Hippopuncher12
Member
Haven't paid attention since the "Attitude Era"....man I miss The Rock and Steve Austin. Anyway seems like it just keeps getting worse.
WWE Raw drops to lowest TV rating in 18 years
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BoboBrazil
Member
I hope the ratings keep falling. Under 2.0 will be greatness. Unfortunately they will bounce back after football is over.
Ninja Scooter
Member
He's got a boring personality. Putting on awesome matches only takes you so far. Like, as bad as people want to say Roman and Rollins' angles have been so far, I have doubts that Cesaro could even pull that shitty stuff off.
Vestal
Junior Member
Nope you have what you need right now under contract.
Paul "FUCKING" Heyman
This man made Smackdown the better show of the two when he was the lead Creative person on that show.
UberTag
Member
Pretty much. Sign pointing season and the absence of football always results in a ratings spike.
FeenixRising
Banned
He doesn't want to return to creative though
BoboBrazil
Member
The only bright side is usually less people come back each time.
UberTag
Member
Of course he doesn't. Vince is still alive. Nobody should want to do "creative" under those circumstances.
Actually, that would explain why we have no storylines right now.
woahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
they brought all the old people and the rating went down?
this is great. they don't deserve to be rewarded for cheap bullshit like they tried to pull last night. the only way things are going to change is if none of their "safe" methods of getting ratings up work.
with cena gone, I can see it dropping below a 2.0. very good.
Dick Justice
Banned
Maybe. Maybe not. No way of knowing when he's constantly having the rug pulled from under him like most of the guys on the roster, who have the ability to get over but aren't allowed to. Besides, a few weeks of awesome matches and he was getting great reactions. No shit he won't go far when he suddenly gets demoted to the C show.
And what exactly has Reigns pulled off? Getting "Boring" chants during a promo?
Nerdkiller
Membeur
Dick Justice
Banned
reptilescorpio
Member
Why the fuck would I watch Raw? Why would I watch 4 3 hour sessions of Raw per month?
All I have to do is watch the one hour pre-show before a PPV to get completely up to speed on what's going on and even then most of that hour isn't even dedicated to that. It's insane.
This 100%. The booking is shit, the storylines are shit.
Hell just look at the facts. NXT is compelling. Raw is not. NXT does not share management with Raw.
I'm not saying get the NXT crew to run/book Raw, very different goals/objectives in place, just that the NXT crew are nailing their objective while the Raw crew is failing miserably.
All I have to do is watch the one hour pre-show before a PPV to get completely up to speed on what's going on and even then most of that hour isn't even dedicated to that. It's insane.
This 100%. The booking is shit, the storylines are shit.
Hell just look at the facts. NXT is compelling. Raw is not. NXT does not share management with Raw.
I'm not saying get the NXT crew to run/book Raw, very different goals/objectives in place, just that the NXT crew are nailing their objective while the Raw crew is failing miserably.
Ambrose would not have been booed if he won the Rumble and main evented WM 31 with Brock. Reigns is not a representative at all.
WWE love to push that bullshit claim about how fans always boo top faces and you can't please everyone, internet fans blah blah. I didn't see anyone booing Stone Cold in 1998. I don't see anyone booing Sami Zayn or Bayley down in NXT.
Maybe the fans aren't the problem, maybe they're just shit at writing top faces.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Reigns sucks. I'm saying, from a personality standpoint, Cesaro is at that level if not a tier below. He has never done anything interesting in a promo or with the mic in his hand. It's not about being allowed to. Lots of wrestlers with creativity and charisma/personality have broken through because they've taken chicken shit and turned it into chicken salad.
UberTag
Member
Voysa Reezun
Banned
In the old days, they'd give a good worker who couldn't talk worth a damn a manager who could do that for him. Can you imagine, say, the Midnight Express in 2015 WWE? They'd be buried to shit.
Or alternatively, give Cesaro 1985 Jim Cornette and you'd get a guy who is massively over and has someone to handle the talking for him.
Or alternatively, give Cesaro 1985 Jim Cornette and you'd get a guy who is massively over and has someone to handle the talking for him.
UberTag
Member
Dick Justice
Banned
I wonder what Sandow's doing now.
Oh, you mean a manager like Paul Heyman or Zeb Colter?
Someone who's not just there to talk about Brock Lesnar. Also, he was definitely getting over when he was with the Real Americans.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Cesaro always takes what's given to him the same way, and never capitalizes on it. Every time he gets a little time to show off outside of the ring, he never does anything noteworthy or exciting.
Voysa Reezun
Banned
Oh, you mean a manager like Paul Heyman or Zeb Colter?
I do - he was at his most over when he was with Zeb, who is a hell of a talker.
The Heyman thing seemed forced and didn't work out, but they should have just turned the Real Americans face (which the crowd already accepted them as anyway) and let Colter continue to help them get over instead of that stupid and ill-conceived break-up. What sense does it make to split an act that is working?
Jimmy King
Member
For those down on RAW, I suggest watching Smackdown this weekend. It's going to be gorgeous.
WWE culture. They don't want Sandow over so when he got over, they punished him rather than rewarding him.
This is why WWE deserves to fail really badly.
UberTag
Member
Here's an act that isn't working that refuses to be split up. And it makes me sad.
Paracelsus
Member
A babyface to carry the company should never need a manager. Heels need a heater whom sometimes happens to be a manager, but a face needs to go over on his own merits or the storyline's.
Let's add Cesaro to the main storyline, because he's good. Okay, and why? What happened and what did he say to go over? Because he is strong and he can wrestle? He needs to be inserted in a better plot and cut flaming promos.
Shame for Sandow, at this point only Owens and maybe Ambrose can do it. Reigns sucks.
