1. WrestleMania 28, 1,217,000 Buys
How do you create the most successful WWE PPV buyrate of all time? Firstly you give the main event a year of build up, you put the most famous wrestler ever The Rock into it, you the put the biggest name of the current era John Cena as the opponent, and you sell it as a special 'Once in a lifetime.' WWE's marketing strategy worked wonders, the anticipation levels had a year to build and all sorts of lapsed fans had time to become aware that their old favourite The Rock was wrestling again. The event was backed up with popular WWE Champion CM Punk facing Chris Jericho and a very exciting Triple H vs The Undertaker Hell in a Cell match with Shawn Michaels as the guest referee. Overall Conclusion
In conclusion about all the events on this list, the appeal of The Rock and John Cena is resounding. Cena was the star of 6 of the top 10 in this list. Rock was the star of 7 of the top 15. If a wrestler is ranked in greatness by his ability to draw, Rock and Cena are right up there. Shawn Michaels, Triple H and of course Steve Austin also prove to have been the most popular headliners in selling big events. What can't be denied as well is the help of mainstream attention from a celebrity, with Mayweather and Trump in particular proving valuable. Say what you want about Trump being in the WWE Hall of Fame but he is largely responsible for the second most bought WWE PPV of all time. The question going forward is how can WWE measure headliner popularity with the digital nature of the WWE Network? The times are changing. If WWE wants a safe bet in these uncertain times they should look no further than the proven reliability of John Cena judging from this list... he may not have the belt but the 14 time champion is still the biggest star in WWE.