WWE set new records with Friday’s post-Money In the Bank edition of SmackDown on FOX from Madison Square Garden in New York City, and higher-ups were proud of what looks to be the final WWE MSG event while the company is under ownership of The McMahon Family.
Michael Cole announced a sold out crowd of 15,182 fans in attendance as The World’s Most Famous Arena for last night’s SmackDown. WWE always boosts their announced attendance numbers by around 1,000 – 2,000. As seen in the tweets below, WWE had “sold out” signs hanging up backstage at The Garden, and several stars tweeted that there was a sellout, including Paul Heyman, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Sami Zayn, and WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H. This was also the first time in years where WWE had “sold out” signs on all digital LED boards outside of the venue to warn people that there were no walk-up ticket sales.
However, @WrestleTix noted at around 3pm on Friday how WWE had 9 available tickets with a setup of 13,528 seats, or 13,519 tickets distributed. WWE ended up releasing the last seats in their limited-view sections, and those quickly sold, and were re-listed for more than $100 each. Furthermore, it was the noted at around 5:15pm that WWE now had 30 available tickets as production made “very slight changes” to the floor-plan, and two more limited-view 400 level sections were opened up. WWE then had 30 available tickets with a setup of 13,617 seats, or 13,587 tickets distributed.
WWE announced after SmackDown that this was highest-grossing WWE event to ever be held at MSG. It was also announced that this was the highest-grossing SmackDown in WWE history. These are both significant records set by the company.
To compare figures, WWE announced 15,130 fans in attendance for the July 25, 2022 SummerSlam go-home edition of RAW from MSG, with a legitimate sellout and actual attendance of around 13,400. The actual attendance for the September 10, 2021 Super SmackDown from MSG was 13,132, but WWE announced 14,425 on commentary that night.
Regarding last night’s SmackDown success at MSG, a new report from PWInsider notes that there was a big sense of pride backstage among WWE executives over the fact that the company set the aforementioned records, in part because this show was likely the final WWE event to be held at The Garden while WWE is under McMahon Family ownership as the Endeavor acquisition and WWE – UFC merger is expected to close later this year.
The report from PWI also noted that SmackDown was 100% sold out, indicating that WWE was able to move those final tickets within 3 hours or so. WWE ran this week’s SmackDown at MSG with lots of sections usually not used for WWE events, including VIP suites and areas that are usually blocked for production or behind the stage. The only way WWE could’ve put more people in The Garden last night would have been to remove the entrance stage and go completely in the round, utilizing every section.
It was noted today by Andrew Zarian that WWE officials will consider using a “much smaller stage setup” for future events at Madison Square Garden. The change has not been confirmed this far out, but it will depend on early ticket sales.
WWE did not announce a return to The Garden last night but they are expected to run the venue again in late December for the annual post-Christmas tour.
You can see the related tweets below:
— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) July 7, 2023
After an epic Civil War at #MITB, the stakes have never been higher for The Bloodline.@TheGarden is SOLD OUT tonight for Tribal Court: The Trial of The Tribal Chief @WWERomanReigns. 8/7c @FOXTV https://t.co/Wi7ONWyMAm
— Triple H (@TripleH) July 7, 2023
Madison Square Garden is sold out tonight. pic.twitter.com/xLnMhV2HCf
— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) July 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1677500175667830786
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