WWE has announced that their recent Payback event was a huge success, breaking records for viewership, gate attendance, and merchandise sales. The event, which took place at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, became the most-watched and highest-grossing Payback in WWE history.
Viewership for Payback was up 36 percent compared to the previous record set in 2016. With a crowd of 12,468 in attendance, it also marked the largest gate ever for any Payback event, surpassing the previous record set in Chicago in 2016. Additionally, Payback became the highest-grossing WWE event ever held in Pittsburgh.
One of the standout achievements of the event was the breaking of the all-time event merchandise record. Partnering with special event retail partner Fanatics, merchandise sales were up a staggering 182 percent compared to the previous record set in 2017.
Not only did Payback make waves in terms of traditional viewership and attendance, but it also made a significant impact on social media. The event became the most-viewed social Payback of all time, with a combined 146 million social views. This represented a 44 percent increase from the previous record set in 2020.
One of the most-viewed moments across social platforms during Payback was Cody Rhodes announcing that Jey Uso would be joining the Monday Night Raw roster. This announcement generated over seven million social views across all platforms in just one day.
WWE continues to be a global leader in entertainment, with its commitment to family-friendly programming reaching over 1 billion homes worldwide in 25 languages through distribution partners such as NBCUniversal, FOX, BT Sport, Sony India, and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network, which offers premium live events and a vast video-on-demand library, is available in over 180 countries. In the United States, the exclusive home of the WWE Network is NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock.
For more information on WWE and its various businesses, including television programming, live events, digital media, and publishing platforms, visit corporate.wwe.com.
With Payback’s record-breaking success, WWE continues to solidify its position as a dominant force in the world of professional wrestling. Fans can expect more exciting events and moments in the future as WWE continues to deliver top-notch entertainment.
Sources: Wrestling Headlines