This past Sunday AEW presented their Revolution pay per view, which despite the lackluster finish did feature a strong card including the return of Sting, the surprise signing of Christian Cage, and an exploding barbed wire deathmatch in the main event.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW hit big in terms of pay per view buys, as the show has grossed an excess of $6 million dollars, making it the strongest event in the company’s short history and the best numbers for a non-WWE event since 1999. AEW will profit roughly 50% of those sales due to the deals they have with their distribution partners.
The report also adds that AEW’s streaming numbers on B/R Live were up more than 50 percent from their previous Full Gear pay per view, as well as a 40% increase in markets outside of the United States. Adding all of these numbers together, along with the television PPV numbers which have yet to be released, AEW easily surpassed their previous record of 120,000 buys set at the promotion’s inaugural 2018 Double or Nothing event.
There is speculation that AEW’s next pay per view, Double or Nothing 2021, may even surpass these great numbers due to it taking place on Memorial Day weekend, and once again taking place on a Sunday, but that means AEW would have to top over 120,000 buys.
The big question becomes what was the reason for the large increase. Were fans tuning in for the return of Sting or for the surprise signing? Did they purchase the show to see the dangerous main event? While no direct answer can be determined at this time AEW looks to continue its surge into pro-wrestling history.