next big PLE be in. I think that it’s fun to be here on the ground when we’re first going to play, like Portugal yesterday, first going to places that we haven’t been in a long, long time, to see what the love is there, what the levels are. It’s a tribute to what WWE has become. Universally, there hasn’t been a place we’ve gone that hasn’t been losing their mind.”

Cody Rhodes also highlighted stops in markets WWE has either never visited before or has not visited in many years, including Portugal. Those events, he said, provide valuable insight into the level of demand in underserved regions.