Will RAW Get Amazing Ratings Again?

[OIL]

During the attitude era, Monday Night RAW was getting around 6.0 (correct me if thats wrong?).

Now, RAW is getting around 3.5 constantly. Don't get me wrong, that is still a very good number, but I get the feeling that RAW can do better.

For example, the 15th RAW Anniversary Show got something around 4.5.

After that, RAW went back down to around 4.0 ect. That large number, regardless of it being a special show, shows that there is potential for RAW to be getting around 4.5, as all they need to do is keep the viewers that they got for the special.

For me, they need to keep the belt off Cena until next year, AFTER WrestleMania 25 to show the "Anti-Cena" people that the WWE can keep the title off him. Also, it will make the title picture refreshing.

Do you think the WWE can get higher numbers, and what do you think they need to do to get the high numbers?

 

[Lil Wes]

It will under one thing only. If TNA starts to be solid competition and gives WWE a run, if not. Never.

 

[Cage917r]

No, I dont think it ever will unless The Rock decides he wants to wrestle again and Stone Cold Steve Austin is magically healthy enough to wrestle again. Right now WWE does not have the star power to get those ratings and I dont see anybody in the WWE right now who will ever be as big as they were.

 

[Shocky]

nope

 

[RadioGaGa]

No, I dont think it ever will unless The Rock decides he wants to wrestle again and Stone Cold Steve Austin is magically healthy enough to wrestle again. Right now WWE does not have the star power to get those ratings and I dont see anybody in the WWE right now who will ever be as big as they were.

Let's be honest did anyone think that the Ringmaster and Rocky Maivia would mean ratings back in 95/96. Look how they turned out. There are breakout stars waiting to happen like MVP and Kennedy. Although as has been stated already The Raw rating won't rise unless they are in competition with TNA, upping the stakes

 

[Cage917r]

Let's be honest did anyone think that the Ringmaster and Rocky Maivia would mean ratings back in 95/96. Look how they turned out. There are breakout stars waiting to happen like MVP and Kennedy. Although as has been stated already The Raw rating won't rise unless they are in competition with TNA, upping the stakes

MVP and Kennedy may be "breakout starts waiting to happen," stars in the current day WWE term of stars, but lets not kid ourselves, they are not the next Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. Thats not going to happen, they have potential, but they dont have that much potential, seriously. TNA becoming a threat could raise there ratings, but not to the level it was during there prime, during the heart of the attitude era, its not going to happen.

 

[OIL]

Hmm I like the arguments you guys are coming with.

As far as a breakout superstar, we already have that. John Cena. If you like it or not, he IS the main guy. A few tweaks to his character and the crowd could get on his side.

MVP and Kennedy remind me of The Rock and Stone Cold. MVP has the arrogance that Rocky had in his early days, and give Kennedy time, change his music back, turn him face, give him a push, and there you go. Might not be as big as Stone Cold, but he would be big.

Randy Orton can be the breakout heel if you will for this generation, and he has all the right attributes for this. Give the WWE about 2 years, and prehaps with better storylines and the development of current stars, the ratings may be a sold 4.0.

 

[OIL]

nope

Care to say why?

 

[Cage917r]

Okay, John Cena is a star, but not at the level of Austin or The Rock, Kennedy and MVP may remind you a little bit about Austin and The Rock, but they will never be Austin and The Rock, expecting that out of them is rediciulous. For those reasons they will never get back to were they were during the attitude era. There are so many reasons why it will never get those ratings again, it is kinda obvious, which is probably why Shocky simply said nope.

Regarding Orton, he does have a chance to be a great heel, but not even he can bring WWE to the level it was at with Austin and The Rock, it just isn't going to happen.

 

[OIL]

Gotta admit, that is true.

Ok prehaps not the out of this world 6.0 ratings that they were getting or w.e, but prehaps get solidly 4.0 or over everytime?

Could they get that du think?

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Its possible to achieve those ratings again...but extremely difficult.

