Judging from early online ticket purchases, World Wrestling Entertainment’s upcoming St. Louis event in January has already scored a major pin fall victory.
The first two weeks of sales for the sports entertainment juggernaut’s annual event, “Royal Rumble,” has reached almost 22,000 seats and is on target to reach a new benchmark for attendance at a local wrestling event when the opening bell rings early next year.
The winter fixture set for Saturday, January 29 at The Dome at America’s Center downtown marks the first time WWE has presented their brand at the facility.
According to Wrestletix, a Twitter account that tracks live event ticket sales for professional wrestling companies, WWE has sold 21,911 seats through Ticketmaster, the online broker for the event.
The multi-match showcase features separate men’s and women’s Royal Rumbles, each containing 30 participants where each respective winner receives a future Championship title shot. The full card includes solo and tag team title matches within the three-plus hour event that will be streamed live via Peacock.
When tickets were made active online October 13, the venue made available over 29,000 seats. With the total sold ticket count, 75% of seats have now been claimed, according to Wrestletix.
The high demand for coveted chairs near the squared circle has resulted in eye-opening visuals. As of Monday night, only one ringside seat remains at a current price of $6,000 plus fees, according to the Ticketmaster website. Most floor seats on the covered turf are also fetching hundreds of dollars up front.
Wrestling fans that wish to avoid sticker shock can currently claim upper bowl seats within the $25-$35 range.
As the weeks progress, the WWE and the Dome will release additional sections to the public.
With a projected attendance of 40,000 expected by both the company and St. Louis sports officials, WWE attempts to break the Gateway’s City’s all-time professional wrestling attendance record that is currently topped by an event that was promoted by the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) over two decades ago.
A live television broadcast of their “WCW Monday Nitro” program drew 29,000 spectators at the then-named TWA Dome on December 21, 1998.
With a dozen weeks left to go before the “Royal Rumble,” and with the WWE’s perpetual promotional push leading into it, it is projected that previous historical benchmark at the Dome will be toppled.
The last time the downtown indoor facility hosted a pay-per-view event was WCW’s “Slamboree” held on May 9, 1999, which drew 20,516 fans.
The 35th edition of the Royal Rumble marks the second time that WWE has held the trademark event in St. Louis. The January 2012 card, held at the then-named Scottrade Center, saw Sheamus win the evening’s signature match held in front of 18,121.
The last time WWE held a pay-per-view event in St. Louis was June 2017’s “Money in the Bank” card, also held at Scottrade, which drew 15,392.
Arch City Media will have updates on the WWE Royal Rumble in St. Louis as the event approaches.
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.
