Should The WWE Start Holding a Major Annual International PPV?

[ryan86]

I for one, Feel that the WWE should start holding a major Annual PPV overseas, as it could carry the potential of becoming one of the top 3 events of the year after WM and SummerSlam. Now I know it would not surpass Survivr Series or the RR in "prestige", but it could rival it in excitment and interest.

If you like the idea, then where would you hold it, and what PPV would it be? I do not like the idea of creating a "13" PPV for this to happen, as those just flop. And I don't like the idea of creating a brand new name, as it would give no creedence or historical value to the event.

I feel the best way to approach it, would be to take an already historical PPV and place it in either the U.K. or Australia, and give the fans their, a feel of excitment to be hosting, and apart of a major WWE evnent.

I feel the Royal Rumble would be an excellent choice to combine both the importance of the international PPV, and the the international fans experience to be apart of the Road to WrestleMania.

Unpresedented!!!!!

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I think it's a good idea to have a PPV overseas. WWE has gone out of their way to build the product as a world-wide entity so it's only fair to have a PPV overseas.

With that said, I think there's a 0% chance they'd move any of the "Big 4" overseas.

IF WWE were to ever do this, I think they would drop an existing US PPV and make a special annual overseas PPV with an international theme. It would be it's own unique PPV designed specifically for the international audience and that's how it would marketed. Every PPV has a theme and that one would be international or worldwide theme. That's the route
I see them going.

The easy way out would be to just have one of the existing PPVs be overseas each year (and alternate between which one it is, each year but not any of the Big 4). This is less likely though because I think they'd want a specific annual PPV that could have it's own theme.

 

[ryan86]

SDS1582

I think you have hit the nail on the head. I understand your position is more realistic than mine, but I was trying to go big.

The reason I picked the U.K. or Australia is because the euro is very competitive with the dollar and the translation into dollar terms would work out well on the financial side. And as far as Australia, I think they use the dollar as their main curreny so it would work financialy as well. Germany is the only other european option I see (no i'm not referring to Australia as a part of europe, for those who try and parse everything I say with stupid symantics and out of context quotes) as Germany is one of the few growing economies in Europe, with most of europe being in austerity and resession. And I would not choose Asia considering their is alot of currency manipulation going on. So their are alot of factors that go into desiding where to hold the event.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

I think it's a good idea to have a PPV overseas. WWE has gone out of their way to build the product as a world-wide entity so it's only fair to have a PPV overseas.

With that said, I think there's a 0% chance they'd move any of the "Big 4" overseas.

IF WWE were to ever do this, I think they would drop an existing US PPV and make a special annual overseas PPV with an international theme. It would be it's own unique PPV designed specifically for the international audience and that's how it would marketed. Every PPV has a theme and that one would be international or worldwide theme. That's the route
I see them going.

The easy way out would be to just have one of the existing PPVs be overseas each year (and alternate between which one it is, each year but not any of the Big 4). This is less likely though because I think they'd want a specific annual PPV that could have it's own theme.

Not sure if you are aware of this but WWE (F at the time) already tried this with "Insurrextion" and "Rebellion" from 1999-2002. OH and NO mercy(199 UK) was also overseas, they were all held in the UK.

Now that is out of the way so lets get back on topic. If 2 VERY minor PPVs were cancelled because the cost of going over to the UK was not worth the buys and attendance they were getting than I doubt it would work this time. The time and money it would take to get over there isn't worth it. Now I am not in anyway bashing ANY non american WWE fans, but most of the times WWE has attempted a PPV outside the US and Canada it eventually met an inevitable termination to it's run as an event. To take any of the big 4 over there would be make no sense given the past of oversea PPV events the WWE has had. The chances of it ever happening again are very slim unfortunately since I always found Rebellion, and Insurrextion to be very interesting shows, despite their minor effect on the title changes, and storylines as well as any other PPV later that year. If this were to happen again they would just do it with a filler Pay Per View like Vengeance or Over the Limit.

 

[amazing_blue]

This is a fantastic idea. I think that they could start doing this in 2012, and then hold the PPVs in a different country every year. There are plenty of places they could go with this.

London, England - The WWE is huge in England, and once held PPVs there. Who could forget SummerSlam 1992 at Wembly Stadium? With the recent influx of talent from this part of the world, a PPV in this arena is long overdue. Showcase Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre and William Regal alongside American greats such as CM Punk, John Cena, Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler. Throw in other international talent for good measure.

Mexico City, Mexico - Raw was recently held here and was a huge success. Why not hold a PPV here with an emphasis on Hispanic (especially Mexican) talent?

Dublin, Ireland - Imagine what a homecoming this would be for Sheamus.

Just a few ideas there. If these were successful, then they could experiment with more exotic locations.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Not sure if you are aware of this but WWE (F at the time) already tried this with "Insurrextion" and "Rebellion" from 1999-2002. OH and NO mercy(199 UK) was also overseas, they were all held in the UK.

