WWE recently announced how successful the 2023 Payback Premium Live Event was, and it was noted that the event broke WWE’s all-time event merchandise record. In the partnership with special event retail partner Fanatics, merchandise sales were up 182% vs. the previous record set in 2017.
A new report from Fightful Select adds that generic WWE merchandise sold the best at Payback, as is almost always the case. This includes Payback and WWE-branded shirts and Money In the Bank briefcases.
Title belts are also included in this category and they are a major earner. It’s unlikely that many items will ever overcome this as one title belt can equate to 12-24 Superstar t-shirts.
In the individual Superstar rankings for Payback, Cody Rhodes topped the list, beating out John Cena, who came in at #2. Cena missing out on the #1 spot is rare as his merchandise continues to do strong numbers, especially when new items are dropped.
LA Knight ranked #3 for Payback merchandise sales in the individual Superstar category. Many of LA’s sales were done online and via Fanatics, but WWE has made it a point to get a lot more of his merchandise to the live shows.
Regarding AEW, merchandise sales for All In in London seemed strong. It was noted that one of the top sellers, as expected, were ROH World Tag Team Champions Better Than You Bay-Bay – Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF.