John
05-07-2009, 03:53 PM
As always, one of the most scrutinized business indicators for WWE is PPV buys. With the release of today's financial numbers, which you can check out here, we now have the official numbers for the Royal Rumble and No Way Out (Wrestlemania falls into the second quarter of 2009). Here is a comparison of PPV buys for those two events over the last four years, along with the top matches on the show.
Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble 2006 - 548,000 buys - Rumble, Cena vs. Edge, Angle vs. Henry.
Royal Rumble 2007 - 491,000 buys - Rumble, Cena vs. Umaga, Batista vs. Kennedy.
Royal Rumble 2008 - 533,000 buys - Rumble, Orton vs. Hardy, Edge vs. Mysterio.
Royal Rumble 2009 - 450,000 buys - Rumble, Edge vs. Hardy, Cena vs. JBL.
No Way Out
No Way Out 2006 - 219,000 buys - Angle vs. Undertaker, Orton vs. Mysterio, Benoit vs. Booker (Smackdown only event).
No Way Out 2007 - 218,000 buys - Cena & Michaels vs. Undertaker & Batista, Lashley vs. Kennedy, Hardys & Benoit vs. MNM & MVP.
No Way Out 2008 - 329,000 buys - Cena vs. Orton, Edge vs. Mysterio, Elimination Chambers to determine Wrestlemania challengers.
No Way Out 2009 - 272,000 buys - WWE and World Title Elimination Chambers, Orton vs. McMahon, Michaels vs. JBL.
It should be noted that in 2006 and 2007 there was an additional PPV event in January, New Year's Revolution, pulling in 294,000 buys in 2006 and 220,000 buys in 2007 before being dropped from the PPV schedule.
Obviously, the numbers are not pretty. After showing an improvement in 2008 with both shows, (although not enough additional buys to make up for the dropping of New Year's Revolution), both events saw a decrease this year. In the case of the Rumble, considered one of the four "big events", the number dropped below 2007's buys.
Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble 2006 - 548,000 buys - Rumble, Cena vs. Edge, Angle vs. Henry.
Royal Rumble 2007 - 491,000 buys - Rumble, Cena vs. Umaga, Batista vs. Kennedy.
Royal Rumble 2008 - 533,000 buys - Rumble, Orton vs. Hardy, Edge vs. Mysterio.
Royal Rumble 2009 - 450,000 buys - Rumble, Edge vs. Hardy, Cena vs. JBL.
No Way Out
No Way Out 2006 - 219,000 buys - Angle vs. Undertaker, Orton vs. Mysterio, Benoit vs. Booker (Smackdown only event).
No Way Out 2007 - 218,000 buys - Cena & Michaels vs. Undertaker & Batista, Lashley vs. Kennedy, Hardys & Benoit vs. MNM & MVP.
No Way Out 2008 - 329,000 buys - Cena vs. Orton, Edge vs. Mysterio, Elimination Chambers to determine Wrestlemania challengers.
No Way Out 2009 - 272,000 buys - WWE and World Title Elimination Chambers, Orton vs. McMahon, Michaels vs. JBL.
It should be noted that in 2006 and 2007 there was an additional PPV event in January, New Year's Revolution, pulling in 294,000 buys in 2006 and 220,000 buys in 2007 before being dropped from the PPV schedule.
Obviously, the numbers are not pretty. After showing an improvement in 2008 with both shows, (although not enough additional buys to make up for the dropping of New Year's Revolution), both events saw a decrease this year. In the case of the Rumble, considered one of the four "big events", the number dropped below 2007's buys.