With the clock counting down to Saturday’s “WWE Royal Rumble” at the Dome at America’s Center, a new benchmark has already been established for the largest audience ever to watch a professional wrestling event in St. Louis.
According to Wrestletix, a Twitter account that tracks live event ticket sales for professional wrestling companies, the staple of World Wrestling Entertainment’s annual docket has already eclipsed 35,000 tickets sold.
This past November, early sales hovered around 22,000, so the push during the first month of the calendar year has generated additional interest. With additional matches signed, projected superstars slotted to appear and last-second hype, the crowd by Saturday’s 6:30 pm bell time could potentially push past 37,000.
Contained in the event will be separate men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches that each feature 30 participants where the respective winners claim a future championship match at April’s Wrestlemania event in Dallas, Texas.
Also taking place will be multiple championship matches. For the WWE Championship, current kingpin Brock Lesnar defends his title against rival Bobby Lashley while WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends his title against former “The Shield” partner, Seth Rollins.
For the WWE Raw Women’s Championship, current title holder Becky Lynch defends against Doudrop. In a special mixed-tag match, a battle between real-life spouses Edge & Beth Phoenix and The Miz & Maryse takes place.
The previous St. Louis record for professional wrestling attendance was a televised “WCW Monday Nitro” event held at the Dome on December 21, 1998 that drew 29,000.
The 35th edition of the Royal Rumble marks the second time that WWE has held the trademark event in St. Louis. The January 2012 program, held at the then-named Scottrade Center, drew 18,121.
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. The event will be streamed live on Peacock and can be purchased on cable via pay-per-view.
By trade, he is a six-time, regional Emmy Award-winning news videographer/editor for KTVI/KPLR-TV. By hobby, he is a writer for Arch City Media, dating back to February 2014. Emphasis is on featuring and promoting local women's sports, but will cover anything that is not reported by traditional media outlets. Also a contributor to local concert reviews.
