haVoc 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 WWE has released their latest batch of PPV buyrates at their corporate website. WWE No Mercy, headlined by Vince McMahon vs. Stephanie McMahon, did roughly 200,000 buys. The WWE October PPV last year did roughly 300,000 buys. The WWE October PPV in 2001 did roughly 325,000 buys. The second WWE Smackdown only PPV dropped 100,000 buys from the first. The first WWE RAW only PPV did 325,000 buys, but the second RAW only PPV dropped to 260,000 buys. WWE Summerslam in August did roughly 375,000 buys, way down from the roughly 500,000 buys that last year's Summerslam (headlined by The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title) did. Summerslam in 2001 did roughly 550,000 buys. Just for reference, the WWE InVasion PPV in July of 2001 did roughly 775,000 buys and WrestleMania in March of 2002 did 850,000 buys. It has been pretty much down hill since then. Here is a look at all the PPV buyrates for this year compared to last: January '03 - Royal Rumble: 500,000 buys ('02: 675,000 buys) February '03 - No Way Out: 450,000 buys ('02: 550,000 buys) March '03 - WrestleMania: 550,000 buys ('02: 850,000 buys) April '03 - Backlash: 375,000 buys ('02: 400,000 buys) May '03 - Judgment Day: 275,000 buys ('02: 375,000 buys) June '03 - Bad Blood RAW-only: 325,000 buys ('02: 325,000 buys) July '03 - Vengeance SD-only: 300,000 buys ('02: 375,000 buys) August '03 - Summerslam: 375,000 buys ('02: 500,000 buys) September '03 - Unforgiven RAW-only: 260,000 buys ('02: 300,000 buys) October '03 - No Mercy SD-only: 200,000 buys ('02: 300,000 buys) Credit: 411 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Damn that war in Iraq! Damn it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Plushy Al Logan Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Moral of the story: Don't push the McMahons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haVoc 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Sad part is Vince McMahon is one of the biggest draws. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaParkaYourCar 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Wow I keep hearing that, but these numbers aren't exactly showing that. Are you sure you didn't mean he used to be one of the biggest draws? Do any fans care about the McMahons anymore? What exactly draws nowdays? WWE has been in the 3 - Lower 4 range in ratings for two years now! Every week when the ratings come out we wanna say "this draws" and "this doesn't" but truth be told none of it is making that big a difference because the ratings are still well within the average for the last couple of years. Most of the time it depends on what the show is going up agianst on TV that day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downhome 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 It's because of all of those damn kids stealing those webcast PPVs! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaParkaYourCar 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 If so then good we made our dent in the numbers...........yeah I can dream. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 How is this scary? I find it pretty damn funny. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 I as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaParkaYourCar 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Oh I find it hilarious and quite satisfying. These are the only things that are going to get WWE's attention finally....we hope. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Heh, this is the only satisfying thing the WWE has done for me in a long time... fail miserably. Oh how jaded we've all become... shame on us... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Super Pissed Smark Report post Posted November 4, 2003 I think we can infer from Vince's lack of action over the last few years that declining PPV numbers aren't a priority for him. House show attendance obviously isn't a concern either. I don't think they'll be any real changes until the TV deal is in jeopardy and ratings have held pretty steady there. The WWE is content to suckle on Viacom's teat for as long as they will have them. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what the all-time lowest number of buys for a WWF or WCW pay per view was? I'd imagine some WCW/NWA stuff must be even funnier. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zetterberg is God 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what the all-time lowest number of buys for a WWF or WCW pay per view was? I'd imagine some WCW/NWA stuff must be even funnier. I believe it was IYH: It's Time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Ok, let's turn this smile into something worthwhile - since the WWE is clearly fucked up and failing like only they can fail - how would YOU turn around PPV sales??? Be more creative than "Better matches, Better storylines".... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 I would only have World Title Matches on PPV - and *state* that they can only be on PPV. Have non-title matches all the time on Smackdown and Raw, where the champion *can* lose but not lose the belt (build heat on the title match), and then make it for the gold at the big show. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OldSchoolWrestling 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 They need a beatdown like no other. I'm thinking back in the oldschool nwa days when the horsemen were locked in the cage with Dusty Rhodes and broke his leg, while no other face could get the cage opened. Have their heels run so rampant that you just know at the ppv the face is going to beat some ass. Have the heels get the upper hand for the solid month leading up to the ppv. These days, everything is solved by the next show. Kane kills Shane. Shane gets his revenge the following week. Fuck that shit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haVoc 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Lower the price for PPV's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Good idea, Rudo. Benoit beating Lesnar in a non-title match on SD would put some major heat on their feud. What would I do? Simple: Filter out the crap. Make sure that only the best matches make the PPV. Make each PPV seem important, like have wrestlers fighting just to get on the PPV. Put over the fact that a wrestler can go from being a nobody to a somebody just by putting on a great performance on live PPV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 YES! Lower the Price! So simple... Though I still wouldn't buy a WWE PPV for $20, maybe for $10 if it was good... The "fighting to be on PPV" thing adds a whole new layer to booking feuds. That's pretty sweet. How about not even having a feuded match headline the PPV? Just the #1 contender vs. the champ. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Corey_Lazarus 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 So, lemme get this straight... The show that has wrestlers pushed over non-wrestlers, Raw, does better buyrates and ratings than the show that has non-wrestlers pushed over wrestlers, SmackDown? ...wow, color me surprised... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 No more celebrities to be featured on PPVs like Wrestlemania. This year we have the cast of I Luv the 80's!!!!!! Watch them discuss the good ol days of jobber matches and 3 PPVs a year.... Get better announcers who will put over all of the wrestlers not just the main eventers. Stop with the 1995 era of bringing in 7 foot muscle men who are boring to watch. Stop giving Tough Enough kids jobs. No more shocking angles like "I like to fuck dead gay people" No more blue face paint. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haVoc 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 I think little things could help the business. I'm far from a marketing genius, but give more to the fans. Make the fans feel like their important and you appreciate them/us. Have contest where people can log online or call up over the phone. Give away a years worth of Raw maganize's to the winners. Free PPV's. Win front row seats to shows in your area. Win meet and greet's with the wrestlers before the show. They could even plug these type of things during the TV shows or run adds during the commercials. Alot of bands have fan clubs. You pay $30-$40 a year and you get free stuff and deals. WWE could do the same. Become a member and get tickets to the shows cheaper, among other things. Yeah, I like getting free shit, but this stuff does help and gets people interested. It's little things they should be doing for their fans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 No more blue face paint. ...um, when did this come into factor? And what's wrong with blue facepaint? On the right person it worked...like Sting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 But I'm talkin bout for PPV's - what the WWE could do in other areas is a whole different... other... area... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Blue face paint is the gimmick that kills midcard wrestlers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest One Trick Pony Report post Posted November 4, 2003 RAW pushes wrestlers over non-wrestlers? Well that is true. I mean Austin's getting the rub by beating up Scott Steiner, Jericho, Mark Henry, and Batista. JR and Lawler got the rub from the retired Storm and Regal. Comparing Wrestlemanias is somewhat interesting. People said it tanked because it was built on Vince/Hogan but the WM before was built on Rock/Hogan and did good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crimson Platypus 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 The first and most important thing that I would do would be to get rid of the authority angles completely. Talk about a dead horse... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crimson Platypus 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 But I'm talkin bout for PPV's - what the WWE could do in other areas is a whole different... other... area... Er okay.. 1. Less gimmick matches. 2. Eliminate run ins either completely or 99% 3. Have, you know, wrestlers on the PPV. 4. Really like the idea of title matches only being on PPV also. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 But, But, But WHO WOULD MAKE THE MATCHES!?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest PowerPB13 Report post Posted November 4, 2003 Good. Fuck WWE. -Patrick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
