Low Ratings for RAW - Is it Panic Time?

[MR.SCOTT]

I've been reading and reading..no body has mentioned ECW? Regardless of if you like the talent a lot, it has hurt the company. Spreading the roster out to three shows will lower your ratings, combined with poor storylines. If Burke,Punk and etc. where on Raw or Smackdown more ppl would tune in to see the entire show. the problem is that you have so much filler crap in between decent matches by the time you get to the main event, you don't give a damn.

i disagree, the three brands are what are saving the wwe financially, the reason that raw is getting such a low rating is because of one thing, john cena, im sorry to say this people but the dude was pulling in the kids, he gets injured and blam the company suffers, and it doesnt help the fact that creative are such balls, that they dont know how to put on a product, creative and the wrestlers need to get together and work on the next break out star, in order for that to happen people need to get there heads out of there arses, simple as

 

[ACTAFOOL]

You are partially correct. The way to build the young talent is to put them with or against the old talent. Putting Randy Orton with HHH and Ric Flair attributed to his success, and you can't deny that. When Goldberg Debuted in WCW, it was his feud with the NWO that created a fan favorite.

Part of the problem in what you said, is that you are talking too much about developing the wrestlers, and not solving the problem of attaining new fans.

Personally my reason for tuning into the WWE for the first time was when they brought back the NWO. My interest only peaked when Shawn Michaels returned to in-ring action, and my attention stayed when Kevin Nash came back to fued with HHH.

I hope I am not alone in thinking that big names bringing in fans to take notice to the younger stars is the way to go. Honestly I would rather see the legends then the immature personalities of today, but if that same thing can help increase ratings, what's the harm?

well theres a difference, if u want ur old fans, u get big names, if u want NEW fans, u build new big names.. in other words john cena

though i agree that they need big names to put over the younger stars i dont think the show should just be about the big names, cuz sure that will bring some old fans back, like u for example, but then the new fans wouldnt know whats goin on, not every kid knows who scott hall is, i mean maybe they know there name but they dont know any of the things hes done, and at this time of their lives these guys cant perform that well, except for the likes of undertaker, HBK, HHH, Sting and some others

but if u keep depending on big names for too long the WWE will be filled with ric flair likes in the next couple of years

they should use the big names they still have that can wrestle to put over as many young stars with potential to be great as much as they can... TNA has great home grown talent that id love to watch even if they didnt have any legends or big names there

if they build the wrestlers up well, they will gain new fans, and thats what they want, new fans for the new superstars, the old ones that stuck with them, great, the ones who didnt, too bad, now they want new fans and best way to do that is to creat many ''john cenas'' in my personal opinion =/.. but who knows.. im not saying big names dont equal ratings im just saying its not really a solution, its more like a quick fix...

 

[Ckstunner]

Ever since I stopped watching Raw, The ratings have been

 

[Cena Sucks]

I really think Vince needs to get his head out of his ass and get it together, along with the creative team of WWE. Creative, Lmao, pffft. Anyways, they need to bring the more of an Attitude Era or bring something like it back.

Every week, this family friendly crap is killing WWE, they more cupcake pussy they get the less fans that watch, they need to not care, and just go all out, thats what the fans want. They don't want to see John Cena vs HBK with the match going like this:

"STFU, KICK BOOM, 1,2,3!!! JOHN Cena winS K??"

No, they want to hear JR Say this:

"Here, in the hell in a cell, both competitors are bleeding, they have steel chairs everywhere, the announce table is destroyed, a big fat man has been thrown in the back of a truck full of hay."

WWE, bottom line:

GET TOUGHER, OR BE LIKE TNA.

 

[The Fat Kid Toucher]

WWE is falling apart, vince(who is a peice of shit for letting things get this bad) is letting his ego get in the way of good ideas, usa is sending better ideas than vince has, so he didnt want to use them because of the companys ego.

 

[Lee]

WWE is falling apart, vince(who is a peice of shit for letting things get this bad) is letting his ego get in the way of good ideas, usa is sending better ideas than vince has, so he didnt want to use them because of the companys ego.