Now that is out of the way so lets get back on topic. If 2 VERY minor PPVs were cancelled because the cost of going over to the UK was not worth the buys and attendance they were getting than I doubt it would work this time. The time and money it would take to get over there isn't worth it. Now I am not in anyway bashing ANY non american WWE fans, but most of the times WWE has attempted a PPV outside the US and Canada it eventually met an inevitable termination to it's run as an event. To take any of the big 4 over there would be make no sense given the past of oversea PPV events the WWE has had. The chances of it ever happening again are very slim unfortunately since I always found Rebellion, and Insurrextion to be very interesting shows, despite their minor effect on the title changes, and storylines as well as any other PPV later that year. If this were to happen again they would just do it with a filler Pay Per View like Vengeance or Over the Limit.

Thanks for pointing out the overseas ones that already happened. I kinda remember the Insurrextion thing, now that you mention it.

I think one thing to consider is that WWE was not as big overseas then as it is now. That was over 10 years ago. There is a new generation of fans and the WWE Universe has grown even larger.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

Back when WWE did it MNR was taped every other week. It might help with the international fans, but I dont think its a good idea.

Look at when WWE goes overseas. They are there for a week and EVERYTHING is taped. MNR would have to be overseas for 2 weeks, meaning for 2 weeks it would be taped, as well as Smackdown (yes I know Smackdown is taped already).

Holding a live show such as a PPV would have to be held extremely early leading into their Monday morning for it to air over here in the states at the right time. You would throw every worker off and exhaust your wrestlers quick, THEN turn around and try to either have some house shows here or give them a few days off.

I just dont see it working today. You have to remember...depending on where the show is being held, its a least a days fight just to get to the city. They would have to fly out on Thursday or Friday, have a day for promotion, do the PPV, then fly out for a day to make it back to the states. Thats some serious jet-lag!

 

[ryan86]

Dont even start that overseas isn't profitable crap! You need to take a look at the WWE financial statement breakdown befor you make such a claim. Live events overseas are up 52% since 2001 and are credited with garnering so much success that they were able to offset the write-off losses the WWE faced with it's failed WWE "straight to DVD" movies. Profits were up 13% because of the extended international tours. WWE is tapping into this growing and expanding international market more and more, especially since 2009. This will become a reality, it is just a matter of where.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

Thanks for pointing out the overseas ones that already happened. I kinda remember the Insurrextion thing, now that you mention it.

I think one thing to consider is that WWE was not as big overseas then as it is now. That was over 10 years ago. There is a new generation of fans and the WWE Universe has grown even larger.

Take into account the time zone show issues they would encounter. It would take quite the hassle to get it to show in the u.s at the same time it shows anywhere else. Plus maybe the PPV would be taped (not likely but a possibilty). These where problem WWE first had at SummerSlam 1992 at the wembley stadium in England.

 

[JohnnyBlaze1986]

There is a simple reason why not:

SPOILERS.

If I know what happened, why would I bother ordering the PPV? Only thing I can see is if they hold Wrestlemania in London and they could show it here at 1PM(I live in NJ).

 

[willross]

You can't run a PPV overseas. Look at how the ratings dip on taped tv's and now imagine if someone had spoilers for a PPV? Who would buy it? THe buys are already going down when the fans don't have a play by play of what goes on at the event.

Running TV's are fine cause they still get the advertising dollars to compensate for the dip in ratings but dips in PPV buys are a much bigger deal and should not be sacrifised. WWE beat WCW because of how they do PPV and when a majority of your buys come from the USA (where the population is also significantly higher) you can't lose a month's worth of PPV buys from your main market.

Good idea for those in Britain but not a good business move for the WWE

 

[Paralyzer Z]

talking to anyone who claims oversea touring isnt profitable. Its added more to WWE success than alot of people are giving it credit for.

Yes it does.... to their monthly PPV buys that are held right here in North America. People from around the world do profit WWE but in the way stated above by myself. They come to Wrestlemania and buy the monthly regular events. As far as touring goes even with the possibility or desire to go overseas you have the timing and possible taping issues.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

talking to anyone who claims oversea touring isnt profitable. Its added more to WWE success than alot of people are giving it credit for.

No one said anything about it not being profitable. Its just not a smart idea for WWE to try to hold a PPV LIVE internationally. Its almost impossible to hold it live because, like I said, WWE would have to hold the PPV early in the morning to day just to sync up live for the states.

Plus, JohnnyBlaze1986 said it best...if its NOT live, spoilers are going to be online just like last weeks RAW. Numbers have shown that taped events nowdays dont do good enough ratings as live shows...it has NOTHING to do with profit.

