While there's a general feeling backstage in WWE that the CM Punk chants are already starting to fade out on their own, The Wrestling Observer is reporting there is still concern over the March 3 edition of RAW in Chicago. The possibility of a rowdy crowd in favor of their hometown superstar is much more probable, and it's not something WWE is ignoring.

The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan are both scheduled to return on Feb. 24, one week prior to the Chicago show. However, there are talks of using one or both of them on the Chicago show as a counter method to the CM Punk chants. Neither stars have been advertised for the March 3 event as of yet.

As mentioned, despite the Chicago event coming up, the overall feeling is that the Punk chants have become a non-factor.

There was worry heading into the Los Angeles RAW on Monday that fans would hijack the Cena/Orton main event, so the idea was to use Bryan right before the match to sway the crowd from chanting. With very little to speak of happening in L.A., the CM Punk craze seems to have worn off, with the possible exception of Chicago.

In related news, The Observer is also reporting that there are mostly mixed feelings regarding Punk's decision to leave. Virtually no one agrees with the way he left — walking out just before RAW started – there are some that believe he had valid concerns. It's also going around that Punk was believed to be popular, but that he wasn't a ticket seller and only on a few occasions did he move the needle in pay-per-view business.

That's because L.A. doesn't have a shitty crowd. They should come here more.

realt wrote:

... It's also going around that Punk was believed to be popular, but that he wasn't a ticket seller and only on a few occasions did he move the needle in pay-per-view business.

Randy Orton makes the needle move in Pay-Per-View buys? I doubt even Cena makes much a gigantic difference. PPV is dead.

^ You're assuming every fan is an 18 year old male. 8-13 year olds love Cena and I guarantee you they'll get their rich parents to buy them stuff just because Cena is on it.

Or they'll stream it.

NOW you're thinking of 18+ year old males. Kids dont stream. Or at least, for the most part they don't. I did, but I've been using the internet since I was 9/10.

You know kids are starting to learn how to use computers at younger ages

That doesn't mean they know how to properly stream.

Come on Razor. You gotta remember TNA fucked up their PPV feed and gave people several seconds of porn instead of their wrestling show. It's hard damn it.

I didn't get to watch PPVs for ages, I used to have to wait for Raw to find out what happened, then later down the road I'd finally see it on DVD.  

Then again, I didn't like Cena that much even then so

^ Same and same. Which is kinda my point. Even as a kid, I was pretty internet-adept, and I still didn't really know how to stream until quite a while into watching. I was also never a fan of Cena as a kid, I always rooted for the other person, mainly cause everyone at school loved Cena and I was annoyed of it.

I used to buy PPVs with my friends as a kid, but then again when I was kid the only internet anyone had was dial-up. I don't even know if streaming was a thing, then. In high school I'd sometimes just wait a day and watch the PPV on YouTube Monday before Raw.

Kids are probably responsible for a large portion of PPV buys, and for that if anyone is a PPV draw it's Cena. However, I have a hard time believing even he ever made that big of a difference in the final numbers, since most people (kids or otherwise) who order a PPV do so for a number of reasons. PPVs are too expensive to buy just because Cena's there, especially since he's also on TV several times a week for free. You buy the PPV more to see the conclusion of a story than for any one performer.

PPVs are down regardless of who the main eventer is.

Doesn't matter if they're "down", it matters which is higher.

It DOES matter if the buys are down, because that tells the company that nobody is buying their shit. Do you not know how the business aspect of the company works?

I buy PPVs and Sky sports. Gives me more of a right to bitch over you bunch of criminals.