7. CM Punk - None Main Event Champion, Decline In Ratings And Buys
CM Punk was undoubtedly the best wrestler in the world during his 2011-2013 championship run. Whether it was in the ring or on the mic, Punk always delivered. Except some in the audience clearly weren't as thrilled as others - viewers tuned out and ppv buyers stopped buying. Again, you can argue that the WWE isn't built around one guy drawing anymore. Lots of things can be attributed with that decline. However, the fact remains, as champion Punk did not draw. Steve Austin came along in a decline, cut a blistering promo and started drawing mega money. CM Punk came along in a decline, cut a blistering promo and started drawing average to underwhelming money. That's just the way it is. In analyzing Punk as a drawing champion, initially he started hot. You can understand why ... the pipe bomb promo was one of the greatest sells ever for a PPV. Punk and Cena did 195,000 worldwide buys for Punk's big moment in Chicago. Summerslam 2011 however, Punk's first big match in his new main event role, saw a drop off in business. The 2010 event had drawn 349,000 buys whereas with Punk main eventing in 2011 it clocked in at 296,000 buys. This unfortunately became a trend for Punk as a main event draw. You might however point to the fact that his rise in merchandise sales offset this, but then the drop in tv ratings offsets that counter. WWE quickly got the message, fans weren't buying into Punk as the main event man. The decision was made that John Cena would still be the show closing main event for the majority of shows. It was a damning verdict from management on their faith in Punk as champion. If not for John Cena's long term planned feud with The Rock, the 'doctor of thuganomics' would have had the title back much, much sooner.