Vince McMahon runs a wrestling empire. He knows what he's doing. How do you know they were decent storylines? And it's just hearsay anyways.

I really think Vince needs to get his head out of his ass and get it together, along with the creative team of WWE. Creative, Lmao, pffft. Anyways, they need to bring the more of an Attitude Era or bring something like it back.

The attitude era is long gone, get over it!

Every week, this family friendly crap is killing WWE, they more cupcake pussy they get the less fans that watch, they need to not care, and just go all out, thats what the fans want. They don't want to see John Cena vs HBK with the match going like this:

"STFU, KICK BOOM, 1,2,3!!! JOHN Cena winS K??"

How? The majority of wrestling fans start off as a little kid, I know I did and if you take the family friendly crap out of it then that just removes all your kids. Rather simple Raw is for the family friendly crap...PPVs are for your diehards.

No, they want to hear JR Say this:

"Here, in the hell in a cell, both competitors are bleeding, they have steel chairs everywhere, the announce table is destroyed, a big fat man has been thrown in the back of a truck full of hay."

A good point here, but WWE doesn't have the maineventers to have a 6 man HIAC match, which is a shame. Again WWE need to be innovative, move on and not dwell in the attitude era.

WWE, bottom line:

GET TOUGHER, OR BE LIKE TNA.

What do you mean by or be like TNA?

 

[Cena Sucks]

A good point here, but WWE doesn't have the maineventers to have a 6 man HIAC match, which is a shame. Again WWE need to be innovative, move on and not dwell in the attitude era.



What do you mean by or be like TNA?

They do have the talent, they just need to exploit it, for example, on Raw they have:

Randy Orton
Triple H
HBK
Jeff Hardy
Ken Kennedy
Carlito
Umaga

On Smackdown they have:
Batista
Khali
Edge
Undertaker
Finlay
Rey Mysterio
Matt Hardy
MVP
Kane

IF they really needed to, they could move Kane or MVP over to Raw and push them into a match like that, Kane has been in these matches before and is very good at them, they need to push it.

As for the TNA comment, i meant dead low ratings.

 

[PDecicco]

I think part of the problem is pushing the talent that's already over instead of building new talent.

Jeff Hardy is probably the 3 top face on Raw...maybe even 2nd now that Cena is out. If he loses a few matches it's not going to hurt him.

So they need to have him lose to a Kennedy or even a Cody Rhodes. Make them look a little bit better.

The tag team division has Londrick, Highlanders and Rednecks right now, maybe get a new team or two that can cause a jumpstart i the division. Holly & Rhodes isn't gonna cut the mustard. Get another APA type of team that people are going to respond to.

Bring back a star as an on-air personality. If you can get Austin as a commisioner people will respond to that.

You don't need a new faction wars and there will never be another Austin vs McMahon feud. But that doesnt mean they can't make a new storyline that can come close.

 

[Lee]

They do have the talent, they just need to exploit it, for example, on Raw they have:

Randy Orton
Triple H
HBK
Jeff Hardy
Ken Kennedy
Carlito
Umaga

On Smackdown they have:
Batista
Khali
Edge
Undertaker
Finlay
Rey Mysterio
Matt Hardy
MVP
Kane

IF they really needed to, they could move Kane or MVP over to Raw and push them into a match like that, Kane has been in these matches before and is very good at them, they need to push it.

As for the TNA comment, i meant dead low ratings.

OK baring in mind that there's a single brand matches in the PPVs. I'm going to take everyone out of your list who is injured or not an established main eventer, as that was the whole point of my argument that at the time of the Armageddon HIAC all six were main eventers allready.

Raw;
Randy Orton
Triple H
HBK

On Smackdown they have:
Batista
Khali
Undertaker
Rey Mysterio

That's not enough to have a single brand 6 aside HIAC match.

