Raw rating absolutely TANKS!

[Rob]

2.5

Company is probably gonna be overhauled in the next week.

[Vastardikai]

Calling it now, Vince will say the rating is low because Cena lost.

[Nervous Ferret]

SPOILER:


















Cena wins :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[Rob]

Calling it now, Vince will say the rating is low because Cena lost.

He won't mention Chris Benoit then?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Yeah, they'll blame it on the faces losing, and we'll see the same shitty product. This is of course forgetting that the rating has been slipping for weeks, and that Cena only lost at the end of the show.

The WWE needs to really overhaul their product, which is what we've been saying for years. Finally the ratings are beginning to reflect this. Not that they were epic before, but they were always considered somewhat successful.

[Jordan]

Holy shit, thats awful.

[Vastardikai]

He won't mention Chris Benoit then?

maybe in passing, but he'll say it's the cyclical nature of the business and blame it on Carlito for going over Cena.

Logic is not necessary when describing Vince.

[KingofOldSchool]

I'll ROFL if Smackdown gets at least a 2.5

[IC Champion]

Maybe its becuase the product has been shitty for months now, and now they have no star power to keep anyone watching. Maybe, Maybe not.

[Kane Knight]

I knew it was <3.0, but Jesus.

What you want to bed WWF Fan finds another site that gves them a 3.2.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Why do I get the horrible feeling that Vince will try to fix this by having Cena begin a feud with Snitsky?

Yeah, I don't know how it helps ratings, either, but I don't think Vince cares.

[Mr. Nerfect]

To be perfectly honest, if the ratings continue to get this low, I can see the WWE ending the brand split, just for the initial stir it would cause.

[Jordan]

They should keep ECW and combine Smackdown and Raw.

[Mr. Nerfect]

They should keep ECW and combine Smackdown and Raw.

That's not a bad idea at all, actually. It makes sense, too, as RAW and SmackDown! were developed under the company, whereas ECW is kind of adopted.

[KingofOldSchool]

Cena will unify all of the titles.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Cena will unify all of the titles.

That's true. However, it will all be worth it if even then the rating does not go up, and the WWE is forced to bring in someone else to take the title of Undisputed Champion...*cue countdown to Chris Fucking Jericho.*

Or they will just hope Triple H does the trick.

[James Steele]

Holy shit. I hope this makes Vince wake up and realize that 80s style booking doesn't work anymore.

[McLegend]

Wow

[Kane Knight]

Yeah, I don't know how it helps ratings, either, but I don't think Vince cares.

The guy cares, he just has no clue how to change it.

Vince is a bad promoter.

[Stickman]

Good

[IC Champion]

The guy cares, he just has no clue how to change it.

Vince is a bad promoter.
Gospel Truth right there.

[FourFifty]

This make Zombie Jesus return to the grave...

[BigDaddyCool]

I didn't think Raw was great, but I didn't think it was that bad.

[BigDaddyCool]

But yeah, when everyone comes out asking for a title shot week after week, it gets annoying. It kinda pisses me off that the are always have Kennedy doing it, and losing week after week. It makes him look stupid.

[Anybody Thrilla]

This is terrible news.

[Road Warrior]

Bottom line, Raw is awful, Smackdown is worse, and the ratings are starting to show it. I used to never miss Raw, ever, but I have'nt watched in two months. I just look at the results and see if anything has changed to make me even cosider watching again, and I'm always right, nothing ever does.
Maybe the ratings finally going in the tank will make something different or for heavin fucking sake unexpected actually happen, like the brand extension finally going away. You can't have a brand extension when their are no stars to fill it. If years ago you would of told me that the WWE would even be surviving without Austin, The Rock, The Undetaker, Jericho, Angle, Benoit, Lesnar, Guerrero, and HHH (eventhough HHH and Taker are returning) I would've told you that it probally would'nt, and well, I'm almost right.

[FourFifty]

I know what Monday Night Raw needs, and it's something that I mentioned TNA should use with Test.

http://www.tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1827445#post1827445

[Anybody Thrilla]

Man, I've watched it twice now, and it's still not funny at all.

[McLegend]

Maybe it will be funny the 3rd time you watch it then.

[Vastardikai]

nah, what Raw needs is more of this:

http://www.marsneedsguitars.com/blog_pics/cowbell.jpg

[FourFifty]

Tried that with Dusty and Orton. Didn't work.

[Vastardikai]

^

It would have worked, there just wasn't enough. It needed more!

[Zen v.W.o.]

The difference between the ratings of ten years ago to those now are huge. Ten years ago, Raw was producing great shows, it's just the people never knew it due to the dire situation of the years 93-95. Those ratings were low but they didnt seem that way for the time, and the thing was that there was nothing but the positive potential for people to pick up on a good product, and the numbers would soon increase.

