Jim Ross has a theory on why SummerSlam tickets are not moving, and it is not the card.
Asked about the sluggish sales on Grilling JR, the WWE Hall of Famer said the company is missing the one thing that has always driven business.
“I would say that WWE doesn’t have any one wrestler that’s just white hot. You got to have somebody hot. Somebody that people are talking about, and they don’t have that right now,” Ross said.
He was careful to separate that from the quality of the roster.
“They got a lot of great talents. I’m not saying that, but it’s always been a matter of how they’re utilized,” Ross said. “They got to do a better job of utilizing their talent and seeing where that takes them. You got to get somebody hot.”
Ross reached for the era he called to make the point.
“Wrestling has always been, at least in my opinion, an attraction-driven business. That’s like back when Austin was on fire, he would come out and they’d do a run-in or something. And it worked. They got ratings and people loved it,” Ross said. “Right now, WWE doesn’t have somebody in that role.”
The sales have been a talking point for weeks. WrestleVotes reported that the situation has been a concern inside WWE for around a month, and WrestleTix numbers have put the two-night totals at roughly 22,000 for August 1 and 23,000 for August 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Night one of last year’s SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium sold 50,493 on its own, with WWE claiming a combined two-night attendance of 113,722.
Dave Meltzer noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE has been running a 25 percent discount that has not moved the needle in any meaningful way, and that he does not believe the company was expecting a sellout, though the current numbers are short of what it had in mind. WWE’s current setup at the venue caps the sellable seats well below the stadium’s full capacity.
The card itself is not short on names. CM Punk defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins, and Brock Lesnar meets Oba Femi in a Hell in a Cell match in Lesnar’s home state.
