Meltzer turns on CM Punk

[CrazySting]

Basically, him and Alvarez were talking about the low Payback buyrate on WOR last week (it did something terrible like 101,000 domestic) and then Meltzer, after being the guy's biggest fan for years, went into a rant about how Punk couldn't draw and how it proved his critics in WWE correct.

Direct quotes from Dave Metlzer below on Payback's buyrate and CM Punk:

"Punk's first match from Mania"

"If a guy really is a superstar and he is out for two and a half months his first match, if he really is a superstar, should mean something"

"He is a star who can't draw"

"What you're telling me is he can't draw nationally"

I actually have to defend Punk here since I would actually pin it on Ryback not being over as a heel too. But it probably wasn't a good sign for him that people weren't that eager to buy the show he returned on.

What do people think?

[Deleted]

I just don't care much about who "draws" and buyrates and the like. I don't work for WWE.

[Sc]

It's about damn time.

[________ has left the building]

Dave currently has a super massive hardon for New Japan right now so his love of gaijin wrestlers is very low.

[thelonewolf527]

It's not like Daniel Bryan's gonna do much else either...

[airraidcrash]

Cena/Ryback feud was beyond played out and a Jericho/Punk "fighting spirit" match isn't really interesting at all. You can't really put the blame on one guy.

[Sparkybob]

I don't really care much.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

Not to be a dick but is there a link to the whole interview? I'm not really a fan of using out of context quotes to determine whether or not I agree with someone.

[CrazySting]

Aug 12, 2013 18:16:21 GMT -5 @rrnew said:

I just don't care much about who "draws" and buyrates and the like. I don't work for WWE.

The fate of WCW proves why fans should care about the business side, at least a little.

[Deleted]

Oh wow he really s... WHO CARES?

[Widow's Peak]

Meltz and the gang talking about how Punk can't draw is kind is nothing new. Of course, if Punk can't draw, the next question becomes "who can?" It's obviously not Cena, or Lesnar, or The Rock, or Orton...

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

There's also the fact that no one person really "draws" in the traditional sense in WWE. People pay to see the brand name.

[Lazy peon]

Meltzer turns his back on the WWE Universe.

[CrazySting]

Aug 12, 2013 18:19:21 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

Not to be a dick but is there a link to the whole interview? I'm not really a fan of using out of context quotes to determine whether or not I agree with someone.

August 4 WOR. It's subscribers-only though.

[CrazySting]

Aug 12, 2013 18:20:07 GMT -5 Widow's Peak said:

Meltz and the gang talking about how Punk can't draw is kind is nothing new. Of course, if Punk can't draw, the next question becomes "who can?" It's obviously not Cena, or Lesnar, or The Rock, or Orton...

Cena, Rock and Lesnar actually can though.

Orton...eh, he could at one point. Not sure about anymore.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

Pretty much all of the current main eventers are good draws for specific demos. Punk hooks the older fans, Cena hooks the kids and lovers of Hogan style heroes, DBry hooks the workrate fiends and more kids, Sheamus hooks Euro fans, Brock hooks people who previously followed him and fans of "big fights", etc.

It's all a collective effort now, especially with how the WWE brand sells itself lately, so I think the "so and so can draw" debates are becoming less relevant.

[thelonewolf527]

See the problem with people saying "It doesn't matter to me who draws and who doesn't draw, I don't care" is that when their favorite person gets depushed, they'll be all mad and act like there's no logical reasoning for someone getting depushed, when stuff like this is a pretty darn good reason why

[Deleted]

There's no one in the company that could leave for a few months, come back, and have their first match back pop a buyrate unless it was some dream match.

Unless you want to count someone like The Rock who isn't on the roster.

Does that mean no one on the fulltime roster is a real draw? Maybe so.

[KobashiChop]

Meh, i have no beef with Meltzer, but when i listen to people talking about "draws" in the current WWE structure, I just switch off.

Punk was champion for a year, buyrates hovered at the same rate, ratings hovered at their same high-2/low-3 point, he sold big quantities of merch, there were plenty of people there to see him at shows.

Nobody "draws" in the WWE structure, there is such a heavy sense of overexposure so nobody can really become a guy who you'd specifically pay PPV money to see, especially when Cena and Punk are wrestling a 20 minute WrestleMania main event on free TV. It's what works so well about having Brock Lesnar. He is a special attraction, and he is treated like one. It's just one of the unfortunate side effects of the TV model that began in the Attitude Era that we're seeing today, it's that you aren't going to pop big buyrates for these low-end PPVs that are ultimately meaningless even if someone like CM Punk is having a big comeback match. We've seen him wrestle Chris Jericho earlier that year in what was considered a great match.


Royal Rumble, Money In The Bank and WrestleMania are the only Pay Per Views that really mean anything.

[CrazySting]

Don't know about PPV, but Punk isn't a ratings draw. Raw was doing frigging 2.5s and 2.7s on a regular basis when he champion and WWE was building Raw around his reign. Say what you want about Cena, but at least they're doing 3.0s on a regular basis again.