Is wwe checking Punk's drawing power with TLC?

[hellod245]

So we have TLC PPV upon us in 5 days and we still not sure if Cena is going to compete in or not. He is not officially in a match there yet. WWE didnt do anything to promote or build hhh/nash showdown. Mark henry/show is fighting 19th time on a ppv and I almost forgot that barret/orton match is also there. There is no match with much build up or momentum other than Punk/del rio/Miz. That made me thinking that Is wwe trying to check cm punk's drawing power with TLC ppv? He is only one promoted and featured exclusively with the ppv's posters and everything.

For me I think this is the case here. WWE is indeed checking punk's drawing power with this ppv. If he manages to pull better number then he will officially become face of the company and we will get closer to Cena's heel turn. I wish I could order that ppv just to help CM Punk but I cant as I live outside America. Nonetheless I wish him best of luck and to pull some good numbers and establish himself officially as a big draw in wwe.

 

[HoHo]

Is this a test hell yeah.Kane vs Cena could happen, but WWE wants to see if Punk can put butts in the seats, and to see if the buyrate for the PPV will be higher or about the same if he's in the Main Event rather than Cena.Also if the PPV does well, Punk might be WWE Champion after WM, maybe close to a year.

 

[gunnascott]

No to be honest it just seems like they want to focus more on a the RTWM and see TLC as a pitstop. There's no build and most people believe Punk will retain anyways most likely they're betting on the new interest in Kane of anything.

 

[xBANEx]

Well, it may be possible but let's hope not if they're saying they expect TLC to have some really low buy rates.

 

[Imbtr10u]

I hope this is a start of a trend of not putting every top star on every PPV. With the WWE network on the horizon and rumours that all but big 4 PPV might be on the network, maybe stagarring the big main event stars though out the lesser PPVs will be a good thing, making the big 4 more important. If you look they semi alreay started with it HHH, Taker, Rock, Jericho now maybe Cena working a program then disappearing for a while making there presence more important. I feel like that was a key to the success in the 80's hogan didn't wrestle on every episode of super stars u were lucky to get an interview, made the PPV payoff worth waiting for.

 

[DCubedxDDD]

If it is the case I sure hope the E doesn't base their future plans for Punk on the buyrate. I dont see how this PPV is worse than Capital Punishment. I have ordered every PPV this year but that one. It could have been the name that turned me off or the actual card, dont really remember. I am cautiously optimistic that this PPV will exceed expectations due to the intrigue of what Kane could or could not do and the Main Event TLC WWE Title match which should be a great bout with Punk and del Rio stealing the show. The fact that some sources within WWE are expecting low buyrates tells me that this shouldn't effect Punk's future plans or atleast I hope not.

 

[closet_fan]

i don't think so. this is one of the PPVs that the E really doesn't put much effort into, but crank it out anyways to get a few extra buyrates for the month.

like xBANEx said, the E is already expecting there to be low buyrates, so hopefully they don't think Punk will be the sole reason.

if anything, this should be one of the PPVs they dump if they ever started reeling back the amount of total PPVs for the year. the novelty has sort of worn off.

 

[wushady]

I don't think their testing Punk's drawing power. The whole show including his match hasn't had the greatest build to it. Ryder vs Ziggler has been building for a while and the Orton vs Barrett match has a descent build to it. Other than that the show just seems thrown together. The December buy rates are usually down. It almost seems like they just don't care to put much effort into this PPV.

 

[billm75]

I would hope that's not what they're doing. If it is, they are basically saying they want him to fail. Not that we know the details of the contract, it seems they paid BIG TIME to keep him for another 5 years or so, and it would be counter productive to put him out on a limb like that.

This PPV has had the least amount of build up to it that I've ever seen. Maybe it's their perceived lack of a top heel to challenge for the WWE title, or maybe Vince & Co. are truly batshit insane, but they've done absolutely nothing to get me interested in this show.

Earlier this year, they held 3 ppv's inside of two months, and that last one had a soft build to it, and it even felt more important than TLC does.

Is it possible that they're missing Edge and Christian and the Hardys now that they're coming back around to TLC, and facing the fact that they have to do this without their top TLC performers? Or is it simply that they dropped the ball, trying to build too many other storylines of minor importance?

