Could Summerslam or Royal Rumble be held in bigger venues?

[babinko]

Just got through watching the 1997 Royal Rumble which was held in the Alamodome. A little over 60k turned out for the event. Also in the past, Wembley Stadium hosted SummerSlam in 1992 with over 80k in attendance.

Do you think WWE could place SummerSlam or Royal Rumble in a stadium setting each year? Do you think the attendance would be a sellout? Should Wrestlemania just be the only "Special Event" that is held in a big venue?

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

It's possible depends on the event itself but WWE would need to promote a Summer Slam or Royal Rumble as much as they do Wrestlemania. Question is are they willing to use their resources in what may be seen as just another PPV?

As for the Alamodome keep in mind that the ticket prices were being sold for really cheap like $10 tickets so I doubt WWF earned much (or even at all) for the event.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I could only see it working if they did two things.

1 - Bring back the Brand Extension and brand-exclusive Pay-Per-Views, so that only the Big Four featured stars from both brands.

2 - Every year at each of the Big Four, do what they do for WrestleMania and announce the following year's location. The only way fans will get super-excited for, say, Survivor Series 2015 in Ford Field, if it's advertised a year in advance and they make a huge deal of it like WrestleMania.

 

[the_peoples_adam]

Summerslam can be held at a bigger arena or stadium as it is the biggest event after Wrestlemania..As the WWE network is on air they may think about holding summerslam in a much bigger arena and market it to the heights of Wrestlemania...
But that may make Wrestlemania less special..
Royal Rumble cant be made big coz that will make two big events back to back and WWE will have no time to hold two big events in that short interval...
Or WWE should think of bringing back STARRCADE and hold it on October, place it in a big arena and market it to the 2nd biggest event next to Wrestlemania...

 

[PingPongBundy]

That's a tough one to be quite honest.The Rumble, I doubt it would work. With the inception on MITB as its own Special Event (wow, it's weird to type that), the Royal Rumble means a bit less than it used to. Whether there will BE a MITB event anymore remains to be seen with only one world title now. SummerSlam has a bit more of a shot to run well in a larger venue. The 1992 SummerSlam is a great example of both sides of the fence on this argument. It drew over 80,000 fans, yes. However, I don't know if it would have done as well here in the U.S. Wrestling was on a bit of a decline at this point compared to a few years back. Hogan was working a very limited schedule at this point. It's obvious that most people flocked to Wembley for this show to see their home countryman compete for the IC title, which as we all know meant a hell of a lot more then. That's why the belt could BE competed for in the main event. Another factor that probably held lesser importance, was that England was getting the first ever WWF PPV. It was something new. People wanted to be there, regardless of the main event. I think for something like SummerSlam to be able to draw in a larger venue, it would have to be held somewhere new and maybe exotic. Say Honolulu held an event, or maybe in Mexico or somewhere in South America, that could draw a huge number of fans if held in a place like a huge soccer stadium. If in Hawaai'i, it could be held in the same stadium that hosts the Pro Bowl. I think this is the only way to draw a lot of fans for something like a SummerSlam. Wrestling just isn't big enough right now for it to be otherwise.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Or WWE should think of bringing back STARRCADE and hold it on October, place it in a big arena and market it to the 2nd biggest event next to Wrestlemania...

I think WCW is too far gone at this point for WWE to do this. They're reluctant to acknowledge pretty much anything that is not WWE-made, and Starrcade was obvously THE big WCW thing.

But the 10-14 year olds of today's wrestling audience weren't even born when WCW was still around, and even the veteran watchers probably don't care so much for WCW anymore either. WWE did some experiments with the "Great American Bash", but I suppose that worked because of the "patriotism" concept of the PPV... and besides, it was just one of the "regular" PPVs, and not billed to be on par with the Summerslam, Survivor Series or the Rumble, let alone Wrestlemania.

As for the OP: I think Summerslam at least could be hosted in a bigger venue, maybe a trip to Europe like for the 1992 SS would be fun again, too.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The answer probably is not in the US... both the Rumble and Summerslam would sell out Wembley with ease, and the roof would mean weather wouldn't be an issue.

The problem is that they traditionally struggle to produce a card worthy of those size buildings that isn't Mania... SS92 was the exception, they almost "scared themselves" with it it seems and went smaller on purpose from then on as they didn't want the "biggest event" to be in the UK or a Summerslam. With Barrett, Sheamus and Neville it is very possible we could see something in the UK soon as the network would negate the "PPV buy" debate over spoilers but I just don't see the Rumble working in a big big US stadium unless the title is on the line.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Could they... sure, but should they..... I think the answer there is no. Mania is supposed to be the biggest and the best so making Rumble or SummerSlam a stadium show like Mania would take away from Mania's overall appeal.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

I don't see why Summerslam, which lately WWE has transitioned into their 2nd biggest event of the year (hence why they've booked Lesnar there the last two years, and added an Axxess schedule) can't be in a mid-sized venue, at least as a trial - it's current home is the Staples Centre in LA that holds circa 20k. Why not try for Dodger Stadium down the road, and push for a 50k crowd? Might be a bit awkward with the MLB scheduling, but they operate in NHL and NBA arenas throughout their seasons, eg the New Orleans Pelicans had to have a road schedule for Wrestlemania week so WWE could use the Smoothie King Center for the Hall of Fame and Raw.

Alternatively why not try one of the new soccer-specific stadiums, that all hold 20k+ - maybe the LA Galaxy venue if they want to stay in the City of Angels? At least it could offer a glimpse of whether or not Dodger Stadium would be viable.

