Should the WWE Take a PPV Abroad?

I just got my tickets today for Raw when it comes to London, England and it got me thinking about a few things.

Now, it's quite well known that the WWE has been taking its shows abroad for many years, and the tours of England and Europe currently run twice a year. To my knowledge, they also make tours to places like Mexico and Australia. I went to one of the house shows that ran all across the country last November during the Survivor Series tour, and the popularity of the WWE abroad seems to be well justified by these shows.

Raw, SmackDown, and ECW have all been taping live shows in England recently (London and Manchester), with the last couple of trips leading to Mickie James winning the Women’s Championship just after WrestleMania, and William Regal winning the Intercontinental title from Santino Marella.

But, with the WWE looking to boost revenue and increase their fan base as of late, I think they are missing a trick with their trips abroad.

I’ve done a little research into ticket prices for WWE live events in the US and UK and it only seems to strengthen my resolve that they are not tapping this resource properly. As an example, 2009 Royal Rumble tickets will cost between $25 and $90 (except the $250 seat, in which you keep a chair).

Compare that to the Raw I’m going to see, where tickets will cost around $50 to $150 (£25-£75, I think that is roughly the exchange rate), which is almost double the price, and not even for a Pay Per View.

Not only the prices could be higher, but the attendance also. It's not often the WWE goes abroad, and fans tend to jump at the opportunity to go. WWE’s second biggest ever attendance was at Summerslam in 1992 with 80,355, only being surpassed by WrestleMania III.

You might say that England would be able to fill upwards of 80,000 seats, but look at when the NFL came to London a few months ago. I personally have no idea how big the NFL is in England because I don’t watch it, but Wembley Arena was packed.

There is also the implications of the hype that a PPV abroad would generate. If WWE were to put on a spectacle like Summerslam or dare I say WrestleMania in somewhere like England or Australia, it would bring back so many fans to the WWE, and increase viewing of the regular shows.

A lot of you across the pond will probably disagree that a PPV should go abroad, because one for us is one less for you. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I think it would definitely help the WWE internationally, which they seem to be very keen to do.

What do you think to the WWE taking a PPV abroad?