Sting Has Already Made WWE 5 Million Dollars

[thestud77]

The numbers are out for Survivor Series and the ppv drew over 100,000 buys when the ppv was offered for free on the network. I have a friend who works in the business and he said that the word is over 70 percent of those people bought the ppv after the breaking news of Sting's debut. As you know I've said since day one that regardless of his age that Sting would be a massive draw for the WWE and again I was proven right. Many of the idiots on these forums (mostly Daniel Bryan fans) complained over and over again that nobody would know Sting in 2014 and that he should step nowhere near a WWE ring. Well he did and made WWE over 5 million dollars in one night something Daniel Bryan never did. With that being said the question is now what should WWE do with Sting? It's obvious he can't just come in for one match he needs at least one more mini run before he retires. It would be smart business to advertise Sting in a world title match, imagine how much money that would draw. I would even put the belt on Sting for a month or so before Seth Rollins cashes in his money in the bank.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The numbers are out for Survivor Series and the ppv drew over 100,000 buys when the ppv was offered for free on the network. I have a friend who works in the business and he said that the word is over 70 percent of those people bought the ppv after the breaking news of Sting's debut. As you know I've said since day one that regardless of his age that Sting would be a massive draw for the WWE and again I was proven right. Many of the idiots on these forums (mostly Daniel Bryan fans) complained over and over again that nobody would know Sting in 2014 and that he should step nowhere near a WWE ring. Well he did and made WWE over 5 million dollars in one night something Daniel Bryan never did. With that being said the question is now what should WWE do with Sting? It's obvious he can't just come in for one match he needs at least one more mini run before he retires. It would be smart business to advertise Sting in a world title match, imagine how much money that would draw. I would even put the belt on Sting for a month or so before Seth Rollins cashes in his money in the bank.

Of course Sting's first ever WWE appearance was gonna draw. Nobody denied that because the novelty of Sting appearing in a WWE ring for the very first time is something people would want to so. However, the way you measure whether or not someone is a genuine draw in the long term is to see what sort of numbers they bring each week. When Hulk Hogan first debuted in TNA, they drew the single biggest rating and highest viewership in the history of the show. They continued to draw strong numbers for the next several weeks but after that, the numbers went back to normal. If Sting was going to be on WWE television week after week, the exact same thing would happen. When Sting first comes to Raw, people will be interested and they'll stay interested for a while.

However, it's not a fair comparison because, according to reports, Sting's WWE deal has a total of 6 appearances between Survivor Series and WrestleMania XXXI. Sting will be used as a special attraction for WrestleMania XXXI, he'll be used very sparingly at that. But if he ever becomes a regular fixture on WWE television in the post WrestleMania season, his drawing power will almost certainly vastly decrease.

As far as Sting having a run with the title? No...just no. Between The Rock & Brock Lesnar, we've seen more than enough vanity runs with the WWE Championship over the past couple of years. If Sting beat Lesnar, just imagine how bad that would make the rest of the roster look. Sting's about 20 years older than Lesnar and when a senior citizen does what a roster full of 30 year olds can't, it looks back no matter which way you slice it.

 

[tvcolosi]

I don't want to be rude, but is this really a topic? I worked at Comcast for over 5 years in the sales call center... 97% of ALL PPVs are ordered within 30-60 minutes of the event starting.. you order it from the remote control in the guide.

That's how PPV works... so your friends estimate of "over 70%" is inaccurate...

 

[thestud77]

Of course Sting's first ever WWE appearance was gonna draw. Nobody denied that because the novelty of Sting appearing in a WWE ring for the very first time is something people would want to so. However, the way you measure whether or not someone is a genuine draw in the long term is to see what sort of numbers they bring each week. When Hulk Hogan first debuted in TNA, they drew the single biggest rating and highest viewership in the history of the show. They continued to draw strong numbers for the next several weeks but after that, the numbers went back to normal. If Sting was going to be on WWE television week after week, the exact same thing would happen. When Sting first comes to Raw, people will be interested and they'll stay interested for a while.

