Coming out of Saturday’s WWE Backlash premium live event, fans were raving about the crowd and the product that the company presented from the start of the show to the main event.
In addition to Backlash, WWE also held SmackDown on Friday at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was the WWE’s second PLE/PPV in Puerto Rico, and the first since 2005 with New Year’s Resolution.
Many fans are eagerly anticipating the company’s next PLE in Puerto Rico after such an enjoyable event. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio said that WWE received $1.5 million (first reported by Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics) for hosting the event there, so fans may have to wait a while. WWE will probably continue to hold house shows like they have for years up until they are paid by the tourism board to put on another PLE in Puerto Rico.
“The thing is, they’re only going to come if they get paid to come. So, that’s up to how much the tourism board wants to pay. And usually, when it comes to this type of thing. Everything is different. Generally speaking, if they want to bring you in, if the tourism board brings you in, they’re not going to bring you in every year. They’re going to use their money to bring in another act…they’re going to use their money on another act next year, it won’t always be WWE. For them to do a pay-per-view generally, and London is the exception, because when they go to London they’re not getting paid by a tourism board, they just feel like it’s time to do it,” Meltzer stated.
Meltzer noted that WWE wants to travel to the UK for high-end live events because they can air on Peacock in the afternoon while holding the events at night local time, which eliminates the need for the shows to take place in primetime as they did when WWE was on traditional pay-per-view.
Meltzer added, “But for them to come and do this, they’re going to have to be paid. They will go down there and do a house show, but for them to do a pay-per-view, they’re going to want a million and half dollars or whatever. That was what the rate was here. They got paid a million and half dollars by the tourism board to come in.”
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
