• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

WWE Raw drops to lowest TV rating in 18 years

Status
Not open for further replies.
UberTag

UberTag

Member
jmdajr said:
I don't even know what the main story line is.

Cena: "I defend my title!"
Wyatts hate 75% of shield
Rollins: "look at me."

That's it really.
Click to expand...
I can add a couple more to that list.

The divas all hate each other... but because they're having "a revolution" they're all in tag teams for some reason.
Big Show: "I'm a giant!" (that was the entirety of his month-long pre-MSG storyline where he buried a good portion of the midcard)

Ummm... are there any others? Does breast cancer awareness count as a storyline?

On the bright side, we're only 3 months away from riveting storylines like "I'm pointing at a sign, I bet you can't point at the sign too" and "old people we watched 15 years ago come back to actually fight instead of just stand in the ring and talk" and "I want to make a Wrestlemania moment" (whatever that is... apparently, for most guys, it's that they want to win the Andre the Giant battle royal... as if that's ever done anyone any good).
 
N

NastyBook

Member
Not surprised Austin wasn't a big draw. I don't give a shit about him on the mic, versus him in the ring with his boot up somebody's ass. Same thing with HBK. That's The Rock's domain, and the last time I saw him do it, he totally torched the shit out of Lana and Rusev. Heard it didn't bring in the ratings, though. So they should probably stop dragging out these guys to band aid a bullet wound, and start thinking about what to do with the talent they have on the roster to make them more compelling a watch. Only group that does that for me now is The New Day, and you already got ppl here calling them stale.
 
R

RBH

Member
Man, I forgot that Cena is taking a leave of absence after this Sunday.



tumblr_nom43j4ECK1srbyoyo1_250.gif
 
Y

yuraya

Member
The less Cena the better. He should really just take a break for a couple years. Go do something else like movies or music.
 
Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Member
LockonStratos said:
I do wonder if Vince still texts CM Punk from time to time..I remember Punk said that he and Vince were text buddies in the early AM because none of them could sleep.
Click to expand...

You don't sign firing papers for Cm Punk without Vince giving the final word. I don't think they text each other.
 
I

Ithil

Member
NastyBook said:
Not surprised Austin wasn't a big draw. I don't give a shit about him on the mic, versus him in the ring with his boot up somebody's ass. Same thing with HBK. That's The Rock's domain, and the last time I saw him do it, he totally torched the shit out of Lana and Rusev. Heard it didn't bring in the ratings, though. So they should probably stop dragging out these guys to band aid a bullet wound, and start thinking about what to do with the talent they have on the roster to make them more compelling a watch. Only group that does that for me now is The New Day, and you already got ppl here calling them stale.
Click to expand...

When Rock showed up for Rusev it was a surprise that came out of nowhere with no prior warning. So of course it wouldn't drive up a rating.
 
S

Son Of D

Member
Toki767 said:
With Cena taking a vacation after Sunday, they're putting all their eggs in the Roman Reigns basket.

They're pretty much screwed.
Click to expand...

Cena's leaving for a while after Sunday? Wonder if that means he'll drop the title then feud with whoever beats him when he gets back (leading to Mania maybe?).

And they're going with the Reigns push again... Why do I get the feeling we'll see a repeat of this year's Royal Rumble in a few months time?
 
V

Voysa Reezun

Banned
They've killed off almost everyone they have with 50/50 booking, they actively kill pushes of guys who get over organically, and they are dreadful at booking and pacing storylines that are often rushed through across six weeks of Raw and two PPVs.

But they still garner enough of a rating that USA will keep them. Bonnie Hammer loves them. They are also developing a corporate footprint. They don't care about creative right now. They care about the corporate side of things. Vince is looking ahead to after he's dead and making sure that his company has a foothold when he's gone.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
Son Of D said:
And they're going with the Reigns push again... Why do I get the feeling we'll see a repeat of this year's Royal Rumble in a few months time?
Click to expand...
He has to break his own record for eliminations, you see.
And D.Brine won't be around so this time we'll HAVE to get behind Roman.
 
S

Spirit of Jazz

Banned
Aaron-Lagann said:
But Cena has been the only consistently entertaining part of WWE for months now. And that pains me beyond belief to say.
Click to expand...

