First Official Wrestlemania Buys Figures Released

[klunderbunker]

According to WWE's financial reports for the first quarter, Wrestlemania 29 did 1,048,000 buys. This number will likely go up in the future and the final number will be announced in August in the second quarter report. Here's how this year stacks up to the previous four years.

2009 - 960,000 buys
2010 - 885,000 buys
2011 - 1,059,000 buys
2012 - 1,217,000 buys
2013 - 1,048,000 buys (prelim. figure)

Thoughts on this? Good sign? Bad sign?

Note: isn't it interesting that in the last five years, the two lowest drawing shows are the editions that Cena didn't main event?

 

[rclemaire]

Could also be looked at as the 2 years the Rock did not appear, hard to say its cena.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Well, if anything it shows that big time matches don't always draw too well. Mania 2010 and 2009 both had Michaels vs Taker and Cena/Triple H in some role. Hell, Wrestlemania 2010 had Shawn's last match and Bret Hart vs McMahon and it did the lowest in a while. It started rising when new guys were being introduced to the mix. Call it a pattern or whatever you want.

Either way, I expect this year's number to either be as big or a bit higher than last year's. I remember last year's prelim. number was under the 1 mil mark (I think?) and it roes to 1.2 so there's no reason to think this one won't.

Still, Rocky seemed to have helped out quite a bit. Show wasn't good at all but the hype was enough to sell it. I guess Vince wins and we lose? Oh well, the usual.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Well fewer for this year tells me two things - Two rematches was not a good idea and the haphazard way the rest of the show was put together probably hurt it. Hopefully this dissuades them from Rock/Cena 3 and tells them they need a solid plan for Mania months in advance, not announcing matches 2 weeks before.

 

[Redemption-2012]

The WrestleMania buy-rate will keep going up every year. It gets bigger every year, hard to argue why this years Mania did less than last years. Wrestlemania 28 was better and did not have rematches, where as this years did. The build was lackluster and the show was above average. I do think some of it had to do with the fact that the top three matches last year were better than 29.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Note: isn't it interesting that in the last five years, the two lowest drawing shows are the editions that Cena didn't main event?

Interesting statistic but the running order is never announced prior to the event and the HBK vs Taker match going last was a surprise considering that Flair vs HBK was smack dab in the middle of that card. Surely Cena challenging for the belt at Mania should be as much of a draw whether it's obvious that it'll be the headline match or not?

 

[chibet]

Still, Rocky seemed to have helped out quite a bit. Show wasn't good at all but the hype was enough to sell it. I guess Vince wins and we lose? Oh well, the usual.

really? wrestlemania wasn't good "At ALL ?!" maybe its because i have a better sense of what a wrestlemania should look and feel like, being that I have been to the last 10 but I would say that this WM was pretty good. Sure CM PUNK was a letdown compared to the matches that the undertaker has had at past manias but...we had y2j, hhh , brock lesnar , the undertaker, kane, mark henry, hbk, heyman...... the rocks last match...... don't expect to see a group like that ever again at wrestle mania. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the last mania for many of them. but what really matters, the matches were pretty damn good, i enjoyed rock and cena alot more than the previous mania, thought mark henry vs ryback was decent, y2j vs fandango we will look at in the future and realize it's significance , brock and hhh was great, seein lesnar toss trips around suplex after suplex was amazing.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Bigger the venue - bigger the buyrates. So I'm not sold Cena's the reason for the inflated buyrates due to him being in the PPV with The Rock. Cena was on the other PPV's, too so it's not like he wasn't on the WM cards at all.

The Rock draws money. Always has and always will. It really doesn't matter who it's with. Not knocking Cena - I'm merely giving Rock credit where credit's due.

 

[The Perfect Max]

You could say the three highest drawing events from the list all had The Rock featured in some fashion. I think that may have something to do with it, as WrestleMania XXVII certainly wasn't worthy of 1,000,000 buys.

I think that this years figure will rise like it normally does; I would say that around the 1,100,000 mark. To me, this is lower than what I would have thought. Considering it was John Cena vs The Rock II, this time for the WWE Championship, considering that Brock Lesnar was on the card and considering that The Undertaker was facing CM Punk, I would have expected around the 1,150,000 to 1,200,000 mark. Even the fact it was in New York may have given the event more exposure. Still, I think 1,048,000 is pretty good. The event itself may not have been worth it, but still.

