By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Depending on which information you look at, WWE's Royal Rumble PPV either drew 498,000 buys or a number slightly lower than the previous two years, which drew in the mid-400,000 range.

After a two-week delay, WWE released their monthly business figures on Monday. Included is a chart that plots the Rumble buys (blue square below) slightly below the 2012 Rumble, which drew 443,000 buys, and the 2011 Rumble, which drew 446,000 buys.




However, their monthly PPV break down includes an individual figure of 498,000 buys, which is broken down by 322,000 domestic buys (65 percent) and 176,000 international buys (35 percent).




The figures tell two completely different stories - if this year's Rumble featuring The Rock's big in-ring return and WWE Title victory drew less than the previous two years, it's very concerning, but if the Rumble outdrew the previous two years by 50,000 buys, then it's somewhat encouraging news for WWE.

WWE will release an official Rumble PPV figure in their First Quarter 2013 earnings results, which will likely be released in May.

Rumble Break Down

Royal Rumble 2013 - 440,000-498,000 buys
Royal Rumble 2012 - 443,000 buys
Royal Rumble 2011 - 446,000 buys
Royal Rumble 2010 - 462,000 buys

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