List of professional wrestling attendance records in the United Kingdom
The following is a list of professional wrestling attendance records in the United Kingdom. The list is dominated by the American professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment which has controlled the industry in North America since 2002. As the World Wrestling Federation, it became the first national promotion in the U.S. during the 1980s wrestling boom. World Championship Wrestling, the main competitor to the WWF during the 1990s wrestling boom, also set several records during their visits. However, all of their events were surpassed by the WWE in the early 2000s.
The mainstream popularity of British wrestling largely declined after the cancellation of ITV's World of Sport in 1985 and Joint Promotions' programs on terrestrial tv in 1988. As a result, all of the attendance records formerly set by British wrestling promotions were gradually replaced in the years following the WWF's arrival in the UK. The WWF's official UK debut took place on October 10, 1989, at the sold-out London Arena in London, England. The main event was a match between Hulk Hogan (with Miss Elizabeth) and Randy Savage (with Sensational Sherri) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. The event was broadcast live on Sky One.[1]
A series of live and PPV events, Mayhem in Manchester (1998), No Mercy (1999), Rebellion (1999-2002), Insurrextion (2000-2003), were created exclusively for the British market. WWE ended all-UK exclusive pay-per-views when its weekly programming began broadcasting on British television in 2004. According to this list, 13 events are from WWE's flagship television show WWE Raw and 5 from WWE Smackdown, which since 2005's has been held exclusively in stadiums that typically have a seating capacity of at least 20,000 people or more. Only one of the attendances listed is a non-WWE event, a house show during WCW Nitro U.K. Tour 2000! which is the last remaining record set by the company. All of these events have been held in England, most often in either Manchester or the capital city of London.
Events and attendances
See also
- List of professional wrestling attendance records
- List of professional wrestling attendance records in Europe
- List of professional wrestling attendance records in Japan
- List of professional wrestling attendance records in Puerto Rico
- List of WWE attendance records
References
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1989". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (2004). Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Professional Wrestlers. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. p. 40. ISBN 1582618178.
- ^ "Rock Star Gary reflects on WWF Summerslam '92". April 10, 2013.
- ^ "Mayhem in Manchester". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1998". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ Johnson, Mike (May 16, 2012). "5/16 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: TAZ DEFENDS ECW TITLE TWICE ON ONE PPV, ANDY KAUFMAN PASSES AWAY, KAUFMAN PASSES AWAY, BULLDOGS VS. HARTS IN A CAGE, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS WIN AND DEFEND U.S. TAG TITLES ON THE SAME DAY, ONITA BRINGS FMW TO LOS ANGELES, WWF NO MERCY PPV IN UK, VINCE MCMAHON'S INFAMOUS CONFRONTATION WITH BOB COSTAS AND MORE". PWInsider.com.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2005". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ a b c d Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2008". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ Konuwa, Alfred (May 14, 2018). "WWE Raw Results: News And Notes After Bobby Lashley's Sisters Are Set To Debut Next Week". Forbes.com. Forbes.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2009". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ a b Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2013". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ Reynolds, R. D. (2004). The Death of WCW. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 247. ISBN 155490255X.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: WCW 2000-01". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ Pantoja, Kevin (January 3, 2016). "Random Network Reviews: Insurrextion 2001". 411mania.com.
- ^ "Historical Cards: Rebellion (November 3, 2001. Manchester, England)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 156. 2007 Edition.
- ^ "Monday Night Raw – November 13, 2006: Brace Yourselves People. We've Got A Running Joke Here". KBWrestlingReviews.com. August 8, 2012.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2006". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2014". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2012". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2015". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2016". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^ a b Baker, William (May 5, 2016). "WWE European Tour Attendance Figures, Finn Balor Interview, Reigns vs. AJ Styles Rivalry". ProWrestling.com.
- ^ "Historical Cards: Rebellion (October 26, 2002. Manchester, England)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 157. 2007 Edition.