Republished from Forbes
IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR WWE – WWE Superstar Sting makes his first ever WrestleMania appearance at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, March 29, 2015 in Santa Clara, CA. WrestleMania broke the Levi’s Stadium attendance record at 76,976 fans from all 50 states and 40 countries. (Don Feria/AP Images for WWE)
WWE Night of Champions airs live this Sunday on the WWE Network. The event will mark Sting’s first pay-per-view match since WrestleMania 31 as he takes on WWE champion Seth Rollins. WWE officials hope the special attraction will have an impact on Night of Champions’ business.
Historically, Night of Champions has been the lowest-performing pay-per-view of the third quarter in terms of buyrate. Averaging just 147,600 buys since its debut in 2008, the event brings in 20% less buys than July’s Battleground pay-per-view, and 51% fewer than the iconic SummerSlam in August.
| Year | Main Event | Buyrate |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Triple H vs. John Cena | 273,000 |
| 2009 | Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk | 267,000 |
| 2010 | Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett vs. Edge vs. John Cena vs. Chris Jericho | 169,000 |
| 2011 | Triple H vs. CM Punk | 161,000 |
| 2012 | CM Punk vs. John Cena | 189,000 |
| 2013 | Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan | 175,000 |
| 2014 | John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar | 48,000 (WWE Network Era) |
Sting’s presence on the pay-per-view should add a jolt to the traditionally lukewarm event. It’s worth noting, that since offering pay-per-views free of charge for monthly subscribers of the WWE Network, buyrates will be significantly lower. But a successful outing can still be measured by a potential jump in paid WWE Network subscribers interested to see Sting chase the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Sting has already proven to be a ratings and pay-per-view draw in his short time with WWE. His presence in a top-tier match on WrestleMania 31 helped the event become the most watched WrestleMania in history as the WWE Network surpassed 1.3 million subscribers in addition to 259,000 buys on pay-per-view. According to WWE, this represented a 97% increase from the year prior and a 27% increase since the beginning of 2015.
The August 31 edition of WWE Raw, featuring an advertised appearance by Sting, drew its highest rating since a June 15 episode featuring box-office juggernaut Brock Lesnar. Another advertised appearance by Sting this past Monday, in his first match ever on Raw, helped prevent a ratings dropoff against the debut of Monday Night Football. In fact, the number slightly increased.
WWE is benefitting from its strategic use of Sting. Through his first ten months with the company, he has only made one appearance on pay-per-view in addition to a handful of television appearances. With the future Hall-of-Famer underexposed, he is more likely to deliver a bigger number for an otherwise lagging pay-per-view franchise.
Alfred is a contributor to Forbes Sports Money. Follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast.
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