Ten years ago, when the Attitude Era was starting and ratings were booming, we not only had those Monday Night Wars that people always attribute it to, but we as a society were also different. People like to blame a lot of things on technology and whatnot, and its ridiculous how they do, but this is one case where you can actually blame something on it. The YouTube/MySpace era is making it so ALL media is changing, some for the better, some for the worse.

Think of it this way. Rose-colored glasses come into effect when people talk about how "TV was better back in black & white because everyone watched it". Some like to argue that the Andy Griffith show was fantastic because everyone from that era was a viewer...but they neglect to think that, back then, you only had maybe 10 channels. If you didn't watch Steve Allen, you didn't watch anything. The less competition, the more people focus on you. Now, we have literally almost a thousand channels to choose from on top of YouTube and MySpace entertaining people. Naturally, numbers are going to be down from 10 years ago when there was less competition.

There's also the issue of talent. WWE is lucky enough to have a large number of insanely gifted individuals, but they have a tendency not to show them off. This Monday's Raw in England was one of the few times in recent history where the show revolved around wrestling as opposed to promos. Its insulting to the fans when they watch and half the time is plugging a new t-shirt in the middle of a mic segment, talking about "shop @ wwe.com", the new King of Kings dvd, the new ppv, the song you used on the ppv, etc. Then there's all the recaps of what has gone on in the past 3 weeks, and they run those recaps on all 3 shows. If you miss an episode, oh well, they'll show me half of it on Smackdown and ECW anyway. If someone is popular, WWE either runs with it or kills it completely. In the latter case, why should someone keep watching? If someone started getting into WWE in 07 because of Kennedy, why would they watch now, when Kennedy isn't even on, isn't being pushed, isn't being given the microphone, etc? Then there's the "Cena issue". If an overwhelming amount of the noise you hear is a negative response, maybe cut the guy's screen time down a little bit so the fans aren't just in a pessimistic mood for half the show. WWE needs to push someone when they're popular, make someone popular when they aren't, and show more of their product as opposed to their merchandise.

Its possible to return to higher numbers, but not by continuing the way they're running things. The phrase "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" works in the reverse. If its broken, fix it. You can't fix a problem if you continue using it the way its being used without tweaks. If you want consistent 3.5 numbers, don't change a thing. If you want 4's and higher, make some changes. If it fails and you get a 1.9, then you know you did something wrong, so you do the opposite. For instance, if you see that right now, you've got a 3.5 average. You give less screen time to...idk...let's just say Umaga. Then you find out that your ratings have gone down to a 1.5. Massive failure. So what do you do? You give Umaga more screen time than he had when you had 3.5 numbers. If that works and you start getting 4 and higher, then you know you made a good choice. If there isn't a change, then that's not the problem, something else is, so change something else around. WWE needs to take a few risks now and again, as 2 oddly bad episodes aren't going to make you lose a large chunk of your audience (unless its just really THAT bad, and if that's the case, you know its Creative's fault), but 2 oddly amazing episodes might gain you some long-lasting notoriety.

BTW OrtonIsLegend, that is one hell of a sexy pic of Kelly Kelly in your sig lol.

 

[Derf]

There is a HUGE reason that RAW's ratings have gone down. Yes, wrestling has gotten worse over the years, but wrestling itself has nothing to do with the decline. Two words describe the problem: Reality Television. It's not the wrestling that has changed and gotten that much worse, it's the addition of so many other great TV shows on all those Monday nights with RAW. Back in the day, I might not remember it as I was a kid without cable, but I'm willing to bet that there were ALOT LESS things to watch on a Monday Night then there are now. Now to al of you saying the idea is to get more stars (ex MPV, Kennedy), make people leave (ex Cena), that will not work at all. I know alot of people don't like Cena, but I highly doubt we lost so many people who loved wrestling because they don't like John Cena. And if he did leave, I doubt people would flock to the TVs just to watch again, case and point Oct 07-Jan 08. And the new "SuperStar" lacking we have, it's all a matter or opinion. Back in the day, Stone Cold and The Rock were Household names, cheered or boo'ed. And wether you like it or not, John Cena is also now a household name, as is the Undertaker and Shawn Micheals. People that never watch wrestling still knowe those 5 guys right now, and will for years, just because they are that huge. That won't make them tune in though.

So will RAW ever have HUGE ratings again? well if a 3 hour special can't do it, the regular two hour repetitive fest won't.

 

[OIL]

This Monday's Raw in England was one of the few times in recent history where the show revolved around wrestling as opposed to promos.

Deffo agree with you there. The wrestling was fantastic. If they had more shows where it was about showcasing the talent, letting them wrestle and put on great matches, they would get more people watching because of how athletic it is. You do have to have a few promos to continue a storyline, granted, but just don't over-do it.

For instance, if you see that right now, you've got a 3.5 average. You give less screen time to...idk...let's just say Umaga. Then you find out that your ratings have gone down to a 1.5. Massive failure. So what do you do? You give Umaga more screen time than he had when you had 3.5 numbers. If that works and you start getting 4 and higher, then you know you made a good choice. If there isn't a change, then that's not the problem, something else is, so change something else around. WWE needs to take a few risks now and again, as 2 oddly bad episodes aren't going to make you lose a large chunk of your audience (unless its just really THAT bad, and if that's the case, you know its Creative's fault), but 2 oddly amazing episodes might gain you some long-lasting notoriety.

Sounds like a good idea. What they could do, see how the ratings do after a month or so of having less John Cena promos, and prehaps push Mr Kennedy on the mic, shove him into the main event scene. That would show the viewers that the WWE will push someone else besides John Cena (to all the Anti-Cena people), and hell, having Kennedy chase Orton for the WWE Championship would be awesome. Turn Kennedy face tho.

BTW OrtonIsLegend, that is one hell of a sexy pic of Kelly Kelly in your sig lol.

Damn straight lol. The sooner she gets on RAW and wins the Women's title, the better IMO.

 

[Father:_Polley]

if kelly kelly is next women's champion, things can never improve.

i honestly think they'll never get better, simply because the majority of fans that watched during the attitude era don't watch any more.

 

[OIL]

Lmao, personal opinion man. Gotta admit, she is hot. lol

Yeah but we don't need to keep those specific viewers, just get new ones.

 

[Cage917r]

Execting Raw to ever produce the ratings it had in the attitude era is a stretch, a big stretch. I mean just look at it right now, last weeks Raw got a 3.2 rating? A 3.2, are you serious that is half of what Raw averaged during the attitude era. At this point WWE would probably be happy to have it back up around the 4.0 range consistantly, but that looks like it might even be tough at this point. There are a few things holding WWE back right now from producing monster ratings and giving them there mediocre ratings:

1. The lack of superstar talent. I know there are a bunch of supporters for guys like Kennedy and MVP who say they could be the next Austin and Rock, well let me tell, there will never be another Austin or Rock. People dont seem to understand how great those two were, they were two of the best "entertainers" in the history of this business, not the best wrestlers, best entertainers. They are a huge reason why WWE drew those massive ratings, the primary reason, WWE does not have talent like that right now.

2. The talent split: I know that recently there has been more interaction between Raw, Smackdown and ECW stars, but the split is definetely hurting the ratings. The primary reason is that people dont have to tune in every night to see there favorites wrestle. If you are a huge John Cena fan, then you only have to watch Raw, not Smackdown or ECW to see him. If you are a total Taker' mark and you watch wrestling to see him, well then you can just turn on Smackdown and last night ECW to see him, but Raw might not be your priority. I believe WWE drew its best ratings before the talent split, makes sense, a show with all the stars on it will draw better.

3. Lack of competition: The fact is that the Monday Night Wars created more wrestling fans, the WCW vs. WWE competition helped both companies immensly. Without that competition, the ratings for wrestling as a whole are down and unless TNA becomes a legit threat to WWE, which I dont ever see happening, there is a good chance WWE Raw will never produce the ratings it did during the attitude era.

