9 Ways WWE Raw Broke GOOD Ratings Records 20 Years Ago

7. Most-Viewed WrestleMania Go-Home Show - March 29th 1999

Raw beer bash
WWE.com

Now analysed and assessed as a vital part of the monthly pay-per-view cycle, shows before supershows were rarely paid any additional heed by the casual audience. It was, nonetheless, always the task of WWE to ensure that as many of those observers as possible bought what they intended to sell them the following Sunday.

The WrestleMania XV buyrate was destined to be high, but a large portion of the 800,000 that purchased the 'Show Of Shows' tuned in just days earlier to see Stone Cold Steve Austin douse The Rock and The McMahons in beer on the final stop before their 'Grandest Stage' showdown.

Every feud was peaking at the right time exactly as they were supposed to - this was an organisation operating at peak performance even if a lot of the actual output didn't land with pro wrestling purists or disenfranchised outsiders.

With a whopping 6.4 posted for the evening's event, WWE nearly doubled the 3.8 from the same time last year, and only slightly fell short of the 6.6 in 2000. Both shows remain firmly in podium positions 1 & 2 to this day.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett