October 15, 201410 yr Author comment_5633452 Lesnar vs. Mir II drew 1,600,000 buys Wrestlemania 28 drew 1,217,000 buys Mayweather vs. De La Hoya drew 2,400,000 buys The three biggest drawing PPV events in the history of MMA, Pro Wrestling, and Boxing. Boxing clearly wins in popularity, having broken the 2 million buys threshold on more than one occasion. So what do professional wrestling and MMA need to do to outdraw Mayweather? "Champion vs. Champion" "WWE vs. UFC" "The Rematch Of The Century" "WWE World Heavyweight Champion" Brock Lesnar vs. "UFC World Heavyweight Champion" Cain Velasquez - Co-Promoted by WWE and UFC (which immediately puts this ever happening to bed) - The contest itself would be a shoot (referred to by WWE as "MMA rules", rather than openly admitting that their business is worked) but neither title would be on the line (for obvious reasons... Can you imagine Velasquez winning the WWE title?) I'd guess it would do less than the million it did the last time it happened. Well who is the biggest drawing heavyweight in UFC right now? Dos Santos, Overeem? TBH, I could see Overeem coming over to pro wrestling when he's finished in MMA.
October 15, 201410 yr comment_5633458 Velasquez is definitely the biggest heavyweight draw. It's just that 1) MMA has cooled of a bit since then; 2) Lesnar got DESTROYED in that fight; and, 3) If it happens in WWE, maybe 1/4 of the UFC's fans would watch. MAYBE. As for Overeem, I hope not.
October 15, 201410 yr comment_5633476 I'm dubious about Punk being listed as one of the big draw guy. He's a great wrestler, but when you look at Brock's record, who was his weakest opponent? Punk at SummerSlam. Even MITB 2011, while a memorable environment, was not monster business for WWE. Maybe distance makes the fan's wallet grow fonder, but I think he's not in the league of Rock, Brock or even Austin when it comes to being a meaningful draw as part of a mega-event atraction match.
October 15, 201410 yr Author comment_5633478 I'm dubious about Punk being listed as one of the big draw guy. He's a great wrestler, but when you look at Brock's record, who was his weakest opponent? Punk at SummerSlam. Even MITB 2011, while a memorable environment, was not monster business for WWE. Maybe distance makes the fan's wallet grow fonder, but I think he's not in the league of Rock, Brock or even Austin when it comes to being a meaningful draw as part of a mega-event atraction match. Yeah, he wasn't a massive draw, but he could very well be under the right circumstances. His abrupt and in-definitive hiatus from WWE only serves to strengthen his drawing power upon his eventual return (which will happen). There has always been fan interest in Punk, along with massive potential to be a big star. The potential has always been wasted or dwindled due to booking and simply not following through, in favor of the status quo - no wonder Punk got so frustrated Lets assume Steve Austin IS going to come back for Wrestlemania 31. That might be the ticket to WWE re-signing Punk, provided he gets his match against Austin (which they've both talked about in the past) and the main event. XXXI could be huge business with a triple main event like XIX. So you are drawing money for Austin's return match, but you are also drawing big for the sudden return of CM Punk too.
October 16, 201410 yr comment_5633534 I think we se What's the biggest potential drawing match in 2014-2015 that has a realistic shot of actually happening? I'd say Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan, with Stephanie getting to shave Bryan's beard herself if he loses and Steve Austin as referee, but that's just a shot in the dark. Austin has said that he's done doing special guest referee stuff. But maybe he'd do it if it were the Main. I think we see Austin WRESTLE at 31 or 32. He's said himself that he's training for it, and I think he got the itch back at 30. Austin has actually said numerous times on his show that he was misquoted. He was talking about getting back into shape about something else and people took it the wrong way. He actually said he was training for a comeback to Gold's Gym, because he didn't want to work out there while out of shape.
October 16, 201410 yr comment_5633605 I think we se What's the biggest potential drawing match in 2014-2015 that has a realistic shot of actually happening? I'd say Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan, with Stephanie getting to shave Bryan's beard herself if he loses and Steve Austin as referee, but that's just a shot in the dark. Austin has said that he's done doing special guest referee stuff. But maybe he'd do it if it were the Main. I think we see Austin WRESTLE at 31 or 32. He's said himself that he's training for it, and I think he got the itch back at 30. Austin has actually said numerous times on his show that he was misquoted. He was talking about getting back into shape about something else and people took it the wrong way. He actually said he was training for a comeback to Gold's Gym, because he didn't want to work out there while out of shape. You know, I knew I shouldn't have listened to dirtsheets that wrote the stories literally a month after the Podcast where he actually said it (or didn't say it..) Apologies.
October 16, 201410 yr comment_5633640 I think we se What's the biggest potential drawing match in 2014-2015 that has a realistic shot of actually happening? I'd say Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan, with Stephanie getting to shave Bryan's beard herself if he loses and Steve Austin as referee, but that's just a shot in the dark. Austin has said that he's done doing special guest referee stuff. But maybe he'd do it if it were the Main. I think we see Austin WRESTLE at 31 or 32. He's said himself that he's training for it, and I think he got the itch back at 30. Austin has actually said numerous times on his show that he was misquoted. He was talking about getting back into shape about something else and people took it the wrong way. He actually said he was training for a comeback to Gold's Gym, because he didn't want to work out there while out of shape. You know, I knew I shouldn't have listened to dirtsheets that wrote the stories literally a month after the Podcast where he actually said it (or didn't say it..) Apologies. I assume Meltzer didn't write this. Why would anyone listen to any other news source for wrestling?
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