Now you're seeing the slide..stagnant, boring, predictable programming leading the people flocking away from viewing. These ratings are low and there isnt any bright outlook for the very near future.

The low numbers now are scary simply because the shows are also awful. So it's obvious as to why they are low. Totally different situation a decade earlier.

[Anybody Thrilla]

If Raw isn't on TV anymore, I might cry.

[Anybody Thrilla]

UGH, imagine if WWE went out of business and people were forced to watch TNA? Yuck.

I guess that's how it was for the WCW die hards circa 2001, though.

[Innovator]

Let The (Roided Up) Bodies Hit The Floor

[The One]

LOL, I'm sorry, but, LOL.

Could not be more happy about this news. And I hope ratings continue to get worse, I hope USA backs out of their deal with WWE, I hope the entire industry is done away with. Honest to god I would rather it disappear/disassemble to the old territory system than continue on with the utter bullshit that has been displayed ever since the day after WrestleMania X-Seven. I would rather mourn the end of an era than sit by as it continues to make a mockery of one of the most entertaining products I had ever seen in my life.

[Corkscrewed]

Holy shit. I hope this makes Vince wake up and realize that 80s style booking doesn't work anymore.

No, he'll just "wake up" and "realize" that Kennedy, Carlito, and Cody Rhodes will never be able to carry anything and move to make a Cena/Lashley superfeud restart and last through Wrestlemania 2025.

[BigDaddyCool]

i don't know what to say anymore. I mean there were all the same problems, plus new ones and ones that they haven't had for a while that they decided to revisit.

[Nowhere Man]

LOL, I'm sorry, but, LOL.

Could not be more happy about this news. And I hope ratings continue to get worse, I hope USA backs out of their deal with WWE, I hope the entire industry is done away with. Honest to god I would rather it disappear/disassemble to the old territory system than continue on with the utter bullshit that has been displayed ever since the day after WrestleMania X-Seven. I would rather mourn the end of an era than sit by as it continues to make a mockery of one of the most entertaining products I had ever seen in my life.

Rather cynical, but I can't help but agree. There really seems to be no way of "fixing" WWE these days.

Plus, I think it'd be poetic justice for ROH to become the dominant promotion merely by default.

[Londoner]

^ There is a way to fix things, WWE just wants to die.

[Jeritron]

It's all stale. 90% of the company's "stars" are on Raw. That's not the problem. It's just not captivating.
They need to overhaul the whole damn thing. They need to end brand extension. Send some more guys to ECW and make that Brand #2. Combine Raw and Smackdown. And keep the 2 brands seperate as much as possible.

[addy2hotty]

Joke is, I marked out when Carlito beat Cena. Haven't done that in years.

Best Raw for a while, but the competition isn't exactly hot. Makes me laugh that some joker over at Wrestleview calls Raw 'sensational' in 2007. He must be on some of Benoit's medicine.

[Jeritron]

I don't think its entirely fale to attribute some of this to the Benoit incident.
If you think about it, WWE aims at youngsters nowadays right? Well, maybe parents are keeping their kids from it...

[Kane Knight]

I don't think its entirely fale to attribute some of this to the Benoit incident.
If you think about it, WWE aims at youngsters nowadays right? Well, maybe parents are keeping their kids from it...

It's probably not entirely false, but their primary viewer demographic isn't kids, it's 18-35. That's something like 75% of their normal viewership, give or take. Kids may buy the merch, but adult males watch the programming.

Also worth noting that the ratings were on a downward bent before McMahon blew up, and spiked only for those 3 hour specials before settling back down.

Can Benoit be blamed? Partially. But I don't know how far we can carry that partial blame.

[Splaya]

I'll ROFL if Smackdown gets at least a 2.5

Would it be the first time ever Smackdown gets a higher rating than RAW?

[addy2hotty]

It's just a bland product, with bland guys at the top. They decide to allow some of the more underused talents a go at the main event and big victories and this happens. Kennedy and Carlito will be to blame for this, not their 'Champ since September and I'm going to throw it in all your faces and show respect for a guy who's going around ending peoples careers, openly and psychotically' John Cena.

I mean, I know they are trying to build Orton (yet again) as a 'legend killer who actually kills careers' but who's really interested in him throwing a pretty poor boot in the faces of 60 year olds? Is that going to keep viewers? No.

The writing is pretty piss poor at the moment.

[Kane Knight]

Would it be the first time ever Smackdown gets a higher rating than RAW?

Be the first in a while.

[KingofOldSchool]

No, he'll just "wake up" and "realize" that Kennedy, Carlito, and Cody Rhodes will never be able to carry anything and move to make a Cena/Hogan superfeud and last until one of them dies. And even then they will book a decomposing Cena/Hogan feud.

[Outsider]

Just done an average, the average WCW Monday Nitro rating for 2001 was 2.71.

Good job Vince.

[Anybody Thrilla]

That was all Kwee Wee's fault.

