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WWE Raw drops to lowest TV rating in 18 years

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Valkrai

Member
US belt on Woods
IC belt on Big E
WWE belt on Kofi

Ratings will sour like an eagle.

I3lnCZS.gif

I'm all in favor of New Day as a heel and champions. They're great now.
 
They need better writers that can make engaging, consistent storylines. They need to stop making the commentary team sound like a bunch of idiots who read lines and don't want to be there. I would argue the show needs a production overhaul too because every Raw looks exactly the same. They need to tone down the scripted stuff and let people experiment and do their own stuff like The New Day is allowed to now. (New Day is also the best part of the show right now because of this.)
All of this. Every single line any character or commentator says feels so packaged, prepared, and produced. Nothing feels natural or genuine anymore.

Everyone's favorite wrestling moments veer into feeling "real" or at least believable in the sense you feel that the character has a strong motivation. Nothing happening on WWE's main TV right now is believable at all, to anyone.
 

GraveRobberX

Platinum Trophy: Learned to Shit While Upright Again.
NXT is pretty good stuff. We just have to wait for Vince to step down, Kevin Dunn to get fired and HHH to run the whole show.

They could still do a good 3 hour run every week, that has a tempo to it
Stop with a promo every fucking week, it eats up roughly 15-20 minutes of useless garbage, stagnates the storyline and product, already kills the crowd unless there's actually heat build up

Bring back some stables for Fuck sakes, have some good ole power struggle with them
Keep it a guessing game so viewers have to watch
Add twists, swerved so audiences have to try to figure out the Fuck is going on

They've diluted they're titles so badly, that a new champion gets almost no shine with it, no building blocks to really add peaks between superstars

I stopped watching RAW since early April, it's a shit product, I just get results from ppv afterwards
I've been an avid watcher for 30+ years, but stale production habits even are getting the best of people who watched it as kids since Wrestlemania started

Vince needs to let the reigns go and let the product mutate and create it's own personality

New Day is awesome, I was hoping a new form on Nation of Domination to sneak out, but they cut themselves a whole new branch and the gifs prove it

I could write a whole storyline storyboard setup if I was really bored enough, but the product is already boring and me even getting to write it would be wasteful material just like RAW is
 
WWE is like Nintendo. Everyone expects them to die any day but they keep on trucking.

-They're till 3rd in cable ratings
-They havent hit 5.0 ratings in years back when TV was different. not sure why even mention it.
-Company still making profit unlike the majority of the 90s


Don't get me wrong the overall show is still horrible. The talent is amazing but the characters are dull as fuck. Fucking Kane in 2015 doesn't help a god damn bit either. Wrestling will never ever get as big as was for TV even if the shows were great. Theres zero reason to expect it or be all gloom about it either.


Once they get moved to Destination America, then I'll say it's time to throw in the towel.
 
BS. Crowds didn't get super hot for everyone for no reason. Find me a Raw in 1998 that was as boring as the Raw we get each week in 2015.
Sure, go watch any taped Raw that they aired every other week. No one can stay sane in a wrestling environment past two hours.

The crowds were super hot because they were almost all 18-35 white men, which was exactly what they targeted with their characters and storylines. Anyone could make a full-on kids show that would have kids going crazy for two hours. Now they have to appeal to everyone in every demographic/quadrant.
 
Let's put Kane in the title picture, instead of guys like Cesaro, Ambrose, and Owens.

Let's give Owens a lame feud with Ryback and kill his air time by making him talk about the Secret, as opposed to making him do the stuff he was doing in NXT

Let's put Big Show in a match with Lesnar again, since guys like Ambrose and Cesaro are nowhere near built for a rub.

Their storylines suck ass. NXT outclasses them every time.
 
BS. Crowds didn't get super hot for everyone for no reason. Find me a Raw in 1998 that was as boring as the Raw we get each week in 2015.
There is plenty of bad stuff in the AE but at least everyone watching at the time gave a shit and cared about what was going to come next. Is there literally any 'to be continued' storyline at the moment until the next PPV?
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
I just signed up for the free month of WWE Network after not watching wrestling since the mid 90s and have just been dicking around watching some old WCW PPVs and Attitude Era WWF stuff. It's still pretty entertaining.

Is there anything wrassleGAF would recommend from early - mid 2000s off the top of their head? I never watched any of the Cena / Randy Orton / whoever era stuff.
 
I just signed up for the free month of WWE Network after not watching wrestling since the mid 90s and have just been dicking around watching some old WCW PPVs and Attitude Era WWF stuff. It's still pretty entertaining.

Is there anything wrassleGAF would recommend from early - mid 2000s off the top of their head? I never watched any of the Cena / Randy Orton / whoever era stuff.
Watch all of Cody Rhodes and Edge
 

Valkrai

Member
I just signed up for the free month of WWE Network after not watching wrestling since the mid 90s and have just been dicking around watching some old WCW PPVs and Attitude Era WWF stuff. It's still pretty entertaining.

