PPV Buyrates during the MNW ERA

700K for Starrcade.... DAMN

Few surprises there all the same...

Its interesting to see the buyrates started to fully crash for WCW around the same time that I stopped watching the product regularly.

Around spring 99, every one was Heel turning Face or Face turning Heel every other week.

Nash turns heel with Hogan, DDP turns heel by injuring a heel Hogan so Nash turns Face, Nash turns heel on Hogan who returns from injury as a face, and joins Sid who was he was just fighting. Flair starts the year as sympathetic family man face with Benoit/Malenko (who he turns on later), wins the title and turns heel, fights Savage who returns as a face only for Macho to turn heel on Nash, Flair also fights Face Piper who turns heel on Bagwell and joins Flair. WCW presidency is passed around like an STD from Bischoff to Flair to Piper to Flair to Sting to "Creative Control". Sting even turns heel with Luger who then proceeds to "break his arm" and turn Sting back face short months later.

WCW 99 had more turns just for ratings and giggles. Trying to keep track of who was what week to week was tiresome. When you insult the intelligence of your audience they will not stick around.

97 WCW was on fire -Crazy to think about the rating reflections back then since I loved 97 WWF

Yeah, the fans were all-in on the NWO storyline. And I believe the Sting vs. NWO storyline started early in the year, so fans were just waiting for the Hogan/Sting match to happen. The biggest PPV buyrate for WCW was the 97 Starrcade, that shows what the fans were wanting to see - just a shame they botched it.

I think the WWF really started to pick up speed during the summer of 1997, and they kept getting better thru the end of the year. They decided to switch Austin as the top babyface around this time, with Taker being the #2. You had Bret and Shawn switching to heels, which definitely helped their characters. The Rock and HHH really started showing they were going to a big part of the future of the WWF around this time. DX started. The New Age Outlaws formed in the fall. Kane arrived in the fall. Mick started the 3-faces of Foley, with the introduction of both Dude Love and the return of Cactus Jack. WWF was really finding itself during this year. 

1994 to 1995 sept wcw ppv buy rates

feb 94 supervbrawl 110,000

apr 94 115,000

july 94 225,000

sept 94 115,000

HH 94 210,000

dec 94 130,000

feb 95 180.000

mar 180,000

may 110,000

june 100,000

july 160,000


wwf jan 94 to sept 95

jan 94 146,000

mar 94 283,000

june 94 148,000

aug 94 235,000

nov 94 169,000

jan 95 194,000

mar 95 261,000

may 95 172,000

june 95 139,000

july 95 155,000

aug 95 205,000