Politifact.com has an article up comparing WWE WrestleMania ticket sales vs. NFL Super Bowl ticket sales. WWE has sold more tickets than the NFL did 5 out of the 6 times when WrestleMania was held from a stadium that previously hosted the SuperBowl.
Triple H was quoted in the article, saying, “We’ve outdrawn the Super Bowl for a little while now in the arenas and stadiums that we’ve followed them in for the Super Bowl. We’ve gone in after [the NFL] and surpassed their ticket sales.”
The article calls Triple H’s claims “Mostly True” because the seating configuration for WWE events allows for more seating than football games.
“The difference between WrestleMania and Super Bowl staging is that WrestleMania has a stage much like a concert so seats behind the stage are unavailable but would be used for football,” Kevin Hennessy, WWE senior director of publicity, said in an e-mail.
“However, for WrestleMania, seats are added to field level which would not be done for football. That is why we feel justified in making the comparison.”
With CM Punk retaining the WWE Championship against Ryback and John Cena at Survivor Series on Sunday, thereby likely solidifying an expected match with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at Royal Rumble, the sports-entertainment organization’s creative team has discussed a scenario where The Straight Edge Superstar would defeat The Great One at the annual January pay-per-view event. This would subsequently lead to Punk defending the title against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXIX, and Johnson facing Cena in a non-title re-match at the same event.
Original creative plans called for Johnson to defeat Punk at the Rumble, leading to a match against Cena for the title—which could still occur. Creative has given thought to how Johnson winning the WWE Championship would impact the product since there would be no titles defenses at houses shows for over two months, and also add a new issue of whether he would defend the title at the February pay-per-view event, Elimination Chamber. Not awarding Johnson would rectify this problem.
Though the importance of the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship has diminished in recent years, one of the primary reasons that creative has yet to unify the belts is because they feel a title match should close out all house shows.
WrestleMania 29 tickets went on sale this week, with a limited pre-sale on Thursday and to the general public on Saturday morning.
According to PWInsider.com, WWE sold around 50,000 tickets through Saturday and have already grossed over $10 million.
As of Saturday, tickets were already sold out for the $2000, $800 and $600 sections. This year’s WrestleMania has the highest ticket prices by a long shot, with some seats in the second level (“200” section) of the stadium were selling for as much as $200 plus after fees.
WWE has added several sections of ‘limited view’ seats and added more “platinum” seats through Ticketmaster.
Additional seats will be released when the production setup is finalized in the coming months.
– Triple H will appear live in studio on Boomer and Carton in the Morning on WFAN in New York City Thursday promoting tickets going on sale for WrestleMania 29 on Saturday.
– WWE will hold a live event at Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on April 18, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale next Thursday via AikenPromotions.com.
– Monday’s Raw from the United Kingdom scored a 2.78 cable rating, down from 2.94 last week.
Viewership was slightly lower than last week as Monday’s show averaged 4.07 million viewers compared to 4.10 million viewers.
Raw drew 4.07 million viewers in the first hour, 4.28 million in the second, and 3.88 million in the third. By comparison, last week’s show drew hourly figures of 4.30 million, 4.22 million, and 3.78 million. It was the twelfth straight week where viewership declined from the third hour to the second hour.
– WWE has released a video of The Miz letting fans know that WrestleMania 29 tickets go on sale this Saturday. Visit Ticketmaster.com and WrestleMania.com for more information. (Watch)
– Former WWE Superstar Rob Conway announced on Twitter that he is returning to the ring on Saturday, November 24 in Evansville, Indiana for New Focus Wrestling as he takes on Johnny Richards. He has been unable to wrestle since July due to a biceps tear.
“Due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the NY/NJ/CT region, WWE and WrestleMania’s host partners in New York and New Jersey have decided to cancel the WrestleMania On-Sale Celebration previously scheduled for Friday, November 9 at Bryant Park in New York City. Our thoughts are with all of those affected by Hurricane Sandy.”
