The numbers game
The WWE is about more than just the 1, 2, 3-count in the ring…
Ever wondered how much money the WWE makes from pay-per-view events, like Great Balls Of Fire? WrestleMania 33 in April made the company and CEO Vince McMahon over $20 million (R256 million) thanks to the over-75 000 fans who watched live in the Camping World Stadium in Florida, over 1.5 million pay-per-view orders and the WrestleMania-branded merchandise they sold. Those aren’t the only interesting numbers that count when it comes to the WWE!
$10 (R130) per month is what you’ll pay for access to the WWE Network in SA. $20 (R260) is the cost per share that you will pay to buy into the WWE. 71 Vince McMahon’s age. He’s owned the wrestling company since 1980 when he founded it with his wife Linda. 85% of voting rights are still controlled by Vince and his family, including son Shane, daughter Stephanie and son-inlaw Triple H (Paul Michael Levesque). 180 countries around the world air WWE shows in 25 languages. 330 live events took place in the US in 2016 with the Raw and SmackDown brands, excluding the 15 pay-per-views. 580 Make-A-Wish wishes have been granted by John Cena as of December 2016. He holds the record. $40 000 (R510 000) – the cost of every WWE ring, which has been custom- developed in-house at the WWE Performance Center in Florida.
2.8 million WrestleMania tweets were posted on the day of the event (Sunday 2 April) and over 5 million tweets were posted during the five-hour show.
$4 millions (R51 million) – Triple H’s reported annual base salary as a parttime wrestler in 2016, $700 000 more than Vince’s salary of $3.3 million.
18 million YouTube subscribers have watched the WWE’s 29 000 videos a total of 15 billion times.
$232 million (R3 billion) – the WWE’s annual earning from selling shows like Raw, SmackDown and NXT, which SA audiences get for free on e.tv.
650 million viewers around the world watch WWE shows every week.
$700 million (R9 billion) – the WWE’s record turnover in 2016.
$1.2 billion (R15 billion) – Vince’s networth, thanks largely to the 40 million shares in the company that he holds. They are valued at over $800 million and he’s told the board in no uncertain terms that “they’re not for sale”.
NB! See more on p53.