Is Seth Rollins A Worse-Drawing WWE Champion Than Jinder Mahal

Rollins wasn't a business hit as Universal Champion.

Seth Rollins
WWE.com

WWE were lambasted for their decision to have Brock Lesnar successfully cash-in his Money In The Bank briefcase on Universal Champion Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules on 14 July, but it looks like they may have been justified from a business standpoint.

Rollins didn't draw well as Raw's top champion. At all.

Twitter user @nWoWolfpacTV has collated data from domestic house shows during Rollins' reign in order to compare them to other former World Champions. Shows that took place during his run drew approximately 53,350 fans over 16 events, coming in at an average of 3,334. A dismal number, and somehow worse than during Jinder Mahal's universally panned WWE Title reign, with his average (on a weaker brand, too) sitting at 3,497.

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On top of this, Kofi Kingston is the four-lowest drawing WWE Champion ever using this metric: his average is 2,940.

While these numbers speak more to WWE's general attendance decline than anything else, they're still interesting. Even crowning a popular babyface like Rollins at WrestleMania 35 failed at stopping the rot. Their lack of money-drawing stars has never been so apparent, and it's hard to imagine this problem solving itself.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.