Despite the Absence of Brock Lesnar and Bloodline Matches, WWE Scripts Huge Win With Record Breaking Numbers at Payback

WWE Payback emanating from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh can be safely labeled as an event dominated by one of WWE’s notorious factions The Judgment Day. The blockbuster Saturday night saw Finn Balor and Damian Priest capture the Undisputed Tag Team titles and Rhea Ripley retain for Women’s World title. But as The Judgment Day thrived on the night, another of WWE’s prominent factions The Bloodline was missing.

Excluding one of the most distinguished sagas from the card, no doubt came as one of the biggest shockers of Payback 2023 and saw most of the fans roll their eyes. But did it really have a negative impact on the event in terms of viewership? Well, the statistics showed quite the opposite.

WWE Payback 2023 proves to be a record-breaking event with no Bloodline matches on the card

WWE had a compact match card for Payback with a number of matches impressing the fans. The Steel City also didn’t disappoint even a bit in terms of an overwhelming crowd response. So, it was quite expected that the show would likely be a success. Now with the official numbers revealed it seems Payback made its own history.

WWE flexes an all-time highest record in terms of viewership, gate attendance, and merchandise sales, as depicted in their recently published press release.

The numbers revealed that viewership of Payback was up 36% versus the previous record set in 2016 for the event. With 12,468 in attendance, it marked the largest gate ever for any Payback, up 13% versus the prior record set in Chicago in 2016. Remarkably Payback became the highest-grossing WWE event ever held in Pittsburgh.

It also attained the honor of being the most-viewed social Payback event of all time with a combined 146 million social views, which is huge.

Read more: Brock Lesnar’s Absence Proves Too Costly for Triple H & WWE Ahead of Payback

On top of that, the PLE also broke the all-time event merchandise record, merchandise sales were up 182% versus the previous record set in 2017.

Going by these numbers, it is clear that it is not only The Bloodline or Roman Reigns as the driving force behind WWE’s recent success but their overall booking and rise of other stars has held them in good stead. That said, there was another big-name void on the card that could have affected WWE but didn’t

Brock Lesnar’s absence also didn’t register any loss

Brock Lesnar’s highly pumped-up feud with Cody Rhodes proved to be a major draw for the company for the past few months. However, after settling the feud with The American Nightmare, The Beast has gone into his customary hiatus.

There may have been doubts over how well WWE’s Payback will do without the likes of Bloodline and Lesnar involved. But WWE’s immunity against the two big attractions’ absence gives an indication that Triple H and co are on the right path.

Watch the story: Why Did Brock Lesnar Fail To Join The Military

What’s your take on the sky-high success of Payback 2023 despite the odds? Sound off in the comments.