WWE schedule 2018: Organisers axe No Mercy and Great Balls of Fire shows for the Raw and Smackdown rosters
Vince McMahon and his wrestling chiefs have made a number of changes to next year's PPV line-up after the hectic and packed 2017 calendar
WWE have dropped the much-maligned Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view.
The wrestling company had reportedly been debating whether to cut the number of PPV events in 2018 after a huge offering this year.
2017 had six brand-specific shows for the and rosters along with the big four of Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and which would feature stars from both shows.
However, amid talk of budget cuts and a struggle to sell tickets at live events, they have now axed two shows.
Great Balls of Fire debuted at the American Airlines Centre in Dallas last July.
But that will be the show's only outing, for the foreseeable future at least, after released next year's schedule.
No Mercy was also another casualty.
The new-look reduced line-up will now have five shows for Raw, four for SmackDown and five will be co-branded.
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And it looks like Money in the Bank will be receiving an even bigger push than normal as that has now been extended to talent from both shows.
The Rumble will kick-off the new year on January 28 before the Raw performers battle it out at the Elimination Chamber a month later in Las Vegas.
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The months of May and September will still provide fanatics with a double dose of PPV action.
Raw's offering of Backlash is on May 6 before the SmackDown show Payback takes place three weeks later on May 27.
WWE'S REPORTED 2018 PPV SCHEDULE
Royal Rumble, Jan. 28 - Philadelphia
Elimination Chamber, Feb. 25 - Las Vegas (Raw)
Fastlane, Mar. 11 - Columbus, OH (SmackDown)
WrestleMania, April, 8 - New Orleans
Backlash, May, 6 - Newark (Raw)
Payback, May 27 - Baltimore (SmackDown)
Money in The Bank, June, 17 - Chicago
Battleground, July 15 - Pittsburgh (Raw)
SummerSlam, Aug. 19 - Brooklyn
Extreme Rules, Sept. 16 - San Antonio (Raw)
Hell in a Cell, Sept. 30 - Nashville (SmackDown)
TLC, Oct. 21 - Boston (Raw)
Survivor Series, Nov. 18 - Los Angeles
Clash of Champions, Dec. 16 - San Jose, CA (SmackDown)
The red brand will then star at Extreme Rules on September 16 before the team blue Hell in a Cell event a fortnight afterwards.
The full reported schedule for next year can be viewed above.