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Post by J12 on May 28, 2013 11:52:57 GMT -5
I've been lucky enough to attend a few dozen WWE events during my time as a fan - everything from house shows, to a Raw and Smackdown taping, and five Pay-Per-Views over the years. In the last couple of years, though, I've found it harder and harder to justify spending the money when they come to my area, which is sad, because years ago I would patiently wait for them to announce at least one show a year in Maine.
Last year, WWE visited Maine 3 times. I attended 2 out of the 3 events. I've sort of been spoiled over the years with house shows - always sitting within the first five rows on the floor. To me, if I'm not up close for a house show, it's not worth it. I'll sit pretty much anywhere for a TV taping/Pay-Per-View, but crowd interaction, to me, is one of the most important parts of the house show experience and I feel like it's lost beyond the first few rows of chairs. In my "heyday" of going to live events, a ringside seat for a non-televised event was usually around $45 plus service fees, certainly reasonable. In later years, they brought the price up to $60, which, still, I didn't really mind paying.
Then the "Supershow" concept starting popping up more and more last year, and then the brand split shows were dropped all together. Now WWE treats every event like a "Supershow" and charges less than super prices.
WWE is going to be twenty minutes from my house this Sunday. I'm not particularly excited about the line up (The Shield was originally my main selling point, but they've since been moved to the other show) and so I've been trying to justify a reason for purchasing a ticket, and quite frankly, I just can't find one. None of my friends that are interested are willing to spend that kind of money on seats, so I'd be forced to go by myself. That hardly bothers me, but at $106 for a ringside seat, I just can't do it. I know the quality of entertainment they're going to provide isn't valued at anywhere near $106, and even the more reasonable second price level ($60) seems too expensive to be sitting so far from the ring.
Does anyone else find that a $106 price tag for ringside is simply far too much for a house show? Truthfully, I never thought I'd see the day where WWE would virtually be in my backyard and I'd have no interest in attending due to the prices.
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Post by kazoosandstreamers on May 28, 2013 15:20:01 GMT -5
If I was making bank I would go for it. But yeah, that is pretty steep.
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Post by ztj_wwf on May 28, 2013 15:29:01 GMT -5
Concerts and other shows cost even more. $106 is pretty good for ringside.
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Post by Lorenzo Alcazar on May 28, 2013 15:41:50 GMT -5
$100+ per ticket is a lot of money to see Orton/Sheamus, Fandango and some random sprinkled in NXT people. These aren't the days where you would go to a house show and see Rock, Austin, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, and Triple H. Personally, I can't justify spending that type of money to go to a house show.
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Post by mikey1974 on May 28, 2013 15:43:54 GMT -5
ironically enough,i'm going to my first live show since 2000, and my 10 year old is going to his first one ever,this July.
2 tickets on the bottom upper deck (i.e. the seats that start going up from the floor level,below the upper level) cost me $77. not too bad. but floor level ( NOT ringside) was a little over $220 for 2 tickets! I can't even imagine what Ringside tickets were going for.
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adecw
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jun 10, 2012 16:27:11 GMT -5
Posts: 1,060
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Post by adecw on May 28, 2013 15:46:33 GMT -5
in uk here I missed out on smackdown house show tickets in april so go some off ebay 4 rows back £190 each
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Post by 0,Y on May 28, 2013 15:51:28 GMT -5
lol 106$ is quite cheap if you compare to German prices. We pay about 110€ for front row seats. That's 141$. And they only come once every 2 or 3 years so I'm pretty much forced to pay those prices if I want to see the show.
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Post by BØRNS on May 28, 2013 15:52:17 GMT -5
If you have doubts about it, then don't go. I usually get $30-35 tickets for house shows, which I find fine. The seats are midlevel on the risers.
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Post by T R W on May 28, 2013 15:57:25 GMT -5
I used to go to houe shows and tv tapings a lot in the 80's, 90's, and early 2000s but these days, I think the ticket price is too high for the product given, so I don't go anymore. When that changes, I will. House shows have rarely ever been worth the money, but certainly aren't now.
