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In your mind, is CM Punk a legitimate draw?
Now, I like Punk a lot, and I've really enjoyed his title reign from the day he won the belt right through to today. However, a friend mentioned to me the other day that he didn't think Punk was much of a draw. I was interested and decided to do some digging into the numbers. RAW ratings have indeed dipped of late (although they improved this week in the go home show for TLC), but it's possible there are outside factors that can be attributed to. Ratings for RAW always fall when Monday Night Football hits its stride, always. And the expansion to three hours has has also hurt them ratings wise. Interestingly however, as a side note, I read that the USA Network is paying the WWE an undisclosed amount of money for the additional hour of programming.
I checked out buy rates next. I only went by what the WWE has released on their corporate website in their financial reports made public for shareholders. What I found was surprising. Their buy rates in 2012 have been quite strong. Starting with Wrestlemania, the buy rates at every PPV since have increased from 2011. There were big spikes, as can probably be expected, at Wrestlemania, Extreme Rules and Summerslam, which featured The Rock and Brock Lesnar.
However, I found it interesting. The ratings for RAW are down but the PPV buy rates are up. The WWE finished their third financial quarter with Night of Champions in September (which Punk headlined) and reported a 13 percent quarterly increase in buy rates over the same period of 2011, and their highest since 2008. I thought was pretty encouraging, and a sign that Punk is doing fine as a champion. The numbers aren't making anyone forget Steve Austin (except Wrestlemania, which drew insane numbers).
Do you think the increase in buy rates can be attributed to Punk? He's been headlining more shows of late, and while Survivor Series rates haven't been officially released yet (I don't trust spoiler sites), the Hell in a Cell numbers were up slightly from last year. Also, and I don't know if this is saying much, Punk's DVD, released in October, is already the fourth highest selling home video of the years for the WWE, and is on pace to eclipse the number one spot (Wrestlemania 28, followed by the Rock DVD and The Undertaker's new streak DVD) by quite a wide margin.
I went into this thinking that the numbers wouldn't support Punk, but they seem to. What do you guys think?
7 Answers
- The DragonLv 78 years agoFavorite Answer
In my opinion Punk is a legitimate draw IN SPITE OF the complaints from some fans ("PG kiddie show", etc), the sub-standard "writing" (the AJ/Cena/Vickie thing; Ziggler's constant teasing about "cashing in", etc) that don't get resolved on PPV (where they're supposed to be resolved), the FAR too many hours of WWE TV every week, and RAW being dragged out to 3 hours (more ads and replays) every week. "Everybody" appearing on both shows (RAW and SD) is misleading. Yeah, nobody is exclusive to one show or the other any more, but that means more of them are appearing on both shows every week meaning fewer total number of performers each week. The WWE is filling more TV hours every week with fewer performers now than in the past when RAW and SD had their own "exclusive" rosters. Which is a bit eye-opening. TV ratings are down but PPV buyrates are up.
That indicates that the WWE is losing "casual" fans (the causes for that are many; and attributing ratings declines to Monday Night Football shows that those football fans are "casual" WWE fans who would rather watch a football game) but the "hardcore" audience is still there. The "casual" fans are a minute part of the PPV audience (the ones who BUY the PPVs; those who steal them via "streams" don't factor into "the numbers") so losing them doesn't affect PPV buyrates to any degree of significance. The "hardcore" fans are the ones willing to spend $50 or more on a PPV every month. Those fans are still there. You didn't make a direct comparison between Cena headlining PPVs and Punk headlining the same PPVs a year later so it's difficult to attribute the cause of recent PPVs doing better just on Punk himself (meaning, is Punk as the main event outselling Cena as the main event? And is Punk vs Cena outselling every other main event?). The Rock and Lesnar did have something to do with PPV buyrates going up.
But as the old saying goes, "numbers don't lie". The main event sells the show, and the guy IN the main event is held responsible for the successes and failures of the shows he main events. The numbers show Punk doing very well as the (PPV) main event. TV doesn't make the WWE it's money (we don't have to pay to watch WWE TV shows), PPV does. Punk's PPV numbers are up, therefore he is a legitimate PPV-selling draw. He's keeping (and in some cases increasing the number of) "hardcore" fans buying PPVs.
You didn't do a breakdown of the ratings for each 15-minute "block" of WWE TV shows to find which segments drew the higher ratings but I would imagine Punk's segments do very well (based on the PPV numbers). The fact that Vince keeps the WWE Title on him proves that out, as well.
There are many things wrong with the WWE these days (that will explain losing some "casual" viewers). Punk as WWE Champ and PPV main eventer is not one of them. He's keeping the "hardcore" fans coming back every week, every month.
- 8 years ago
Not as a main eventer. An Upper Mid Carder, yes. I like C.M. Punk when he is not talking. Since he went main event status, i've hated his long promos. Only reason I watch WWE is The Rock's nice random Appearances, Naomi, Tyson Kidd, Team Hell No, and Kofi.
- Anonymous8 years ago
He is the reason I, and most others, watch Raw. The Football and the WWE product is what's hurting the ratings, I don't mind PG but lots of others do and therefore don't tune in. Its not Punk's fault, he's very entertaining, a class above the rest in the ring and the Best In The World.
Source(s): CM Punk, Best In The World. - ?Lv 68 years ago
Asking if Punk isn't a draw is tough to answer. The biggest reason is that we have no idea what the ratings would have been like if he wasn't there. Maybe he has helped keep things stable.
Of course nostalgia will draw older fans back, but no one else in WWE is making any kind of draw, obviously.
- 8 years ago
punk is alright..............but wwe raw's TRP hit its lowest the week CENA didn't appear on raw due to his elbow surgery...........in the past decade that is from 2002-2012 it was the lowest ever TRP of monday night raw.....having said that the rock vs cena match at wm 28 gained the highest trp of all times.............punk is good but he is no cena,rock,austin or hogan "HE IS NOT A MAIN EVENT MATERIAL"........................he will never be counted in the league of cena/rock/hogan/austin/taker/hbk etc.............. he just misses the X-FACTOR thing in him!!!
