10 Fascinating WWE Survivor Series 2011 Facts
1. The Buyrate Went Up, But Not All That Much
After the Survivor Series 2009 buyrate plummeted drastically from the previous year, WWE briefly committed to dropping Survivor Series as an annual pay-per-view. Fan outcry brought it back, but it's not like buyrates came back with a nostalgic second wind.
Having The Rock wrestle at Survivor Series 2011 did boost the event above recent years. It was good for 281,000 buys, up 15 percent from the previous year, and 25 percent from the dismal 2009 number. However, it was still down 12 percent from the 319,000 buys in 2008, so the rebound wasn't as strong as WWE probably hoped.
By 2011, buyrates were stagnating anyway, partially due to a decline in fan interest, but also attributable to the rise of illegal streaming sites. If you were willing to deal with viruses in your computer, you could get pay-per-views for free. Even the almighty power of 'The Brahma Bull' wasn't going to steer every single fan away from thievery.