[KingofOldSchool]

Just done an average, the average WCW Monday Nitro rating for 2001 was 2.71.

Good job Vince.

:rofl:

Man that is higher than the 2.5 Raw got.

[Russenmafia]

Would it be the first time ever Smackdown gets a higher rating than RAW?

Khali as champ = Ratings!!

[BigDaddyCool]

No, they should leave ECW alone, it good the way it is. I enjoy it more than anything else.

They need to figure out Raw.

[JT]

The guy cares, he just has no clue how to change it.

Vince is a bad promoter.


Well Vince can almost be considered the greatest wrestling promoter of all time, as WWE has reached peaks only one other has come even close too. The problem he has is like most people...inability to change and ego that doesn't allow him to really listen to his companies fans but entertain himself. That's why Paul Heyman who was an absolutely terrible promoter suceeded...where he failed in business, he listened to his fans and had them interact with the product. He just didn't have the business sense to go further.

[JT]

Vince: Oh no ratings are falling! It's time to bring back the Diva Search before it's too late!

[Kane Knight]

No.

[JTB31]

DX=ratings

Raw has suffered with HHH&HBK.

[addy2hotty]

Well Vince can almost be considered the greatest wrestling promoter of all time, as WWE has reached peaks only one other has come even close too. The problem he has is like most people...inability to change and ego that doesn't allow him to really listen to his companies fans but entertain himself. That's why Paul Heyman who was an absolutely terrible promoter suceeded...where he failed in business, he listened to his fans and had them interact with the product. He just didn't have the business sense to go further.

We've got Cyber Sunday! What more interaction do we want?

At the next one, the vote will be put :-

How would YOU like John Cena to win his title match?

A. F-U
B. STF-U
C. A heard of elephants crush his opponent just as he appears like winning.
D. Spoiler:- Cena Wins

[Splaya]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The only way to end the ratings plunge is to not neccessarily end the brand extension, but, weed out all the unusable talent, stack your Monday nights with 2 hours of Supserstar talent (I'm talking upper midcard to top level talents) turn Smackdown into a show of the Cruiserweight title, unify the tag titles, and have maybe a 3rd title in the mix. Keep ECW the way it is, and on Raw have 1 Undisputed Champion, and the IC title.

[SammyG]

Well, no shit. Leave Kennedy on camera for 2 hours, and you're gonna get ratings. If you don't, that's what happens.

[HeartBreakMan2k]

Honestly I think they've just got to make the product seem more legit. Like they need the big fight atmosphere that UFC is capitalizing on, and that they had with the likes of Lesnar. There is nothing "epic" about WWE anymore. That's going to be their ultimate downfall.

[6to1]

well tna is catching up raw keeps it up they will have the same number of fans as tna or roh

[Zen v.W.o.]

You know the programming sucks when you can go months without seeing a raw where a certain segment stays in your mind for a long time. Nothing is memorable, they're all cut and dry, all the same shit repeatedly..there are no shocks, surprise moments, guys walking down to the ring to cut a promo immediately after a match that has shit all to do with him..no moments where you go, "hmm, this doesnt seem like it should be happening right about now."

[Shadow]

You know...there is a way to fix the WWE. And it wouldn't take that much effort at all.

Too bad it's more effort then Vince wants to put into the product.

[KingofOldSchool]

Raw needs more Jeff Hardy.

[Kane Knight]

You know...there is a way to fix the WWE. And it wouldn't take that much effort at all.

Too bad it's more effort then Vince wants to put into the product.

Benoit even showed him how.

[KingofOldSchool]

well tna is catching up

No, it's not that TNA is catching up. It's more or less Raw catching up to TNA.

[Innovator]

Lowest since October 27, 1997....ouch. That night got a 2.3

Nitro that night got a 4.3.....too bad all 4.3 of the audience have disappeared

[Rob]

LOL, I'm sorry, but, LOL.

Could not be more happy about this news. And I hope ratings continue to get worse, I hope USA backs out of their deal with WWE, I hope the entire industry is done away with. Honest to god I would rather it disappear/disassemble to the old territory system than continue on with the utter bullshit that has been displayed ever since the day after WrestleMania X-Seven. I would rather mourn the end of an era than sit by as it continues to make a mockery of one of the most entertaining products I had ever seen in my life.

WOW! Even I'm not this bad.

Firstly, territories are finished. They can't work anymore. Nobody in interested in regionalised wrestling and no TV companies will back it. Internet would ruin it anyway.

Secondly, they have had some very good shows since Mania 17. I can't believe you'd still watch a product that hasn't entertained you in over 5 years.

[6to1]

well same thing tna is doing good by not lossing fans they have about the same number for the past 3 years.

[KingofOldSchool]

well same thing tna is doing good by not lossing fans they have about the same number for the past 3 years.

So only drawing a hundred or so fans each show over the last 3 years should be considered a success?

