Reigns still draws more than Punk

[Roadster]

It's really bizarre to me that SmackDown being marginally ahead of AEW's shows is some big hurrah victory. CM Punk alone won't draw 5m people. The fact is that they're doing numbers unseen for a promotion outside of WWE for the last 20 years, and that's a reason to be optimistic and assess them as drawing well, and competing. WWE will draw more people on name value and availability, alone. If SmackDown is cracking 1.5m and AEW is cracking 1.4m, it's a massive victory for AEW and a massive loss for SmackDown. That's how expectations work. Unless we're to assume the company with the most recognizable names in wrestling barely edging a company that's 2 years old is somehow a big win.

 

[InsaneAlphaBeta]

Ya know I think Roman Reigns does move the needle more then punk, just look at the movement on this graph.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Both times Punk showed up on AEW, he drew the same rating they were getting before he debuted. He couldn't even get AEW to beat the worst Raw rating. Blood and Guts got a 1.09 million and a CM Punk episode of dynamite got a 1.17 million.Reigns draws 2 million weekly. Do you think with Bryan they will get to 1.4 million like before?

No, actually they did better with Punk. This week's Dynamite was up 20.2 percent from Dynamite last week. That is an amazing figure.

Furthermore, Dynamite was up 37% in the 18-49 demo, which is the most important audience.

This is extremely significant and Roman Reigns has NEVER appeared on a show that got a boost like that from the previous week.

 

[Jacob Fox]

I think being able to sell out a stadium on just a rumor alone speaks volumes. I don’t pay attention to ratings, I just enjoy what I enjoy, but, we can’t ignore the fact Punk alone got the place sold out on “maybe he will be there, maybe he won’t”.

WWE has never sold out the United Center. Not one single time. AEW did in within minutes. So I agree with you about that.

I was at Summerslam 94 and there were missing seats. I was at both Wrestlemania 13 and Wrestlemania 22 at the Allstate Arena. Again, empty seats especially 33.

Jim Ross seemed to made a crack about WWE when he said that he hadn't been in the United Center since 1994. Because WWE knew they couldn't sell it out with a Chicago crowd, they never went back.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Both times he showed up on AEW, CM Punk drew the same rating they were getting before he debuted. He couldn't even get AEW to beat the worst Raw rating. Blood and Guts got a 1.09 million and a CM Punk episode of dynamite got a 1.17 million Even the first episode of AEW has that same rating.Reigns draws 2 million weekly.

The first episode of Dynamite was two years ago. You cannot compare a two year old rating and say that Punk didn't draw because of that. The fact is that, as I put in an earlier post, Punk's appearances drew bigger ratings than before he debuted. You have to compare it to last week's rating, not a rating two years ago.

It doesn't matter if Dynamite can't beat Raw yet. They are still a new company. But they have grown faster than any company in wrestling history. The ratings they have gotten have been fantastic and WWE should be worried.

 

[Marty McFourth]

I think being able to sell out a stadium on just a rumor alone speaks volumes. I don’t pay attention to ratings, I just enjoy what I enjoy, but, we can’t ignore the fact Punk alone got the place sold out on “maybe he will be there, maybe he won’t”.

It literally sold out in minutes on a rumour. That is just insane.

 

[InsaneAlphaBeta]

The first episode of Dynamite was two years ago. You cannot compare a two year old rating and say that Punk didn't draw because of that. The fact is that, as I put in an earlier post, Punk's appearances drew bigger ratings than before he debuted. You have to compare it to last week's rating, not a rating two years ago.

It doesn't matter if Dynamite can't beat Raw yet. They are still a new company. But they have grown faster than any company in wrestling history. The ratings they have gotten have been fantastic and WWE should be worried.

Espacially when you look at the downward trajectory of WWEs ratings and interested (as demonstraighted in that graph above) Meanwhile we dont even have Daniel Bryan yet, or Adam Cole, or Bray Wyatt. And if AEW does get all 3 of them to go along with Cm Punk, it will be huge for them in the long term.

And the long term growth of the company is far more important then short term growth, even if Punk being there doesnt keep the ratings this high for long, he still presents long term value for the company as a whole, same with all those other names. They all are long term investments.

Meanwhile WWE is killing their own company, granted they have so much money they will be here for many years to come even if their ratings fall off a cliff, but still they are in trouble if they dont have the foresight to see where things are headed if they stay on this path.