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Lionheart S.M
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Mar 15, 2012 15:01:33 GMT -5
Posts: 291
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Post by Lionheart S.M on May 28, 2013 16:01:45 GMT -5
Interaction with the other Wrestling Fans was always my favourite part, the last time I attended one (April) we walked around during intermission and the divas match chatting to random Wrestling Fans such as ourselves
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Post by J12 on May 28, 2013 16:06:37 GMT -5
Concerts and other shows cost even more. $106 is pretty good for ringside. I'm inclined to disagree. I go to plenty of concerts throughout the year, and I've only spent in the $100 range on a couple of occasions. Most tickets are in the $30-$85 range, but it really all depends on who you're going to see. You're also usually getting 3-5 bands and 3+ solid hours of entertainment, versus a two hour WWE house show. I don't necessarily like comparing the two, though, because it's a case of apples and oranges, really. I don't think $100+ is too much to ask for solid seats for a televised event, but for a house show, I don't see it. In essence, what I'd like to know is, what, in WWE's mind, changed about their product to justify a $40+ hike in prices in just over a year's time? I sat second row at a Raw brand house show last March for $60. They now want $106 for the same seat in the same arena for a show that has less star power.
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gwtpunk
Main Eventer
Joined on: Oct 20, 2011 12:56:18 GMT -5
Posts: 1,898
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Post by gwtpunk on May 28, 2013 16:10:58 GMT -5
Last live event i went to i payed for floor seats (not ringside) but my seats were basically ringside ($70 per ticket) which was great. And at that event i slapped hands with Punk, Kofi, and some others.
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Post by HHH316 on May 28, 2013 16:26:33 GMT -5
I completely understand where you are coming from. The WWE comes to Chicago 2-3 times a year (& have done that for several years). I had a long span where I held out because of the prices for tickets. Ringside tickets are so tough to get here & I only had them once, & paid $45, face value, for the ticket to Raw. Those days are long gone. I believe those seats are going for $120-$90 for a non-PPV.
I took my Godson to his first show in December & just bought $20 seats. It was a SD house show & there was no way I would pay anything more than that. I'm glad I didn't because we saw a few guys compete in 3 different matches that night. I feel for your frustration for not wanting to spend that kind of money. On the bright side, I think they are ending these split roster shows fairly soon. I don't know if that will play into the show you are attending, but if there wasn't a split, I'd consider going.
I don't want to lead you on, but I was in a similar position you are in with the current roster line up. On the night of the Chicago show, they had another show in Detroit. I was hoping to see the Shield & Bryan compete. They were advertised for our show, but days before moved to the Detroit show. I guess the opening match on the Detroit show was The Shield VS. Team Hell No/Ryback in a 6 man tag. After the match ended they jumped in the car & flew to Chicago, & we got that as a surprise main event. It's a 4-5 hour drive between cities, so I was surprised to see they made it. So it is possible they can make it to your show, but don't quote me on that.
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Post by RybackV1 on May 28, 2013 16:29:40 GMT -5
Seeing as the price of ringside seats at televised events is around 1000 bucks, id say its still a good deal.
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Post by J12 on May 28, 2013 16:37:30 GMT -5
Seeing as the price of ringside seats at televised events is around 1000 bucks, id say its still a good deal. I'm not sure where you're getting that figure from, but it's not true at all if we're talking face value. I'm not taking brokers into consideration here. The only event that costs that much is Wrestlemania.
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Post by J12 on May 28, 2013 16:45:27 GMT -5
I completely understand where you are coming from. The WWE comes to Chicago 2-3 times a year (& have done that for several years). I had a long span where I held out because of the prices for tickets. Ringside tickets are so tough to get here & I only had them once, & paid $45, face value, for the ticket to Raw. Those days are long gone. I believe those seats are going for $120-$90 for a non-PPV. I took my Godson to his first show in December & just bought $20 seats. It was a SD house show & there was no way I would pay anything more than that. I'm glad I didn't because we saw a few guys compete in 3 different matches that night. I feel for your frustration for not wanting to spend that kind of money. On the bright side, I think they are ending these split roster shows fairly soon. I don't know if that will play into the show you are attending, but if there wasn't a split, I'd consider going. I don't want to lead you on, but I was in a similar position you are in with the current roster line up. On the night of the Chicago show, they had another show in Detroit. I was hoping to see the Shield & Bryan compete. They were advertised for our show, but days before moved to the Detroit show. I guess the opening match on the Detroit show was The Shield VS. Team Hell No/Ryback in a 6 man tag. After the match ended they jumped in the car & flew to Chicago, & we got that as a surprise main event. It's a 4-5 hour drive between cities, so I was surprised to see they made it. So it is possible they can make it to your show, but don't quote me on that. Yeah, the brand split shows officially end on June 1st, so this is one of the first shows under the "WWE Live" title. They're still running two shows a night, so nothing really changes other than them having the freedom to pick and choose who goes where. We're getting Cena, Ryback, Sheamus, Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett and the Poughkeepsie show (too far to share any roster members) gets Del Rio, Orton, Show, the Shield, Kane, and Daniel Bryan. At the end of the day, it really comes down to the immense increase in just a year's time. Naturally rising costs don't equate to a $40 per ticket price hike for the first five rows, especially when the shows are shorter and the roster is thinner.
