The General Wrestling Thread

[Warner2BruceTD]

Variety reports WrestleMania did 1.2M buys. It was their most profitable event ever.

Fed just pounded his desk with a mighty fist.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Meltzer's take

Without announcing an actual number of PPV buys as they did last year, WWE announced that WrestleMania this year grossed $72 million. The announcement was it was the highest grossing event in history.

No announcement was made how that number was figured. Two years ago, when a similar announcement was made, the number was a combination of the live gate, merchandise sales and total worldwide PPV revenue (of which the company actually gets about half).

WWE told Variety that the show topped 1 million buys and could end up hitting 1.2 million. The release was careful not to say it broke the PPV record for buys. Right now it looks more likely to have been in fourth place in Mania history, or possibly third place.

Last year's show did 1,219,000 buys, the second best total in history (2007 is the record).

The biggest factors that were different this year would have been the price increase and the top of the card featured rematches from matches that took place at the prior WrestleMania and SummerSlam.

Keep in mind that that last year, WWE announced 1.3 million in its first publicity release last year. Then its monthly figures listed 1.21 million in late May, was downgraded to 1.15 million in Late June, and brought back to 1.2 million in July, so there could be a variation to a degree.

The company only needed 988,000 buys to break the all-time event revenue record because of the live gate ($11.3 million using the kind of figuring any other event would use) and the PPV price being increased worldwide.

The event, based on comparable figures, the total worldwide gross for the event was up $5 million from last year. This is not the money WWE takes in. Last year, the figure announced at this point last year was $67 million while the amount the company itself took in was $36.2 million when everything was added up.

The live gate was $3.1 million of that $5 million increase. Merchandise should have also accounted for some of that increase given since the number in the building was up 12.5%. PPV revenue would be up from last year but with the price increase, buys would be down. In addition, WWE & UFC PPVs this past year have shown a significant increase in HD buys vs. SD buys, meaning grosses for PPV revenue this year would be up over last year even with identical numbers of buys at the same price.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

My guess is that the iPPV situation is effecting the buy rate number.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

The lesson here is that you can talk crappy build/tired storylines all you want, but they don't care what the people in this thread or fans like us think. WWE genpop (copyright Larry) and casuals who watch little to no wrestling all year aside from this thought Brock/Trips & Rock/Cena & Punk/Taker were fantastic matches with great stories. WrestleMania name probably gets you almost a million by itself these days.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

The lesson here is that you can talk crappy build/tired storylines all you want, but they don't care what the people in this thread or fans like us think. WWE genpop (copyright Larry) and casuals who watch little to no wrestling all year aside from this thought Brock/Trips & Rock/Cena & Punk/Taker were fantastic matches with great stories. WrestleMania name probably gets you almost a million by itself these days.

This really should be no surprise...ever since WrestleMania I, this is kind of what Vince wanted. Kid friendly product that is more about the brand than specific stars that will pop a monster revenue boost for WrestleMania and then just kind of okie doke it for the rest of the year, perhaps popping a few buyrates for the B shows, Summerslam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

The lesson here is that you can talk crappy build/tired storylines all you want, but they don't care what the people in this thread or fans like us think. WWE genpop (copyright Larry) and casuals who watch little to no wrestling all year aside from this thought Brock/Trips & Rock/Cena & Punk/Taker were fantastic matches with great stories. WrestleMania name probably gets you almost a million by itself these days.

Exactly. A good friend of mine invited me to his house to watch, and all he knew was from what we talked about BS'ing at work from me. In his mind, it was an enjoyable event. For me, I could think of a few PPV's from last year that were better. I also was in the camp that thought TNA's Full Metal Mayhem match, along with the tag title match that same night, had a better build than this year's WM did.

But there are plenty like him who will buy it just because it's the biggest event in wrestling. Just like there are people who will watch the Super Bowl who don't watch football any other time of the year.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

https://twitter.com/Oh_Robert_Evans/status/327637926982860800

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

LOLOLOL @ trying to kill Hulkamania in 2013.

Holy fuck.

 

[FedEx227]

Fed just pounded his desk with a mighty fist.

I was right!

More profitable but less overall buys. I didn't doubt it was going to be the most profitable, highest revenue generating but I thought less people were going to purchase the show. The increase in price would make up for that difference from a financial standpoint though.

 

[JayDizzle]

LOLOLOL @ trying to kill Hulkamania in 2013.

Holy fuck.

If you totally wouldn't care about taste and class, just use Linda Hogan and Nick in a ploy to get in Hulk's head.

Challenge him to a match and have the duo "turn" on you in the last minute before the PPV.

Before the end of the actual match, have them then double turn on Hogan and have your group put Hogan in the hospital for a few months.

Problem solved and you'd effectively alienate whoever's left to watch your show. :kanye:

 

[JimLeavy59]

Just have Hogan give AJ Styles a title shot and put the belt on him and kill this angle.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

 

[JimLeavy59]

Good riddance.

Man everything with The Shield is gold.

 

[BRUCE80]

Geeez no more Hogan with no shirt on please...put your Flair like Bitch tits away Hogan...Walk around on you peg legs and fist pump....and go UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEWWWWWWWWWWWW and then leave your shirt on.

 

[JimLeavy59]

Nice to see the WWE made money but lets see where this company is 5 years from now when they can't rely on guys like Brock,Taker, and Rock to come back for Mania. I still don't really see a long term vision for the WWE.

 

[EmpireWF]

Nice to see the WWE made money but lets see where this company is 5 years from now when they can't rely on guys like Brock,Taker, and Rock to come back for Mania. I still don't really see a long term vision for the WWE.

And what was the long term vision in 2001? - Austin's neck deteriorating, Rocky leaving for Hollywood, Foley at the end of his full-time career, HHH's first torn quad, before Shawn returned, Eddie was fired towards the end of the year....they had Angle, Jericho, Benoit, Taker, the Hardy's, Dudley's, Edge & Christian tho.

They were fortunate Cena struck it big when he did...out of nowhere...there rarely are plans that long in advance as far as the top of the card goes.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Nice to see the WWE made money but lets see where this company is 5 years from now when they can't rely on guys like Brock,Taker, and Rock to come back for Mania. I still don't really see a long term vision for the WWE.

Ambrose, Reigns, Bryan, Cesaro, Barrett, Fandango.

And maybe Cena at that time is in the returning part time legend role.

This company is a machine. They can flip the switch on somebody tomorrow and their fans will eat them up. Five years is literally an eternity in wrestling, so who knows. Somebody completely off the grid could catch fire and be a gigantic star, which is usually what happens.

 

[SuperKevin]

Ambrose, Reigns, Bryan, Cesaro, Barrett, Fandango.

And maybe Cena at that time is in the returning part time legend role.

This company is a machine. They can flip the switch on somebody tomorrow and their fans will eat them up. Five years is literally an eternity in wrestling, so who knows. Somebody completely off the grid could catch fire and be a gigantic star, which is usually what happens.

Probably Sami Callihan

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

2008 WWE - Bobby Lashley, Ric Flair, HBK, Umaga, JBL, Kennedy, Carlito, Batista, Edge, MVP, Finlay were some top names. Mike Adamle was RAW GM.

2008 TNA - Booker T, Christian, Awesome Kong, Kevin Nash were on top.

2008 ROH - Gabe Sapolsky was booking, Austin Aries, Nigel McGuinness, Tyler Black, El Generico, Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Necro Butcher were still around. Still affiliated with Dragon Gate.