[6to1]

i ment the tv raitings not the freaks who get in to the tv shows

[KingofOldSchool]

i ment the tv raitings not the freaks who get in to the tv shows

Their ratings suck worse.

[Rob]

So only drawing a hundred or so fans each show over the last 3 years should be considered a success?

They aren't drawing them because it's free entry.

[Kane Knight]

i ment the tv raitings not the freaks who get in to the tv shows

But they're still not "catching up," which is what you claimed.

[KingofOldSchool]

They aren't drawing them because it's free entry.

Even the sporadic house shows they do?

[Rob]

1PW does better than them then. ROH draws not much less.

[KingofOldSchool]

Exactly my point, TNA doesn't do any better than random indy feds.

The only difference is that TNA has a TV deal.

I would imagine if ROH got a TV deal on another major cable network, they would get the same ratings TNA gets.

[The One]

Well now let's call this fair here...TNA's ratings have been on an average going up over the past two years. Where once they averaged out around .7-.9 in 2005 they now average in the 1.0-1.2 range. Is it HUGE leaps and bounds they're making? No. But they are slowly improving. RAW on the other hand is make giant jumps downward. The fact that RAW is getting worse ratings at a quicker rate than TNA is getter better is irrelevant. TNA is improving, WWE is failing.

And while we're on the topic of TNA, I would like everyone to at least admit, they haven't always been perfect, but dammit they are making something out of themselves. Back when it was weekly PPV deals (and when I was probably most die hard towards the TNA Product) people said they wouldn't last 2 months. They made it, and despite large financial loses, they dug up some investors to back them until they could be stand alone. Then they landed on TV with FSN, and people said they would be canceled in a matter of weeks. They made a go, they continued to drop dollar and do all they could with their shitty ass time slot, their marginal talent roster (which at the time was being headlined by Jeff Hardy of all people), and they keep on chugging along. When they did get dropped by FSN and went to online videos, I don't recall a single person thinking they would be still putting on shows after the first one. Well dammit all, they signed with Spike, they are now a stand alone company who is FINALLY turned it around and is making solid profit, they are impressing the execs at Spike TV, are in line to get a 2nd hour for their programming, they have Kurt Angle at their helm, they are the only ones who have been able to use Christian to his full potential, they are no longer dropping jizz bombs on the X-Division, they aren't borrowing the legacy of the NWA anymore, they moved AJ Styles out of the main events, Jarrett began to take a backseat, they are working AND succeeding at creating their own stars (Styles, Daniels, Joe, Lethal, Sabin, Shelley, Roode, Young, and LAX), and their ratings are going up, which is far more than any other promotion can say. After nearly 4 years of proving the critics and cynics wrong, and now that they have a solid direction they're heading towards while accomplishing nearly every challenge armchair bookers have thrown at them, would it kill any of you to admit that TNA is possibly something more than a local indy who accidentally fell into the national spot light?

[OverTaker]

Triple H might bring up the ratings a bit.

Austin, Rock, Taker, Big Show, Chris Jericho. These guys would definatly bring the ratings up. I know Austin or The Rock wouldn't come back full-time bt even if they appeared on a show every other week. People would love to see em.

[The Fugitive]

Should I be concerned with RAW geting a 2.5? I mean, I see that last week, RAW got a 3.4. But is that really a call for concern? I'll admit that these Nielsen ratings don't really mean anything to me.

Could someone phrase it into layman's terms, like a figure of how many people tuned out?

[darkpower]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The only way to end the ratings plunge is to not neccessarily end the brand extension, but, weed out all the unusable talent, stack your Monday nights with 2 hours of Supserstar talent (I'm talking upper midcard to top level talents) turn Smackdown into a show of the Cruiserweight title, unify the tag titles, and have maybe a 3rd title in the mix. Keep ECW the way it is, and on Raw have 1 Undisputed Champion, and the IC title.

I'm sure what you said is great and all (no hating or anything), but....

....YOU JUST CONFUSED THE HOLY FUCK OUT OF ME!!!!! :$

[darkpower]

The main problem here, too, is that the rating is a reflection of what happened the week BEFORE. So this rating is basically a reflection of what happened last week (which probably was terrible). Now, say during a night in which they would get a 0.2 rating on RAW, that Maria, Candice, and Mickie had a hottest 3-way you would EVER see. The next week, you would see a show of Cena having nasty gay sex with Vince drawing a 20.0 because the people watching want more of the lesbian 3-way that they heard about. They get disappointed that they got grossed out that week they decided to watch, and then the week after, it's 5.2 or 2.5 again. It's been doing this for years now, but doesn't say that the WWE's product is any less awful right now.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Should I be concerned with RAW geting a 2.5? I mean, I see that last week, RAW got a 3.4. But is that really a call for concern? I'll admit that these Nielsen ratings don't really mean anything to me.