These are three things that are hurting the ratings right now, if they aren't righted, then I dont expect Raw to ever get those monster ratings again, and since I dont see the Rock or Austin walking through that door, I dont see the talent ever being combined again because they make more money when seperated and since I dont see TNA as ever being a threat to WWE, I dont see Raws ratings ever being as high as they were during the attitude era, it just isn't going to happen.

 

[OIL]

Hmm fair point.

Yeah you're right, MVP and Kennedy will not be the next Rock or Stone Cold, but they have the ability to be pretty big. And some of their characteristics are the same, which is why they remind me of Rock and Austin.

The WWE does have that household name tho, John Cena. Prehaps the WWE needs one or two more. Kennedy is a big choice for it, Orton, Batista (I know people don't like him but y'know).

One of my mates hates wrestling, can't take that its fake or whatever, but he saw The Marine. Now he loves John Cena because he thinks that he is an awesome actor, so now he follows RAW on the internet to see what happens with him. Eventually, if he gets over the fact that its scripted, then he may watch RAW.

WWE Films can help the WWE a lot by promoting the stars, but they need to advertise the brand aswell.

Just on the DVD, have the RAW, SmackDown! and ECW logo on the back, just so people think, "Hey, I like this film, John Cena is an awesome actor, lets see what he's famous for"...then they may get into wrestling. Thus, bigger ratings.

 

[moneymoneyyeahyeah07]

that's tough if they want to get those high freaking ratings they have to stop making like superman cena is overrated he has like 4 moves if he was gone and they pushed young guys like kennedy and mvp and make less squash matches because if every raw their is a squash that's what makes bad and the matches why can't you have more gimmick matches like first blood hardcore hell in a cell matches more often that would improve the ratings they go have made the sandman manger at the battle royal but no wwe made regal win because they knew he had already done it that is bullshit change the gm I hope the draft can change some shit if the three hour special next week for king of the ring revoles Mr kennedy or mvp winning that would be good because then we would not have to see the same guys winning it triple h won it the another guys don't need it but I hope if cena wins I will get pissed the guy is a fucking piece of shit he wins KOTR the bitch will win the wwe on backlash and have for forever until he is the longest reiging wwe championship in history fuck can wwe give a young star the title because no one is going to be a another stone cold or rock but try to get them good as can be like kennedy he was going to get a push and feud with hhh for the wwe title at wrestlemania 24 but his injury plus taking roids ruined that orton can be a good heel and the women's divison is still there it has to have some good diva left but the women divison is so fucking boring I might hate them but Tna's is much better I say just get rid of the wwe womens divison their is almost any diva know can wrestle maria sucks ashely sucks layla too kelly kelly don't get me starting with her candice michelle. only victoria melina mickie james and beth phoeix are kinda good the others are their for their looks but they suck big time.


Well that all I got cena is a bitch and a asshole take it easy p.s how the hell do you guys can pictures on your thing can you tell me and fuck you edge and chavo

 

[OIL]

Well that all I got cena is a bitch and a asshole take it easy p.s how the hell do you guys can pictures on your thing can you tell me and fuck you edge and chavo

Cena is a bitch? Like it or not, he is the BEST thing in this business today.

Fuck Edge and Chavo? No thanks, but Edge is the best heel in the business today. and Chavo, ain't got anything against him, give him time.

 

[Starchild]

Ok, to answer the question..no the ratings will never be THAT high again, consistently up into the 6s, 7s, and 8s will not happen. TNA will never compete with WWE on the level wCw did so there won't be competition like that. Secondly, the reason it worked so well then is because of how it changed. Raw started in '93, Nitro in '95...in the beginning they were nothing special, except a primetime wrestling show which was different and fun to watch.
But then the business evolved..into a more risqué style. Everyone was jumping ship, you had a group trying to take over one company (nWo) and you had Austin kickin' Vince's ass week in and week out while brawling anyone that stood in his way, most notably The Rock.
The characters were outlandish and it was very different from your traditional NWA-type event. But it worked and everyone was entertained by it, yours truly included. Now the nWo just got stale, but the WWF didn't..they just kept churning out great material until wCW went under. Now it's like they get decent draws and make tons of money and there is no competition in the near future, so why change? That is their philosophy of course.

