From the WWE Rumor Mill: Roman Reigns neck & neck in merch sales with another current superstar
What's the story?
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently disclosed which WWE superstars were leading the charge with regard to overall merchandise sales. We thank Reddit user aase458 for the heads up.
Not surprisingly, John Cena is miles ahead of the rest of the pack. What is surprising, however, is that Roman Reigns and AJ Styles are tied at the second position.
In case you didn't know...
Merchandise sales are a good indicator of the popularity of a WWE superstar. Dave Meltzer and Wrestling Observer have chronicled accurate figures with regard to merchandise for many decades.
Alongside TV rights and gate collections, merchandise sales are a great source of revenue for the company. This includes t-shirts, collectables, action figures, belts and other items available on the WWE Shop in addition to special merchandise created for Live Events.
The heart of the matter
John Cena is a mainstream superstar whose popularity has been constant over decades. Not surprisingly, he's far and away the highest merchandise seller right now. What is more surprising is that AJ Styles is just as popular when it comes to merchandise sales as Roman Reigns. Meltzer concludes that Styles must be raking in the green right now.
Some other names that he mentioned were Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman. All three have solid revenue coming in from merchandise sales. The New Day is the only stable that ranks right up there with the rest of the names we mentioned.
What's next?
With names like Lashley coming in to the roster, we wonder if the merchandise numbers will change. The excitement for the product is at an all-time high following WrestleMania 34. We are certain that merchandise numbers will be strong at this point in time, at least.
Author's take
I'm glad that Styles is getting his rightful due. And why shouldn't he...considering that he is the WWE Champion.
I'm just surprised to not see Ronda Rousey and Rusev among the highest merchandise sellers.
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