By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

WWE's 2009 PPV business was $80.0 million (16.8 percent of 2009 total revenue) compared to $91.4 million in 2008.

The $11.4 million decline in year-to-year PPV revenue was captured in the first three quarters of 2009. PPV revenue was up slightly (3 percent) in the fourth quarter 2009 to help stabilize PPV business after a rough start to the year.

Even a slight increase in PPV revenue in the fourth quarter comes with the caveat that WWE recorded a 14 percent increase in international PPV buys compared to fourth quarter 2008, which reflects the still-struggling domestic PPV market.

We can now look at the entire 2009 PPV buy totals and compare how each PPV compared to its 2008 counterpart. The list is ranked starting with the most-purchased PPV and working toward the least-purchased PPV of the year.

PPV - buys (% increase/decrease vs. 2008 event)

-- WrestleMania 25 - 960,000 buys (down 9.3 percent)
-- Royal Rumble - 450,000 buys (down 15.6 percent)
-- Summerslam - 369,000 buys (down 22.6 percent)
-- Hell in a Cell - 283,000 buys (up 8.4 percent)
-- No Way Out - 272,000 buys (down 17.3 percent)
-- Night of Champions - 267,000 buys (down 2.2 percent)
-- Survivor Series - 235,000 buys (down 26.3 percent)
-- TLC PPV - 228,000 buys (up 18.1 percent)
-- Judgment Day - 228,000 buys (down 9.5 percent)
-- Extreme Rules - 213,000 buys (up 9.7 percent)
-- Backlash - 182,000 buys (down 9.0 percent)
-- Bragging Rights - 181,000 buys (up 18.3 percent)
-- The Bash - 178,000 buys (down 9.2 percent)
-- Breaking Point - 169,000 buys (down 19.1 percent)

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE NEWS: Superstars SPOILERS - Results from Chicago Raw

WWE NETWORK: Monday, Oct. 12 Schedule - Raw pre-show, Sting DVD preview

WWE NEWS: Lana & Rusev reportedly engaged - follow the interesting 2015 timeline