As you said, the WrestleMania events in 2009 and 2010 drew 960,000 and 885,000 buys each. While it is true that John Cena wasn't in the "main event match", he was still chasing gold. He won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXV and won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVI. There is a flaw to this though, as if you go back just one year, WrestleMania XXIV drew 1,058,000, which was in the top three highest drawing WrestleMania's along with WrestleMania X-Seven and WrestleMania 23. John Cena wasn't in the "main event match", Edge and The Undertaker were.

Regardless, 1,048,000 is still really good for the company, but I have a feeling, if it doesn't increase much more, WWE and Vince may be a little disappointed, especially with the card it had, from their point of view at least, but I wouldn't say this is concerning. It is obvious WWE does still draw when it comes to April time.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I don't know why so many people hate WM29, I thought it was one of the best Mania's they've had in years, it's actually my third favorite since WM20, after WM24 and WM26. I thought it was much better than 21, 25, and 27, and slightly above 22, 23, and 28. As for the individuals in the main events making a difference, I consider any of the most-hyped matches to be "main event" matches, each Mania since 19 has had at least three "main events". It's impossible to predict what match will close the show, since sometimes the match that should by all rights end the show is put in the middle or the beginning of the card. So only calling the last match the "main event" really doesn't apply for WrestleMania.

 

[XXJJ]

The drop in buys from last year WM to this year tells me that some fans were tired of the rematches. Probably would of been better off having some fresh matches and angles.

I don't think the buys have anything to do with Cena being in the main event. In 2010 (the lowest in 5 years) many fans thought him and Batista were going to close the show. I think Rock coming back added some ppv buys to the last 3 Wrestlemania, not Cena being in the last match.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Probably a good sign. They broke a million with a couple of rematches headlining. Then again they may have been counting on Lesnar to be the difference to push the rate up. Frankly I have no idea, does WWE provide goals or expectations before these events?

The ridiculousness of saying Cena wasn't in the main events of 25 or 26 is pretty silly. The Rock, the change to PG, and the economy of 09 and 10 seem to be far more interesting and likely explanantions for 27, 28, and 29 being better years.

Then again if this is just trolling I will counter by saying, "isn't it interesting the two lowest buyrates of the last five years took place while Shawn Michaels was still competing as Mr. Wrestlemania and the Democrats controlled the Senate, the House, and Presidency during 09 and 10? I blame Nancy Pelosi and Obamacare."

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Note: isn't it interesting that in the last five years, the two lowest drawing shows are the editions that Cena didn't main event?

It has nothing to do with Cena "main-eventing". All those Wrestlemanias had Cena challenging for a WWE or World Championship and all Championship matches are considered main-events. The buyrates are up since The Rock came back.

The Rock = More buys

Wrestlemania 29 sucked BTW. Wrestlemania 28 was way better.

 

[klunderbunker]

It has nothing to do with Cena "main-eventing". All those Wrestlemanias had Cena challenging for a WWE or World Championship and all Championship matches are considered main-events. The buyrates are up since The Rock came back.

The Rock = More buys

Wrestlemania 29 sucked BTW. Wrestlemania 28 was way better.

This is illogical.

First of all, the WWE considers all world title matches to be main events. I highly doubt that most wrestling fans saw Bryan vs. Sheamus as a main event.

Second of all, saying that it was because of Rock is absurd. It's saying that Rock vs. Heath Slater would have drawn a million buys because it was all about Rock, which is simply incorrect. To suggest that Cena wasn't a big part of this is ridiculous, especially given the way TV ratings generally go when he isn't around.

Cena = buys. Always has, always will.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

This is illogical.

First of all, the WWE considers all world title matches to be main events. I highly doubt that most wrestling fans saw Bryan vs. Sheamus as a main event.

Second of all, saying that it was because of Rock is absurd. It's saying that Rock vs. Heath Slater would have drawn a million buys because it was all about Rock, which is simply incorrect. To suggest that Cena wasn't a big part of this is ridiculous, especially given the way TV ratings generally go when he isn't around.

Cena = buys. Always has, always will.

And how is a fan supposed to know which match will be the last match on the card ("main-event") ?

They don't know which match will go on last so it doesn't matter if Cena's match was the last match on the card or not. Cena was still on the card and was wrestling for a World Championship in both Wrestlemania 25 and 26.

 

[Aquaman6686]

They don't know which match will go on last so it doesn't matter if Cena's match was the last match on the card or not. Cena was still on the card and was wrestling for a World Championship in both Wrestlemania 25 and 26.