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Post by RybackV1 on May 28, 2013 17:05:47 GMT -5
Seeing as the price of ringside seats at televised events is around 1000 bucks, id say its still a good deal. I'm not sure where you're getting that figure from, but it's not true at all if we're talking face value. I'm not taking brokers into consideration here. The only event that costs that much is Wrestlemania. I went to buy front row seats for Night Of Champions when it came to Boston. I went right to the TD Garden/Ticketmaster site at the time they were set to go on sale. All of the ringside seats cost upwards of a thousand dollars. No joke. I went to see what the price for tix for Smackdown were back in April and they were all over 500 bucks. Maybe its just my area? But I've never in my life seen ringside seats for 45 or 60 bucks. Even back when I lived in NJ. You'd be lucky to sit on the floor for that price and I'm talking back in 01-04.
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Post by BØRNS on May 28, 2013 18:07:43 GMT -5
I'm not sure where you're getting that figure from, but it's not true at all if we're talking face value. I'm not taking brokers into consideration here. The only event that costs that much is Wrestlemania. I went to buy front row seats for Night Of Champions when it came to Boston. I went right to the TD Garden/Ticketmaster site at the time they were set to go on sale. All of the ringside seats cost upwards of a thousand dollars. No joke. I went to see what the price for tix for Smackdown were back in April and they were all over 500 bucks. Maybe its just my area? But I've never in my life seen ringside seats for 45 or 60 bucks. Even back when I lived in NJ. You'd be lucky to sit on the floor for that price and I'm talking back in 01-04. Same over here in northern California. Ringside seats for house shows on ticketmaster are usually $300+, TV tapings $500-600, and PPVs $800-900. No joke.
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Post by Flair Forever on May 28, 2013 18:14:35 GMT -5
Yea, that's a little too expensive for a house show where Sheamus will probably be the main event star...
We went to a WWE Live event last May, I paid 90-something for floor seats (it was my son's first live event). I was surprised that the arena was fairly full - but the floor sections were nearly empty (there was no one in the two rows in front of us - including the front row). I guess people want to go, but don't want to spend that money.
For TV or PPV it's definitely worth it to spend a little extra cash to maybe get on TV and have great seats - but not for a house show.
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Post by J12 on May 28, 2013 18:49:12 GMT -5
I'm not sure where you're getting that figure from, but it's not true at all if we're talking face value. I'm not taking brokers into consideration here. The only event that costs that much is Wrestlemania. I went to buy front row seats for Night Of Champions when it came to Boston. I went right to the TD Garden/Ticketmaster site at the time they were set to go on sale. All of the ringside seats cost upwards of a thousand dollars. No joke. I went to see what the price for tix for Smackdown were back in April and they were all over 500 bucks. Maybe its just my area? But I've never in my life seen ringside seats for 45 or 60 bucks. Even back when I lived in NJ. You'd be lucky to sit on the floor for that price and I'm talking back in 01-04. What you're seeing is more than likely Ticketmaster Platinum Auctions, where they literally become their own scalper. They usually have their own tab on the event listings, but occasionally they mix them in with other seats, especially if you use the interactive seating map. It's ridiculous, and normally they're trying to charge more for their own tickets than reputable brokers do on the secondary market. Normal face values for WWE events are not that high anywhere in the country outside of Wrestlemania. Ringside seats for Pay-Per-Views, outside of Wrestlemania, are between $300 and $500 depending on the market and the show (the "big three" are more expensive, for example). Those are for the seats that include the commemorative chair. Summerslam in LA, for example, has a face value of $450. Those are only for the rows that include chairs. After that, it drops to a much more reasonable price range. TV tapings are around $100 for ringside, give or take a few dollars because of service fees, no matter what market you're in. They're pretty much exactly the same as house shows at this point.
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