Could someone phrase it into layman's terms, like a figure of how many people tuned out?

I think ratings pretty much translate into millions. So for 3.4 million to decrease to 2.5 million, that means that 900,000 people who watched last week did not watch this week.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The main problem here, too, is that the rating is a reflection of what happened the week BEFORE. So this rating is basically a reflection of what happened last week (which probably was terrible). Now, say during a night in which they would get a 0.2 rating on RAW, that Maria, Candice, and Mickie had a hottest 3-way you would EVER see. The next week, you would see a show of Cena having nasty gay sex with Vince drawing a 20.0 because the people watching want more of the lesbian 3-way that they heard about. They get disappointed that they got grossed out that week they decided to watch, and then the week after, it's 5.2 or 2.5 again. It's been doing this for years now, but doesn't say that the WWE's product is any less awful right now.

That's absolutely true, and it's something I've been meaning to say way back when BDC made the post about being surprised because RAW didn't completely suck this week (there was some unpredictable booking). The truth is that the rating has gone down because of last week's show, which was headlined by John Cena & Candice Michelle vs. Umaga, Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch.

Now, I like Cade & Murdoch, and Eddie Fatu has been doing a great job with the Umaga character, but it's easy to see why that main event doesn't capture the imagination of the audience. For one, it doesn't even make sense. How are those teams fair? Women are generally considered to be outside the realm of male wrestling, so taking her as a non-factor, that's basically a 3-on-1 Handicap Match, for no logical reason at all. Handicap Matches do have a place in wrestling, believe it or not. For correct usage of the Handicap Match, you can see Chris Jericho's feud with William Regal over the IC Title in 2001, and even Big Daddy V's path of destruction against nobodies in ECW.

Sticking the Tag Team Champions in their own specialty match, with a partner they have no prior association with, against John Cena just doesn't make sense, and I was turned off by the thought of that match. I'm sure it's not the only factor, but I don't think it can be completely discounted.

No doubt Vince will blame Carlito and Mr. Kennedy, which is just bullshit. The WWE lives and dies by their main eventers in this "era," so the blame, if put on any talent, has to go to John Cena and Randy Orton. Now, I think writing is the main cause of it, but if this leads to John Cena and Randy Orton being shuffled down a bit (where they belong) it will ultimately be for the best.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Now, how to get the ratings up again? I've suggested Paul Heyman be given booking powers, and that they end the brand split, sort of, but here is just a show they could run next week, which will hopefully be good in quality, and go a long way to helping the WWE get back to where they were before even the idiots started to wisen up.

Open with a great match. Not just a solid match, a great match, that people will remember and can talk about. The one that comes to mind is Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch defending the World Tag Team Championship in a TLC Match against The World's Greatest Tag Team and Paul London & Brian Kendrick. It will be fun, the fans will get a nice surprise, and thus be into it, and it doesn't open with main eventers, who you will need later in the show.

[The Fugitive]

Ouch.

When you put it like that, hopefully they realize what's happening and take it as a wake-up call. It probably won't result in anything though unless it continues to drop.

[The Fugitive]

I wish we could go back to the unpredictable and unexpected days of WWE. I think that's what is needed to bring back viewers. You have the best performers in the world, the hottest storylines and everything else, but if the whole thing feels scripted and repetitive, you're going to lose out long-term.

I remember back not that long ago when HBK tricked everyone in the arena and at home when he challenged Bret to come out and face him and just as he started talking about something else, Bret's music played and EVERYONE fucking busted their nut. People in the arena, people here on the forums, everyone was shocked with the possibility of him walking down that ailse and standing up to Shawn. Nobody suspected that he might turn up because nothing was reported or hinted at him possibly appearing. I honestly believe that's what is needed to bring people back, to make people give a damn. Give the program some life by making the thing feel spontanteous and that you're not going to know what happens next instead of giving us programming that we can go 'Oh, here we fucking go, this just happened now, this is going to happen next, bank on it'.

Of course, I think it's a pipedream now. There's no way we can have that anymore thanks to how quickly anything get reported but one can hope. Someone else said it but I'll say it: Unpredictability is what sold the Attitude era. Unpredictability is what wrestling fans crave and will talk about forever and a day.

Well, that's my long rambling post for the week.

[Dave Youell]

LOL Smackdown is now the A show

HA!

[KingofOldSchool]

Khali brings in da ratings.

[Cactus Sid]

I wish we could go back to the unpredictable and unexpected days of WWE. I think that's what is needed to bring back viewers. You have the best performers in the world, the hottest storylines and everything else, but if the whole thing feels scripted and repetitive, you're going to lose out long-term.