The reason why ratings are low is because people are giving up on wrestling, not just WWE, that's obvious with the turn to MMA. Also there was a MLB game and a huge NFL game on at the same time, that added to only 30 minutes of actual wrestling in a two hour show!

 

[Reaper]

I think if you took Vince Mcmahon and his entire family off tv for a month and booked a couple extra matches and turned a 4:00 tag match into a 8 or 10:00 tag match ratings might go up. Right now this isnt WWE its ME! (McMahon Entertainment)

 

[drock24]

I know the WWE is talking about the last time RAW did this low of a rating on a non holiday was blah blah blah...but also , people have to take into account that all the viewers up here in Canada were celebrating our thanksgiving on that day too...I know that's why I missed RAW

 

[krm495]

Now is the PERFECT time for someone to step up to the plate, Now is the time for another hogan,or another austin, to come along and usher in a new era for sports entertainment

 

[ErkBono23]

lol first of all i believe it is way to early to go into panic mode..it was one raw in a week where certain things must be taken into account...canadian thanksgiving...the yanks vs the indians etc...i believe it is to early to start saying its time to panic...is it perhaps a warning? maybe...there champion is on the injured list as well..lets c this weeks raw...i mean hbk is back...if the next raw has something similar to this weeks rating..i would say thats a definite sign that something needs to be done but i gurantee that wont happen

 

[wmxix]

I'm usually not a proponent of quick fixes, but let me make a suggestion for upping Raw's ratings a bit: No more commercial breaks in the middle of matches! Serioulsy, I know they think that by doing this people will stick around to watch whatever crappy commercials their sponsors have Scotch-taped together, but it just makes me change the channel. Can you imagine what would happen if the NFL did this? "And there's Tomlinson to the 40...the 30...the 20...and we'll be right back after this quick commercial break." Riots. That's right, riots would happen.

 

[CHUCKY123]

What do you expect, when their top guy goes down, especially cena because hes the reason all the young kids and the women watched. But i think with the return of hbk and jericho coming back, ratings should rise. Also i think they should give kennedy, carlito and other mid carders pushes so theres more guys in the title picture, so that it is more exciting. But to answer the question im not panicing at all.

 

[Jaysin]

I hope the low ratings continue then maybe we will see something worth watching like back in the 90s

 

[Summerslam]

No way is this a great start for Randy Orton. I thought coming off No Mercy with a fresh face as champion things would have worked out a lot better but it looks like the fans got turned off maybe because Orton is champion? If the ratings drop each week Orton shell not be champion for long.

 

[jpfizzle]

two points: the wwe title now hardly ever changes hands on raw, so matches become predictable. the tag team and womens championships dont change on raw either.. i think that to make a wwe championship feud more convincing heading in to ppvs have the title change hands on raw a few times so that by the time you get to the ppv you cant wait to see who finnaly gets the last word, im not saying maek the ppv man event the raw main event with a stipulation, im just saying that this will not only help with feuds and storylines but it will also help new ppl into the main event picture and provide more of a rotation than we've been getting.

point two is i think that raw needs to work on its mid card matches, its like theyre scared to have a mid card match take away form the main event, alot of mid carders are stars of the future, how are they ever going to get good practice if they arent allowed to have more than a 4 minute match. and when will they learn, squash matches dont get a wrestler over, heel or face.. all they do is take away from a wrestler in the mid cards ability to tell a story.

 

[Slim Pickns]

I think if you took Vince Mcmahon and his entire family off tv for a month and booked a couple extra matches and turned a 4:00 tag match into a 8 or 10:00 tag match ratings might go up. Right now this isnt WWE its ME! (McMahon Entertainment)

Good point.

The only show I watched without leaving to do something else or changing the channel is ECW. Why? Because ECW in its one hour has more wrestling than RAW. RAW has two hour and around a half hour of wrestling. ECW has one hour and 35 minutes of wrestling. Also, RAW has far more commercial breaks and always seems to take them during a match rather than Triple H's 20 minute entrance.

