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[Sakara=Excitement]

WrestleMania 28 PPV buys set major WWE record, while Brock Lesnar-less UFC PPVs struggle - MMAmania.com

WrestleMania 28 reportedly set an all-time World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) pay-per-view (PPV) record on April 1, 2012, from Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Fla., tallying an estimated 1.3 million buys "with global sales in excess of $67 million."

CageSideSeats.com passed along a report earlier this afternoon, which breaks the 1.25 million PPV high-water mark that was set way back in 2007 when John Cena defeated Shawn Michaels to retain the WWE championship.

The success of WrestleMania 28 can be attributed to many things, particularly the celebrated return of "The Rock," who emerged from a seven-year, self-imposed hiatus to defeat the aforementioned Cena in the main event of the evening. However, it was the rumored return of another former superstar, Brock Lesnar, which may have pushed the final numbers over the edge.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion didn't appear on the PPV; however he was "secretly" in the building backstage to take in all the action. Lesnar actually returned the following evening at Monday Night "RAW," ending the show with an "F-5" of Cena just before the credits rolled. Then, to build even more heat, a confrontation between Lesnar and Cena the following week erupted into an all-out brawl after a face slap (watch the video here).

For years, Lesnar was a UFC box office Goliath, attracting throngs of fans, whether it was from his earlier "professional" wrestling days, mixed martial arts (MMA) exploits or otherwise. UFC President Dana White always insisted that Georges St. Pierre was the true UFC PPV king; however, Lesnar's presence always seemed to be a winning formula for financial success.

In fact, Lesnar headlined UFC 100 opposite Frank Mir back in 2009, which remains the promotion's most successful event ever with 1.6 million estimated PPV buys. He also holds another top all-time spot (1.01 PPV buys) for his UFC 91 fight against Randy Couture.

More recently, Lesnar's farewell fight against Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 late last year generated a respectable 750,000 PPV buys, while his loss to Cain Velasquez in Oct. 2010 was the biggest box office success since the loss to "The Reem."

In short, if Lesnar isn't, or wasn't involved, the PPV numbers, for the most part, struggled in comparison.

With the UFC PPV numbers in a Lesnar-less funk, and the WWE on a Lesnar-fueled upswing, one has to wonder how much the promotion's success in recent years truly was built on his "blood, sweat and tears." Talk all you want about "saturation" and "injuries" and fight card "mishaps," but one common thread is always present when it comes to big money-making UFC events.

Lesnar has proven time and again that he is a huge draw, regardless of where he plies his trade. It's undeniable. And make no mistake, his appearance at Wrestlemania 29 next year in New Jersey will likely set another WWE record.

Meanwhile, UFC events will struggle to sniff the half-million mark. The good news is major main events that feature Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans at UFC 145 and Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 147 loom on the horizon.

Can one, or both, fill the huge PPV shoes that Lesnar once filled? Can anyone, for that matter?

It's clearly not St. Pierre.

[Qball1974]

I can't watch it anymore but power to them.

[Xtremo]

Yea, everyone already knew Lesnar was a huge draw in the UFC. But it's interesting to note that Raw ratings were expected to boost up with Brock back, but so far, nothing too significant..

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

While it's a really substantial number, given the utterly MASSIVE investment & HARDSELL they gave this year's Mania(which received an unprecedented level of build, even for a WM), anything less than this would've been a bust.

They went into this year's Mania after probably their poorest WM card in decades with WM27, which is all around considered a big dud since it was built around a "guest host" and knew they had to make up for it this year with a higher quality product. Hence the emphasis on major league "Attitude Era" stars such as Rocky, Taker, HHH etc to really bring in some of the audience they've undoubtedly lost during their PG-era of Linda McMahon's Senate campaigns and the very strong build around basically 3 MAIN events with very little else on the card. There have been massive overhauls within the WWE power structure this past year and what resulted was a more focused and concerted effort to deliever. It also helps HUGE that Rock has wanted to rebrand his image to that closer to a traditional action hero and the synergy between WWE & he couldn't have come at a more opportune timing for either party.

Crazy thing is, NEXT YEAR'S WM is probably going to blow this year's out of the water money wise, as they're hitting New Jersey(silly place to hold it outdoors in April, but massive market) and we're looking at the top 3 matches being Rock/Brock, Cena/Taker and Punk/Austin(coming out of retirement), not to mention names like HBK/HHH & all of the undercard talents that will make this one a doozy. Next year's has potential to be the best overall card ever, which in my eyes, will do better business than this year's with the combination of Rocky, Brock AND Austin working the same card, which is star power they haven't had in YEARS.

