10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 2011 Facts

This series of SummerSlam lists has made copious discussion of the event's buyrates, noting the highs and lows in attempt to provide further perspective on SummerSlam, as well as the relative popularity of the company. When the buyrate from 1997 to 1998 rose from 235,000 to 700,000, it was clear how effective Steve Austin and the Attitude Era were. But as time wore on, those numbers would decline, due to a number of factors.

The 2011 SummerSlam did a mere 296,000 buys, its lowest since 1997, and the first to fall below 350,000 in that stretch. Illegal streaming was quite en vogue by that time, and even though the Punk renaissance had struck a chord with the weekly viewership, it wasn't getting fans to part with their money in order to follow the monthly exploits.