Exactly. Every WrestleMania starting at 19 has had a minimum of three main events. Whatever matches are hyped the most, are all considered main events.

 

[Pedigree1]

Im not all surprised by this at all! The Rock equals money and Merch always has always will. It is interesting that the Two Manias Cena didnt main event and really they didnt do all that well. Not well compared to WM standards anyways. I expect this number to be close to last years if not surpass it!

People say Punk Vs Taker wasnt as good as it could have been. We have been spoiled with Taker Vs HBK WM25 and WM26 then we get Taker Vs HHH 27,28. Its fuckin hard to keep going at that pace. Sure Punk is a wrestling Genius and a machine! But granted he was banged up going into that match and burnt out. That had something to do with it IMO and the fact he is lucky he didnt break his leg on the announce table.

But overall it was a good Mania IMO not the best not the worse (That honor goes to WM27). But this mania early numbers might equal or come close to last years

 

[klunderbunker]

And how is a fan supposed to know which match will be the last match on the card ("main-event") ?

They don't know which match will go on last so it doesn't matter if Cena's match was the last match on the card or not. Cena was still on the card and was wrestling for a World Championship in both Wrestlemania 25 and 26.

If you didn't know that Rock vs. Cena was main eventing the last two years, you're an idiot. In 2011, the ONLY match that could have gone on last other than Miz vs. Cena was HHH vs. Undertaker and that's a huge stretch.

Of the five years listed, the only one where it was even remotely in question was 2010, but then when you realize it's the Streak vs. the career of Mr. Wrestlemania in the main event of Wrestlemania and also realize that it got far more focus than anything else, it really wasn't that hard to figure out.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

If you didn't know that Rock vs. Cena was main eventing the last two years, you're an idiot. In 2011, the ONLY match that could have gone on last other than Miz vs. Cena was HHH vs. Undertaker and that's a huge stretch.

Of the five years listed, the only one where it was even remotely in question was 2010, but then when you realize it's the Streak vs. the career of Mr. Wrestlemania in the main event of Wrestlemania and also realize that it got far more focus than anything else, it really wasn't that hard to figure out.

It was not obvious at Wrestlemania 27 that Cena vs Miz will main-event over HHH vs Undertaker,especially since Undertaker main-evented Wrestlemania 26.

Also you are ignoring Wrestlemania 24 which had over 1 million buys WITHOUT John Cena in the main-event.

 

[klunderbunker]

Wrestlemania 24 had over 1 million buys WITHOUT John Cena in the main-event.

And Wrestlemania III drew 90,000 fans when Cena was 9 years old. Much like what you just said, that fact has absolutely nothing to do with what we're talking about. Try to keep up.

Of course Rock has a big impact on the PPV buys. he's one of the biggest stars of all time making his grand return to WWE after a LONG absence. However, to suggest that he brought in all these buys on his own is absurd. Cena has been the top draw for WWE for years and will continue to be for years to come. It wasn't just Rock drawing at Wrestlemania. It was Rock vs. Cena.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

And Wrestlemania III drew 90,000 fans when Cena was 9 years old. Much like what you just said, that fact has absolutely nothing to do with what we're talking about. Try to keep up.

Wrestlemania 3 has nothing to do with Wrestlemania 24 when Cena was an active main-eventor.

Cena wrestled in a WWE Championship match which was not the last match yet Wrestlemania 24 still did over 1 million buys.

 

[Brahma_Bull9]

really? wrestlemania wasn't good "At ALL ?!" maybe its because i have a better sense of what a wrestlemania should look and feel like, being that I have been to the last 10 but I would say that this WM was pretty good. Sure CM PUNK was a letdown compared to the matches that the undertaker has had at past manias but...we had y2j, hhh , brock lesnar , the undertaker, kane, mark henry, hbk, heyman...... the rocks last match...... don't expect to see a group like that ever again at wrestle mania. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the last mania for many of them. but what really matters, the matches were pretty damn good, i enjoyed rock and cena alot more than the previous mania, thought mark henry vs ryback was decent, y2j vs fandango we will look at in the future and realize it's significance , brock and hhh was great, seein lesnar toss trips around suplex after suplex was amazing.

Sorry but Wrestlemania was crap, you wasted your money. Being there gives you no more knowledge of it, in fact, it probably makes you a biased observer. The way you throw that out their is extremely obnoxious and condescending, and by your writing, I would say you have no business being any of that.