WWE Rumors: Roadblock has the lowest advance PPV sales in RAW history
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that the Pay-Per-View advance buy rate is the lowest it has ever been for a Raw PPV. Here is the veteran journalist’s tweet:
Weakest advance for a Raw PPV to date https://t.co/k3C79OQ9VI
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) December 17, 2016
Meltzer earlier reported that the ticket sales for Roadblock: End Of The Line hasn't been good either. This has been a recurring event ever since the brand split and the introduction of brand exclusive Pay-Per-Views. Backlash, Clash Of Champions, No Mercy, TLC, and now Roadblock: End Of The Line have all struggled in selling tickets.
For Roadblock: End Of The Line, the tickets are now being sold at considerably lesser prices. This is similar to what happened at TLC. As a result of this, the security in the arena is forced to move around in the crowd to ensure the arena looks full in the hard cam.
The Roadblock: End Of The Line card has a total of 7 matches, 4 of which are for the titles. A good chunk of time will surely go in the Iron Man Match between Sasha Banks and Charlotte. The match itself would go on for 30 minutes, with the promo package and entrances making it a 45 minutes segment altogether. That may make the PPV exceed the 3-hour mark.
Smackdown Live PPVs, in general, have been below the 3-hour mark due to the lack of matches. Raw has filled or exceeded the time slot. Regardless, the declining attendance figures for non-major PPVs and house shows is a huge concern.
Regarding PPV buys itself, the rates have significantly declined due to the availability of the WWE Network and the attractive price. It is likely that the purchase rate will only fall over the next few years. Due to the cut down in PPVs, WWE is now operating with reduced profits. The Network itself is a long-term investment, so the minimum prices and cheap offers will continue to get more people to commit to the Network on the long term.
Roadblock: End Of The Line is expected to be headlined by Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship. The feud itself has been considered lackluster by many fans, indicating that it isn’t drawing as well as it should.
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