WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Ticket Sales Struggling?
Excitement is high, but don't expect a sellout on Sunday...
Anticipation is high for this weekend's Royal Rumble 2019 pay-per-view, and the card looks stellar from top to bottom, but this isn't translating into the expected levels of ticket sales.
Phoenix's Chase Field will be set up for 43,000 fans on Sunday (27 January). Per Dave Meltzer in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE expect somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 in the building, meaning entire seating blocks may need to be taped off.
The following night's Raw is expected to draw 7,000-7,500 to the Talking Stick Arena. 6,500-7,000 are expected for SmackDown, while Saturday's NXT TakeOver: Phoenix even should be somewhere near the 8,500 mark. TakeOver aside, all of these numbers will be considered big disappointments.
A little perspective is required before dunking on these numbers, as the Chase Field will likely be one of the biggest buildings WWE run all year, and the Rumble should finish among 2019's highest drawing wrestling shows. Still, this is way below the company's own expectations, and that they'll seemingly be unable to sell out what is always one of the calendar's most anticipated pay-per-views isn't a great sign.
Let's hope they compensate with a fantastic show.