WWE Backlash And SmackDown Events In Puerto Rico Each Generate $1 Million Gates

It's only been a week since WWE took Puerto Rico by storm, holding both an episode of "SmackDown" and the premium live event Backlash last Friday and Saturday, much to the delight of Puerto Rican fans. And it seems those fans helped WWE make a whole lot of money over the course of the weekend.

According to Wrestlenomics, both "SmackDown" and Backlash generated $1 million gates for the company, with "SmackDown" drawing $1.048 million with 14,282 tickets sold, while Backlash drew over $1.447 million with 15,145 tickets sold. With the addition of comps, WWE noted that attendance for "SmackDown" and Backlash was at 16,496 and 15,552 respectively, while the net sales after fees were over $1.016 and $1.404 million respectively.

Whatever way it's sliced, it all adds up to a successful trip to Puerto Rico for WWE, with Backlash representing the first WWE PLE or pay-per-view to take place in Puerto Rico since New Year's Revolution in January 2005. Furthermore, the live "SmackDown" broadcast represented the first WWE event of its kind in Puerto Rico, as WWE had previously only run non-televised live events in the country, with the last one taking place back in October 2021.

Both "SmackDown" and especially Backlash were largely built around Puerto Rican talents, including Zelina Vega, who unsuccessfully challenged Rhea Ripley for the "SmackDown" Women's Title, and Damian Priest, who wrestled Puerto Rican recording artist Bad Bunny in arguably Backlash's marquee match, dubbed the San Juan Street Fight. The match featured appearances from two former WWE talents in Carlito and Savio Vega, both of whom are considered Puerto Rican wrestling legends.