I remember back not that long ago when HBK tricked everyone in the arena and at home when he challenged Bret to come out and face him and just as he started talking about something else, Bret's music played and EVERYONE fucking busted their nut. People in the arena, people here on the forums, everyone was shocked with the possibility of him walking down that ailse and standing up to Shawn. Nobody suspected that he might turn up because nothing was reported or hinted at him possibly appearing. I honestly believe that's what is needed to bring people back, to make people give a damn. Give the program some life by making the thing feel spontanteous and that you're not going to know what happens next instead of giving us programming that we can go 'Oh, here we fucking go, this just happened now, this is going to happen next, bank on it'.

Of course, I think it's a pipedream now. There's no way we can have that anymore thanks to how quickly anything get reported but one can hope. Someone else said it but I'll say it: Unpredictability is what sold the Attitude era. Unpredictability is what wrestling fans crave and will talk about forever and a day.

Well, that's my long rambling post for the week.

Erm....this is exactly the sort of booking which killed WCW.

[Kane Knight]

Should I be concerned with RAW geting a 2.5? I mean, I see that last week, RAW got a 3.4. But is that really a call for concern? I'll admit that these Nielsen ratings don't really mean anything to me.

Could someone phrase it into layman's terms, like a figure of how many people tuned out?

Last week, WWE Scored below a 3.0.

The week before, they scored a 2.9 and a 2.7 on hourlies.

By the way, a point is more than a million, usually. Even on a Saturday Night, a .9 rating for TNA was drawing almost a million and a half.

Using last weekn's Nielsen ratings, the lowest ranked top ten show drew a 3.0, and got 4.3 million viewers.

And that was Spongebob.

Lower ratings, in this case ratings that are dropping out of the top ten for the first time (This isn't the first instance, mind) in recent years, can mean loss of advertising up to (And this is a bit extreme right now, I'm not syaing it WILL happen) loss of show. What it means right now is that Raw was consistently getting 6 million viewers each week easily only 6 months ago. They've lost roughly a third of their audience in six months, and a third of their audience the year before.

[Rob]

Triple H might bring up the ratings a bit.

Austin, Rock, Taker, Big Show, Chris Jericho. These guys would definatly bring the ratings up. I know Austin or The Rock wouldn't come back full-time bt even if they appeared on a show every other week. People would love to see em.

Austin can't work anymore.

Rock makes more money in Hollywood without beating his body for carnies.

Taker is injured.

Big Show turned down over $1.5 million a year to leave because he is sick of the company and is hurt.

Jericho will come back for enough money.

[Fox]

These people would not make a difference in the WWE's tanking ratings, except for maybe a short 3-4 week spike.

The problem is in the story telling. Nobody has a character anymore. Back during the boom, Stone Cold was a white-trash, Texas redneck ass-kicker (which, unsurprisingly, America related to); The Rock was a cocky, full of himself, asshole; The Undertaker was a gothic freakshow deadman; Triple H and his cronies were sophomoric punk asses, and then HHH became a power hungry prick; Mankind was a bump-taking, hardcore freak. These were characters that people would come back to see.

Today, you're either a good-as-gold babyface (Cena, Lashley, Batista, Rey Mysterio), a cocky heel (Orton, Morrison, Edge), a monster (Umaga, Great Khali), or a has-been who is still burning off the fumes of his old greatness (HHH, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker).

People with real gimmicks, like The Boogeyman and Eugene, are just fucking lame as shit. And the good characters, like King Booker and Mr. Kennedy, are wasted, squandered, and underutilized until the fans don't care about them anymore. Guys that the fans OBVIOUSLY love and relate to, who haven't "earned their stripes yet," are buried in the WWE heirarchy (CM Punk as a prime example).


No amount of old stars will bring WWE back to its old glory. The mindset and the story-writers are going to have to change.

[McLegend]

I'm gonna treat this 2.5 as an anomaly, because 3.4-2.5 in one week is just a huge drop. ECW didn't even drop that fast. I'm saying there was something wrong with the system or something like that.

Now the ratings were on a downward trend anyway so still there is a problem that needs to be fixed. I just don't think heads should have to roll quite yet.

[Innovator]

I'm gonna treat this 2.5 as an anomaly, because 3.4-2.5 in one week is just a huge drop. ECW didn't even drop that fast. I'm saying there was something wrong with the system or something like that.

Now the ratings were on a downward trend anyway so still there is a problem that needs to be fixed. I just don't think heads should have to roll quite yet.If Vince returns and RAW gets below 3.0, heads will roll in Stamford

[Kane Knight]

I'm gonna treat this 2.5 as an anomaly, because 3.4-2.5 in one week is just a huge drop. ECW didn't even drop that fast. I'm saying there was something wrong with the system or something like that.

Now the ratings were on a downward trend anyway so still there is a problem that needs to be fixed. I just don't think heads should have to roll quite yet.

Just to be clear, according to the NIELSENS, last week was less than 3.0, and the week before was 2.8.

This is not a fucking anomaly, people. It's not a glitch, and there's no huge drop. WWE has been driving people off for ages now. The only thing that spiked their ratings recently were the three hour specials, and I guarantee you if they do them more often, ratings won't be as big.