However, it's not a fair comparison because, according to reports, Sting's WWE deal has a total of 6 appearances between Survivor Series and WrestleMania XXXI. Sting will be used as a special attraction for WrestleMania XXXI, he'll be used very sparingly at that. But if he ever becomes a regular fixture on WWE television in the post WrestleMania season, his drawing power will almost certainly vastly decrease.

As far as Sting having a run with the title? No...just no. Between The Rock & Brock Lesnar, we've seen more than enough vanity runs with the WWE Championship over the past couple of years. If Sting beat Lesnar, just imagine how bad that would make the rest of the roster look. Sting's about 20 years older than Lesnar and when a senior citizen does what a roster full of 30 year olds can't, it looks back no matter which way you slice it.

Wrong again poindexter. You and many others on this forum said "Nobody will remember Sting, he won't pop a rating and the crowd will be silent". He popped a rating, highest rating of the year for raw. The crowd which to that point had been silent, went crazy when Sting made his debut. He also did something not many other performers have done....sold over 100,000 ppvs by himself. I have a friend whom works at FYE and he told me that the pre orders for the Survivor Series dvd have outpaced every other dvd this year. I got news for ya....Sting is a big freaking deal. I've got some more news for ya....pro wrestling is fake so Sting's age doesn't really matter when it comes to winning the belt. It's not 55 year old Steve Borden winning the title, it's the forever young iconic Sting character winning the big belt. WWE is in the business of making money and Sting winning the world title if only for a few weeks is money. Period. Can you imagine the crowd's response if Sting won the title? They would go bat shit crazy!!!!!!! They wouldn't be worrying about the "the rest of the roster" or the "prestige" of the title because they would be to busy enjoying the product in front of them. Maybe if you and the other internet wresting fans on here got a job and moved out of your parents basement you could enjoy WWE entertainment for what is.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

Survivor Series had a great build up for the main event. They devoted a great deal of TV and had a lot of star power in the match. The Authority storyline had been going on over a year and everyone wanted to see Triple H and Stephanie lose there power. There was a great deal of interest and intrigue heading into the event.
There was some buzz earlier that day online that Sting would make his debut but I think it's unfair to give him all the credit for the strong butyrate.Survivor Series drew because it was a good storyline with a good build up that got fans invested in the main event.

 

[HeyYo]

How are the ratings for Raw now? The last rating was a 2.65. 2.65 is not good. Sting draws for 1 night. It's expected but he will be a draw as long as his appearances are sporadic. It will end after a few months.

 

[New Hot Fed]

I had no idea Sting would be there. So it can't be that.

The reason for the good numbers was that for the first time in a while a WWE PPV was well build. See WWE, that's not that difficult.

 

[wwesux]

Oh my gosh here we go again! STINGaka STINK doesn t draw much viewership especially since Steve Borden made a 1 yr wwe deal which has a total of 6 appearances between Survivor Series and WrestleMania XXXI. After that he is in TNA bound he has no interest in wwe neither does LESNER! They are only there for the profitship when mc moron is high and dry and has no more money to feed LESNER more and STING they are gone but for Steve he doesn t care about money its his reputation he is cautious and wants to be sure his image is not tarnished and ruined! Face it wwe depends on part timers like Rock, Brock Lesner, Y2Jobber ,underfaker and now STING
Whatever happened to building stars of tomorrow ? Cause he has no tomorrow stars to begin building up with! Already wwe thinks Reigns is not ready and his mic skills need improvement as well as his ring moves lol. So to tell you STINK is no freaking big deal he is passing through and then he is gone STINK didn t increase SS buyrates one bit!

 

[BuriedByCena]

It's pretty sad WWE has to rely on a 55 year old has been to get PPV buys. Makes me wonder why they refuse to push younger new guys instead of relying on SuperCena and part timers. I just don't get this company. Those 100K buys were obviously Sting fans who don't watch WWE normally and didn't know the event was for free.

Other wise they would have just watched it for free. WWE needs to be targeting an older audience instead of kids.

