WWE Day 1 may not be happening for 2023.
Wrestlenomics reported this weekend that Day 1, which was scheduled to be held Jan. 1 from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, was canceled and would not be rescheduled. This would have been the second consecutive year for the premium live event, which was held in 2022 on the same date at the same venue.
WWE has not confirmed the report, but the Wrestling Observer noted that tickets were supposed to go on sale on Sept. 23 and have yet to do so. Dave Meltzer also chimed in with a potential reason for the cancellation, saying there were “conflicts with major football games in Atlanta on 12/31 and 1/1.” He’s referring to the Peach Bowl, which is scheduled for Dec. 31 in Atlanta and will serve as one of the College Football Playoff semifinals this year.
That wouldn’t stop WWE from holding Day 1 elsewhere, of course, but Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer also pointed out this could be part of WWE’s overall plan to hold “more international events and less ‘gimmick shows'” in 2023. Day 1 would certainly qualify as the latter, considering its entire theme is really just that it’s on the first day of the year. As well, Jan. 1 only falls on a weekend every so often, so its life span was probably limited anyway.
If Day 1 is going away, that leaves a gap in the premium live event schedule between Survivor Series on Nov. 26, 2022 and Royal Rumble on Jan. 28, 2023, a span of just over two months. That hasn’t happened since 1995, when the then-WWF held no pay-per-views between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania XI, though there were times in the 2010s where there was nearly two months between those same two events with nothing in-between.
Taking a “less is more” approach would have been nearly unthinkable under Vince McMahon’s leadership — most WWE fans can remember the days of brand exclusive events where there were far more than 12 PPVs a year — but maybe this is another area where the new regime wants to chart its own path. We’ll be keeping an eye on the final fate of Day 1 2023 regardless.