Even though governments both local and foreign are beginning to loosen restrictions, many world citizens are still doing their best to quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. That apparently includes pro wrestling fans, as well. Despite Raw and Smackdown’s ratings cratering throughout the pandemic, and AEW Dynamite and NXT continuing to battle back and forth for ratings supremacy, when it comes to live pay-per-view events, wrestling fans are apparently showing up en masse.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that AEW’s latest pay-per-view, Double Or Nothing, is on track to be the highest-selling event in the nascent company’s history. Current data from B/R Live and FITE TV account for between 100,000-110,000 buys, which is a 10 to 15 percent increase from what AEW Revolution did in February — itself a 10 percent increase from AEW Full Gear last November.
Additionally, Meltzer speculates that the final tally could be somewhere near 120,000 buys, which would make Double Or Nothing 2020 the biggest pay-per-view in AEW history, dethroning Double Or Nothing 2019. The final numbers won’t come in for a few months, though, as Meltzer explains:
Traditional cable buys are harder, and take three months to get an accurate number although estimates are usually there within a few days. There’s also the aspect that streaming buys as a general rule over the past year are increasing at a higher level than cable buys, which are decreasing. So streaming buys both in the U.S. and overseas being the biggest in company history does not necessarily mean cable numbers will follow suit.”
Still, AEW has to be happy with Double Or Nothing’s success. Will the pattern continue with All Out 2020? We’ll find out after September 5.