After more than 280 pay-per-views, WWE has had their share of both hits and misses. In the post-Attitude era, WWE PPV expanded into several new international markets. While opening up overseas helped generate additional revenue (particularly for live events), domestically pay-per-view numbers began to dip. The "B-show" PPVs (the events besides Royal Rumble, SummerSlam or Wrestlemania) averaged about 157,000 domestic buys from 2006-2008. However, by 2010 & 2011 that average dropped to 110,000 domestic buys (-30%). In fact, several PPVs fell much further and became dangerously close to not being unprofitable. (Table of Domestic and International 2006-2013 PPV buys)
In this article we're discussing eight pay-per-view events that really did miserably on the domestic PPV front and achieved less than 90,000 domestic buys. Some shows were bad. Some were not. Numerous compounding factors worked together to depress domestic buys. They ranged from external competition (UFC), poor timing (weeks between PPVs), lame rematches and price increases. Still, while the causes aren't always clear, the result is: viewers kept their money in their pockets and didn't buy these events. Now we've already reached a new turning point for WWE and WWE Fans. With the Elimination Chamber 2014 in the can, we've closed the door on traditional PPV. Now, the majority of domestic viewers willl be watching via the
WWE Network. And fans will also be able to relive greatest (and worst) moments in company history with the on-demand PPV library. It's quite possible that many more viewers will see many of these events through the WWE Network than ever did during the originally airing. So this is the perfect time to look back at these almost-forgotten events. The quality of matches range from great to terrible. So, we'll review these buyrate stinkers and figure out which ones are worth your time.
Sit back and ready yourself for eight WWE PPVs that didn't sell a lick when they aired the first time.