Dutch Mantell explains why AEW makes considerably less money than WWE (Exclusive)
Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell recently opened up about AEW and WWE's differing business models and why the latter makes more money than the former.
While it has come a long way, AEW still has many more markets to cover before it becomes a global power. On the contrary, WWE's stronghold over the wrestling business is no secret, and it continues to make record profits.
WWE SmackDown & AEW Rampage Review | Smack Talk w/Dutch Mantell: Sasha Banks vs. Shotzi twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…
In the recent episode of Sportkeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Mantell shared his thoughts on why WWE generates more revenue than AEW. The veteran explained that since the two companies follow separate business models, it'd be unfair to compare their finances.
He added that there's only so much Tony Khan's promotion can make by running in a small market like Norfolk, Virginia. Meanwhile, Mantell stated, WWE makes as much as $25 million by running a single show in Saudi Arabia:
"To be fair, they (AEW and WWE) have two different, separate business models. AEW tries to make money, I guess, through syndication deals and running shows, but it's nowhere close if you run in Norfolk, Virginia. They might make $150,000 if they run a full house in North Virginia with full prices. To compare that to a Saudi Arabain show, they get $25 million from one show, so that's a big difference."
Check out the full review of this week's AEW Rampage and WWE SmackDown in the video below:
AEW's recent pay-per-view was a major financial success
Full Gear 2021, AEW's final pay-per-view of the year, ended things on a pretty strong note. The event had an estimated 145,000 pay-per-view buys, the second-highest in AEW's history. The company's most-successful pay-per-view is All Out 2021, with over 200,000 purchases.
Full Gear 2019: 80,000~ buys with approx. $490,000 gate
Full Gear 2020: 85,000~ buys with approx. $60,000 gate (second biggest gate since the pandemic began)
Full Gear 2021: 145,000~ buys with approx. $650,000 gate
The AEW growth year to year cannot be denied. https://t.co/U0Cjb17agP
Though Full Gear's buy rate is considerably lower than the September event, it's still a success for the promotion. AEW President Tony Khan would hope to take forward this momentum to 2022, with Revolution scheduled to be the company's first pay-per-view of the coming year.
Do you agree with Dutch Mantell's assessment of WWE and AEW's finances? Sound off in the comments section below.