When WWE held those PPVs overseas years ago, the internet was just getting into its prime. If those PPVs were taped, no spoilers were available at the time. Now you cant have a taped show without spoilers popping up online. RAW when its taped, every Smackdown, every Impact.

I just dont think its a smart business move for WWE to do. It would take WWE out of comission for almost 2 weeks. Again, WWE arrives to the city on Friday or Saturday, takes Saturday or Sunday to promote, show goes on LATE Sunday early Monday morning, either fly to the next city to tape RAW, next city for Smackdown on Tuesday, fly out maybe Tuesday night and get into the states by about Tuesday OUR TIME. They would need the rest week off and MAYBE the weekend to be able to go to the next city for live RAW.

 

[rge2010]

Not sure if you are aware of this but WWE (F at the time) already tried this with "Insurrextion" and "Rebellion" from 1999-2002. OH and NO mercy(199 UK) was also overseas, they were all held in the UK.

Now that is out of the way so lets get back on topic. If 2 VERY minor PPVs were cancelled because the cost of going over to the UK was not worth the buys and attendance they were getting than I doubt it would work this time.

Insurrextion lasted until 2005 actually as I was at that. WWE dropped the ball with this because they had an American PPV a few weeks after with exactly the same card! They also held these events in Arenas which held 15,000.

If PPV's are coming to UK then they need to hold it at Wembley Stadium in the summer. 90,000 fans and make a big deal out of it and yeh it has to be a big one. Otherwise, dont bother.

As for making money, well wouldnt European PPV buys be up as it was on at a suitable time rather than 1am-4am??? It would be broadcasted in the States around mid day wouldnt it? Dont see what the problem would be. Can only try it.

 

[Young Money]

Definitely, but if their first international PPV was to be held in either Australia or the UK, I'd choose the UK due to the fact they already are doing taped RAW and Smackdown shows then they should move on to Australia.
I am from Australia btw.

I believe WWE held an event in Melbourne, Australia back in 2002 called the "Global Warning Tour" which wasn't televised or a PPV, but was later released on DVD and VHS. This event drew a crowd of 56,700 in attendance.
Even the RAW house shows in Melbourne and Sydney draw around 12,000 and 15,000 (held in smaller arenas than the Global Warning Tour was held in). I don't know why WWE haven't done a taped RAW here yet..

 

[ryan86]

London is only 5 hours ahead of U.S. eastern time zone.

That means that if the event started at 8pm london time, the PPV would be shown live 3pm est U.S. time zone on Sunday.

that is definatly workable. and as for all the "hardship" and "suffering" theses poor grown men, who are on the road 250 days out the year and constantly on long international flights annually already...OMG, how could they possably do it....

Show a little more respect to the international fan base that is just as passionate and just as deserving as us U.S. fans. And stop patronizing the wrestlers like their fragile people whom arent paid to endure the stress.

 

[SD619]

It could work under the following circumstances:

1. It is not a big 4 PPV.

2. It is not pre-taped.

Being pre-taped would result in spoilers and PPV buys will be affected. As far as locations go, England/Ireland could be feasible considering that there is only a 5 hour time difference between them and USA(where the core of the WWE's audience lies). I don't think that holding a live PPV in Australia would be that good an idea because of the time difference. Australia is about 12 hours ahead of USA. A PPV that airs at 8pm in Australia would be starting at 8am in the US and would result in many missing it.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The problem with holding a major PPV in other countries is what if they cannot get enough people to come? Suddenly they lose a ton of potential money off tickets and merchandise. They should reserve shows like that for places they know they can make a fortune at. I think this would be better for one of the less important PPV's because they could do a show with a theme based upon where it will be at like they did with Capitol Punishment in DC. They can replace Capitol Punishment with this international show, since it will obviously get replaced anyway, and see how it does. England or Canada would be a great place to start.

 

[ryan86]

To Dagger Dias:

Australia has hosted events for WWE that were not tellivized, nor a ppv and drew almost 57,000 for a single event. The other events they have held allways sold out.

In Lodon, Their ticket sells out paced demestic sells in recent years and could easily put on a major PPV like the RR, and sell 50,000 tickets.

and since the euro is right on par with the worth of the dollar, they would not make any less money.

And international fans are much more passionate at the events than most of the domestic audience and would purchase much more merchandise, which is almost always the case.

and as has been stated several times, London is aonly 5 hours ahead of U.S. est. time, so an event held at 8pm would show live in the U.S. at 3pm.

The RR is usualy always garunteed 400,000 buys domesticly, and if actualy held in the UK, I'm sure they could garner another 150,000 buys. The RR would go viral in the U.K., (considering it's massive importance to the "Road to WrestleMania") 50k tickets sold minimun.

 

[ShatteredDreamsProduction]

If people are so bothered about it taking away money by moving an event overseas, why not use the time when they tour europe to add in a PPV, maybe like the UK Rampage of the early 1990's. they drew huge crowds for the time and had good matches on all the way through.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

London is only 5 hours ahead of U.S. eastern time zone.

That means that if the event started at 8pm london time, the PPV would be shown live 3pm est U.S. time zone on Sunday.

that is definatly workable. and as for all the "hardship" and "suffering" theses poor grown men, who are on the road 250 days out the year and constantly on long international flights annually already...OMG, how could they possably do it....

Show a little more respect to the international fan base that is just as passionate and just as deserving as us U.S. fans. And stop patronizing the wrestlers like their fragile people whom arent paid to endure the stress.

I know that there is a 90% chance that you are referring to me to here it os:

#1. I am not in anyway insulting the international fan base. I just based the failure of the previous attempts at International PPV events as an example. I get it, it is past and gone and the fan base has grown significantly since then. Of course wrestlers are not patronized to like they are fragile, they are hard working men that endure the stress and tiring duty of travel and fan services.

#2. Back on topic, if you say that the fan base has grown that much than why have WWE not done it yet. There must be something like travel issues, timing issues, or even lack of desire to go outside of the U.S and Canada. I know that the international audience may be more lively than the domestic, and it may be more attracted to going to PPV events if held in their homeland. As history has shown the 1992 Summerslam event had underwhelming American buyrates so that should leave some indication as to why overseas PPV have not happened again outside of 2 minor events like Insurrextion and rebellion. Who knows maybe WWE will one day return to the UK or Australia? All I know is that there is a reason why it remains to have happened whether it be what I already stated or something else.

 

[ryan86]

To Zrise:

Ask yourself why WWE international tours are up 52% since 2001?

Thats not a 52% increace in events, That is a 52% increace in tours.

The average tour is 2 weeks and consist of about 6 events. Go do the math, put 2 and 2 togather, and somehow you come up with the conclusion that WWE has tapped into a much much much larger international market than 8-10 years ago. And its still growing, unlike the domestic fanbase.

You want to know how successful?

it is credited with boosting WWE profits 13%, enough to offset the write-off losses that the failed WWE studios (straight-to-DVD) movies did.

You wanna know what effect that had? It kept investers from dumping millions worth of stock, and kept the IPO value stable.

Those financial reports are mighty important when understanding why WWE would make a certian descision.

And an international PPV is most likely going to happen. What, and when is my only question.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

To Zrise:

Ask yourself why WWE international tours are up 52% since 2001?

Thats not a 52% increace in events, That is a 52% increace in tours.

The average tour is 2 weeks and consist of about 6 events. Go do the math, put 2 and 2 togather, and somehow you come up with the conclusion that WWE has tapped into a much much much larger international market than 8-10 years ago. And its still growing, unlike the domestic fanbase.

You want to know how successful?

it is credited with boosting WWE profits 13%, enough to offset the write-off losses that the failed WWE studios (straight-to-DVD) movies did.

You wanna know what effect that had? It kept investers from dumping millions worth of stock, and kept the IPO value stable.

Those financial reports are mighty important when understanding why WWE would make a certian descision.

And an international PPV is most likely going to happen. What, and when is my only question.

To answer your question I can see an Over the Limit PPV being held over there in a couple of years. The PPV itself the biggest filler of the year and I think that a British or Australian crowd could bring it to life. Other than that I could see Vengeance being there, same explanation as that before. I would also like to see a PPV in Mexico just to see a different atmosphere than 2 countries that are as similar to the U.S as the UK and Australia which is what most people are suggesting. There a probalby even more fans in Mexico that in the other two.

 

[Rated sj]

I was thinking why not use the Capitol Punishment ppv since the june ppv is usually the ppv where WWE do random feuds and matches thus spoilers won't have a to big effect in the U.S.A as long as the card is strong. The ppv doesn't need to be renamed just change the theme according to country every year.

 

[CanYouDigIt98]

I Live in Liverpool , where Raw was recently broadcasted from aswell as SD! Which i attend . The atmostsphere at raw was unbelievable there was accents from all round the UK and even in front of a less crowd smackdown also had a good atmostphere ... I Think that the passion of our fan base in the uk is really growing ..

10/15 years ago i dont think WWE Would of had a lot of programing shown on the t.v ... yet now you can always rely on sky sports 3 which is pretty much like are wwe at the moment it is filled with wwe programing ...

i think they should have an overseas PPV , As we are dersevrant to say the lest to have one ...

i quite like Rated sj post about having an captiol punishment replaced with a ppv maybe having the ppv in the capital like in england at maybe a football stadium like the ETHIAD Because wemebley i dont belive would sell out and maybe the same for diffrent countries like arenas and stadiums like the olympic stadium in berlin , vicente caldron in madrid ...

it would boost to get a better crowd ...



JUST TAKE CARE ... SPIKE YOUR HAIR