WWE Announces Record-Setting Royal Rumble Gate And More

WWE finally took that off ramp to the Road of WrestleMania this past Saturday, when the promotion held its annual Royal Rumble. While the outlook for WrestleMania is now clearer, thanks to victories for Rhea Ripley and Cody Rhodes in the women's and men's Rumble matches, perhaps even more important is just how much money this year's Royal Rumble made. The answer; a lot. In a press release put out on Monday, WWE revealed that the 2023 edition was the highest-grossing Royal Rumble in history. In total, this year's Rumble earned a gate of over $7.7 million, 50% higher than the previous record set by the 2017 show. It is surely no coincidence that both the 2017 and 2023 record-breaking Rumbles occurred at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas.

The live gate wasn't the only record smashed by WWE however. The promotion also reported that merchandise sales had increased 135% from sales at last year's Rumble, while sponsorship revenue increased over 200%. WWE noted the involvement of Applebees, which sponsored the countdown clock during both Rumble matches, and Mountain Dew, which sponsored the already infamous Pitch Black match, as key contributors to sponsorship revenue.

As for views, WWE revealed that the conclusion of the show, which saw Sami Zayn kicked out of the Bloodline after hitting Roman Reigns with a steel chair, netted over 20 million views across "all WWE platforms," making it the most-viewed WWE video thus far in 2023. It was also noted that highlights involving Logan Paul, who entered the men's Rumble match, had also amassed over 25.5 million views between WWE and Paul's platforms.