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WWE has released its updated monthly business figures, which include preliminary estimates for the Night of Champions pay-per-view that went down this past Sept. 18 in Buffalo, New York.
And the magic number is 165,000 buys, exactly the same as last year's event.
While it's good to see they're not down from last year, that still has to be a disheartening number, considering the 2011 version of the show featured Triple H coming out of semi-retirement to face CM Punk in a major storyline that was supposed to move the needle a whole lot more than it obviously did. John Cena won the WWE championship from Alberto Del Rio on the show, as well as Mark Henry finally getting his turn to carry the world heavyweight championship.
Speaking of Henry, it's interesting to note that on the 2010 show he was teaming up with Evan Bourne in a match for the tag team championships.
Oh how far he's come.
Business is still stagnant this year, despite hitting it big with The Rock for WrestleMania and CM Punk's emergence in June. Here's a look at how the past few pay-per-views stack up
- Capitol Punishment, June -- 170,000
- Money in the Bank, July -- 185,000
- SummerSlam, August -- 301,000
- Night of Champions -- 165,000
When the numbers come in for Hell in a Cell and Vengeance, there isn't likely to be any upturn, at least not yet. The good news is that Survivor Series is just around the corner with The Rock returning to the ring for his first match in seven years. That should start a run of business like the company hasn't seen in years. With Royal Rumble just around the corner and WrestleMania expected to be the biggest show ever, there is reason to look forward to the future.