Tag: Wrestlemania 21

May 4, 2005 Observer Newsletter: WrestleMania 21 breaks records, TNA Lockdown review

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The WWE released preliminary buy rate information on Wrestlemania XXI, which now goes into the record books as the biggest grossing pro wrestling event in history.

Based on already-released buy rate numbers, the combination of the PPV buys, live gate and merchandise for the show would be currently estimated at between $47 million and $49 million, based on what percentage of the PPV buys came from the U.K., which had a lower price per order than North America. It is not out of the realm of possibility that when all buys are processed, the total gross for the event could top $54 million. That would top the estimated $47.15 million for Wrestlemania XX ,last year, headlined by HHH vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit. The biggest PPV show in company history was Wrestlemania X-7, which was also the second biggest live gate in company history, but with the difference in PPV price at $39.95, instead of the current $49.95, the total gross on the event was $45.99 million (including merchandise).

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April 11, 2005 Observer Newsletter: Details on WWE’s return to NBC Universal, WrestleMania 21 review

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

When they have the saying about good news and bad news, the WWE’s new cable television deal with the USA Network and parent company NBC Universal fits that bill and then some. The deal contains some good news, some very good news, and some very bad news.

The good news is obvious. Besides a deal for two hours of Raw every week on the USA Network, which is a significantly stronger network, as in nearly double the average audience in prime time, than Spike, it features the return of NBC Saturday Night’s Main Event. There is little question that one of the main reasons so many of the ’80s wrestlers had longer shelf lives and were considered bigger stars than those who came a few years later (even before the steroid scandal put a damper on business) was the gigantic exposure on NBC. While the cable ratings during the peak of the Steve Austin era were more than 50% higher (and the total audience was four times as large due to cable growth), there was nothing in the current era that could match the numbers put on for SNME. The shows in the 80s frequently topped an 8.0 rating, peaking with an 11.6, still the highest-rated show in the history of that time slot in recorded U.S. television history, for a 1987 show during the Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant build-up. Due to the fragmenting of audiences due to the cable explosion, numbers like that aren’t possible today. But even a poorly rated show in that time slot is going to do far more viewers than a highly rated Raw or Smackdown.

Subscribers can read this issue here.

April 4, 2005 Observer Newsletter: WrestleMania 21 preview, All Japan Women shuts down

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

All the hype is over, and all that is left is the finished product for Wrestlemania XXI.

The year’s biggest show takes place on 4/3 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Overall, the hype job this year does not rank among the tops in Wrestlemania history, and the show, scheduled from 7 to 10:50 p.m. Eastern time, goes in with three major selling points.

Selling point No. 1 is the Wrestlemania name. Two years ago, we found that the name only meant 560,000 buys, and that was during a time period when the overall PPV business was stronger than it is now. Last year’s show, with far more depth, as well as the historical nature of being the 20th Wrestlemania, did 885,000 buys, the second most in history. Linda McMahon, at the company’s last investors conference, made the bold prediction of 1 million buys, although some of that would be because the show would air as a PPV event in the United Kingdom for the first time.

Subscribers can read this issue here.