Most importantly, this is not ahuge drop. I don't really know where 3.4 came from, but it contradicts the number given by NMR, and I tend to believe the Nielsens on their own ratings. They've been hard pressed to get above 3.0 of late, period.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Erm....this is exactly the sort of booking which killed WCW.

There is a good kind of unpredictable, and a bad kind. David Arquette as WCW Champion? Bad kind. Shawn Michaels facing Shelton Benjamin in a fun match on RAW? Good kind. All the WWE needs to do is book with quality, and have their shows run less off a formula.

[The Fugitive]

Erm....this is exactly the sort of booking which killed WCW.

The difference is that WCW, to my understanding, didn't have a creative filter. Any idea from anyone behind the curtain was used and that caused confusion, conflicts and mayhem. If some wrestlers didn't have creative control either, it wouldn't have been so severe either.

[Dave Youell]

Turns out the ratings are wrong, the new ones will be released later. Nielson cocked up

[Mr. Nerfect]

Turns out the ratings are wrong, the new ones will be released later. Nielson cocked up

To elaborate on this further, apparently the WWE has not been happy with ratings for several weeks, so there will still be some changes.

[Dave Youell]

To elaborate on this further, apparently the WWE has not been happy with ratings for several weeks, so there will still be some changes.
Granted, but the ratings haven't tanked in one week as badly as first thought. But USA will still demand better ratings than the past few weeks

[Hired Hitman]

Two things need to change...

First, All titles should be great and have credibility (i.e. The IC Champion should be as proud of his title as the world champion is of his.)

Second, All wrestlers should have at least a 40%-60% chance to win a match, nobody enjoys a one sided match. (Speaks for itself really, who wants to watch a big guy throw around a little nobody for 3 minutes?)

...WWE needs to be more Sport and less about Entertainment.

[addy2hotty]

Vince McMahon is apparently asking for thinking 'out of the box'.

Here's an idea, take that stupid fucking belt off Cena for more than 3 weeks.
Dump the 'spinner belt' and ban all kids from the arena, in fact, ban all women from the arena as well. Stop confiscating signs that you feel are 'bad for the product'. Keep your ugly mug off the fucking screen.

MAKE STARS, don't just feed anyone with potential as a heel to John Cena. He sucks. He truly truly does.

Simple fact is, they need to decide right now what matters more to them - TV ratings or merchandise sales.

[Pepsi Man]

Two things need to change...

First, All titles should be great and have credibility (i.e. The IC Champion should be as proud of his title as the world champion is of his.)

Second, All wrestlers should have at least a 40%-60% chance to win a match, nobody enjoys a one sided match. (Speaks for itself really, who wants to watch a big guy throw around a little nobody for 3 minutes?)

...WWE needs to be more Sport and less about Entertainment.
I disagree with the all titles thing. Granted, the titles should have more credibility, but the World Titles should really mean the most.

Vince McMahon is apparently asking for thinking 'out of the box'.

Here's an idea, take that stupid fucking belt off Cena for more than 3 weeks.
Dump the 'spinner belt' and ban all kids from the arena, in fact, ban all women from the arena as well. Stop confiscating signs that you feel are 'bad for the product'. Keep your ugly mug off the fucking screen.

MAKE STARS, don't just feed anyone with potential as a heel to John Cena. He sucks. He truly truly does.

Simple fact is, they need to decide right now what matters more to them - TV ratings or merchandise sales.

I don't know about banning women and children from the arenas. Where exactly do ticket sales fit into your equation?

[Kane Knight]

Granted, but the ratings haven't tanked in one week as badly as first thought. But USA will still demand better ratings than the past few weeks

Yeah, that glitch affecting women 55-64 really shook up Raw.

[Kane Knight]

...WWE needs to be more Sport and less about Entertainment.

No, they just need to make it about Entertainment, not sucking.

[Stickman]

It needs some Hart

[KingofOldSchool]

Turns out the ratings are wrong, the new ones will be released later. Nielson cocked up

Raw actually got a 2.2 instead.

[addy2hotty]

Breaking news. Raw got an 8.2.

Ratings spiked at 10.91 during the 6-man Diva match.

Good stuff!

[mrslackalack]

WHat was the lowest Nitro ever? Like a 1.5 or 1.7?

[Rob]

Second, All wrestlers should have at least a 40%-60% chance to win a match, nobody enjoys a one sided match. (Speaks for itself really, who wants to watch a big guy throw around a little nobody for 3 minutes?)

How can two people have a 40-60% chance to win. It's either 50-50 or it's unequal.

[darkpower]

It was already said here, but here's something official on it:

Source: PWInsider.com
According to multiple industry sources, there is a good chance that RAW’s rating this past Monday night was not near as bad as first thought. Nielson Media Research has been contacting several programmers, making them aware that there was some type of glitch in Monday’s ratings, causing them to report low. We are also able to confirm that Nielson has been in contact with WWE over the problem.

