10 WWE PPVs Which Drew Lower-Than-Expected Buyrates (And Why)
2. Money In The Bank 2011 - 195,000 Buys
Ask anyone who was watching WWE in 2011 and they'll tell you that CM Punk's "Pipe Bomb" promo and subsequent feuds with Vince McMahon and John Cena made for some of the most entertaining TV in company history. Punk's attacks on the company hierarchy and vows to take the WWE Championship with him when his contract expired were must-see, and the MITB PPV itself was one of the best shows in WWE history.
Given all that, it has to be considered a bit of a let down that the show only drew 195,000 buys. Yes, it was up from the 165,000 buys the show drew in 2010, and from the 170,000 buys that Capitol Punishment did in June of 2011, but it wasn't up as much as the quality of the programming warranted.
There was no UFC show that weekend. There weren't two WWE PPVs that month. The sad fact is simply this: for many fans, the idea of not ordering Money in the Bank after seeing CM Punk's build was unfathomable - but for most fans, it was reality.