"Disappointment" - Ex-WWE personality recalls what Vince McMahon told him about PPV buys; trolls AEW Double or Nothing 2022 numbers
Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the AEW Double or Nothing 2022 PPV buys.
The pay-per-view was deemed a success as it lured many eyeballs to the product. Tony Khan recently revealed that the star-studded event drew an estimated 155,000 buys. It was a considerable leap of faith from last year's show, which generated around 140,000 PPV buys. Moreover, the company pulled off $1.1 million in ticket sales, marking the company's highest-ever gate revenue.
Quipping at AEW's numbers, Russo tweeted that his former boss and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon once told him that anything under a million PPV buys is a "disappointment."
"Tony Khan revealed that Double or Nothing drew an estimated 155K PPV buys. WOW. I remember @VinceMcMahon telling me prior to WM 15---"Vince, ANYTHING under 1 MILLION BUYS will be a Disappointment Evolution," Russo wrote.
@TonyKhan revealed that Double or Nothing drew an estimated 155K PPV buys.
WOW.
I remember @VinceMcMahon telling me prior to WM 15---"Vince, ANYTHING under 1 MILLION BUYS will be a Disappointment".
Evolution.
Apparently, Russo has downplayed Double or Nothing 2022 pay-per-view buys.
However, the event turned out to be the company's third-biggest monetary selling PPV, just behind AEW Revolution 2022 (165,000–173,000) and All Out (205,000) last year.
Fans react to Vince Russo poking fun at AEW Double or Nothing PPV buys
While AEW President Tony Khan hasn't responded to Vince Russo's statement yet, wrestling fans on Twitter have been rampantly reacting to the former head writer's tweet.
Wrestling fanatics clearly appear to be arguing over unfair comparisons drawn between the rising company and the global juggernaut.
Check out some of the Twitter reactions below:
@THEVinceRusso @TonyKhan @VinceMcMahon Elimination Chamber 2013, the last PPV before WWE Network launched, sold 178k PPVs. Put some effort into these posts
@THEVinceRusso @TonyKhan @VinceMcMahon That’s actually better than Starrcade 1999.
@THEVinceRusso @TonyKhan @VinceMcMahon WM 15 only did 800k so he must have been disappointed. According to the numbers WWE only hit 1 million buyrates 5 times in the history of the company. All WrestleManias all in the 2000s.
@THEVinceRusso @TonyKhan @VinceMcMahon As much as I don't like Tony Khan, it's not a fair comparison in my opinion
@THEVinceRusso @TonyKhan @VinceMcMahon That’s actually not bad for a 2nd place company in its 3rd year competing against a juggernaut like wwe. $50/155 buys is nearly 8 million dollars, who else can say they’re doing that. Competition is healthy & I don’t see anyone competing with these 2
@THEVinceRusso @TonyKhan @VinceMcMahon how many PPVs that you booked in WCW & TNA did 155,000 buys?
With Double or Nothing in the history books now, the company will shift its focus to the upcoming Forbidden Door pay-per-view, jointly organized by All Elite Wrestling and NJPW.
The company hasn't officially announced any matches on the show so far, though the build-up is underway. On this week's episode of Dynamite, the winner of a battle royale will face Jon Moxley in the main event. The victor will face either Hiroshi Tanahashi or Hirooki Goto at Forbidden Door to be crowned interim World Champion in CM Punk's absence.