WWE announced Monday its Money in the Bank 2024 event became the company’s highest-grossing arena event in Canada in its history, according to a news release. It also had 46% more viewership than last year’s July event, hosted at The O2 Arena in London, setting a new high for Money in the Bank.
The revenue record comes after John Cena, one of the company’s star wrestlers, announced during the event he will retire after WrestleMania 2025. WWE said Cena’s retirement announcement amassed more than 65 million views across social media in the first 24 hours.
A WWE spokesperson declined to share the Money in the Bank revenue and viewership numbers.
In Cena’s announcement, he lauded Toronto and Canadian fans, saying, “Whether the WWE is hot or cold, Canadians showed up. Always.” WWE has held events in Canada since 1986, back when the company was known as World Wrestling Federation.
BREAKING NEWS: John Cena announced at #MITB he will retire from in-ring competition in 2025.#ThankYouCena pic.twitter.com/6TPnYI5iU2
— WWE (@WWE) July 7, 2024
Money in the Bank has been held annually since 2010; this year’s edition was the first time it was hosted in Toronto. The Saturday event took place at Scotiabank Arena, home of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, and owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
The entire weekend of events—including Friday Night SmackDown and NXT Heatwave, all hosted at Scotiabank Arena—drew more than 45,000 fans, according to the release.
After the formation of TKO Group Holdings (NASDAQ: TKO) in September 2023, WWE has said it plans to host more international premium live events (PLEs). It also has a longstanding agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; WWE’s Crown Jewel event is held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where it has a 10-year deal with the country that will pay WWE more than $100 million to hold two events there each year.
This year’s event locations include France, Australia, Berlin and Scotland, in addition to Canada, which many of WWE’s superstars call home.
Ottowa will host the next WWE event in Canada—Monday Night Raw on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
(This story has been updated in the final line to correct the start time of Monday’s event.)
