13 Most Profitable Years In WWE History
McMahon's mania for money.
The whole point of Vince McMahon's business is to make himself and WWE stockholders as rich as possible.
The creative and entertainment side of WWE, as well as the quality of wrestling, is what makes that money. Fans pay to attend, or they watch on television, thus creating value in the brand. And as WrestleMania 32 proved, even when things are bad, fans are still willing to hand their money over in record numbers.
As a corporate colossus, WWE makes millions from television deals, live events, PPV / Network sales, licensing, merchandising, advertising, and numerous other lines of revenue. The company is successful, operating at a level that no other wrestling company can even come close to. Indeed, for most people, WWE is the wrestling industry.
As for the pinnacle of Vince McMahon's business success, the following are the most profitable years in company history.
13. 2011 - $24,832,000
WWE pulled in nearly $25 million in profits for 2011, with Vince McMahon crediting the creation of new programming and content distribution as his successes.
The big story onscreen that year was the emergence of CM Punk as WWE Champion, and The Rock's increased involvement with WWE ahead of his 2012 Mania main event.
However, profits were actually way down from the $53,452,000 in 2010. The reason for the drop? Losses in the always-unprofitable movie division and start-up costs for the forthcoming WWE Network.