Header image courtesy of All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 30 likely came just short of the company’s highest gross revenue from a single event. The show drew about $6 million total for AEW and its pay-per-view distributors and sold 115,000 buys on all platforms globally, by our estimate.
The record high is probably still held by the previous pay-per-view event, Revolution, which we estimate grossed just under $7 million. That show, on March 7, attracted greater pay-per-view sales but sold fewer tickets with a socially-distanced capacity.
Double or Nothing was held at full capacity at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. It sold about 4,700 tickets, generating approximately $300,000, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. At the same venue, just 1,150 tickets were sold for Revolution.
After carriers including FITE, B/R Live, and various cable systems collect the majority of the pay-per-view sales, each of the two events likely netted AEW around $3 million in revenue.
Full breakdowns of our estimates for both events are at the end of this article.
We’re also raising our estimate of the Revolution event from 125,000 buys to 135,000. The Observer’s recent estimate that Revolution sold 158,000 buys is 10% to 20% high, we were told.
Double or Nothing appears to be AEW’s second-highest-selling pay-per-view in its history. Our estimate of this event and all earlier AEW pay-per-view sales were determined based on information from people with knowledge of the sales.
Merchandise sales estimates of $71,000 for Double or Nothing and $21,000 for Revolution are based on an assumption of $15 and $18 in merchandise revenue per paid attendee, respectively. The average sales per capita for WWE events is about $10, according to public filings. We believe per capita sales for major events like pay-per-views are higher than average and we were told Revolution performed better in this area than most AEW pay-per-views.
Estimated revenue breakdown of AEW’s two most recent PPVs
Dollar values are rounded to the next lowest order of magnitude.
| AEW Double or Nothing (5/30/2021) | AEW Revolution 2021 (3/7/2021) |
|---|---|
| Pay-per-view | Pay-per-view |
| Domestic buys: 80,500 x Domestic average price: $50 = Domestic gross revenue: $4,000,000 x AEW average domestic split: 45% = AEW domestic net PPV revenue: $1,800,000 | Domestic buys: 94,500 x Domestic average price: $50 = Domestic gross revenue: $4,700,000 x AEW average domestic split: 45% = AEW domestic net PPV revenue: $2,100,000 |
| International buys: 34,500 x International average price: $50 = International gross revenue: $1,700,000 x AEW average international split: 45% = AEW international net PPV revenue: $780,000 | International buys: 40,500 x International average price: $50 = International gross revenue $2,000,000 x AEW average international split: 45% = AEW international net PPV revenue: $910,000 |
| Worldwide buys: 115,000 x Worldwide average price: $50 = Worldwide gross PPV revenue: $5,700,000 x AEW average worldwide split: 45% = AEW worldwide net PPV revenue: $2,600,000 | Worldwide buys: 135,000 x Worldwide average price: $50 = Worldwide gross PPV revenue: $6,700,000 x AEW average worldwide split: 45% = AEW worldwide net PPV revenue: $3,000,000 |
| Tickets | Tickets |
| Paid attendance: 4,700 Average ticket price: $64 Ticket revenue: $300,000 | Paid attendance: 1,150 Average ticket price: $65 Ticket revenue : $75,000 |
| Venue merchandise | Venue merchandise |
| Revenue per capita: $15 Venue merchandise revenue: $71,000 | Revenue per capita: $18 Venue merchandise revenue: $21,000 |
| OVERALL | OVERALL |
| Total gross revenue: $6,100,000 Total net revenue to AEW: $3,000,000 | Total gross revenue: $6,800,000 Total net revenue to AEW: $3,100,000 |
Note: Net revenue is not a measure of profit. ‘Net revenue’ refers to revenues AEW receives after PPV carriers take their share. An estimate of the profitability of an event would require an estimate of the event’s expenses, which this article doesn’t attempt to do.
Brandon Thurston has written about wrestling business since 2015. He’s also worked as an independent wrestler and trainer. For more, see our About page.
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