The Law
April 24th, 2013, 5:42 PM
So after culling together various sources of information, I've got the buy numbers for almost every WWE PPV. There's a lot of interesting stuff here. It's a ton of information, so I'm going to break it up and start by posting the numbers from the Hogan Era (1984 to 1992). First, let me be clear that I just got these off some website and have no idea if they are legitimate or not. The numbers before 2000 (when the company went public) never got officially released. On the other hand, they seem about right and it's fun to speculate. Also, there's nothing for Wrestlemania I or II. I believe Wrestlemania 1 was all closed-circuit and Wrestlemania 2 was mostly closed-circuit. Not sure about III, so that massive number might be conjecture based on the number of people who watched it on closed-circuit. I believe that pay-per-view was fully available by the first Survivor Series. Anyway, here it is:
1987
Wrestlemania III: 4,080,000 (Hogan vs. Andre)
Survivor Series 1987: 2,800,000 (Hogan, Orndorff, Muraco, Patera, and Bigelow vs. Andre, Bundy, One Man Gang, Rude, and Butch Reed)
Total: 6,880,000
Average: 3,440,000
1988
Wrestlemania IV: 2,600,000 (WWF Title Tournament)
Summerslam 1988: 1,800,000 (Hogan and Savage vs. Andre and DiBiase)
Survivor Series 1988: 1,120,000 (Hogan, Savage, Hillbilly Jim, Hercules, and Koko B. Ware vs. DiBiase, Akeem, Boss Man, Haku, and Red Rooster)
Total: 5,520,000
Average: 1,8400,00
1989
Royal Rumble 1989: 600,000
Wrestlemania V: 3,540,000 (Hogan vs. Savage)
Summerslam 1989: 1,920,000 (Hogan and Beefcake vs. Savage and Zeus)
Survivor Series 1989: 1,320,000 (Hogan, Jake Roberts, and Demolition vs. DiBiase, Zeus, and Powers of Pain)
Total: 7,380,000
Average: 1,845,000
1990
Royal Rumble 1990: 800,000
Wrestlemania VI: 1,520,000 (Hogan vs. Warrior)
Summerslam 1990: 1,520,000 (Warrior vs. Rude Cage Match)
Survivor Series 1990: 1,200,000 (Grand Finale Match)
Total: 5,040,000
Average: 1,260,000
1991
Royal Rumble 1991: 1,240,000 (Warrior vs. Slaughter)
Wrestlemania VII: 1,120,000 (Hogan vs. Slaughter)
Summerslam 1991: 1,080,000 (Hogan and Warrior vs. Slaughter, Adnan and Mustafa)
Survivor Series 1991: 880,000 (Hogan vs. Undertaker)
Total: 4,320,000
Average: 1,080,000
1992
Royal Rumble 1992: 500,000 (Royal Rumble for WWF Championship)
Wrestlemania VIII: 920,000 (Hogan vs. Sid, Flair vs. Savage)
Summerslam 1992: 600,000 (Bret vs. Bulldog, Savage vs. Warrior)
Survivor Series 1992: 560,000 (Savage and Perfect vs. Flair and Razor Ramon)
Total: 2,580,000
Average: 645,000
Basically, what stands out to me here is that wrestling was absurdly popular in the 1980s. If the 1989 numbers are legitimate, WWE has still never surpassed that number of buys, even in the Attitude Era with 12 PPVs per year. What stands out to you?
1987
Wrestlemania III: 4,080,000 (Hogan vs. Andre)
Survivor Series 1987: 2,800,000 (Hogan, Orndorff, Muraco, Patera, and Bigelow vs. Andre, Bundy, One Man Gang, Rude, and Butch Reed)
Total: 6,880,000
Average: 3,440,000
1988
Wrestlemania IV: 2,600,000 (WWF Title Tournament)
Summerslam 1988: 1,800,000 (Hogan and Savage vs. Andre and DiBiase)
Survivor Series 1988: 1,120,000 (Hogan, Savage, Hillbilly Jim, Hercules, and Koko B. Ware vs. DiBiase, Akeem, Boss Man, Haku, and Red Rooster)
Total: 5,520,000
Average: 1,8400,00
1989
Royal Rumble 1989: 600,000
Wrestlemania V: 3,540,000 (Hogan vs. Savage)
Summerslam 1989: 1,920,000 (Hogan and Beefcake vs. Savage and Zeus)
Survivor Series 1989: 1,320,000 (Hogan, Jake Roberts, and Demolition vs. DiBiase, Zeus, and Powers of Pain)
Total: 7,380,000
Average: 1,845,000
1990
Royal Rumble 1990: 800,000
Wrestlemania VI: 1,520,000 (Hogan vs. Warrior)
Summerslam 1990: 1,520,000 (Warrior vs. Rude Cage Match)
Survivor Series 1990: 1,200,000 (Grand Finale Match)
Total: 5,040,000
Average: 1,260,000
1991
Royal Rumble 1991: 1,240,000 (Warrior vs. Slaughter)
Wrestlemania VII: 1,120,000 (Hogan vs. Slaughter)
Summerslam 1991: 1,080,000 (Hogan and Warrior vs. Slaughter, Adnan and Mustafa)
Survivor Series 1991: 880,000 (Hogan vs. Undertaker)
Total: 4,320,000
Average: 1,080,000
1992
Royal Rumble 1992: 500,000 (Royal Rumble for WWF Championship)
Wrestlemania VIII: 920,000 (Hogan vs. Sid, Flair vs. Savage)
Summerslam 1992: 600,000 (Bret vs. Bulldog, Savage vs. Warrior)
Survivor Series 1992: 560,000 (Savage and Perfect vs. Flair and Razor Ramon)
Total: 2,580,000
Average: 645,000
Basically, what stands out to me here is that wrestling was absurdly popular in the 1980s. If the 1989 numbers are legitimate, WWE has still never surpassed that number of buys, even in the Attitude Era with 12 PPVs per year. What stands out to you?