 

[tvcolosi]

Guys...Sting didn't draw a penny that night. The whole idea of Sting being the reason it sold 100,000 buys on the day of SS is asinine (asiten too for you ESPN first take fans.) because ppvs are ordered the day of.. that the whole idea. you can place the order for a ppv 2-3 days in advance on most cable boxes, but you can undo them before it starts. meaning the box reports your order as if orderd at 7:30est when the preshow starts in the PPV Channel

 

[Just Zay'n]

It's pretty sad WWE has to rely on a 55 year old has been to get PPV buys. Makes me wonder why they refuse to push younger new guys instead of relying on SuperCena and part timers. I just don't get this company. Those 100K buys were obviously Sting fans who don't watch WWE normally and didn't know the event was for free.

Other wise they would have just watched it for free. WWE needs to be targeting an older audience instead of kids.

As much as I like Sting, this is so true. At the beginning of the PPV, Vince said "this is sure to be a Survivor Series you'll never forget". Which, obviously, was in reference to Sting's appearance, and not the 3 hour show being put on by the actual full-time wrestlers. Talk about relying on a gimmick over the actual merit of the performers.

WWE being targeted toward an older audience is just something that needs to happen. I know a lot of people would say "The Attitude Era is over, get over it", and "blood, nudity and swearing doesn't mean good pro wrestling", but it's not about that, it's about giving the superstars the freedom to do and say whatever the hell they want. Think about where the careers of Austin and Rock would go if they had started well into the PG Era. Nowhere near as far, I'd bet. 80% of their promo material wouldn't be allowed. I just can't believe WWE doesn't realize this.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

So lowly wrestling news sites leaking the Sting debut popped a buyrate? Can't believe that. Nobody reads these sites, and those who do would know very well how to legally get the pay-per-view for $9.99 rather than a ridiculous $44.95. Oh, and why would people put so much faith in the reports of Sting's impending debut anyway? He's been rumoured to appear so many times before ("2 21 11", WrestleMania 30, the Raw after, the night of the Network launch, and SummerSlam 2014 to name the more "he's definitely-appearing" dates).

I DO believe that Sting impacted the Raw rating the following night, though. And his merchandise sales have been strong. He makes money for WWE, alright.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I have a friend who told me that WWE had 150,000 buys at 1pm that day but cancelations came flying through when it was leaked that Sting would appear. For those that took the survey, most said they were not about to pay $50 for a wasted Sting debut on another screw job ending to a PPV. So by that math Sting has already cost WWE $2.5 million. The rest were pissed that The Authority was losing their role.

Sting is doing fine. He didn't make the company $5 million in one night. I have no idea how much his name made the company but I'm sure it is closer to $0 than $5 million. But he certainly made the company some money with the leak.

I'm sorry to the OP that some people said some things about Sting that upset you. I'm sure it was mostly from the minority on the internet. Don't get so worked up. Sting will draw some money in his short WWE tenure. Hopefully for WWE it is enough to justify his salary.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It's pretty sad WWE has to rely on a 55 year old has been to get PPV buys.

By itself, that statement might stand but when we think of a company trying to generate and sustain sales, it's only partially true.

Fans that are in the same age group as Sting are still out there; since we hear that pro wrestling consists mostly of males in the 30-45 age group, one might figure the folks in their late 50's to late 60's that used to be fans of the sport.....and remember folks like Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund in the ring......are worth courting, too. Over the years, they've presumably abandoned this particular form of entertainment.....and in that regard, if Sting is enough to bring 'em back, even for one night, it might be worth paying Steve Borden a fortune to get it done. I would imagine the hope of WWE is that some of them will like what they see and..... old wrestling fans that they are....enough will stick around, even after the excitement over seeing Sting is over.

In and of itself, whether paying Sting the kind of money he's getting......not to mention paying Brock Lesnar whatever he makes.....is subject to criteria I have no way of analyzing.....and it always gives me a charge when I read folks on this forum telling us they know the formulas involved and that a performer is....or isn't....worth what he/she is getting.

But hey, it's a pro wrestling forum....so it's all good.