– WWE will be holding another tryout camp in England later this week. Jim Ross tweeted early Tuesday morning:
I'm still in B'Ham, England thru Friday morning. Gonna go see SD live & participate in #WWE try out camp balance of week. SD Tkts available.
– People close to former WWE diva Beth Phoenix are saying that even though she left WWE on good terms, it’s unlikely that she’ll be back with the company in 2013.
– The official seating chart for WrestleMania 29 has been released, which you can view at Ticketmaster.com. The ticket prices start at $35 and go up to $2,000 (not including fees).
– Several weeks ago, there were online reports that a certain top WWE superstar read Vince McMahon the riot act backstage, explaining that the current WWE product is not up to par and Vince is out of touch with what fans want these days. It appears that the locker room leader who confronted Vince is none other than John Cena.
– WWE has quietly dropped the storyline where General Managers AJ Lee and Booker T are depicted as incompetent, leading chief Vince McMahon to fire them both and have both shows overseen by one individual. Some people desired that Ric Flair being place in the role, but the company’s current lawsuit with TNA Wrestling over business practices had made that possibility feasible at this time.
The company also quietly dropped the storyline where announcer Josh Mathews threatened to sue both General Managers for an unsafe working environment.
– WWE chief Vince McMahon has nixed the idea of holding a thirty-minute “UFC-style” countdown show just prior to the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2013. He is, however, interested in holding such a show for WrestleMania XXIX.
– Independent wrestlers Ethan HD and Jorel Nelson both received tryouts at WWE’s talent evaluation session in Tampa, Florida earlier this week.
Despite the strong build for a match between WWE Champion CM Punk and Ryback, it is only being teased at this point and no concrete plans will be made until November or December. The match may not even occur since there has discussion of Ryback facing Undertaker at WrestleMania XXIX, with The Deadman’s undefeated streak at the pay-per-view extravaganza going up against Ryback’s overall undefeated streak. However, some people within WWE have speculated that Undertaker may not even work next year’s show.
With the curtain call finish to his WrestleMania XXVIII match against Triple H, and his wife, Michelle McCool, recently giving birth to a child, it is possible that the bout was his final wrestling match. WWE’s original plans called for the legendary wrestler to compete at WrestleMania XXIX and start building toward a match at around Survivor Series. Many feel he’ll ultimately wrestle on next year’s show, but it’s not considered certain. Whether he competes on the show or not, it will be entirely up to him and not Vince McMahon.
– WWE will be holding more “Appreciation Nights” in the coming months. Following the success of Shawn Michaels appreciation night in San Antonio, Texas prior to SummerSlam, WWE will also be honoring Jim Ross when RAW returns to Oklahoma on October 1st. Aside from showing appreciation to the Legends, this is mostly being done as a way to drive ticket sales in those markets.
– With WrestleMania 29 taking place from the MetLife Stadium in the New York/New Jersey area next April, there is a lot of speculation as to which city will host WrestleMania 30 in 2014.
The final decision will be made in early 2013, but people in WWE are under the impression that New York City’s Madison Square Garden is a strong candidate. This would be a break from WWE holding WrestleMania in large stadiums and would be the the 4th time the Garden hosted WrestleMania (1, 10, 20 and now 30).
WWE has announced its WWE Home Entertainment 2013 DVD/Blu-ray release schedule, which confirms several rumored titles. In addition to pay-per-view events, the sports-entertainment organization will be releasing compilation videos on WCW Monday Nitro, Bret Hart, Mick Foley, In Your House, Goldberg, ECW, War Games, WWE Divas, Triple H, Money in the Bank and Raw, among others. A History of WWE title is also scheduled.
WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2012 – 01/15/13
Best of Raw & SmackDown 2012 – 01/29/13
The Best of Nitro Volume 2 – 02/12/13
Royal Rumble 2012 – 02/26/13
Bret Hart Unreleased Matches – 03/05/13
Elimination Chamber 2012 – 03/19/13
Mick Foley Biography – 04/16/13
The Best of In Your House – 04/30/13
WrestleMania 29 – 05/14/13
Top 25 Rivalries – 05/28/13
Extreme Rules 2013 – 06/18/13
Goldberg – 06/25/13
TBD PPV – 07/16/13
ECW Unreleased Vol. 2 – 07/30/13
Money In The Bank 2013 – 08/13/13
Best of MSG – 08/27/13
Best of War Games – 09/10/13
SummerSlam 2013 – 09/17/13
Top 20 Divas Countdown – 09/24/13
Triple H Biography – 10/08/13
Night of Champions 2013 – 10/15/13
Money In The Bank Anthology – 10/29/13
Over the Limit 2013 – 11/05/13
History of WWE – 11/19/13
Hell in a Cell 2013 – 11/26/13
Raw 20th Anniversary Box Set – 12/03/13
Survivor Series 2013 – 12/24/13
Best WWE PPV’s – 12/31/13
‘WRESTLEMANIA 28 – ROCK VS. CENA’ TO AIR ON NBC SATURDAY, AUGUST 25 AT 9 PM ET
NEW YORK, NY – August 10, 2012 – For the fourth consecutive year, WWE® and NBC are joining forces to bring “WrestleMania” to network television. “WrestleMania 28 – Rock vs. Cena” will air on Saturday, August 25 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, allowing WWE fans to relive moments from the most watched “WrestleMania” of all time.
The one-hour broadcast will take viewers inside the event as two of the most celebrated superstars, The Rock® and John Cena®, battled each other in a main event that exceeded all expectations. “WrestleMania 28 – Rock vs. Cena” will chronicle the yearlong, epic journey to this faceoff, including exclusive, never-before-seen footage and will showcase the entire Rock vs. Cena match for the first time ever on broadcast television.
“WrestleMania XXVIII,” held this past April 1 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, set new records for pay-per-view buys and gross sales. The event brought together 78,363 fans from all 50 states and 36 countries and garnered 1.3 million pay-per-view buys with global gross sales in excess of $67 million. The world’s biggest pop-culture extravaganza was seen around the world on pay-per-view in more than 105 countries and 20 languages.
For more information on “WrestleMania 28 – Rock vs. Cena” please visit NBC.com’s “Movies & Specials” site: http://www.nbc.com/specials
— WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston missed this past weekend’s WWE live events due to filming an appearance for Syfy program Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files. United States Champion Santino Marella fill in as R-Truth’s partner in tag team matches.
— Paul Heyaman’s Heyman Hustle site has an exclusive photo gallery up of Brooke Adams and Lisa Marie Varon, which you can check out here.
— From Miss Elizabeth to Sensational Sherri, WWE.com pays tribute to the trailblazing ladies of the 1980s who proved that WWE wasn’t always a man’s world. (Full Story)
— WWE will hold a Supershow on July 8, 2012 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Bell time is 3:00 p.m.
— Hornswoggle accompanied Brodus Clay and his dancers at Sunday’s Raw live event at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
— Hornswoggle is promoting WWE’s anti-bullying campaign today in Greensboro, North Carolina. He tweeted, “Headed to a Greensboro Be A Star Rally. I always look forward to these as they hit close to home with me when I was younger being bullied.”
— A Kevin Nash autograph signing in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Saturday drew over 200 people.
— WWEShop.com has released numerous WrestleMania XXVIII DVD and Blu-ray packages which include programs, T-Shirts and lanyards.
— WWE announced Thursday via e-mail that WrestleMania XXVIII set a viewership record with 1.3 million pay-per-view buys worldwide and five million viewers overall.
Their statement reads: “WrestleMania set a record of 1.3 million pay-per-view buys worldwide and was seen by more than five million fans in 105 countries. The “Once in a Lifetime” extravaganza was also seen by a sellout crowd of 78,363 fans from all 50 U.S. states and 36 countries at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, marking the highest attended event in the stadium’s history.”