Call me crazy but I think people watch a wrestling show to see at least some wrestling. RAW always has the main focus as something going on backstage, remember when the final 15 minutes of RAW used to be a wrestling match. The final minutes of RAW now is something like the every superstar shake Ortons hand or John Cena Title Surrender. I'd rather see Punk vs Morrison six weeks in a row than a different RAW non match segment.

Lastly, yes Vince has done some weird stuff to boost rating, the child storyline and the "death" storyline, but he is also to blame for the decrease as there are more Vince promos and backstage segments than wrestling. It seems stupid that the ratings are declining and they keep up with the Vince and Triple H mocking each other instead of showcasing Carlito, Shelton, London, and Kendrick. Now when they finally showcase them, no one will be watching.

 

[Summerslam]

Good point.

The only show I watched without leaving to do something else or changing the channel is ECW. Why? Because ECW in its one hour has more wrestling than RAW. RAW has two hour and around a half hour of wrestling. ECW has one hour and 35 minutes of wrestling. Also, RAW has far more commercial breaks and always seems to take them during a match rather than Triple H's 20 minute entrance.

Call me crazy but I think people watch a wrestling show to see at least some wrestling. RAW always has the main focus as something going on backstage, remember when the final 15 minutes of RAW used to be a wrestling match. The final minutes of RAW now is something like the every superstar shake Ortons hand or John Cena Title Surrender. I'd rather see Punk vs Morrison six weeks in a row than a different RAW non match segment.

Lastly, yes Vince has done some weird stuff to boost rating, the child storyline and the "death" storyline, but he is also to blame as there are more Vince promos and backstage segments than wrestling. It seems stupid that the ratings are declining and they keep up with the Vince and Triple H mocking each other instead of showcasing Carlito, Shelton, London, and Kendrick. Now when they finally showcase them, no one will be watching.

I think Vince Mcmahon has been under a lot or pressure to try and boost ratings but he just can not seem to do it today. With no wrestling company to match him or bring out the best in him makes it very hard.

I bet Orton is under stress first night as champion and ratings drop – not good.

 

[NYSandman]

What might save RAW is a change. I mean, for almost two years it has been the same formula. Heel in authority, either Vince or Coach, putting babyfaces in rediculous matches. Two on one, three on one, your father is injected with aids if you don't beat 250 guys in a battle royal...It's getting PLAYED!

Get a freaking babyface in charge for awhile. When Foley was GM, RAW was different and funny.

Let's see what RAW is about tonight. McMahon pitting Triple H against 10 opponents, chasing Hornswoggle around, and making Coach feel like shit.

Possible angle I would L O V E to see. Coach finally gets tired of being bullied. He goes on a two minute promo burying Vince, and then when Vince tried to fire him, Coach reveals he setup some type of underground contract when he was GM, giving him the right to take over as GM again. Then, Coach could be a face GM for awhile. You would have to get Vince out of the picture though, because what good is a face GM if Vince can override his decisions? Have him in court with his family for a few weeks, or have Triple H sledgehammer him into ******ation or something. I like Vince, but his scumbag character is getting played. It wouldn't be so bad if there were a monster babyface to fight back, like Austin. I know DX mentally tortured him, but he NEEDS to have his ass kicked more often. Fans will always love to see Vince beat to a bloody pulp, not just mentally tortured. All this heel power shit is getting on my nerves. I've always liked heels better, but lets do something different with different heels.

The babyfaces need to have some power for awhile. It's been Vince and Coach for over two years, and Bischoff before that!

RAW has been using the same formula for 2 years now, and when some formulas get stale, they smell like shit. That's the problem with RAW.

 

[Wall_of_Jericho]

I wouldn't say it's time to panic. Vince needs to understand that it is freakin' hard to compete with the NFL on a Monday Night when it's one of the most popularly watched sports in the world and wrestling is not. He can try everything he wants to get ratings but wrestling will always come out on the losing side when it goes against the bigger, "real" sports.

