Poor Attendance for "Backlash 2017"?

Maybe they’re still filing in? To say that the ending to “Backlash 2017” was a bit divisive is an understatement. The story of Jinder Mahal rising up to the top of the “Smackdown Live” main event scene wasn’t the most well received but the question was how many people would show up for the pay per view. As it turns out, the answer is that it’s not as many as it probably should have been.

According to the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter” by way of 411mania.com, “Backlash 2017” had an attendance of somewhere between 9,800 and 10,000 people. This may sound good but for the sake of comparison, a September 2016 house show drew about 9,500, a “Monday Night Raw” in March 2016 drew 10,800 and “Payback 2016” drew 13,250. The early numbers were looking good but tapered off once the matches were announced.

Opinion: Is this really the biggest surprise? Fans have been leaving “Smackdown Live” in droves lately as they really don’t seem interested in what the show has been presenting. Why would they then be interested in paying to see the matches between the same people? It really doesn’t make sense and I’m not sure it’s going to work going forward either.