Viewership is an integral part of all TV shows and WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania is no exception. This year, WWE legend Triple H will be the one tasked to book the pro wrestling spectacle. The Chief Content Officer will have Vince McMahon-sized boots to fill at the show as he is expected to break all kinds of records at the event.
WrestleMania 38, which was Vince McMahon‘s last WrestleMania, smashed records for fun as it became the most-viewed event in the company’s history. During a first-quarter rating call, WWE confirmed that the viewership for the Showcase of the Immortals had doubled from the previous year.
“WrestleMania was the most viewed WWE premium live event of all time. Global unique viewership increased 54% and domestic unique viewership increased 61% year-over-year. WrestleMania was the second most viewed event on Peacock to date, behind only Super Bowl LVI.” WWE announced.
Report: WWE WrestleMania 38 Breaks Viewership Record in India, 56.1 Million Viewers Watched It On Sony Sports Network https://t.co/cnztKImROm pic.twitter.com/F2PPJ9q7HX
— WrestleZone (@WRESTLEZONEcom) April 18, 2022
The company was also able to generate record viewership from one of WWE’s biggest markets, India. WrestleMania 38 received 56.1 million viewership in the country according to The Broadcast Audience Research Council of India. It will be interesting to see how WrestleMania 39 will do in terms of viewership across the world.
Will the absence of Stone Cold and The Rock have an impact on WrestleMania 39 TV ratings?
WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin deserves huge credit for WrestleMania 38’s success last year. Austin’s popularity helped bring more eyes to the product. The veteran superstar came out of retirement and competed in the main event of Night 1 against Kevin Owens. He also made a brief appearance on Night 2 to renew his famous rivalry with Vince McMahon. WWE reportedly wanted Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 39 but his participation as of now is unclear.
“Stone Cold” #SteveAustin made his return to the ring last year against #KevinOwens in the main event of Night 1 of #WrestleMania 38. https://t.co/M8cJ1fapfp
— WrestlingDelivery.com (@wrestlingdelive) March 26, 2023
Another big-name star that WWE wanted to have at WrestleMania 39 was The Rock. The Hollywood megastar was rumored to headline the show against his cousin Roman Reigns. Due to the star’s busy schedule in Hollywood, he won’t be able to make an appearance at the show.
The absence of two of pro wrestling’s biggest names forced WWE to go back to the drawing board. John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns are some of the big-name stars who will be competing on the show this year. Fans are waiting to see how the first WrestleMania under Triple H will do in terms of TV ratings.
WrestleMania with the highest attendance
Live crowd attendance is also another major factor that determines the success of big wrestling events. WrestleMania 38 holds the record for being the most attended WrestleMania event. WWE announced that 156,352 fans attended the event at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas over two nights.
WWE reports record-breaking attendance, revenue for WrestleMania 38 https://t.co/we70ZwwJr2 pic.twitter.com/3RZQJOFLoC
— Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) April 4, 2022
WrestleMania 39 is expected to break the attendance records set by WrestleMania 38. The company in August confirmed that they have sold over 90,000 tickets within 24 hours. The SoFi stadium will be able to accommodate over 100,000 fans and it’ll be a huge opportunity for Triple H to break the attendance record at this year’s Show of Shows.