 

[FoleyIsGod]

I wouldn't say it's time to panic. Vince needs to understand that it is freakin' hard to compete with the NFL on a Monday Night when it's one of the most popularly watched sports in the world and wrestling is not. He can try everything he wants to get ratings but wrestling will always come out on the losing side when it goes against the bigger, "real" sports.

Its true about the NFL destroying the WWE on a Monday night. In the UK, the WWE is still massive although still lagging behind the likes of football(what you guys call soccer), rugby Union/Rugby League (what Americans call football, minus the padding) and the UFC.

The WWE need to start producing television that is more aimed at the 18-35 demographic, being more action packed drama like Lost, 24 or another male-themed soap. Not the Cena show

 

[Derf]

What might save RAW is a change. I mean, for almost two years it has been the same formula. Heel in authority, either Vince or Coach, putting babyfaces in rediculous matches. Two on one, three on one, your father is injected with aids if you don't beat 250 guys in a battle royal...It's getting PLAYED!

Get a freaking babyface in charge for awhile. When Foley was GM, RAW was different and funny.

Let's see what RAW is about tonight. McMahon pitting Triple H against 10 opponents, chasing Hornswoggle around, and making Coach feel like shit.

Possible angle I would L O V E to see. Coach finally gets tired of being bullied. He goes on a two minute promo burying Vince, and then when Vince tried to fire him, Coach reveals he setup some type of underground contract when he was GM, giving him the right to take over as GM again. Then, Coach could be a face GM for awhile. You would have to get Vince out of the picture though, because what good is a face GM if Vince can override his decisions? Have him in court with his family for a few weeks, or have Triple H sledgehammer him into ******ation or something. I like Vince, but his scumbag character is getting played. It wouldn't be so bad if there were a monster babyface to fight back, like Austin. I know DX mentally tortured him, but he NEEDS to have his ass kicked more often. Fans will always love to see Vince beat to a bloody pulp, not just mentally tortured. All this heel power shit is getting on my nerves. I've always liked heels better, but lets do something different with different heels.

The babyfaces need to have some power for awhile. It's been Vince and Coach for over two years, and Bischoff before that!

RAW has been using the same formula for 2 years now, and when some formulas get stale, they smell like shit. That's the problem with RAW.

I agree totally. I think that Vince should just walk away. Coach should become someones manager (Maybe MVP or Burke), and Regal should become the GM that he was appointed a few months ago. Except he shouldn't do talk shows, he should GM. I think getting rid of the whole Vince storylines altogether would be great, cause all we've seen for almost two years now is a constant feud between Vince and HHH/HBK.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Yes it is time to push the damn panic button. TNA just went two hours and is putting on consistent PPV shows. WWE fans are tuning in to playoff baseball and Monday Night Football without conflict.

However, the best way to push a panic button, is to start by doing nothing at all.

I have seen the button pressed an awful lot in WCW, and the results were a disaster because it threw everything into a state of chaotic flux. Pressing the "PANIC" button is vastly different from pressing the "RESET" button. Wrestling fans aren't stupid, despite what some columnists think. WCW tried a few times to end feuds and treat them as though they'd never happened, vacate titles to start fresh, etc. That frustrates talent because they aren't sure whether what they are doing will even pan out.

Here's my step by step advice:

1. They need to take their time. Pressing the button too much too quickly will confuse the casual fan, who in turn will walk away completely. It will also anger the talen seeking consistency.

2. They need to take advice. There are too many egos in the talent relations room (see - Tony Atlas / CM Punk, Michael Hayes, etc.) to coexist with wrestlers. When wrestlers are able to offer input, it makes them feel more comfortable.

3. They need to take the fans seriously. Don't force Snitsky down people's throats. I have heard that people who work for WWE troll IWC boards like these to keep a finger on the pulse of the "uber-fan" or "smark." Well, they should know that most casual and serious fans don't want to see hulkish bodybuilders who can't work a match. Many people would rather see legitimate talent in the likes of Matt Hardy, JBL, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and of course Santino Marella instead of The Great Khali, Mark Henry, and Snitsky. Size doesn't equal talent.