Kevin Sullivan Says WWE Is Just ‘Scratching The Surface’ With This Star :- The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) officially ushered in a new era, which was led by multiple new champions, after the events of WrestleMania 40. Damian Priest has established himself as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, while Cody Rhodes, the current Undisputed WWE Champion, is now serving as a key face of the “WWE SmackDown” brand. Damian Priest has also established himself as the top of the “WWE Raw” brand. During a recent episode of “Tuesday With The Taskmaster,” Kevin Sullivan, a former booker for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), discussed his thoughts on the victory of Temple Priest for the WWE Championship. He expressed his belief that WWE is in the starting stages of realizing his full potential.
Kevin Sullivan Says WWE Is Just ‘Scratching The Surface’ With This Star
“When I was in Ring of Honor for a brief period of time, I had a small group consisting of [Priest], Steve Corino, and B.J. Whitmer. All of us were in the same group.” I told him then, and this must have been three to four years ago, that you are going to be in a main event at WrestleMania at some point in the future. “And if you watched him, you would see that he is very intelligent in the ring because he is one of the few guys who can get away with talking in the ring and people don’t even see him when he’s on camera,” Sullivan said. “He is in charge of everything… Similarly to the ladder match, I could see him taking charge of the situation.
It is at the perfect moment that he gets rid of the incorrect ladder. From a business perspective, he is extremely astute. What a wonderful personality he possesses. He put forth a lot of effort, and he trained himself really hard in order to become a wrestler. Despite the fact that he is deserving of this, I believe that they are only scratching the surface with him. The progression of his work is something I am looking forward to seeing.
Times WWE Inflated The WrestleMania Attendance Record
From the very beginning, WrestleMania has always been about the grandiosity of the event. Size has always been an important consideration, whether it be for the card, the celebrity guests, or the presentation as a whole. Throughout the history of WrestleMania, attendance counts have been somewhat of an obsession for both the WWE and its fans. This is neither surprising nor surprising at all.
On the other hand, it should not come as a surprise that the majority of those attendance estimates are typically exaggerated. These numbers are, in some instances, significantly higher than you might expect them to be. In the year 2019, Brandon Thurston, who works at Wrestlenomics, disseminated a research that analyzed data obtained from the corporate website of WWE. He was able to ascertain, based on the statistics, how the paid attendance for WrestleMania 24-34 compared to the attendance that was announced at each WrestleMania. This information was included in that study.
In addition to those results, there are further stories that have surfaced both historically and more recently that demonstrate the frequently large disparity that exists between the statistics that were announced for attendance and the real attendance figures.
WrestleMania XXIV
The Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida served as the venue for WrestleMania XXIV, which took place on March 30, 2008. Although there were some unfavorable aspects to the main program, the great aspects easily overshadowed the negative aspects. This is despite the fact that one of the negative aspects was a pyro malfunction that resulted in forty people getting injured, as reported by Pro Wrestling Stories.
In the Money in the Bank ladder match, CM Punk emerged victorious. The fight between Floyd Mayweather and Big Show was a really entertaining occasion. As a result of his victory over Edge, The Undertaker was able to maintain his illustrious WrestleMania streak and win the title of World Heavyweight Champion. Of course, Shawn Michaels successfully tugged at the heartstrings with his “I’m sorry, I love you” Sweet Chin Music in order to “retire” Ric Flair during the most emotional and memorable moment of the night.
It was reported that there were 74,635 people in attendance at WrestleMania XXIV. Nevertheless, according to the data reporting provided by Wrestlenomics, the total number of paid attendees ended up being 65,700, which results in a disparity of 8,935. You should brace yourself because the disparities in attendance are just going to get worse from here on out.
WrestleMania XXVII
It’s no secret that WrestleMania XXVII is a very embarrassing event. Historically speaking, it is more or less considered to be the setup for the “Once in a Lifetime” main event of WrestleMania XXVIII, which was supposed to be between John Cena and The Rock. However, the situation turned out to be less than “Once in a Lifetime” because that match would end up being the main event of WrestleMania 29.
On the other side of the card, Edge was victorious over Alberto Del Rio, so retaining his title as the World Heavyweight Champion. Nevertheless, he was compelled to withdraw as a result of a neck injury, and thus he relinquished the title. Thank goodness, Edge made his triumphant comeback to WWE at the 2020 Royal Rumble, providing fans with one of the most unforgettable moments in the history of wrestling before the world was shut down due to the epidemic caused by the coronavirus.
Also see :- WWE Hall Of Famer The Undertaker Discusses Relationship With The Rock
There were a few highlights, like as the horrific fight between Triple H and The Undertaker in the No Holds Barred competition; but, when the evening also featured Michael Cole competing against Jerry Lawler and Snooki making an appearance in the ring, the entire show was a complete and utter failure.
A total of 71,617 people were known to have attended WrestleMania XXVII, which took place inside the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. According to the data reporting provided by Wrestlenomics, the paid attendance was 62,600, which is a significant difference of 9,017.
