Why is WWE SummerSlam on Saturday?

WWE SummerSlam 2022 is taking place on Saturday, July 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. Here is why WWE has moved their premium live events away from Sundays and to Saturdays.

WWE SummerSlam has arrived, taking place on Saturday, July 30. There are going to be eight matches on the card, including Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

For WWE fans they may have noticed a trend that a majority of their premium live events have taken place on Saturdays instead of Sundays like in the past.

Why is WWE SummerSlam on a Saturday?

Back in November 2021, then-President and Chief Revenue Officer and now current co-CEO Nick Khan spoke on the company’s third quarter financial earnings call about the change in their approach to pay-per-view events. That included holding shows on Saturdays and placing them in stadiums for the 2022 schedule.

The quote can be read below, h/t Fightful:

"“One area we’ve spent the last year examining is our strategic approach to pay-per-views. We’ve looked into all parts of that business and are making adjustments that we believe will enhance our results by making each pay-per-view a special event, not only as content but in all things surrounding each event. As promised last quarter, we recently announced our pay-per-view calendar for 2022. The dates, cities, and venues.“For the first time in our history, we’re hosting at least four pay-per-view nights in a stadium in the United States. First, Royal Rumble on January 29 at the Dome at America Center in St. Louis, a Saturday night where there is no real competitive programming on the sports calendar. Typically, we have done Royal Rumble a week later during Pro Bowl weekend. This year, we wanted to support our NBCU partners and not go up against the Winter Olympics. Thus far, ticket sales are off the charts, track as well as this year’s SummerSlam, where we ended up with a gate four times the gate of SummerSlam 2019, a clear sign of the value of bringing our tentpole events to major venues on the right night. Next, in terms of stadium events, a two-night WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3. In 2016 at ATT&T Stadium, we had over 100,000 fans in attendance for WrestleMania. Let’s see what two nights brings for our Super Bowl. Our stadium event after that, a big five pay-per-view, Money in the Bank, the weekend going into July 4, will be back in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Over 400,000 people are expected to travel to Las Vegas that weekend to celebrate the fourth. We expect to see many of them at Money in the Bank. About a month later, SummerSlam at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, again, on a Saturday, July 30. Have you been to Nashville in the summer on a weekend? It’s booming and growing and we’re growing SummerSlam with it. What we found from this past SummerSlam in Las Vegas, of the 50,000 plus who attended, not one ticket was purchased from Tennessee. Not one. So many similarities between those two cities on the weekends, not much crossover between those two cities on the weekends. A robust ticket buying market in each for us to tap into and grow in.”"

The majority of WWE’s premium live events have been held on Saturdays. There were a few exceptions, such as Night 2 of WrestleMania 38 (Apr. 3), WrestleMania Backlash (May 8), and Hell in a Cell (June 5).

There are four remaining premium live events on the calendar year following SummerSlam. They will all take place on a Saturday. You can see the dates in the list below:

• Clash at the Castle, Saturday, Sept. 3
• Extreme Rules, Saturday, Oct. 8
• Crown Jewel, Saturday, Nov. 5
• Survivor Series, Saturday, Nov. 26

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