Despite this past Monday’s ratings, the past three weeks of 3.4 cable ratings, WWE realizes that there is a serous problem with the ratings RAW has been doing. This is the reason that Vince McMahon has decided to bring back his Mr. McMahon character on television as the company is examining their storylines and looking at ways to spice up their programming. It has been said that Vince is more open than ever in listening to other people’s ideas and is not placing the blame of the low ratings directly on the creative team as they have been working to please him. Hopefully all of the changes will result in a much better product.

[Kane Knight]

I don't know what's more official than the last time that was posted.

[darkpower]

I don't know what's more official than the last time that was posted.

Well, as you know, nothing is "official" until Dave Meltzer reports it, right?

(Yeah, I know it was PWInsider and not Observer. Don't know the name of PWI's EIC, but they're both the same anymore to me).

[darkpower]

Plus, there is some hope in the second half of that report, saying that Vince is more opened minded than before. May have been said, but it's worth repeating in the hopes that we can actually believe that Vince is actually doing this after so many years of being the guy that wants everyone to accept him bukkating on their faces.

Wonder how many days THIS will last, though.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Vince will probably put on maybe one week of semi-good TV, and then when the ratings suddenly don't increase, claim that it doesn't matter which way things go, and go back to his way of writing.

[Hired Hitman]

I disagree with the all titles thing. Granted, the titles should have more credibility, but the World Titles should really mean the most.
That goes without saying.

No, they just need to make it about Entertainment, not sucking.
Competitive sport is entertaining.

How can two people have a 40-60% chance to win. It's either 50-50 or it's unequal.
It's impossible for every match to be 50%-50% that's why I said 40%-60 %, some matches need to be unbalanced for the sake of hype, story etc.

if you mean two wrestlers can't both have 60% cause that is 120%, then you need to take a look why I said 40%-60% instead of 50%-60% ;)

[Kane Knight]

Plus, there is some hope in the second half of that report, saying that Vince is more opened minded than before.

...Which has already been stated.

So the old news is old news, the new news is old news, and there's nothing really updated here.

[Kane Knight]

Competitive sport is entertaining.

Except, you know, competitive sport doesn't need to be made to be compelling. It's not rigged, it's not ballet, it's not pro wrestling.

[Savio]

...WWE needs to be more Sport and less about Entertainment.hmmmmmmmmmm........hmmmmmmmmm

[addy2hotty]

...Which has already been stated.

So the old news is old news, the new news is old news, and there's nothing really updated here.

Don't be silly, this isn't old news. Hang on....I'm just getting word...

*BREAKING NEWS*

Stunning Steve Austin has been released by WCW. Apparently Eric Bischoff doesn't think he's 'marketable' enough.

<a href="#"><b>WWF to go bust? Hart for WCW? Boone finds time machine **SEE THE SHOCKING PHOTOS!**</b></a>

[Savio]

I think ratings pretty much translate into millions. So for 3.4 million to decrease to 2.5 million, that means that 900,000 people who watched last week did not watch this week.no its percentage wise

[Kane Knight]

Don't be silly, this isn't old news. Hang on....I'm just getting word...

*BREAKING NEWS*

Stunning Steve Austin has been released by WCW. Apparently Eric Bischoff doesn't think he's 'marketable' enough.

WWF to go bust? Hart for WCW? Boone finds time machine **SEE THE SHOCKING PHOTOS!** (http://tpww.net/forums/#)

So Dark Power is Joey Radd?

[Kane Knight]

no its percentage wise

It's worth pointing out that this might actually not be as bad as it sounds.

Raw's had nights where they dropped points, and still gained viewers.

Because, as Meester Savyer just stated, it's not a direct correlation between viewers and ratings.

[darkpower]

So Dark Power is Joey Radd?

:shifty:

Are you guys having some fun here?

My name is darkpower, not CC.

[Kane Knight]

That's just what CC would say.

[Rob]

The revised rating was 2.9.

Still shite.

[Kane Knight]

So the 55-64 group really does make a difference.

[apokalypse7]

FUCKING BABY BOOMERS!!!

Even granny loves Cena!

[darkpower]

That's just what CC would say.

I'm....not sure if I should be insulted, strangely enough.

[Kane Knight]

Look at it on the bright side...Admitting you don't know is better than your usual.

[Loose Cannon]

hmmm, the WWE must have my TV rigged to count got more viewership or something.

I wasn't able to catch any wrestling (or TV for that matter) this week. Seems like I didn't miss much rather then Jeff getting suspeneded. lol

[Hired Hitman]

Except, you know, competitive sport doesn't need to be made to be compelling. It's not rigged, it's not ballet, it's not pro wrestling. That doesn't mean it can't appear to be legitimate.