The first quarter of every year typically sees an increase in business for WWE due to the buildup to WrestleMania. As the business gets closer to the biggest event of the year, metrics like television ratings and live event attendance go up.
Since Triple H took over main roster creative last July, WWE’s average attendance figures and ratings have increased as a result of praise for his ideas about what the WWE product ought to be.
WrestleTix reported that only 236 tickets from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC remained after the show had sold 12,271 tickets prior to Friday’s episode of SmackDown. The event most likely sold out, and Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp claims that it had the highest gate receipts for any Raw or SmackDown TV event in the city’s history.
The face-off between Cody Rhodes and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, and their WrestleMania Goes Hollywood match, kicked off the show. Sami Zayn vs. Solo Sikoa was the main event.
Internal live events reports say tonight's show was the highest grossing SmackDown/Raw event in DC in WWE history.
We'll have a ton more internal notes, producer info, and backstage news from the show on https://t.co/jy8u4a7WDa Saturday.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) March 4, 2023