WrestleMania 33
“The Ultimate Thrill Ride” was the slogan that was used to describe WrestleMania 33, and the gigantic stage structure even included a roller coaster track. The event was like a roller coaster, with both highs and lows to be taken in.
With their unexpected addition and victory in a ladder match for the WWE “Raw” Tag Team Championship, the Hardy Boyz garnered a significant amount of attention. They competed against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Cesaro and Sheamus, and Enzo Amore and Big Cass. Overall, they were victorious. Nikki Bella was the recipient of John Cena’s proposal after the two of them triumphed over The Miz and Maryse in a mixed tag team bout. (Didn’t it finish off nicely?) Triple H was defeated by a pre-“Freakin'” Seth Rollins in a match that was not sanctioned and featured Stephanie McMahon going back and forth through a table.
Randy Orton, who is notorious for setting fires, defeated Bray Wyatt in an attempt to successfully defend his WWE Championship. However, “The Viper” was able to successfully defend his ninth WWE Championship title. There was a No Holds Barred contest between The Undertaker and Roman Reigns, which was the main event of the night.
The fight was, to put it mildly, extremely sloppy; but, it was partially redeemed thanks to The Deadman, who provided an awesome emotional moment after the match by leaving his gear in the ring, thereby proclaiming his retirement. It was inevitable that his actual retirement would take place three years after that.
Camping World Stadium, also known as the Citrus Bowl, served as the location for WrestleMania 33. This also happened to be the same venue that hosted WrestleMania XXIV. At this particular event, the number of attendees was reported to be 75,245. The data reporting provided by Wrestlenomics has provided us with the information that the paid attendance was 64,900, which indicates that WWE inflated the attendance by 10,345.
WrestleMania 25
The 25th installment of WrestleMania took place at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. It was at this very location when WrestleMania X-Seven took place, which is widely considered to be one of the best WrestleMania events of all time, if not the greatest WrestleMania event ever. There is a possibility that WWE was hoping that the same magic would be present.
Unfortunately, WrestleMania 25 was a great example of a main event that did not perform as expected and was utterly overshadowed by a bout that stole the show earlier on the bill. The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels in an epic classic to extend his WrestleMania run to 17-0. Additionally, Triple H retained the WWE Championship by defeating Randy Orton in the dreadfully boring main event.
However, the true main event of the night was The Undertaker’s victory over Shawn Michaels. A singles contest between Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy was also included on the bill. This encounter featured all of the Team Xtreme spots that you would want to see from them. Of course, the less that is said about the “Miss WrestleMania” Battle Royal, the better.
It was reported by Wrestlenomics that the paid attendance for the event was really 58,200, which is a substantial disparity of 14,544 compared to the announced attendance of 72,744 for the event.
WrestleMania XXX
The upcoming WrestleMania XXX event has the potential to provide both the most startling and the most triumphant moments in the history of WrestleMania. Fans inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and all across the world witnessed The Undertaker’s epic 21-0 WrestleMania victory streak finally come to an end at the hands of Brock Lesnar, which resulted in one of the most popular memes ever created in relation to wrestling.
On the other hand, the overarching narrative revolved around Daniel Bryan, a fan favorite who was seeking to triumph over the odds in order to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Bryan was required to first defeat Triple H in order to be included in the main event title match, which was scheduled to take place against Batista and Randy Orton.
It was Bryan versus Triple H that kicked off the main show, and it was a match that was not only action-packed but also emotionally charged, with Bryan emerging victorious. After a few hours had passed, he was presented with a challenging fight against Batista and Orton. When Bryan finally succeeded in getting Batista to tap out, the atmosphere was filled with jubilation, confetti, and cries of “YES!”
There were 75,167 people in attendance at WrestleMania XXX, according to the announcement, and the atmosphere inside the Superdome certainly gave the impression that this number was accurate. Based to the data reporting provided by Wrestlenomics, the actual number of paying attendees was 59,500. It was rumored by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer that the real attendance, which included complimentary tickets, was somewhere between 60,000 and 65,000, which resulted in a disparity of somewhere between 10,167 and 15,167.
WrestleMania XXVIII
As was the case with the other cards that were described earlier, WrestleMania XXVIII had its fair share of highs and lows. In the event if the highly regarded “Once in a Lifetime” bout between The Rock and John Cena did not also serve as the main event at WrestleMania 29, perhaps the legacy of this Mania would remain more favorable. After all, the fight looked and felt like a “big match” from the beginning to the end. As a further point of interest, the Hell in a Cell bout that took place between Triple H and The Undertaker, with Shawn Michaels serving as the special guest referee, was exceptional.
The historic 18-second loss that Daniel Bryan suffered at the hands of Sheamus’s Brogue Kick was, without a doubt, a terrible experience. However, considering that it ultimately resulted in Bryan’s monumental victory at WrestleMania two years later, the results more than justified the means. The event known as WrestleMania XXVIII took place in Sun Life Stadium, which is located in Miami Gardens, Florida. Due to the fact that Wrestlenomics’ data reporting revealed that paid attendance was 62,400, the discrepancy between the announced attendance of 78,363 and the actual attendance number was 15,963.
