The WWE Network has essentially made the old school purchasing element of buying individual PPVs irrelevant. However, history would show that WWE cared greatly about how many buys the shows would get. It was a huge indicator about which talents, storylines, matches and overall cards convinced the audience to buy the show. The WWE Network’s low monthly subscription price makes it easier to just remain subscribed.
We will look at the most financially successful traditional PPVs in WWE history when it comes to the overall buys. The shows here all were viewed as home runs. Fans cared strongly about at least one or two things on each card to rank them this highly. Find out which events made Vince McMahon happiest. The following shows had the most buys in WWE history.
10 WrestleMania 25 (2009): 960,000 buys
The success of WrestleMania 25 saw the attraction of Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker as one of the best matches in WWE history. Triple H vs Randy Orton and John Cena vs Edge vs Big Show were the two major title matches to also help draw in viewers.
WrestleMania was still growing as a brand by becoming a major sports event almost at the level of the Super Bowl or World Series around this time. Michaels and Undertaker deserve the most credit for this show hitting well over 950,000 buys.
9 WrestleMania 22 (2006): 975,000 buys
WrestleMania 22 had a loaded card with plenty of variety. John Cena vs Triple H and Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton were the two main event title matches. Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon had a brutal street fight after a great build.
Even the under-card matches of Mick Foley vs Edge, Mark Henry vs The Undertaker and the second-ever Money in the Bank ladder match put together a well-rounded card. Cena’s era truly started here with the polarizing reaction taking off and never ending for the rest of his run as the face of WWE.
8 WrestleMania 20 (2004): 1,007,000 buys
Madison Square Garden hosted its final WrestleMania event with WrestleMania 20. Both world title matches of Chris Benoit vs Triple H vs Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle hit home runs as the perfect mix of great in-ring action and emotional storytelling.
Another huge attraction was The Undertaker making his return as the dead man character for the first time in almost five years against Kane. Evolution vs The Rock and Sock Connection provided a dream match lower in the card. The show received over 1 million buys, proving the audience really cared about this card.
7 WrestleMania 17 (2001): 1,040,000 buys
WrestleMania 17 is often considered the best show in WWE history for an absolutely loaded card of star. The 1,040,000 buys for the event was a record at the time and almost unbelievable comparative to the rest of PPVs.
Steve Austin vs The Rock, Undertaker vs Triple H, Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit, Vince McMahon vs Shane McMahon and various other standout matches provided something for every wrestling fan. WrestleMania 17 was the perfect culmination of the Attitude Era before changes were made.
6 WrestleMania 29 (2013): 1,048,000 buys
New York/New Jersey hosting WrestleMania 29 provided a fun atmosphere for the huge attraction of The Rock vs John Cena in a rematch for the WWE Championship. The star power of Rock for his few return matches almost always brought in huge buyrates.
WrestleMania 29 had a strong semi-main event of The Undertaker vs CM Punk with the undefeated streak of the dead man continuing. The rest of the card was hit or miss, but the star power at the top was enough to deliver 1,048,000 buys.
5 WrestleMania 24 (2008): 1,058,000 buys
WWE brought in polarizing boxer Floyd Mayweather as a huge attraction for WrestleMania 24. The match of Mayweather vs Big Show wasn’t the main event, but it was most responsible for the incredible total of 1,058,000 buys.
Edge vs The Undertaker main-evented the show for the World Championship in a match that had both undefeated WrestleMania streaks on the line. Randy Orton vs Triple H vs John Cena added more star power for the WWE Championship. Even the appearance of Snoop Dogg in the women’s tag match added more fun to the overall card.
4 WrestleMania 27 (2011): 1,059,000 buys
The Rock’s return to WWE after becoming a major superstar in Hollywood gave the company a lot of attention. Many old and new fans of The Rock wanted to check out his appearance hosting WrestleMania 27. The lackluster main event of John Cena vs The Miz was saved by the teased presence of The Rock in the match.
Triple H vs The Undertaker was viewed as the top overall match to help lead the show to 1,059,000 buys. Another interesting element saw Edge have his final match for almost a decade against Alberto Del Rio for the World Championship. If fans knew it was Edge’s retirement match ahead of time, the buyrates may have been even higher.
3 WrestleMania 21 (2005): 1,085,000 buys
WrestleMania 21 had one of the most well-rounded cards in wrestling history. The moments of building John Cena and Batista as the new faces of the company connected with their world title wins leading the way. Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle lived up to their dream match hype with an all-time classic.
Even the undercard hit home runs with Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio, The Undertaker vs Randy Orton and the first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match leaving Staples Center on fire. WrestleMania 21 received a little under 1.1 million buys for a huge success.
2 WrestleMania 23 (2007): 1,200,000 buys
John Cena vs Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker vs Batista gave WWE two huge matches for the world titles as the main events of WrestleMania 23. Donald Trump’s celebrity helped the company as well with his feud with Vince McMahon culminating in a Bobby Lashley vs Umaga match.
The stipulation of one of the billionaires getting their head shaved played a huge role in the show receiving 1.2 million buys. WrestleMania 23 also had the most star-studded Money in the Bank ladder match to help it reach second place on the all-time PPV purchases.
1 WrestleMania 28 (2012): 1,217,000 buys
WWE built the dream match of John Cena vs The Rock for over a year. The match finally taking place at WrestleMania 28 made it the most successful PPV in WWE history with 1,217,000 buys. Another strong semi-main event of The Undertaker vs Triple H inside of the Hell in a Cell structure was a huge draw.
There were also two world title bouts of CM Punk vs Chris Jericho and Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan to have four top level matches on the card. WrestleMania 28 was a home run and set a record that will likely never be broken since the WWE Network is now the home of monthly PPVs.