Now this is not to say ratings couldn't rise. That would just take a bit of effort on the part of the writers. I understand that it's hard to come up with material every week for 15 years, but you have to put some effort forth the make it work. Austin was injured and can't wrestle anymore except for occasionally coming in and raising hell, and the Rock wants to distance himself from the company to further his acting career. I don't like it any more than the next fan, but the fact remains...they aren't coming back. Yea I could see Austin maybe do some training and do a one last match type thing at WM25, and maybe even Rock too but that is all other than the occasional appearances like now.
So moving forward you have to use what you have. Cena is the draw, Orton and Edge look to be the big heels out of this generation. MVP and Kennedy are about ready to make the move to the top. And there is no way of telling that these guys won't be all-time greats. Rocky Maivia was initially terrible and the Ringmaster was nothing special himself. To say that MVP/Kennedy don't have a chance of reaching that? We have no idea what they are capable of just like we had no idea that the Rock would join the Nation and soon become a star or Austin would drop Dibiase, win the KoTR and make that famous speech that jump started his career and the Attitude Era. So if they could treat the employees right and really try to do their job and do it to the best of their abilities every week, then the future looks bright for WWE.

Now as for the now. There has to be some drastic changes. Maybe do something about the brands. I like that you get to see more talented, but when that talent is Val Venis jobbing to Snitsky or a simpleton that goes mad when he hears a bell (though no heel decides to ring the bell DURING the match to stop him) then there is no point. Put some new feuds out there..such as Undertaker with just about anyone from Raw or HHH/HBK with Smackdown/ECW. Make some factions..it works. Horseman, DX, nWo, Evolution it always works if done right. I was excited about the New Hart Foundation coming cuz it would have made them instant stars, but that didn't pan out obviously. Put some older and younger talent in a stable together and make sure they all get over..that'll give rise to the young guys. And you really have to go out there if you want to increase them now and make the one move that though it's 5-10 years late, STILL could work.....
Get Sting. The man can still perform great, but time is ticking. He's the one guy that fans wants to see go to WWE more than any other. I mean, could you imagine...Sting vs HBK, Sting vs Undertaker, Sting vs Rock at WM25???? (Rock did say that is who he'd like to face). There is still an incredible amount of money to be made from those, but you have to do it in the very near future. Who cares if he's under contract to TNA? That never stopped WWF or wCw during the Monday Night Wars, why should it now. And for God's sake DO NOT job the man out. Continue to establish him as the icon he is and if nothing else have him go 1-1 with those guys. Might not be the end we were looking for, but at least we finally got to see it.

I would guestimate with these changes strictly followed, and done within the next couple month...by the time 2010 rolls around, WWE will be back in the consistent 5-6 ratings range.

 

[ABS]

- If you to boost ratings instantly for Raw ? Give Cena the title back , or make him the main chaser or turn him heel ( will boost the ratings thorugh the sky ).

- Orton shouldnt be a champ again , yes he was a great heel as a champ but rating didnt get any special other than his fued with Hardy.

- Push Hardy to the MOON , some may not like him but thats what the majority wants to see.

- No bash here but remove Trips from the title scene.

- Have a cena feud with Jericho this time switch the heel - face.

So basiclly if you want to see high ratings number , I dont get how people bash them but Cena and Hardy are the ones who will do Awsome for WWE ratings.

In a long run with 2 year , Just Wait for Kennedy and Smackdown waits for MVP.

 

[Capt. Charisma]

Ha Kennedy drawing 6.0 ratings?! Wow I knew Kennedy fans were dillusional but that takes the biscuit.