Let's add Cesaro to the main storyline, because he's good. Okay, and why? What happened and what did he say to go over? Because he is strong and he can wrestle? He needs to be inserted in a better plot and cut flaming promos.
Shame for Sandow, at this point only Owens and maybe Ambrose can do it. Reigns sucks.
Here's an act that isn't working that refuses to be split up. And it makes me sad.
I like how Vince went through the trouble of taping up the Dunkin logo on his coffee cup (for copyright reasons presumably) while Kevin Dunn is oblivious.
dream
Member
Really surprised that everyone is suggesting that this ratings downturn is because of the quality of the product, rather than the product itself. Is it possible that in 2015, a more tolerant, socially conscious audience doesn't watch pro wrestling because they realize it's trash?
I watched wrestling long before the WWF existed, but after so many decades I just got sick of current wrestling and quit a few years ago. I was actually surprised how easy it was to quit cold turkey.
It's just catchphrases and signature moves now, and a reduced level of physicality was also a factor. Moves getting banned because they're dangerous. Less blading. Less hardcore matches. I understand why wrestling has done this, and I know it's kinda lame that I no longer like wrestling because it isn't gladiator brutality anymore, but that's just the way it is. The tame, safe, generic show that wrestling has become just isn't the same as the good old days.
It's just catchphrases and signature moves now, and a reduced level of physicality was also a factor. Moves getting banned because they're dangerous. Less blading. Less hardcore matches. I understand why wrestling has done this, and I know it's kinda lame that I no longer like wrestling because it isn't gladiator brutality anymore, but that's just the way it is. The tame, safe, generic show that wrestling has become just isn't the same as the good old days.
Nah. I get the sense from some friends that will casually watch a PPV with me that they think it's good stupid fun and they want to like it. Except WWE have become absolute fucking pros at killing anything that's over.
Rusev
Rollins
Ambrose
Cesaro
Guys that seemed really exciting to new viewers, but all were purposely cooled off at various points. New and casual viewers aren't sticking around when the parts they find cool are immediately stomped out for literally no reason (in some cases).
Amongst 20-35 year olds I know here in NYC at least, pro-wrestling got a lot hipper and accepted over the past couple years. If NXT was the main show, people might have a reason to keep watching. If RAW is insulting to wrestling fans, it's certainly not going to be watchable to anyone else.
It's the product quality. Also, a segment of the core demo that watches wrestling just opts not to have cable TV now.
NXT has been boring and forgettable for many many months now, buoyed by little more than hype for indie stars wrestling under a WWE imprint so they're getting watched by the same people excited to see them finally get their break but who never actually watched them before but like totes read about them on Reddit and knew they were great.
Raw being more boring and forgettable than NXT doesn't elevate NXT to greatness.
If Raw were NXT, nothing would change beyond a more irritating audience.
Raw being more boring and forgettable than NXT doesn't elevate NXT to greatness.
If Raw were NXT, nothing would change beyond a more irritating audience.
NXT is rebuilding but still better than RAW. They are better with developmental talent. That speaks for it's self.
Watching RAW feels like I'm making myself actively dumber. NXT doesn't give me that feeling.
funkystudent
Member
Back in my day Smacldown was the show that was regularly getting ratings in the low 2.0's.
I think it was the combination of that, the rising of MMA, and the WWE's inability to evolve.
Vince is currently booking his show like it's 1995.
Ninja Scooter
Member
I feel like wrestling has had two major phases where it had a huge impact on mainstream popular culture. The first was the Rock N Wrestling era of the mid to late 80s where Vince took something that was very regional and very segmented and brought it to the masses in a way that worked for that audience. The 80s was all about everything being big and flashy and Hulk and Andre were big and flashy. Wrestling was booked like a comic book. Vince dragged that out and beat the dead horse until popularity started waning, and it wasn't until he stumbled into the "Attitude Era" (with pushing from WCW) that this changed. The big major change of the Attitude Era, and what I thought was brilliant about it, was how they blurrd the line between work and shoot. And this was the perfect time to do it. THe internet and dirt sheetz were still in their infancy for the most part. You could realistically have audiences wonder what was going to happen next, who is going to show up, is Austin getting legit arrested or kayfabe arrested?!? That doesn't work anymore. ANd they haven't really had any type of fresh or innovative breakthrough since then. They are still living off the fumes of the reality era. Their major, overarching storyling is still "Anti-hero overcomes the Authority figure", just like it was when Vince and Shane were pushing their champ (Rock) over the popular face (Austin). Making tweaks or pushing this guy or that guy that the IWC gets behind won't make a damn bit of difference IMO. I really think that if and when the WWE ever gets back to that level of success it will have been because, either by accident or genius, they just completely reboot and reset what Pro Wrestling is for a new generation.
They've done a lot of damage with Ambrose. He's been made to look like a huge fucking idiot time after time.
Also Ambrose's ring work has grown kind of lame and needs to be freshened up.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
It feels weird that he's so average now, because last year at this time, he was way hotter than anyone else on the roster. He left to do a movie right as he was getting over, and everyone was dying for him to come back to murder Rollins for trying to murder him with the concrete blocks.
The Demon Kane carrying the company on his back.
The constant rebound off the ropes/spin around on the apron is the steaming shits.
Ninja Scooter
Member
His suicide leap through the ropes also sucks. He always gives the dumbest facials in the leadup.
mercenar1e
Member
UberTag
Member
I'm only interested in watching that match if the stipulations for Reigns winning is that Vince and Dunn go away and never come back.
Are those the stips, Verendus? Because, otherwise, I like your suggestion of Big Dave returning better.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
Why would anyone be excited about this match when everything that's been booked since Summer Slam indicates Brock would win in a 5 minute squash?
If the fans don't believe that any of the young guys can beat Kane, Big Show, HHH, Sting (lol), Cena, or Lesner, why should they care?
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