— WWE’s stock price continued to dwindle Thursday as a new 52-week low was set at $7.77 per share before closing at $7.83. The stock closed at $7.96 per share Wednesday after setting a 52-week low of $7.95 per share.
— Eve announced on her official website that herself, CM Punk, The Miz will be signing autographs Friday at 5:30 p.n. at Virgin Megastore Champs-Élysées in Paris, France.
WWE proudly announced Monday that WrestleMania XXVIII set new records for pay-per-view buys and gross sales. According to WWE.com, preliminary estimates show that WrestleMania garnered 1.3 million pay-per-view buys with global gross sales in excess of $67 million.
The event was seen around the world on pay-per-view in more than 105 countries and 20 languages
WWE superstar The Rock tweeted a message on Monday stating that Wrestlemania 28 set the all time record for pay-per-view buys & made more money in one day than any PPV event ever:
“BREAKING NEWS: Wrestlemania 28 sets all time PPV buys & one day global gross record. #TeamBringItWorldwide THANK YOU!
The final number will be reported during WWE’s second quarter 2012 earnings later this year.
— Last week at WrestleMania XXVIII, The Undertaker and Triple H met inside Hell in a Cell in a bout that was branded as “the end of an era.” The latest issue of WWE Magazine, which features The Undertaker on the cover, plays up the “the end of an era” storyline as they ask “Will The Deadman Rise Again?”
Despite speculation that The Undertaker’s match last week may have been his last, many WWE employees now believe he is able to compete in a few more matches and will almost certainly work WrestleMania XXIX. This belief is based on The Undertaker appearing less injured following his WrestleMania outing compared to the prior year’s.
— Booker T is filming his upcoming Reality of Wrestling web series Saturday in Houston, Texas, according his Twitter account. The show will premiere on May 1 on YouTube.
— WWE will hold a live event at the Indoor Stadium in Zurich, Switzerland on November 8, 2012.
— After his run-in with Heath Slater at WrestleMania XXVIII, rapper Flo Rida has posted a video on his official YouTube page that shows him training to fight The One-Man Southern Rock Band.
Flo Rida is seen punching pads with photos of the WWE Superstar taped on them. He states, “Heath Slater, I’m coming for you … I don’t like talk, I like action.”
— The official website of the Scottrade Center is advertisingRaw SuperShow on July 23, 2012 as the historic 1000th episode of the program. The start time is set for 6:15 p.m., which suggests it will be a three-hour episode.
— WWE returns to the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. on Saturday, December 29, 2012. It will be a Raw SuperShow taping airing on New Year’s Eve. Tickets officially go on sale this Saturday via Ticketmaster.
— Episode 61 of Z! True Long Island Story features footage of Zack Ryder at WrestleMania Axxess in Miami, Florida. Also featured is Scott Stanford pitching Dunkin’ Donuts’s “Bronuts” after Eve kicked Ryder below the belt Sunday at WrestleMania XXVIII. Dolph Ziggler and Tommy Dreamer also appear in the episode.
— Rosa Mendes continues to voice her displeasure with herself, Primo and Epico being left off Sunday’s WrestleMania XXVIII pay-per-view broadcast as well as this week’s episode of SmackDown.
She wrote on Twitter, “It’s amazing how “I called my Momma” and she asked me why Brodus Clay and his Mommas were on Wrestlemania when people would rather watch Primo and Epico wrestle and me dancing my salsa instead!!!”
Mendes added, “Epico, Primo with Rosa Mendes not on SmackDown! Funny how nobody is manning up against us! I can’t get angry! It’s pathetic!”
Wrestling Observer reports her Twitter rant is part of WWE’s initiative to integrate storylines on the microblogging website.
— After falling in defeat to Team Johnny at WrestleMania XXVIII, Team Teddy captain Santino Marella and Theodore Long try to figure out what went wrong in this “WrestleMania hangover” edition of Foreign Exchange.
— The Great Khali appears in the upcoming French film Sur la piste du Marsupilami. The movie poster, which features the WWE Superstar, can be seen here.