Is there anything wrassleGAF would recommend from early - mid 2000s off the top of their head? I never watched any of the Cena / Randy Orton / whoever era stuff.

I'd recommend 2000s Smackdown and mid 2000s Smackdown but don't expect it to be on the level of AE. I'd say before 2007 at the latest.
 

RBH

Member
I just signed up for the free month of WWE Network after not watching wrestling since the mid 90s and have just been dicking around watching some old WCW PPVs and Attitude Era WWF stuff. It's still pretty entertaining.

Is there anything wrassleGAF would recommend from early - mid 2000s off the top of their head? I never watched any of the Cena / Randy Orton / whoever era stuff.
Backlash 2000
Summerslam 2002
 
I just signed up for the free month of WWE Network after not watching wrestling since the mid 90s and have just been dicking around watching some old WCW PPVs and Attitude Era WWF stuff. It's still pretty entertaining.

Is there anything wrassleGAF would recommend from early - mid 2000s off the top of their head? I never watched any of the Cena / Randy Orton / whoever era stuff.
Nah, that whole era is completely forgettable. Anything I can remember right now that was good was good in the "you had to be there" sense. Like, Edge cashing in to win his first title was really cool, but it's not worth watching right now.

The first two ECW One Night Stand PPVs were fun and different with a wild crowd, if you still care about that ECW vibe and the characters.
 

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
I just signed up for the free month of WWE Network after not watching wrestling since the mid 90s and have just been dicking around watching some old WCW PPVs and Attitude Era WWF stuff. It's still pretty entertaining.

Is there anything wrassleGAF would recommend from early - mid 2000s off the top of their head? I never watched any of the Cena / Randy Orton / whoever era stuff.

Sadly, a lot of the best stuff from that era you'd have to watch as one-off feud blowoff PPVs without any of the buildup because the Network is still missing years and years of Raws and Smackdowns. Like I'd tell you to watch Randy Orton vs Cactus Jack, but it doesn't work as well if you didn't get to see the build up to it. Same with Guerrero vs Lesnar. The only ones that really work in a bubble are the Angle/Michaels matches from Wrestlemania and Vengeance.
 

Anth0ny

Member
Unforgiven '00 is where Steph's tenure as creative head starts. Chris Kreski was the guy who took over after Russo left and was absolutely absurd at the job.

the unsung hero of the attitude era

what a legend. his run as head writer is probably the greatest in wwf history.

I just signed up for the free month of WWE Network after not watching wrestling since the mid 90s and have just been dicking around watching some old WCW PPVs and Attitude Era WWF stuff. It's still pretty entertaining.

Is there anything wrassleGAF would recommend from early - mid 2000s off the top of their head? I never watched any of the Cena / Randy Orton / whoever era stuff.

Fully Loaded 2000

the secret greatest PPV of all times
 

yuraya

Member
Not surprised at all.

A 3 hour show with so many commercial breaks and garbage commentary. The only thing worth watching is Lesnar and Heyman. They give a good 10 minute segment once a month. Some months they aren't even there. Its kind of sad.

Bring back the attitude era and start airing the show live on the Network. Make it even more hardcore than it was in the 90s. Do it. Grow a pair Vince. Stop trying to cater to them 7 year old cena fans.
 
the unsung hero of the attitude era

what a legend. his run as head writer is probably the greatest in wwf history.
He got laughed at for storyboarding. That's why the writing is what it is in 2015. As we live i the greatest run of dramatic serialized television ever. People expect a lot better.
 
Bring back the attitude era and start airing the show live on the Network. Make it even more hardcore than it was in the 90s. Do it. Grow a pair Vince. Stop trying to cater to them 7 year old cena fans.
Why does anyone want this?

Can you identify the elements that would be entertaining in this scenario?

I agree with the posts above that want Heyman Smackdown back. That was one of those wonderful times when the quality of the talent and the booking worked together like magic.
 

Lothar

Banned
I just signed up for the free month of WWE Network after not watching wrestling since the mid 90s and have just been dicking around watching some old WCW PPVs and Attitude Era WWF stuff. It's still pretty entertaining.

Is there anything wrassleGAF would recommend from early - mid 2000s off the top of their head? I never watched any of the Cena / Randy Orton / whoever era stuff.

I don't think you're missing out on anything by not seeing the Cena/Orton era. I think you should start with WWF 1997 and watch every segment of Stone Cold, HBK, the Rock, Foley, Bret Hart, and the Undertaker.

If you want to cut right to the most awesome stuff of the Atittude Era, start with the night after Summerslam 97. That's when Shawn turns heel.
 
