WWE News: Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber pay-per-view numbers down compared to 2011

WWE released the pay-per-view buy information as part of the 2012 first quarter earnings report earlier today.

The Royal Rumble pay-per-view scored 443,000 buys, down from 446,000 buys in 2011, and 462,000 buys the same event produced in 2010.

The WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view produced 178,000 buys, down from 199,000 buys in 2011 and 285,000 buys generated in 2010.

Powell's POV: The numbers were down, but revenue was essentially the same as last year. WWE touted the HD pricing as essentially being the reason the revenue was the same despite pay-per-view buys continuing to drop compared to prior years. The only pay-per-views that seem to draw better numbers than prior years involve The Rock. Survivor Series was up, and preliminary numbers show that WrestleMania 28 is also up from the previous year. WWE noted that they suffered an eight percent decline in international buys for the Rumble and Elimination Chamber compared to last year.