— South Florida Sun-Sentinel has published an article on WrestleMania XXVIII. A columnist for the newspaper details his live experience at Sunday’s event at Sun Life Stadium.
— Backstage Fallout following Friday’s episode of SmackDown has Daniel Bryan explaining why he broke up with AJ after she cost him the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII. AJ is then shown being consoled by Kaitlyn, who refuses to answer the WWE reporter’s questions. Former Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long also addresses his new position as John Laurinaitis’ assistant.
– WrestleMania XXIX will take place one year from today at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Regarding potential weather for the event, the Weather.com forecast today calls for a high of 60 degrees with a low of 39 degrees and winds up to 25 mph.
— “Rowdy” Roddy Piper said on Twitter that he will traveling to Toronto following his appearance at Tuesday’s live SmackDown. He was complimentary of the CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho match at WrestleMania XXVIII, writing, “It stirred many emotions. That’s good thing. I have great respect for @CMPunk and @Iamjericho.”
— The Wrestling Observer reported this week that morale is low among members of WWE’s creative team after many of the were not invited to the annual post-WrestleMania party Sunday night in Miami, Florida. Former creative writer Christopher DeJoseph (a/k/a Big Dick Johnson) appeared on the Pro Wrestling Torch Livecast on Thursday (audio available here) and said he has heard from current staff members upset with the snub. He said they felt disrespected since they were a big part of putting WrestleMania XXVIII together.
— WWEShop.com has released the T-Shirt Brock Lesnar wore in his Raw return.
— FitPerez.com has posted photos of the WWE Divas during WrestleMania weekend.
— Jim Ross praised Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole’s broadcasting efforts at WrestleMania XXVIII. He wrote on Twitter, “I thought King and Cole did a heck of a job at WM28….4 hour, live show w/ immense pressure to do one’s best.”
– With WrestleMania 28 in the books and new talent being promoted to the main roster, there’s a lot of talk that WWE’s annual talent purge will occur “sooner than later.” This week alone saw the debut of six new talents, and according to Jim Ross, many more wrestlers from Florida Championship Wrestling will likely be introduced in the coming weeks.
– Tickets for WrestleMania 29 are expected to be released in November. The event takes place April 7, 2013 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
– Alberto Del Rio appears for Florida Championship Wrestling tonight in Punta Gorda, Florida as he will be signing autographs prior to the show. Details are available here.
– WWE has no live events scheduled for this weekend.
The Wrestling Observer reported Thursday that morale is low among members of WWE’s creative team after many of the were not invited to the annual post-WrestleMania party Sunday night in Miami, Florida. The report says the party snubs “hurt a lot of feelings.” There is an account on Twitter parodying company head Vince McMahon’s real-life demeanor (located at CrankyVince) and several messages were posted Tuesday night foreshadowing the behind the scenes report. The individual behind the account wrote:
“EAVESDROPPING ON WRITERS, WHO ARE B******G ABOUT BEING BARRED FROM POST #WRESTLEMANIA™ COMPANY WIDE PARTY. HMPF, THE VIRGINS ARE A BUZZKILL.”
“OUTSIDE WRITERS ROOM, STILL LISTENING TO THIS FAST-TALKING L.A. RUNT B***H ABOUT NOT BEING WELCOMED AT THE #WRESTLEMANIA AFTER PARTY. F****R.”
“AND F**K THESE DISPOSABLE WRITERS FOR B******G ABOUT MY G*****N #WRESTLEMANIA AFTER PARTY. EAT ME, THEN GO F**K YOURSELVES. F**K YOU.”
“YELLING AT WRITERS: “IF ANOTHER ONE OF YOU SORE P*****S CRIES ABOUT NOT BEING WELCOMED AT THE #WRESTLEMANIA AFTER PARTY I’LL GUT YOU.”
“GETTING OUT OF ORLANDO, FAR AWAY FROM THIS HUMIDITY & P***Y WRITERS & THEIR B******G ABOUT NOT BEING INVITED TO THE WRESTLEMANIA AFTER PARTY.”