According to The Wrestling Observer (via via Rajah), Randy Orton in not happy with the way that his merchandise is handled at WWE live events. He has even re-tweeted fans that complained that John Cena merchandise is front-and-center and that there isn’t enough Orton merchandise.

The reason that Cena’s merchandise is front and center and that there is less of Orton’s is because as a whole, heels don’t sell a lot of merchandise. Brock Lesnar is considered an exception, as his merchandise has been selling well. Also Cena’s merchandise sometimes outsells all of the other items combined.

Orton is considered bulletproof, and it not expected to be punished at all for speaking out on the matter.

Of course Cena's merch is selling well when very little of the other wrestlers stuff is put out there....

So, basically, Orton can keep on "bitching, and whining, and moaning, and bitching, and bitching" (Quoting someone whose name must never be mentioned #sarcasm) and he'll still be a Main Eventer, while others get dragged back to mid or even lower card status? That's motivating for sure.

^^ Yeah, THAT's why Cena sells more merch.

Well Cena's would be in more demand.

Exactly. It's fucking retarded to say Cena only sells more merch because it's put out there more.

I mean, it has to be at least a small factor that Cena has way more merch than anyone else (at least, he did at the last event I attended), and it's usually taking up a good quarter of the display. Not saying that's the main factor, but you can bet any casual fans who just bought tickets for a night of fun and don't follow the product are going to scoop up the Cena shirts/wristbands/hats/whatever for primarily those reasons.

I don't believe that for one second. That's like saying the Avengers toys only sold a lot because they were shoved in everyone's faces. It's the other way around. They were shoved in everyone's faces because they are so popular. People like Cena, they buy his merch, so it is put out there more. If something is making you a ton of money, you milk it.

Man, no one is gonna just go out there and buy merch just to buy it, they buy it because he's the most popular guy they have

^ If you believe that, then you've never seen a non-wrestling fan parent taking their wrestling fan kids to a show.

Like I said before, it's not the main factor in deciding sales, but it does matter.

If it does matter, it's almost so small and irrelevant that it makes no difference. The only situation where I can EVER see that happening is if some mom and her kid, neither of which know ANYTHING about wrestling, decide to randomly go to a show for no reason and buy the first piece of merch they see.

Realistically, no one does that. Kids bug their parents to buy them Cena merch because they love Cena.

I don't know, I see lots of adults at house shows who know nothing about the current roster other than what they saw in a local advert. I remember being in line to go to a house show around this time last year with some guy who had no idea who The Shield were, even though they were in the main event. He just wanted to see a show and drink beer, and I could totally see that guy just buying the first shirt he sees as a souvenir. However, that guy is probably just as likely to buy one of the shirts with 8-12 wrestlers faces on it, so I don't know. I also don't know how common people like that are at house shows and live events.

You're probably right, though, it can't be a major factor. Most people willing to dish out money on the merch know who they like and what to buy. I never go near the vendors at house shows, myself, it's like someone packed Black Friday down into one hallway.

Hahaha

Plus I imagine it's a lot more expensive too. Easier to buy it elsewhere.

You guys think the company puts Cena's merch out there because they're trying to create demand for it?

No, Cena's merch is out there because it's the stuff that sells the most, not the other way around. WWE is trying to make MONEY. They will put out there whatever there is a demand for, and all signs point to that being Cena.

Which group is most likely to buy a T-Shirt at the merch stands for $25? -- Children
Which superstar are the children most likely to request? -- John Cena

Now what can get in the way of that purchase? ... If the kid already has the John Cena shirt you're trying to sell! So what do they do? Produce a new one every month or two and sell it!