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Data is sourced programmatically from trends.google.com by Wrestlenomics.

As always, you can learn more about this data here: FAQ about Google Trends data

Brandon Thurston
brandon@wrestlenomics.com

Top 5 in Japan: New Japan, Stardom, NOAH, WWE, Dragongate

Top 5 in Japan excluding New Japan: Stardom, WWE, NOAH, Dragongate, All Japan

Top 3 in Mexico: WWE, CMLL, AAA

Top 3 in Mexico, excluding WWE: CMLL, AAA, AEW

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Data was sourced programmatically by Wrestlenomics from trends.google.com. For more information on the data, see the FAQ from Google Trends.

Top 3 worldwide

Top 5 worldwide, excluding WWE

Each company on its own scale, for search volume in its domestic market only

Brandon Thurston brandon@wrestlenomics.com 

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Money in the Bank sets new real-time gate records

WWE stated in a press release on Wednesday that Money in the Bank and the prior night’s Smackdown, both at the O2 Arena in London, sold a combined $5.4 million. Money in the Bank set a new all-time record for WWE at arena venues (that is, not including stadiums) and the Smackdown event set a new record for any Smackdown in WWE history.

Adjusting for inflation, I believe the record for any arena event in WWE history is held by Wrestlemania 5 in Atlantic City in 1989, which drew $1.63 million at the time, or $3.99 million in today’s money. Adjusting for inflation, both events from this past weekend would be in the top 15 or 10 all-time for WWE at arenas. The real-time USD gate record Money in the Bank likely broke was a Smackdown taping also at the O2 Arena in 2008, which drew $2.50 million (not adjusting for inflation), which previously held the record for any WWE arena event as well as the previous Smackdown record.

Viewership for Money in the Bank was up 17% from the prior year’s event. As always with PLE viewership disclosures, the number of viewers wasn’t revealed. The latest subscriber count for Peacock is from Q1 of this year, with 22 million. A year before that, the service’s subscribers were at 13 million. Comcast will report Q2 earnings, and probably an update on Peacock subscribers, on July 27.

All In climbing most tickets sold for a wrestling event

WrestleTix on Tuesday estimated All In tickets distributed for Wembley Stadium at 74,888 and an estimated paid tickets of 67,110. At 67,110 alone, All In has already surpassed ticket sales counts for most single-day Wrestlemania events. With final hype and match announcements, the show will likely end up being one of the highest attendances in modern wrestling history, say, since 1960.

I believe the modern pro wrestling attendance record is held by Wrestlemania 3 in 1987 in Pontiac, Michigan, at somewhere around 88,000 in attendance and 85,000 paid — but that number is much debated. WWF of course announced 93,173. Others say the number for that show is closer to 78,500. And WCW/New Japan ran shows in 1995 in North Korea, which the government supposedly ordered more than 100,000 fans to attend.

The Arlington Police told me in an email about a year after Wrestlemania 32 that the count of tickets scanned for that event was 80,709, despite WWE’s announced number of 101,763, a figure Vince McMahon volunteered on an earnings call included “ushers and ticket-takers and all of that”.

In terms of the live gate, Tony Khan said at the Double or Nothing press conference in late May that sales were over $8 million USD and “going on a $9 million gate”.

Wrestlemania 32’s all-time gate record is clearly safe. In 2016, WWE said the event sold $17.3 million in tickets, which would be $22 million today.

TV rankings for Friday and Saturday

AEW Collision last Saturday on TNT, on July 1, with its 0.13 P18-49 national rating (the metric Showbuzz Daily ranked telecasts by) was #15 on cable for the day. For a like-to-like comparison with Showbuzz rankings, excluding the non-original telecasts, Collision would have ranked #10 on cable if Showbuzz was still reporting. Some of the telecasts outranking Collision were non-originals, including an airing of Avengers: Infinity War on TBS that delivered a 0.18 P18-49 rating with a 2:57 pm start time, as well as three airings of Pirates of the Caribbean movies on FX. Formula 1 on ESPN at 10:24 am was #1 on cable with a 0.30 P18-19 rating.

Smackdown ranked #1 for Friday overall, among cable and broadcast in P18-49, by a wide margin, delivering a 0.69 P18-49 national rating. The next-nearest telecast was Rosa de Guadalupe on Univision with a 0.29 P18-49 rating. Among cable programs overall for Friday, Rampage ranked #10, with its 0.13 P18-49 rating. Four of those telecasts, though, I believe were non-originals, including the top cable program, an airing of the movie National Treasure on FX with a 0.16 rating. Excluding the non-original cable telecasts, if Showbuzz was reporting ratings for Friday, Rampage would have ranked #6 with its higher-than-usual viewership for the night.