I watch Raw because while it's far from perfect, it's usually entertaining enough. But Monday's show was crap. The booking has been shit. The promo's fell flat (Hi Divas Revolution).

I was bored out of mind. Crap product deserves crap ratings.
 

Spider from Mars

tap that thorax
BS. Crowds didn't get super hot for everyone for no reason. Find me a Raw in 1998 that was as boring as the Raw we get each week in 2015.

Just because WWE is garbage now doesn't mean that it wasn't partially garbage at its peak. A lot of shit was cool in the 90's that doesn't hold up now.
 
Just because WWE is garbage now doesn't mean that it wasn't partially garbage at its peak. A lot of shit was cool in the 90's that doesn't hold up now.
It mirrored pop culture at the time (for better or for worse) and gave the audience (for better or for worse) what they wanted. That doesn't happen now.
 

Hex

Banned
Let's put Kane in the title picture, instead of guys like Cesaro, Ambrose, and Owens.

Let's give Owens a lame feud with Ryback and kill his air time by making him talk about the Secret, as opposed to making him do the stuff he was doing in NXT

Let's put Big Show in a match with Lesnar again, since guys like Ambrose and Cesaro are nowhere near built for a rub.

Their storylines suck ass. NXT outclasses them every time.

Not only put Show in a match with Lesnar...weeks before Lesnar takes on Taker in HIAC mind you....but have GOOD talent like Cesaro job out to Show for weeks just to make people try to imagine a world where they would put Show over Brock again especially in MSG before a big PPV.

Give New Day all the belts.

New Day and Sasha Banks with all of the Gold, or at least all of it except for the main belt.
 

FStubbs

Member
What ever happened to Shane anyway? He just vanished.

I read on some of the dirt sheets that he's completely out of favor in the McMahon house and really doesn't have a lot to do with them anymore other than the occasional photo op. Take that for Tales from their @sses or whatever you will.
 
What ever happened to Shane anyway? He just vanished.

He saw the direction the wind was blowing, most of his ideas were shut down, and he knew that he wouldn't be given more influence than HHH. He left to make his own way in life, and currently owns a streaming/movie service that markets to the chinese.
 

s_mirage

Member
They need to make Raw a two hour show again and cut the number of PPVs.

Everyone would like them to cut to two hours but they'd be in the same boat as WCW when they cut Nitro to two hours: If the network and advertisers agreed to it, it would be on the proviso that the show gets significantly higher ratings. We know how well that worked out for WCW.
 

joeposh

Member
They need to:

  • Cut Raw to 2 hours
  • Eliminate scripted segments and "talk time" that don't provide clear entertainment value or advance a feud.
  • Make the commentary sell/enhance the in-ring product, instead of talking over it.
  • Go TV14, and use it to add some intensity and edge to the product when appropriate
  • Bring back the surprise factor. The Dudleyz returning was the first real surprise they've had in ages -- they need to return to the "what will happen next week?" feel that was so rampant during the height of the attitude era. Currently, it's incredibly repetitive and predictable.

They also need to make Smackdown relevant again. Nothing that happens on that show matters anymore. It's a hold over until the next Raw. Cutting Raw to 2 hours could help make it a valuable program again -- especially with the move to USA.
 
Everyone would like them to cut to two hours but they'd be in the same boat as WCW when they cut Nitro to two hours: If the network and advertisers agreed to it, it would be on the proviso that the show gets significantly higher ratings. We know how well that worked out for WCW.

Huh, actual incentive to fix their shitty product. Imagine that..
 

Fatalah

Member
I remember dreaming of a 2K WWE game years ago, but I never thought when it finally happened, Yukes would still be the developer:-/
 

Big One

Banned
I can't even remember the last time RAW was consistently watchable. I think the Road to WM30 was pretty much the last time I enjoyed watching RAW. After that it's been meh as hell.
 

Lothar

Banned
Just because WWE is garbage now doesn't mean that it wasn't partially garbage at its peak. A lot of shit was cool in the 90's that doesn't hold up now.

Some of the mid card stuff was garbage (although it was entertaining garbage) but almost everything with the main players was great. Austin/McMahon holds up for sure. USA vs Canada. Corporate Rock and the Corporation. The rise of Foley into a main evener. Undertaker vs Kane. The love triangle with HHH/Angle/Stephanie. Edge and Christian in 2000. The Eddie Guerrero/Chyna storyline. Austin vs Rock. By themselves, each one of those is better than anything this year.
 
Couldn't they dedicate a whole hour to the women, or break it up over the course of the show? That would effectively make it a two hour program for the traditional (mostly) all male portion, right?
 
I can't remember the last time I watched a full episode of Raw. It's gotten so boring and stale. Stuff like Lucha Underground (please let there be a season 2 coming) and NXT absolutely buries Raw these days. Changing it it back to being two hours would be a nice start.
 
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