Dwyane Johnson, popularly known as The Rock, has been one of the biggest professional wrestling superstars in the history of WWE. His persona and electrifying moves erupted the whole arena with cheers, and the crowd was on its feet whenever he performed. The ‘People’s Champ’ has a huge legacy behind him, and very few superstars can match it.
Talking about those few superstars, the first one that could come to mind is John Cena, who has been one of the best faces of the Stamford-based promotion. The 16-time WWE World Champion has been in the company for more than two decades and has given some great matches to the fans.
But his best match in terms of PPV sales and viewership did come at WrestleMania 28 when he battled The Brahma Bull. The match was deemed “once in a lifetime” and broke major PPV sales and viewership records. The event amassed $8.9 million in earnings via gate receipts, as the attendance at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium was marked by a whopping 78,363 people. The Rock emerged victorious at the end of the match in front of his home crowd.
WrestleMania 28 also became WWE’s most-purchased wrestling PPV of all time with 1,253,000 buys, breaking the previous record set by WrestleMania 23 in 2007, which had 1,250,000 buys. The purchase breakdown of the PPV sale was 733,000 domestic buys and 520,000 international buys. The international buys were record-high in the history of WWE. The Stamford-based promotion claimed 1.25 million buys for the epic WrestleMania 28.
Even the highly anticipated match between Roman Reigns and The Rock may not be able to stand up to the records of WrestleMania 28, headlined by John Cena vs. The Rock. The contest between the cousins may result in one of the best matches in WWE, but still, it’s unlikely that it could overtake the legendary match between two of the most loved superstars in the Triple-H-led promotion.
The WrestleMania 28 record for the highest WWE PPV sale may be unbreakable forever.
The arrival of the WWE Network has more or less killed the pay-per-view buys for the Stamford-based promotion. The popular televised show has now moved to a streaming service known as Peacock. Fans across the world can now avail of the PPV shows on the streaming platform for no additional costs. And this might be the reason behind the huge decline in PPV sales.
The Rock and John Cena (Credit-X)
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WrestleMania 39 saw a total of 45,600 of both nights combined, and before that, WrestleMania 38 had 48,600 buys. There is a declining trend in traditional PPV sales for WWE. The major reason behind this is the arrival of WWE Network in 2015 and its shift to streaming services.
But one cannot deny that pro wrestling is an ever-evolving industry, and things will always keep changing. Most likely, the match between The Rock and John Cena will always be at the top of the list when it comes to the highest PPV sales.