Daily cable original and broadcast data will soon be available at SpoilerTV.com, according to a post on ratingsryan.com, but at a more delayed cadence than that of Showbuzz Daily, which posted information quickly after it was released by Nielsen. “Skedball” data covering weekly top sports TV ratings will also be posted at sportsmediawatch.com.

Survivor Series in Chicago, possibly neighboring AEW’s Thanksgiving tradition

WWE announced today that Survivor Series will take place at the Allstate Arena in Chicago on Saturday, November 25. Smackdown will be at the same venue the night before, which is the day before Thanksgiving. AEW has traditionally taped Dynamite the week of Thanksgiving in the Chicago area in 2019, 2021, and 2022. The last two years at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and in 2019 at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, just outside Chicago. It’s unclear yet if AEW will run Dynamite in the area again this year, the day before Thanksgiving, which would make for a four-day stretch with three wrestling events in the market.

Additional AEW and WWE event notes

According to Pollstar, AEW Dynamite on June 14 in Washington, DC at the Capital One Arena sold 3,861 tickets, generating $224,937. The Dynamite on May 17 in Austin, Texas, at the Moody Center sold 3,539 tickets, paying $200,663. WrestleTix estimates of tickets distributed (paid plus comps) for both of these events were substantially higher, at 4,603 and 5,313, respectively, for DC and Austin, which could indicate an increase in comps.

I’m told WWE’s next Saudi Arabia show is planned for Saturday, November 4. Expect a double Smackdown taping in advance of that on October 27.

Pat Laprade reported that two AEW events are coming to Montreal on Tuesday, December 5 and on Wednesday, December 6 at the Bell Centre. The Wednesday would presumably be for a Dynamite taping. Laprade couldn’t confirm but believes the Tuesday event will be a Collision taping.

MLW v. WWE case management schedule

MLW’s antitrust lawsuit against WWE is moving forward to discovery. Judge Edward Davila approved a schedule for Fact Discovery to end on July 31, 2024, and Expert Discovery to end on January 13, 2025. Unless the case is settled out of the court, the lawsuit will be continuing through well into 2025, with the latest date on the schedule, a hearing on anticipated dispositive motions, scheduled for June 5, 2025.

I reported on Wednesday that Jerry McDevitt and other K&L Gates lawyers will no longer represent WWE in the case, with McDevitt saying he’s retiring at the end of the year. Attorneys from the Paul, Weiss firm, which is already working with WWE on the pending merger with UFC, will now defend WWE in this case.

Brandon Thurston
brandon@wrestlenomics.com

Photo: Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Jerry McDevitt will no longer be representing WWE in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit filed by MLW. WWE’s long-time defense attorney tells Wrestlenomics he’s transitioning toward retirement.

Lawyers from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Warton & Garrison LLP, will instead defend WWE in the lawsuit. Attorneys from that firm who filed today to represent WWE include Walter Brown, Karen Dunn, William Michael, and Brette Tannenbaum. They replace lawyers, including McDevitt, from the K&L Gates firm.

Paul, Weiss attorneys have already been working with WWE recently, advising the company on the pending merger with UFC, according to SEC filings.

The judge in the MLW v. WWE case ruled last month to deny WWE’s motion to dismiss MLW’s complaint, allowing litigation to advance to discovery and a possible trial. The lawsuit, which is filed in federal court in California, alleges WWE interfered in MLW’s media deals, among other allegations. MLW’s suit was initially dismissed earlier this year, but the judge allowed the wrestling company led by Court Bauer to file an amended complaint.

McDevitt confirmed to us earlier today that he’ll no longer be working on the lawsuit. He said he’s “wrapping things up” at the end of 2023, and the case is likely to be litigated well beyond that time. He gave the following response by email:

As you may know, since early 2022 I have been working towards retirement. I had hoped that the Court would again dismiss MLW’s lawsuit as it did the first time. When it did not, and it became obvious that the case would run into at least 2025 in all probability, I advised my client that I would be wrapping things up by year-end and that it would make sense for them to secure counsel who can go the distance on the case now that discovery will be starting. There is also the chance that I might be a witness given the allegations. I will be 74 this January and it just seems like the right time to make necessary transitions.

We have worked with Paul[,] Weiss on other matters and they are an excellent firm who I will be helping get up to speed.

It has been a great 36-year run with a great Company and Vince [McMahon], and I am very proud of all that we accomplished during that time, and I will continue to help them any way I can.

McDevitt has represented WWE and Vince McMahon in numerous lawsuits and other legal matters going back to 1987. He mentioned intending to retire in an interview in January 2022.