 

[WunNightStan619]

I really dont think they should use this as a drawing gauge. He's being put in a crappy ass match with a a crappy ass build with two ppl who def dont draw. I dont think its fair if they test his drawing power with such little support

 

[XXJJ]

Probably not. Raw ratings went down after his shoot promo. Summerslam buyrates were down too. Why would they think Punk can increase TLC buyrates?

 

[The Idiot]

Another example of why not having competition hurts the product. They don't HAVE to put on a good show so they won't. It's a shame, really. Vince and the WWE can put it in cruise control whenever they want...

 

[The12thMan]

Problem here is there is absolutely no build up to really any match. The HHH/Nash feud is pretty much stale at this point and lost lots of steam. Ryder and Dolph won't too bad and yes I think Ziggler will be a star shortly.

This will truly be a test for CM Punk. Even though he signed a huge deal and will continue to get pushed, we'll see if he can really draw as a top babyface. If he can't that will pretty much say that Punk is good, but not a top draw.


To be honest I think the only way the WWE can draw more viewers is to have guys like Punk and Cena be more edgy. Have Punk be the next coming of Stone Cold and come on...who didn't like Cena when he was rapping all the time?

 

[suleman09]

If he case is that the WWE is just throwing this PPV together to get it out of the way then that's just pathetic. They barely come to the DC/MD/VA area in the year. I live in VA, and i am going to TLC, i don't get to go to much matches, i go to 1 event every other year. Last one i went to was Survivor Series 2009. So when they come around town i get pumped and buy a ticket as soon as i can. And i would hate it if they were just pushing this as a "lets just get passed this one so we can get to RR".

 

[AwesomeAngle]

There was a period of time shortly after the Chris Benoit incident where I stopped watching wrestling. I believe John Cena was out with an injury right? Well, what was going on during that period of time between WWE's July 2007 PPV and Cena's January 2008 Royal Rumble return? Who was considered the face of the company who had to "put asses in seats"? Who was considered the top heel? I think answering these questions can help answer the question about CM Punk being tested.

 

[Dayno]

Possibly. They may be seeing how it goes but to test someone's drawing power you cant really have them in a triple threat match (Which for all we know will end up being a fatal 4 way with Cena) and with a returning HHH vs. Nash in a ladder match on the card which should for all intensive purposes be able to main-event most ppv's.

Given that, as people have said, WWE doesnt expect a large buy rate anyway they may just be giving Cena a well deserved rest and seeing how things run without him. Whilst personally the adding of Cena vs. Kane would make this ppv seem outstanding already have some great matches and I hope Cena doesnt appear.

 

[WORD-LIFE-16]

For what ever reason that I cannot phathum, Vince McMahon has not been pushing TLC at all, I remember last year TLC was pushed almost as much as Survivor Series, the previous event before TLC. this year WWE just don't seem interested with event, they should ditch it. They expect a bad buy rate because they have done an awful job of building the matches and the story lines and have not made the fans want to invest in this event. I don't think WWE are testing punks drawing power at all. I think that the fans won't invest simply because for 50 dollars, people don't care who is on the card, even cm punk, Cena is not even on the freaken card. Which is dumb because that will contribute to low buy rate.

 

[Defekt]

I hope not. TLC looks pretty missable.

Big Show vs Mark Henry and CM Punk vs Del Rio vs Miz are matches that have taken place (in one form or another) several times now recently. I doubt either title will change hands and am kinda tired of both these storylines.

HHH vs Nash will be interesting since it's Nash's first match for the WWE in years, but it also strikes me as a stupid gimmick match WCW would have done 10 years ago.

I'd say the undercard is actually pretty strong, but PPV's are expensive, and I think I'll save my money.

 

[WrightTurnPunk]

I just worry that the WWE are going to do the same thing to Punk as they did to Del Rio after Summerslam, because ratings for Raw were low they threw the belt back on Cena, cause they got cold feet. The only way fans will warm to Punk is if he has a good long run with the belt and bring some prestige to it, and not play pass the parcel with Cena, Del Rio and The Miz.

 

[HamSwissman]

I wouldn't be surprised, and I'm sure Punk will get the blame. Current Punk will not draw for long (if at all), it is as simple as that. His pops are already dwindling. Punk was babyface before, and how did that turn out? He turned heel due to being stale and became amazing. He is not John Cena. He is C.M. motherfucking Punk. Please WWE, stop trying to make him a Cena clone and just let him be him. I miss the Voice of the Voiceless already.