The PPV numbers are in for WrestleMania 24, and they are considerably lower than WWE and Floyd Mayweather expected. WrestleMania 24 drew 1,058,000 buys which works out to $23.8 million. This is less than last year’s 1,200,000 buys and $24.4 million for WrestleMania 23. The numbers were released this morning with WWE’s first quarter earnings report, which had the company listed as pulling in $19.5 million in net earnings over the first quarter of 2008. ProWrestling.net reports that Vince McMahon was targeting 1.4 million buys for WrestleMania 24, and this number is viewed as a disappointment for WWE. Floyd Mayweather publicly predicted the number would beat out WrestleMania 23, which featured Donald Trump. :: I figured that boring uncharismatic clown was gonna be a waste of money by WWE. They didn't even need his boring ass to sell Wrestlemania. He was a complete waste of money. And the ratings were and are still sh*t, no change there whatsoever. Furthermore, the WWE lied outright about Floyd's $20 million payday: Earlier today WWE held a financial conference call to discuss the successful increase in revenue for the first quarter. During a Question & Answer session they outright admitted Floyd Mayweather didn't get paid as reported. For those that understand business, it is consdiered illegal to lie to shareholders, because in theory stock could have been traded due to that figure. The WWE has no intention of doing further business with 'Pretty Bore' Floyd 'zero charisma' Mayweather Jr. ::
It's a one and done deal. You won't see him in a WWE ring again. That's how it's always been with celebs.
I don't hate Floyd at all, just think he needs to be brought down to earth, violently. His charade won't last that long.
Undefeated since turning pro 12 years ago. I dunno what passes for "long" in your culture, but in mine, 12 years is a good amount of time.
The WWE expected 1.4 million buys, a new record. Much of it sold almost solely on the Floyd attraction. They didn't even beat the record of last year's event. What it means to me is that the WWE's Wrestlemania annual event sells itself almost primarily on its name alone, no advertising needed. Even before any announcements are made concerning the card itself, the event is sold out, months in advance. That's the tradition of the Wrestlemania extravaganza. I won't say the WWE wasted money on Floyd, but the gains were miniscule. His participation did not help the WWE for that event NOR for the following events, particularly with television ratings. There's been no new viewership or interest in their product, despite all the weeks of hype concerning Floyd Mayweather Jr. I recall the WWE boss on Off the Record with Michael Landsberg once saying "When you pay such an enormous amount of money to a particular star, you expect more, you're entitled to more." Floyd being paid what he was paid didn't give them anything more than what they would've gotten if they had just put on a good match with real pro wrestlers in that same space. That's all I'm saying. I think lessons have been learned this time around. Boxers don't really increase viewership anymore. It's just a very short term solution to a long term problem. Add to that, none of the fans bought Floyd's act during his stint on WWE television.
The WWE expected 1.4 million buys, a new record. Much of it sold almost solely on the Floyd attraction. They didn't even beat the record of last year's event. What it means to me is that the WWE's Wrestlemania annual event sells itself almost primarily on its name alone, no advertising needed. Even before any announcements concerning the card itself, the event is sold out, months in advance. That's the tradition of the Wrestlemania extravaganza. It's their biggest event. I won't say the WWE wasted money on Floyd, but the gains were miniscule. His participation did not help the WWE for that event NOR for the following events, particularly with television ratings. There's been no new viewership or interest in their product, despite all the weeks of hype concerning Floyd Mayweather Jr. I recall the WWE boss on Off the Record with Michael Landsberg once saying "When you pay such an enormous amount of money to a particular star, you expect more, you're entitled to more." Floyd being paid what he was paid didn't give them anything more than what they would've gotten if they had just put on a good match with real pro wrestlers in that same space. That's all I'm saying. I think lessons have been learned this time around. Boxers don't really increase viewership anymore. It's just a very short term solution to a long term problem. Add to that, none of the fans bought Floyd's act during his stint on WWE television.
Actually I was referring to his 'outside' celebrity status. The stuff he does outside the ring. That's what I'm referring to as a charade.
:: He's no celebrity. Mayweather is a boxer and one that not that many people know of. I can't remember a fighter being the best in the world and being so unrecognisable to the average Joe.
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q8sOqwMBg6Y&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q8sOqwMBg6Y&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> Damn I bet Charlie Zelenoff could have attracted more PPV buys then PBF! Maybe WWE should have considered Charlie!::
This is just an embarrassing claim on your part unless you can back it up. Are you on record anywhere with this claim about WWE wasting money on Floyd?
This is terrible news! Little boys across America that felt good about Floyd's money......well don't feel so good
Fuck the WWE! I hope Floyd fleeced them for all the money he could get. Vince McMahon's a bigger scumbag then Floyd could ever hope to be in his wildest dreams.
Yeah, but that's not how you made it seem in your initial post. You specified the WWE's unwillingness to ever again do business with Floyd, referencing the slight decrease in sales as your "proof" before being called on it. Speaking of which, I shall follow up in a separate post...
To expect a record is setting extremely high expectations. It fell 100,000 or so short of last year's mark, its not like they didn't turn a dime on the show. Nor can Floyd be blamed. He didn't take their money and hide for months. He appeared on RAW, he had BOXING WRITERS calling in on a boxing show, and had boxing fans watching RAW and order the event, both instances not normally being the case for quite a few. If anything, you can argue that with out Floyd, the show perhaps does less than 1 million buys. Then why did they feel compelled to pay someone $2 million or so? Obviously they felt this card needed a little extra incentive. Yes you would say it. In fact, you already said it in your very first post in the thread: A lot of this is your opinion. Yes, perhaps the WWE learned their lesson. Or maybe, just maybe, the show drops off considerably next year. We won't know. But I do know that a lot of boxing fans - or even just Floyd fans who don't otherwise keep up with the sport - watched the event for no other reason than (or their main reason being) Floyd pariticipating in it.
Before mY post disappeared (hmmm...it's still there, just below where you commented on it (??)), the point I was criticizing was you claiming to have called it in advance, that WWE was wasting money on Floyd and weren't going to get any good out of it. As far as this post, I can't argue with you. I will say that it is possible that Floyd's presence turned away some regular fans, brought in some new fans, and may help the WWE in the long run. Possible, but admittedly doubtful. In any case, I think this is proof that Floyd is pretty popular in mainstream america even if it didn't work with the wwe crowd. It's not like they couldn't have gotten Roy, Tarver, or anyone else to fill Floyd's roll for the easy money. They took their chances with Floyd.
Floyd's participation didn't and isn't helping the WWE. That's my point. But that's not his fault. They've tried many things that've been no help to them. Bringing in former retired wrestlers, creating unusual storylines, etc. Truth is, Floyd or no Floyd, the viewership of their weekly programs, the sales of their monthly events haven't reflected any type of increase in the least. My point is, Floyd was not needed to sell this event. They could've put on a regular match in his spot and still received a similar amount of ppv purchases as history has proven. My point is, Floyd believes he was detrimental to the WWE's success at Wrestlemania and the ratings and ppv buys tallied prove otherwise. But I was expecting as much when Floyd's two appearances on Monday Night Raw received a lukewarm response from fans in attendance. And his match sparked more boos than cheers at Wrestlemania. Especially considering how pathetic the match was seeing that his opponent was really trying not to hurt the little guy when he easily could've lifted him up and snapped his spine on his knee within seconds.:: The wrestling fans did not welcome Floyd Mayweather Jr.
I don't know....I'd say at least in the states, Mayweather is more known and recognizable than guys like Whitaker, Jones, and Hopkins were.
