WWE TLC 2013 PPV buys: John Cena vs. Randy Orton title unification not a big draw

After a couple months of disappointing pay-per-view (PPV) numbers for shows like Battleground and Survivor Series, WWE got desperate and decided to book a rushed storyline featuring WWE Champion Randy Orton taking on World Heavyweight Champion John Cena in a title unification match at the TLC event in December.

It was heavily hyped, pushed as one of the most important matches in company history.

And it still managed to draw just 181,000 buys.

That's according to the fourth quarter numbers released by WWE today in advance of its conference call with investors. The good news, at the very least, is that the number is up from the previous couple years but not by much. Here's how it stacks up to the past few TLC shows.

TLC 2010 (John Cena vs. Wade Barrett): 195,000 buys
TLC 2011 (CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio): 179,000 buys
TLC 2012 (John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler): 175,000 buys

Cagesider BIGPALE has an in-depth breakdown on what the recent WWE PPV numbers might mean in regards to top talent, but there's little doubt at this point that the WWE Network is a major risk the company badly needs to pay off, especially considering PPV providers like Dish Network (and others likely soon to join them) no longer offering WWE events through traditional means.

Your thoughts on TLC failing to crack 200,000 buys for such a major main event, Cagesiders?