WWE is off to a record-breaking start this year with Royal Rumble 2025 becoming the most successful in the company’s history.
Founded in 1980 as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and rebranded as WWE in 2002, the organisation is a leader in commercialisation. While professional wrestling benefits from scripted storylines – something other sports can’t replicate – there are still valuable lessons that mainstream sports could take away from WWE’s approach.
Take the Royal Rumble, an annual premium event where 30 of WWE’s top athletes compete in a battle royal-style match, aiming to eliminate their opponents by throwing them over the top rope.
This year’s Royal Rumble, held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, set a new record for the largest gate at any single-night event in WWE history, drawing 70,342 fans. It ranks only behind WrestleMania 40 Saturday and Sunday for any single-night gate.
Merchandise sales also saw a remarkable surge, with revenue up more than 95% compared to last year’s Royal Rumble record. This makes the 2025 event the highest-grossing non-WrestleMania event of all time.
In terms of sponsorship, revenue was up 94% compared to the previous record set last year. Royal Rumble 2025 featured 14 total partners, with all of the matches sponsored.
While possibly some football or rugby supporters would love to see rival teams battle it out in the ring, this isn’t going to happen. Nevertheless, some features could be used in other sports.
Darts is an individual sport like WWE and also features player walk-ins, which have become the favourite part of events for some spectators. Recently, some stakeholders have rumoured a Royal Rumble-style tournament, in which each player would play until the last man standing with no idea of who is to come out next.
This would see 20 or 30 of the best darts players take on one another, with quickfire rounds and endless sponsorship opportunities.
Viewership and social numbers
However, WWE’s record-breaking week didn’t stop there. Royal Rumble 2025 also set an all-time viewership record, with domestic numbers up nearly 14% on Peacock compared to last year’s record audience. International viewership saw an even bigger increase, with the event now distributed globally on Netflix.
Netflix and WWE are making a big impact on sports broadcasting, though some sports fans have yet to be convinced after a lacklustre performance from Netflix during the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson boxing bout last year.
Regardless, since the partnership began earlier this year, WWE has shattered multiple viewership records, demonstrating that streaming platforms like Netflix could be the key to reaching a wider audience.
However, this trend won’t be followed by darts, at least in the UK, where the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) just announced a new deal with Sky Sports this week.
There may be more room for platforms like Netflix to get involved in an international sense though, given darts’ growing international fanbase and social media profile.
Another record WWE broke at this year’s event was in social media engagement. Throughout its history, the company has blurred the lines between its realm and the real world. One of the ways WWE has done this is by integrating film stars, footballers and other celebrities into its shows.
The latest example came with content creator IShowSpeed, who made waves when WWE Superstar Bron Breakker speared him. The clip became the most-viewed Royal Rumble social post of all time, generating over 300 million views in less than 24 hours.