 

[FlairFan2003]

It's pretty sad WWE has to rely on a 55 year old has been to get PPV buys. Makes me wonder why they refuse to push younger new guys instead of relying on SuperCena and part timers. I just don't get this company. Those 100K buys were obviously Sting fans who don't watch WWE normally and didn't know the event was for free.

Other wise they would have just watched it for free. WWE needs to be targeting an older audience instead of kids.

What ?!?! That doesn't make sense. You criticize WWE for relying on older wrestlers THEN say they should be focusing on targeting an older audience. Uhhh Duhhhh....older wrestlers TARGET the older audience.......

As for an extra how many fans tuning into see Sting...OF COURSE they don't watch WWE on a regular basis, that is THE WHOLE POINT in having him on, to get new viewers!!!

 

[FlairFan2003]

By itself, that statement might stand but when we think of a company trying to generate and sustain sales, it's only partially true.

Fans that are in the same age group as Sting are still out there; since we hear that pro wrestling consists mostly of males in the 30-45 age group, one might figure the folks in their late 50's to late 60's that used to be fans of the sport.....and remember folks like Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund in the ring......are worth courting, too. Over the years, they've presumably abandoned this particular form of entertainment.....and in that regard, if Sting is enough to bring 'em back, even for one night, it might be worth paying Steve Borden a fortune to get it done. I would imagine the hope of WWE is that some of them will like what they see and..... old wrestling fans that they are....enough will stick around, even after the excitement over seeing Sting is over.

In and of itself, whether paying Sting the kind of money he's getting......not to mention paying Brock Lesnar whatever he makes.....is subject to criteria I have no way of analyzing.....and it always gives me a charge when I read folks on this forum telling us they know the formulas involved and that a performer is....or isn't....worth what he/she is getting.

But hey, it's a pro wrestling forum....so it's all good.

Sting's whole appeal is to fans between 30-45....if you watched Sting in 1995 you were probably between 10-20 then, making you today right in that 30-45 demo. Its the same thing with The Rock, if you were watching The Rock in 1998 you were 12 years old, now you're almost 30.

WWE makes its core money off kids, and while todays kids really don't much about Sting or care one bit about Austin & The Rock, to expand the audience WWE needs to bring back the older fans....the ones who were kids in the 80s and 90s and quite frankly are the audience that has left. When Flair, HBK, and Taker were all still primary characters WWE was doing much better than it is now. As they left, the last vestiges of the previous era, so did the fans.

Kids buy the action figures and posters and as long as the watch the company will make money. Older fans buy PPVs and DVDs, if you don't have them you lose a lot of potential revenue.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Sting's whole appeal is to fans between 30-45....if you watched Sting in 1995 you were probably between 10-20 then, making you today right in that 30-45 demo. Its the same thing with The Rock, if you were watching The Rock in 1998 you were 12 years old, now you're almost 30.

I see what you're saying, but my point is that the lines of demarcation aren't completely cut & dried. A guy who is 60 might have been a wrestling fan during the era of Bruno, and then Backlund, but his interest didn't shut off automatically when he turned 45..... and many guys like him were still around during Sting's era before losing interest in pro wrestling. I'm figuring that bringing Sting back might entice grandpa into checking out the product again and, hopefully sticking with it.

Somehow, WWE weighs the possibilities....and claims to have a formula as to who to bring in and what to pay him to maximize bucks.

Is it effective, or even realistic?

Damned if I know.

 

[BuriedByCena]

When I suggested WWE should be targeting an older demographic, I didn't mean bringing Sting in. I meant WWE should stop being PG and go for that PG-13/14 spot. It gives the wrestlers a lot more freedom to speak.

WWE, Nintendo and sometimes Disney suffer from just appealing to kids. They don't understand/too stubborn to appeal to adults. They don't understand that kids DON'T have money. The parents do. The parents are not buying shirts because none of them are cool. They only buy Cena shirts for their kids.

It makes much more economic sense to target adults who have the money who want cool shirts like CM Punk's shirt, Stone Colds Shirt, The nWo shirt etc. Those sold millions because they looked cool and were not babyish. Kids will still want those shirts too.

At this point, it is quite clear WWE/Vince simply does not care about money. They are content with what they have and don't care they are steadily losing money. They know exactly what they have to do to be great. They did it before. They just refuse to.

 

[V Dogg]

5 Million Dollars is Vince's lunch money. But hey, it's awesome that Sting did make him that much cash.

 

[lebe989]

I've always liked sting and love that he is in wwe, but having him win the title would be the worst thing since lesnar winning it, you need a full time committed young guy winning it like ambrose or Rollins

 

[shalliin]

Like a lot of people saying, Sting appearing at ppv didn't sell the ppv. Most ppv buys are at start/replay of ppv. Was Sting even advertised to be at ppv that night? I don't recall hearing anything about him being there. There were rumors, but there've been rumors he would be at every raw/smackdown/ppv/main event/ house show since they announced he signed with company. So can't say he sold the ppv, unless those extra buys happened for the same night replay after people read online that he was at the show and that drew attention to people wanted to see him.

 

[tvcolosi]

Like a lot of people saying, Sting appearing at ppv didn't sell the ppv. Most ppv buys are at start/replay of ppv. Was Sting even advertised to be at ppv that night? I don't recall hearing anything about him being there. There were rumors, but there've been rumors he would be at every raw/smackdown/ppv/main event/ house show since they announced he signed with company. So can't say he sold the ppv, unless those extra buys happened for the same night replay after people read online that he was at the show and that drew attention to people wanted to see him.

Exactly, and the few that are ordered 24-48 hours before, as far as the reporting of the buy and what time it occured, will always be 7:30pm EST or whenever the show starts.

 

[wwesux]

Sting's whole appeal is to fans between 30-45....if you watched Sting in 1995 you were probably between 10-20 then, making you today right in that 30-45 demo. Its the same thing with The Rock, if you were watching The Rock in 1998 you were 12 years old, now you're almost 30.

WWE makes its core money off kids, and while todays kids really don't much about Sting or care one bit about Austin & The Rock, to expand the audience WWE needs to bring back the older fans....the ones who were kids in the 80s and 90s and quite frankly are the audience that has left. When Flair, HBK, and Taker were all still primary characters WWE was doing much better than it is now. As they left, the last vestiges of the previous era, so did the fans.

Kids buy the action figures and posters and as long as the watch the company will make money. Older fans buy PPVs and DVDs, if you don't have them you lose a lot of potential revenue.

LOL don t want to burst your bubble I saw older men buying wwe action figures and I was laughing cause they are collectors. As for STING many fans who were ex WCW fans know who he is but ask a wwe mark? They ll shrug their shoulders and reply back to you " I don t know "? wwe doesn't make it's core money from kids maybe off john semen merchandise. I agree wwe needs to get back the older audience who converted to WCW and then lost interest to wwe and the ones who adverted and converted to MMA like UFC and Bellator! If wrestling becomes realistic than MMA will fold and go out of business but I don t see that happening as wrestling is dying! Its repetitive and cartoonish it's losing appeal and interest from fans! There is still hope with the resurrection of TNA( WCW) and who knows with ROH

 

[wwesux]

STING didn t make or give wwe 5 million dollars cause your average wrestling fan won't blow 50$ ordering the ppv when many go to bars in Canada and watch it for free or many fans get live streaming through their PCS and laptops. Fans have always hated mc moron who deceives, lies and manipulates fans into getting their ppv's!
Cancelations came flying through when it was leaked that Sting would appear. For those that took the survey, most said they were not about to pay $50 for a wasted Sting debut on another screw job ending to a PPV. So by that math Sting has already cost WWE $2.5 million. The rest were pissed that The Authority was losing their role.

Sting is doing fine. He didn't make the company $5 million in one night but closer to $0 than $5 million that's for sure! worst wrestling excrement will always be compared to Disneyland cause wwe , Nintendo and sometimes Disney suffer from just appealing to kids. They don't understand/too stubborn to appeal to adults. They don't understand the marketing concept and that kids DON'T have money. The parents do. The parents are not buying shirts because none of them are cool. They only buy Semen shirts for their kids.