By Brandon Thurston and Jason Ounpraseuth
➡️Download PDF of full report (subscribers only)
Our market-to-market analysis shows that same-type WWE events have mostly (13 out of 18 times) performed better in 2023 than the prior time a comparable event was in the city. In many cases, these events had the possible benefit of occurring in Q1, which is usually a good season for attendance.
In AEW’s case, there are fewer recent market-to-market comparisons, but AEW’s returns to most markets since late last year have been in front of smaller crowds versus the company’s prior visit for the same-type event.
Why doing it this way makes for a fairer analysis
When we try to make sense of attendance numbers (here, WrestleTix estimates of ticket maps), it’s important to keep in mind at least three factors that influence attendance:
- Market (i.e., city or region): Different markets have different populations, different levels of enthusiasm for wrestling, and different economic conditions.
- Event type: Different event types sell differently. Televised events usually sell better than house shows, and pay-per-view/PLEs usually sell best of all.
- Season (i.e., quarter-year): Historically, in WWE’s case, Q1 and Q4 perform better than Q2 and Q3 for at least two possible reasons. Indoor entertainment tends to do better business during colder months. WWE runs a string of events around Christmas in major markets that often do well. And Q1 is thought to do well partly because of increased interest in events during the lead-up to Wrestlemania.
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To take these factors into account, this report (download full PDF) shows percentage differences in tickets distributed for events compared to the prior event of the same event type (house show, TV, or PPV/PLE) when the given company (WWE or AEW) was last in that city.
Quarter-year doesn’t determine whether a percentage difference comparison is made, but is displayed for readers to consider.
Because Dynamite events tend to perform better than events that are only Rampage tapings (as opposed to tapings for both Dynamite and Rampage), Rampage (grouped with Battle of the Belts) are recognized as a separate event type and therefore may only be compared to other sole Rampage or Battle of the Belt tapings, and not to Dynamite tapings in the same city.
Where “No comp avail” is entered, there was no valid comparison for events that have taken place since both companies returned to touring in Q3 2021.
Summary of recent events for WWE and AEW
A week ago Monday, WWE was in Brooklyn, New York at Barclays Center. It marked the fifth time in the past two years WWE has been in the market. The Feb. 13 Raw moved 10,818 tickets, which was a slight decrease from the 11,223 tickets distributed the last time WWE was in the market for Raw on Oct. 10, 2022.
But that event marked a greater increase from the two previous TV events in Brooklyn. The Raw after Survivor Series on Nov. 22, 2021, moved 5,484 tickets, and the Smackdown on March 25, 2022, moved 9,300 tickets. The ticket increase from the Raw on Nov. 22, 2021, to the Raw on Oct. 10, 2022, was 105%.
Taking a look at other events in the New York market for WWE, a Raw at Madison Square Garden on July 25, 2022, moved 13,379 tickets, which was comparable to a Smackdown from Sept. 10, 2021.
The largest show-to-show difference in the same market for WWE was from a Jan. 20, 2022 Raw in the Philadelphia market that moved 5,699 tickets, and this year on Jan. 23, the “Raw 30” special taping moved 14,451 tickets. This was a 154% increase.
Taking a look at AEW, it ran new markets in February in Laredo, Texas, and El Paso, Texas. Those Dynamite events moved 3,228 and 4,217 tickets, respectively.
AEW also ran Dayton, Ohio at the beginning of February, and Dynamite moved 4,736 tickets. The final two weeks of January marked the first time AEW was in the Lexington, Ky. and Fresno, Calif. markets Those Dynamite tapings had 5,494 and 5,111 tickets distributed, respectively.
The Feb. 10 Smackdown was the first time in over a year WWE had been in the Uncasville, Conn. market. That event at Mohegan Sun Arena moved 6,449 tickets, which was a 2% decrease from the Jan. 7, 2022 Smackdown which moved 6,595 tickets.
In that same week, Raw was in the Orlando market on Feb., 6 in a taping that moved 9.926 tickets. This was a 21% increase from an Aug. 9, 2021 Raw that had 8,225 tickets distributed.
A day prior, there was a WWE house show in Pensacola, Fla. on Feb. 5 that moved 5,295 tickets. This was a 34% increase from the last house show in the Pensacola, Fla. market on March 13, 2022, which moved 3,942 tickets.
During that same weekend, there was a house show in the Columbus, Ga. market that had 5,747 tickets distributed, which was a 16% increase from a March 12, 2022 house show in the same market.
NXT Vengeance Day was in the Charlotte market at Spectrum Center. The premium live event moved 5,719 tickets. The last time WWE was in the market was for a Raw on Oct. 24, 2022, moving 7,570 tickets. There was one other event in the market in 2022 on March 18. This was a Smackdown that had 8,079 tickets distributed. WWE also ran a house show on Aug. 14, 2021, that moved 7,524 tickets.
The first Smackdown of February was run in the Greenville, S.C. market. This event had 9,756 tickets distributed, which was a 48% increase from the last Smackdown in the market on Aug. 5, 2022, which moved 6,585 tickets.
Brandon Thurston and Jason Ounpraseuth
brandon@wrestlenomics.com
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