While WWE still had the Survivor Series listed on their 2010 pay-per-view calendar, a new Variety article on WWE pay-per-view business confirms that WWE will be "re-tooling" the concept this year because of "eroding sales."

Regarding the Survivor Series changes, a WWE spokesman said, "If something gets tired or old, it's something we have to look at. It's just like any entertainment property. It's crucial to continue to reinvent yourself. WWE fans will tell you right away if they like it or don't like it and if it's something they don't want, we don't do it again."

Labels: survivor series

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

During an investor conference call this morning, WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon revealed that after 23 years, the Survivor Series PPV concept has come to an end and will not be used again. McMahon stated:

“We think that Survivor Series is obsolete, as far as that title is concerned. It was something that worked many, many years ago, in terms of a creative standpoint, various teams competing. That really is not advantageous as the consumer now looks as what actually they are buying. And it’s such a broad … Survivor Series yes, many years ago, was one of the original four pay-per-views, but it’s outlasted its usage and it is one of the things in terms of re-branding, this year and going forward, that will be re-branded. No longer will we have that title, Survivor Series.”

WWE Survivor Series debuted back in 1987 and for many years featured primarily team elimination matches. The show had lost much of its identity in recent years and will likely be replaced next year with a new gimmick-themed event.

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Posted by Matt Loede at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: survivor series, the rock

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

Credit: WrestlingObserver.com Newsletter

In regards to Floyd Mayweather’s future with WWE, the finish at WrestleMania was obviously booked to leave a major door open for a return, but having him work a ‘B’ PPV show isn’t a good financial decision. Up to this point WWE has not spent any money on Mayweather merchandise, nor has there been any publicity in that direction. WWE’s next major PPV is SummerSlam, which Mayweather couldn’t do more than a cameo for, if that, because he’ll be training for De Lay Hoya.

There is talk about Survivor Series and Royal Rumble, but Rumble would be most likely for a Mayweather appearance since historically it’s been a big money show.

Believe it or not, the most lucrative celebrity appearance prior to Mayweather was when Dennis Rodman joined the NWO in WCW. They got a big buy rate and tons of media from him just making an appearance, and then got an even bigger buy rate out of him doing a match, and then did an even bigger PPV buy rate once again when he did the tag match with Karl Malone. However, when they brought him back the fourth time it barely made any impact on the numbers and had next to no media coverage.

Floyd already made his two PPV appearances and his face was on RAW for weeks. If WWE can get De La Hoya, who they wanted for WrestleMania, later on then they will definitely do some huge numbers, but without him they likely wouldn’t be able to justify paying Mayweather anything close to what he got for WrestleMania 24.

Labels: floyd mayweather, survivor series, wrestlemania

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

From Wrestling Observer Newsletter

There is some good news and bad news on the PPV front for WWE. Cyber Sunday in D.C. was not the flop that it appeared to be when the original numbers were released. WWE's original numbers had them at 191,000 buys. The new chart lists them at 292,000 buys. Now Survivor Series on the other hand, did its worst business in years. The event only drew 325,000 worldwide buys, 200,000 of which came from North America. This is down from last year's 383,000 & 234,000 figures. It should also be noted that WWE's corporate website totaled 852,000 buys for PPV events held in October & November. They have 275,000 buys for No Mercy & 325,000 for Survivor Series. That would leave Cyber Sunday at 252,000 buys, so there appears to be a discrepancy somewhere. This should all be cleared in a few weeks when releases their final year-in-review financial statements in early February. They are expected to release the final worldwide numbers of all of their 2007 PPVs at that time.

Labels: Cyber Sunday, survivor series

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

Reported by Pro Wrestling Insider:

After being ahead of the previous two years for the No Mercy and Cyber Sunday PPVs, WWE took a major hit in their PPV buyrate momentum when the first numbers were released for The Survivor Series. The show did about 340,000 buys this year, which is down from 405,000 in 2005 and 395,000 in 2006.

Labels: Cyber Sunday, survivor series

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments