WWE: I'd Be More Likely to Buy PPVs If the Int'l Prices Were Charged in the U.S.

The downturn in the U.S. economy has dissuaded many wrestling fans from purchasing pay-per-views to the extent they did in the days of yore.

WWE pay-per-view buyrate numbers have fallen by the wayside for a variety of reasons including—but not limited to—the influx of torrent sites, streams, a decline in the WWE's storytelling ability, cheaper alternatives (bars, theaters, waiting for the DVD/Blu-ray) and other outlets that compete for the masses' expendable cash.

The primary reason, however, is that prices are simply too high, especially in the United States.

Every WWE pay-per-view, sans the grandest show of the year, costs $44.95 in standard definition and $54.95 in high definition.

WrestleMania, on the other hand, runs $10 more for both the SD and HD versions.

If a company like the WWE is going to charge such obscene prices for their monthly extravaganzas, they must focus on presenting the best quality product.

However, this isn't always the case, as some shows that may appear like home runs on paper don't always fulfill expectations.

For example, WrestleMania 27 was arguably one of the worst shows of the year, down there with Capitol Punishment.

On the other hand, events that appear barely thrown together, like SummerSlam 2011, end up being one of the most exciting of the year.

Consequently, if fans cannot gauge which pay-per-views are worth ordering—and often feel buyer's remorse when they do make the "wrong" choice—they aren't likely to make the mistake of plunking down their hard-earned money again.

Because the WWE has not been able to make their exorbitant pay-per-view prices worthwhile for their audience—especially when the DVD/Blu-ray is around the corner for a quarter of the cost—domestic PPV figures have plummeted.

It's gotten so out of control the last two years that the company relies on the international marketplace to sometimes cover nearly half of the cumulative buys for any given PPV.

Not counting TLC 2011's data (which hasn't been made public yet), the last three events in particular—Vengeance, Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series 2011—have egregiously underwhelmed in the States.

The first, headlined by Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena in a Last Man Standing match, garnered the second-lowest buyrate in company history. And of its 130,000 worldwide buys, 60,000 were outside the U.S.

The second, which had a triple threat Hell in a Cell match at the top of the card, did slightly better with 170,000 buys, but 90,000 of them came from overseas.

The third one—featuring The Rock's return to the ring—was a business disaster, earning only 260,000 buys,100,000 of which were tallied from abroad.

So, what does this all mean?

How can the WWE leverage their lagging domestic market to be as receptive to purchasing PPVs the same way their international one is?

The answer is simple: The WWE should charge international prices across the board.

Why is it that WWE followers in the United Kingdom, for instance, only pay the equivalent of $23 to purchase pay-per-views—of those which aren't available for free on Sky Sports One—on Sky Box Office?

Putting it into perspective, that is at least a $20 discrepancy between what U.S. and U.K. buyers are charged.

Surely, not only is a $20-25 per pay-per-view much more affordable, it is a feasible asking price during this particular epoch of the U.S. economy.

I, for one, would be more inclined to click "order" on my remote control without nearly as much hesitation, as I'm sure others would be, too.

Luckily, the WWE is now indeed well aware of how to adapt its PPV model to the United States' slumping economy.

Specifically, the advent of the WWE Network may solve the domestic PPV crisis, after all.

As of now, the plan is to feature every pay-per-view besides the big four (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series) as part of the channel's package.

It remains to be seen if this short-term sacrifice will ultimately spell long-term prosperity.

In the meantime, though, there is no doubt that the majority of WWE fans will be compelled to reap the benefits of the WWE's latest venture, which is scheduled to debut the day of WrestleMania 28.