WWE breaks all-time gate and viewership records for Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble is one of WWE’s biggest events of the year and kicks off the run to WrestleMania. This year’s Royal Rumble is already regarded as one of the best Rumbles in history and WWE is celebrating, both for what they did in the ring and for the business it generated.

WWE announced that they broke all-time Royal Rumble gate and viewership records this past Saturday night. Their gate of $7.7 million broke the previous record by more than 50%. Like in 2023, the 2017 show that held the previous record was also at the Alamodome. Live viewership increased by 52% on Peacock compared to last year’s record show. Other event records include merchandise sales (up 135%) and event sponsorship (up 200%).

This year’s Rumble was one of the more highly anticipated Rumbles in recent years. Cody Rhodes made his long-awaited return to the ring after suffering, and wrestling through, a torn pectoral muscle. Rhodes’ return was known, and “The American Nightmare” entered the Men’s Rumble at #30 to win, punching his ticket to WrestleMania.

The night ended with a monumental climax to the Sami Zayn/Bloodline storyline. Roman Reigns set up a loyalty test of having Zayn beat up a handcuffed Kevin Owens with a chair. Zayn betrayed “The Tribal Chief” and hit him with the chair instead of beating up his helpless friend. That clip became WWE’s most-viewed clip of 2023 as it generated 20 million-plus views across their various platforms.

This continues a trend of positive financial news for WWE. A few weeks ago, WWE announced that WrestleMania 39 already broke the all-time Mania gate record, even though no matches were announced. This can only help WWE as they currently seek a potential sale.