[FedortheCan]

When I was younger, I watched the WWE mainly due to the smoking hot Divas, Hogan, Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock. But as I got older, it just got old and I got sick of it. Its crazy how popular that shit remains when it loses its biggest stars like Hogan, Flair, Stone Cold, etc. I guess I could watch it again if my 3 year gets older and wants to watch it. I just dont understand how a good % of that audience doesnt go bonkers for MMA, which is real and a very entertaining sport. I hate to say this, but I think if Vince McMahon ever tried his thumb in MMA and started an organization.... I think he would have a good chance at building a legit rival against UFC. Ah maybe Im nuts

[Thamob]

The thing is WWE was struggling for the last little while so much so that they had to dig really deep to get something, The Rock. I'm sorry but that was pretty much their sell. If it wasn't for him I don't think there really would have been a 'Mania. Ya sure Brock is a draw but lets see how long that will last for him. What PPVS have we had since he left? What were their PPVs before Lesnar coming in? From what I heard they were pretty crap.

[Cat--Smasher]

Brock Lesnar brings UFC theme to WWE - MMA News

Brock Lesnar has returned to the WWE, taking his vast PPV drawing power with him. However, he has not entirely left the UFC behind as was expected, but rather is talking it with him too.

On Monday Night Raw he talked about winning the UFC championship, and how his return will legitimize the WWE. Brock continued in that vein. "There's nothing about Brock Lesnar that's fake. This is real. This is not a wrestling match." Then they played footage of Brock MMA training at his Deathclutch facility.

Brock will return to the squared circle in a match vs. John Cena at "Extreme Rules" on April 29, with no count outs and no disqualifications. In short, the WWE is promoting Lesnar vs. Cena as an actual shoot (a 'shoot' is a legitimate match between pro wrestlers, a 'work' is the usual choreaographed routine, a 'fix' is a match in fighting where one player knows the predetermined outcome while the other thinks it is real).

Now images have turned up showing Brock in MMA themed wrestling attire, complete with MMA gloves (no logo) and MMA shorts (with that Jack's Links logo, among others). These are the first sponsored trunks ever in WWE, and if worn on a PPV will be another major revenue stream for Lesnar, and another piece of MMA he is bring with him.

The WWE, like the UFC, ferociously protects its brand, so the addition of a UFC theme to the WWE is a major and very calculated step. It will probably work, too. While the WWE's sole foray into reality - the boxing with double legs Brawl For It All - is widely considered to be among its greatest missteps, dragging the UFC into the storyline should prove successful.

[CRisCO]

Honestly I can't afford to buy a ufc ppv every month. 55 bucks isn't a lot of money but it is when its something that should be shown for free or on one of my cable providers.

[Sniggles]

Originally Posted by FedortheCan

When I was younger, I watched the WWE mainly due to the smoking hot Divas, Hogan, Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock. But as I got older, it just got old and I got sick of it. Its crazy how popular that shit remains when it loses its biggest stars like Hogan, Flair, Stone Cold, etc. I guess I could watch it again if my 3 year gets older and wants to watch it. I just dont understand how a good % of that audience doesnt go bonkers for MMA, which is real and a very entertaining sport. I hate to say this, but I think if Vince McMahon ever tried his thumb in MMA and started an organization.... I think he would have a good chance at building a legit rival against UFC. Ah maybe Im nuts

Same with me but I was into WCW and WWF after that for a while until Stone Cold and the Rock got old which it did pretty fast. It was more of a 4 year fad for me... much like how Pogs were a 1 year fad for me.

[roaddawg]

Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre

While it's a really substantial number, given the utterly MASSIVE investment & HARDSELL they gave this year's Mania(which received an unprecedented level of build, even for a WM), anything less than this would've been a bust.

They went into this year's Mania after probably their poorest WM card in decades with WM27, which is all around considered a big dud since it was built around a "guest host" and knew they had to make up for it this year with a higher quality product. Hence the emphasis on major league "Attitude Era" stars such as Rocky, Taker, HHH etc to really bring in some of the audience they've undoubtedly lost during their PG-era of Linda McMahon's Senate campaigns and the very strong build around basically 3 MAIN events with very little else on the card. There have been massive overhauls within the WWE power structure this past year and what resulted was a more focused and concerted effort to deliever. It also helps HUGE that Rock has wanted to rebrand his image to that closer to a traditional action hero and the synergy between WWE & he couldn't have come at a more opportune timing for either party.

Crazy thing is, NEXT YEAR'S WM is probably going to blow this year's out of the water money wise, as they're hitting New Jersey(silly place to hold it outdoors in April, but massive market) and we're looking at the top 3 matches being Rock/Brock, Cena/Taker and Punk/Austin(coming out of retirement), not to mention names like HBK/HHH & all of the undercard talents that will make this one a doozy. Next year's has potential to be the best overall card ever, which in my eyes, will do better business than this year's with the combination of Rocky, Brock AND Austin working the same card, which is star power they haven't had in YEARS.

So wait Stone Cold Steve Austin is actually coming out of retirement? The rumor mill claimed that he only had 1 fight left in him. Also other rumors reported that Bill Goldberg will be returning.

Neither confirmed.