I wanted to quickly look at the Triple H vs. Randy Orton feud on PPV since it came up for me in a recent conversation. Below is a list of all their singles matches on PPV, the number of PPV buys each show did, and where that show ranked in terms of PPV buys versus the other PPVs that calendar year. 

All Orton vs. Triple H PPV matches:

Unforgiven 2004 was a big one because it was the first match after the iconic Evolution “thumbs down” turn on Orton the night after he won the title. As you can see, the show only had the ninth most PPV buys out of fourteen events in 2004, hardly an impressive number for a split among your world champion and number one heel group. As good as Orton was at this time in his heel run leading up to the babyface turn, even his world title win in the main event of Summerslam did the least amount of PPV buys of any Summerslam in seven years. People praised his work, but he still wasn’t clicking at the box office. 

No Mercy 2007 was a smashing success for a B-show PPV (beating all other B-shows that year), but that must be discussed in context. John Cena got hurt going into the show, and there was the promise of a new champion being crowned at the PPV without Trips vs. RKO being announced as a match. Both men traded world title wins on that show, with Hunter winning the straight match and Orton winning the Last Man Standing to secure the title. 

The main event cage match at Judgment Day 2008 and semi-main Last Man Standing Match at One Night Stand brought in more disappointing numbers, ranking seventh and twelfth in PPV buys out of fourteen events that year. Even with the added stip matches, the numbers were rather pedestrian at best. There’s a pattern here. 

Wrestlemania XXV is another number that deserves some context. Wrestlemania is always the biggest WWE PPV of the year. Still, judging it against other Wrestlemanias, XXV was their lowest amount of Mania buys since the disastrous Mania XIX in Seattle six years prior. To top it off, no one cared about their Three Stages of Hell blowoff at the Bash, coming almost dead last in terms of PPV buys that year. 

It’s funny how people discuss this feud like it was a pivotal time in the business, but it was never really a draw, regardless of the heel/babyface dynamic or the match stip. I’m sure we’ll cover a lot more about how each did as draws in other contexts, but for now, it’s interesting to see WWE could never really figure out a way to make money with two of their biggest stars of the 2000s against each other.