10 Reasons Daniel Bryan Will Not Be WWE Champion After SummerSlam

3. He Does Not Draw Well

Many fans, especially those who support Bryan, are reluctant to admit that the pay-per-views Daniel Bryan has headlined have not sold well. He headlined a string of events last fall, including SummerSlam, Night of Champions, Battleground, and Hell in a Cell. Of the four pay-per-views that featured Bryan in a headlining role, three (SummerSlam, Battleground, and Night of Champions) registered a lower buy rate than the previous year€™s edition. Bryan was paired with arguably the company€™s biggest draw in John Cena at SummerSlam. Even though Cena was in the main event with Bryan, roughly 62,000 fewer fans purchased the program. Bryan then went on to face Randy Orton for the title at three consecutive pay-per-views. During their first meeting at Night of Champions, the event featured 175,000 buys, down from the previous year€™s 189,000. Battleground was simply abysmal, as only 114,000 fans purchased the event, which is the second lowest total in the last 17 years. Only Hell in a Cell received more buys than the previous year, and the increase was modest. With that said, one may wonder how WrestleMania sold, as it was the culmination of Bryan€™s journey to the top. Unfortunately, it is much more difficult to calculate an event€™s buy rate now that the WWE Network has launched. One area that can still be measured, however, is international sales, due to the fact that the WWE Network is currently only available in the United States. Early reports indicate that the event recorded about 100,000 fewer international buys than WrestleMania 29, which suggests a significant drop in buys for the 2014 edition. Although measuring a superstar€™s drawing power based on buy rates is often tricky due to the fact that many other factors play a role, it is hard to deny that the pay-per-views headlined by Daniel Bryan have performed poorly. Fans may be willing to cheer for Bryan, but it remains to be seen if they are willing to shell out their money to watch him on television, leading me to believe that the WWE will turn to a more marketable star to carry the title in the near future.