And to the earlier poster who mentioned Wembley Stadium's roof - the 'roof' only covers half the playing area, it's the worst designed 'retractable' roof in the world.

 

[classymikec]

The answer probably is not in the US... both the Rumble and Summerslam would sell out Wembley with ease, and the roof would mean weather wouldn't be an issue.

They could easily sell out Wembley for either, and probably for any other WWE pay-per-view, but Wembley Stadium (i.e. the big, outdoor national stadium) doesn't have a full roof - its only real purpose is to allow sunlight onto the pitch.

Wembley Arena (i.e. the smaller, indoor arena next door) has a roof, as does the O2 Arena. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff is the only major UK Stadium that has a retractable roof (and holds 74,500 people, probably more for a wrestling event) but short of Mason Ryan magically turning into Hulk Hogan I doubt they'd see the money in hosting a major event in Wales...

 

[boozinjedi]

One possibility is in one of those huge Mexican soccer stadiums for Rey Mysterio's last match??
If properly marketed they could fill a dome/stadium for a Rumble or SummerSlam...BUT they like to have Wrestlemania have that big time feel.

 

[Macho Mans Beard]

This could work. Mainly for Summerslam especially. But the problem is having these PPVs in such huge arenas takes away from the appeal of WM. WM is the biggest event in the biggest stages. Having the other Big 3 PPV's (Rumble, Slam, Survivor) in major venues would kill the WWE financially because then it becomes a huge production. And huge productions cost a ton of money.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Well, as has been pointed out, there've been some occasions in which the Royal Rumble has been held in stadiums and has drawn huge crowds. Don't see why they wouldn't be able to do it now, if they wanted to.

I've little doubt that SummerSlam could be held in a larger venue, SummerSlam 2013 is already sold out. When a company puts on a card at the Staples Center that sells out months in advance, long before any matches are even announced for said show, I see no reason to think they couldn't hold the show in a football stadium.

 

[stmarks2002]

With the WWE being the billion dollar machine that it is, I think they should host SummerSlam and the Royal Rumble in larger arenas/stadiums. Marketing and planning is very important for it to happen; they need to treat planning and implementation of the events like they do with WrestleMania. The RR and SS are two huge shows for the company considering that one sets up Mania and the other is follow up after Mania which also helps in setting up the next Mania (i.e. DB vs HHH). As an avid fan of the wrestling business, its very tiring and typical of the usual Los Angeles SummerSlam and who gives a f*** location of the Rumble. The E could cash in if they put the same interest and attention to planning those shows as much as they do with Mania.

When they had SS at Wembley Stadium back in 1992, it was a big deal. There are numerous large venues that could and should host the events. At the end of the day, the larger the crowd, the more money they rake in. Imagine the big 4 events held at one of the pro-football stadiums (indoor) and the luster and prestige of those events being restored. Survivor Series has become a joke and has gotten away from the original concept and the Rumble has just been a sideshow of possible returns and winner predictability.

 

[Attitude_Era_Guy]

Yes. Should they be? No. The last few years, Summerslam and the Royal Rumble have been major disappointments.
_______________________________________________________________
RVD, CM Punk, and Chris Jericho.

 

[Hakushi]

I think that, if that was to be done, Rumble would have absolutely NO problem selling out. Long been one of the majorities favorite PPV's and it's unique, some I know have said they prefer Rumble to Mania......However; Summerslam, being when it is and being as dryly marketed as it has been, would be extremely difficult to fill a 60k+ stadium.

 

[legendkiller1979]

Stadium in need of a show. But most people don't realize is that 20% 60,000 people that attended the 1997 Royal Rumble got in for free. The WWF wanted so badly to sell out the stadium in Shawn Michaels hometown. There were five different prices for tickets. And three of the five were under $20. You don't have to take my word for it. I found out this information on YouTube from Jim Cornette. They couldn't pull this off back in 1997, and the product has gone way downhill since then. So the answer to the question is a definite no in the United States

 

[LODemolition]

There's no question they could, but should they? I think it might take away from the grandeur of Mania, personally
It would be nice once in a while, but definitely not every year. I'd love to see SS happen at Wembley Stadium again. It would have to be a hell of a card, worthy of holding in front or 80,000 plus who would be very vocal if the matches sucked.

 

[TheLittleOne]

television ratings in 1992 both in usa and the uk for WWE ( WWF ) for very very high.. dont forget, there was not many channels.. normally for those that could afford it, about 40-60 channels..and 13-19 for the lower class....
no internet..
SS92 featured WARRIOR, SAVAGE, BRET, BULLDOG who were all four SUPER OVER along with the great months of storyline selling the savage vs warrior match using ric flair and mr perfect.....
and the hometown hero that BULLDOG was.

today rarely besides PUNK in chicago and del rio with mexico wwe rarely mentions that " tonight we are live in the home city, or home state of.."

i dont see it happening, because why fix whats not broken. stadiums do not work well logistically for WWE..especially TODAY's version compared to 92.. 92 all you needed was a ring and lighting over the ring and two spotlights to keep the wrestling lit up during entrance...

now... omg the amount of heavy staging, led lighting, it is possible as we see with wrestlemania but just takes more than one week of work... where an arena takes less than one day.

and i dont know if besides CENA, and now Daniel Bryan, wwe has superstars with GLOBAL presence and super following like WARRIOR & SAVAGE... go back and watch the intro to SummerSlam 92.... most fans were rockin gear for either savage or warrior...and then bret or bulldog....

it is possible, but i dont believe WWE feels it worth it, unless the network subscribers jumps double range, since they keep all the profits from special events now instead of about 40% goin to cable companies, maybe WWE will put the extra effort ( time + money ) in to stadium settings.