Cena's been doing the same shit he's been doing for years. I honestly don't get what people see in his US title reign other than a modicum of self awareness in that he's not claiming to be an underdog. He's still cutting the same promos, not putting anybody but himself over and having the same match again and again. They even fucked up whatever renown he was building for the US title by having him give it to Seth for a month then immediately taking it back then not having him drop it legit until he takes a break.

If you like Cena that's fine, but I just can't see how he's improved at all as of late.
 
Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Member
The New Day isn't stale, it just goes nowhere. Even the fricking Union was involved into a gigantic storyline in some capacity, and it was midcarders or upper midcarders WWF just had no idea what to do with.

So clearly, the big problem is the main event storyline of the WWE. There is absolutely NO synergy with what's below.

Ok, so Rollins is a bad guy champion, and these two who own the company are with him. Kane is supposed to work for him but his inner self wants to kill him, so it evoked this demonic persona who is making Rollins miserable.

Cool, how can you tie at least 5-6 more wrestlers into this without it being "oh hey, I'm gonna have Rollins team up with [INSERT OTHER RANDOM HEEL HERE] on the ground that they're all bad guys"? You can't.

They really should go back and watch Smackdown from September of 2002 to April of 2004. Then again, RAW from late 98 all the way into December of 2000, then also Smackdown.
 
M

MBS

Banned
WWE is the shadow of it's former self and it's so depressing. Current "superstars" are garbage (Rollins would be at very best a C-list filler wrestler in Attitude Era), Cena's persona is not longer relevant as it once was, and they consistently burying young talent without any good reason. At least HHH is trying to build something with NXT.
 
T

Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!

Member
Couleurs said:
No one cares about Raw, but Mania will be fine since it draws people from all over the world no matter how shitty the card is.
Click to expand...

It draws people from all over the world, but not that many people. They range from 70-80k and don't sell out most of the time (and if they do, they have to drastically reduce ticket price). They are going to have to come up with an extra 20-30k if they want to sell it out. They usually get 15-20k from the local market and 50-60 from outside. This year they are going to have to get 40-50k local and 50-60 non local. Not being able to sell out the 18k American Airlines Arena locally should worry them.
 
L

Lothar

Banned
Time to hire Vince Russo back.

Admittedly he is an idiot, but an entertaining idiot. He'll at least try to make storylines. They don't even try to do that now.
 
Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Member
Ah, and Reigns had to turn heel long ago.

You booed me? Screw you, side with authority and help Rollins retain against Cena or whatever. Then, either build him up to go tweener and take revenge on Rollins "did you think I had forgiven you for whatcha did 2 me?" or just have him pull a Batista as in Rollins already fearing he might turn face and tries to play him up against somebody else. As of right now, there's absolutely no way to write him back in the main event without it sounding forced up the ass.

Oh, and the Wyatts had to be the Boogeyman family to HHH and Stephanie, setting up a huge feud. It made too much sense for it to not happen, it would've allowed them to call for some other bigger wrestler to help them fend off the threat, instead the Wyatts are doing absolutely nothing.
 
J

Jimmy King

Member
As your username/avatar combo suggests, Cena has a bionic arm and therefore none of his wins are actual clean, but anyone to get a clean win over him must truly be godly*

*Kevin Owens is the exception that proves the rule.
 
V

Violence Jack

Member
I was just wondering if pulling in a bunch of old guys actually did anything for ratings. I'm kinda glad it didn't matter much. I haven't watched Raw since Wrestlemainia, but from reading the synopsis, it sounds worse than I could've imagined. Who the hell keeps making the decision to have it on for 3 hours? If you're going to have a 3 hour show, you'd better have more than 2 or 3 guys that the fans actually give a shit about. But it sounds like there's still no rivalries or storylines to build characters, so what's the point?

I honestly would not be surprised if they're begging CM Punk to come back.
 
D

Dick Justice

Banned
Paracelsus said:
The problem is not Lesnar but Rollins.

Lesnar is too good to be a heel, and nobody in the roster is so over that even if he breaks them up people will hate him. Lesnar was de facto a "as long as he flips bodies everywhere we're okay with him no matter what" tweener. If you build him as a god whoever beats him will be "boo this bitch has been booked against Lesnar to look strong boo", another result of the smark era.

Rollins? He's like Del Rio and 2003 HHH had a baby. It's meant as an insult, at this point even if Sheamoose come out HIAC with the title people will probably cheer him up.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's why a lot of people wanted Bryan to beat him at WM 31, right? Those damn smarks.
 
Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Member
Onion_Relish said:
John Cena will heel turn when he gets back. There is no other way to save RAW
Click to expand...

On what basis?

I hate my fans now

Kids stop buying shirts, wwe is done, they lost their best posterboy.

Yeah, that's why a lot of people wanted Bryan to beat him at WM 31, right? Those damn smarks.
Click to expand...

Apples and Oranges, or Austin vs Rock at Wrestlemania 17. Same neck injury situation too. Ah, and it would suck for Bryan to go over Lesnar because Brock is the better entertainment value of the two by a long shot.
 
D

Dick Justice

Banned
Paracelsus said:
Apples and Oranges, or Austin vs Rock at Wrestlemania 17. Same neck injury situation too.
Click to expand...

Point is, you're acting as if Reigns represents the whole roster in regards to being booed against Lesnar. That was a Reigns-specific problem, not a general issue with someone beating God King Brock.
 
D

Dick Justice

Banned
Voysa Reezun said:
The only reason that they haven't blamed this all on Rollins yet is that he's HHH's boy toy.

They'll just scapegoat Cesaro somehow. Again.
Click to expand...

FTFY.

With regards to Cesaro, I'm assuming he pissed in Vince's protein shake or something. For a few weeks, he was putting on awesome matches with guys like Rusev and Owens (that triple threat was one of my personal favourites) and building up momentum with the fans, then all of a sudden he's jobbing to Big Show and fighting Adam Rose on Superstars.
 
Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Member
Dick Justice said:
Point is, you're acting as if Reigns represents the whole roster in regards to being booed against Lesnar. That was a Reigns-specific problem, not a general issue with someone beating God King Brock.
Click to expand...

Given Bryan is almost done, who else do you see in the babyface area to be so over they could take the gold and run away with it? I see absolutely not one soul, unless for some reason they think it's time to unleash Ambrose and the crowd is firmly with him. Then again, Orton is injured and instead of making it some crazy 2 on 1 handicap match where he somehow wins, the match is off and so is he. Cesaro has been around and away from the upper midcard for far too long, he needs a whole new gimmick to have a chance.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
Dick Justice said:
FTFY.

With regards to Cesaro, I'm assuming he pissed in Vince's protein shake or something. For a few weeks, he was putting on awesome matches with guys like Rusev and Owens (that triple threat was one of my personal favourites) and building up momentum with the fans, then all of a sudden he's jobbing to Big Show and fighting Adam Rose on Superstars.
Click to expand...
Sounds like your typical "WWE superstar" career path to me.
 
D

Dick Justice

Banned
Paracelsus said:
Given Bryan is almost done, who else do you see in the babyface area to be so over they could take the gold and run away with it? I see absolutely not one soul, unless for some reason they think it's time to unleash Ambrose and the crowd is firmly with him. Then again, Orton is injured and instead of making it some crazy 2 on 1 handicap match where he somehow wins, the match is off and so is he. Cesaro has been around and away from the upper midcard for far too long, he needs a whole new gimmick to have a chance.
Click to expand...

Ambrose would probably be my pick, if they could bother to actually get behind him instead of trying to use him to get Reigns over. He consistently gets great reactions, and for that period this and last summer when he was actually being used in the main event against Rollins, he was over as fuck. As much as I'd love for Cesaro to be in the running, no chance considering how he's being booked right now. Though I do think that compared to Reigns, he would likely be met more with apathy than hostility.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

"The Last Of Us" Episode 4 Reaches New Series High (7.5 million Viewers)
2 3
101
7K
Mibu no ookami replied
European Monthly Charts - October 2024: #1 PS5 (-29%), #2 NSW (-10%), #3 XBS (-49%); #1 COD BO6, #2 EA FC 24, #3 Sparking! Zero
Sales-Age 2
96
6K
Loomy replied
WWE and Endeavor (UFC) announce 21 billion dollar deal.
40
3K
thefool replied
Valve and Gabe Newell: When innovation keeps time with silence (a quick analysis of the studio)
Analysis Game Dev
23
1K
Sebastian1295 replied
Circana (NPD) Full Year Software Top 20 Results from 1995 to 2022 (Ranked by Revenue)
Sales-Age
16
2K
onQ123 replied
Top Bottom