HarryDemeanor
Member
Drop the show to 2 hours and start building SmackDown back up as a show that will advance storylines. Give people a reason to watch.
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WWE Raw drops to lowest TV rating in 18 years
- Thread starter RBH
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TNA might get a extension with America
Lucha is coming back.
ROH is on America and
GFW...LOLOLOLOL.
Lucha Underground is getting a second season, it was announced a while ago. I'm more surprised with TNA still being on air.
People may give WWE shit now (rightfully so) but I'd definitely take it over 2000s WCW.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
Not really sure what you're seeing. He's a huge star, and he's got it all in every category. Can't blame the guy for his fully scripted promos, but he nails his character.
Lucha Underground has already been confirmed for a second season.
There's never been a better time to be a wrestling fan. Note: Not a WWE fan, but a wrestling fan. Because not only are there tons of promotions out there internationally, but they're all easily available.
You can stream NJPW, AIW, CZW, ROH, CMLL, AAA, Dragon Gate, and more are setting up ways for fans to watch their product all the time. Legitimately. People just have to stop thinking they have to watch wrestling at Monday at 9 o clock.
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.
Spider from Mars
tap that thorax
I would rather watch a random episode of Nitro from the 2000's than a 3 hour episode of Raw.
Touche'. I'm going by my opinion mostly because I'm indifferent with Trips. I just couldn't stand him during that time and especially during his Evolution days. No doubt he's good at controlling the crowd, but....meh.
CartridgeBlower
Member
Is the PG era really that good to them financially, because they seem to be taking a massive ratings hit because of it. Shit is so tame. Mix that with horrible writing (maybe the worst the company has EVER had) and it's not a shock their ratings are declining.
Any hope of a change away from the PG era? Any behind the scenes talk? I mean, it feels like it's time.
Any hope of a change away from the PG era? Any behind the scenes talk? I mean, it feels like it's time.
Spider from Mars
tap that thorax
Sponsors and toy deals aren't going to let them shift from PG.
Frozenprince
Banned
With how fucked up his body is getting and how much he's branching into other things, Vince needs to have something prepped for post-Cena, stat. He carries the program now, when he's gone, it's gonna be BAD.
cartoon_soldier
Member
3 hours and still can't have compelling story lines. Written promos that fall flat. Some guys doing same promos every week and they aren't even that good at it. Vince picking a guy he likes and pushing them to the top.
BAH GAWD ITS HERMAN KANE
The thing about NXT is it has a ton of problems from a lack of building stars to feuds that feel randomly thrown together to an over reliance on squash matches.
But it's an hour long. You don't notice all the issues as much because it's an hour long. WWE you sit there for three hours and wonder if anything happening even matters. I barely watch the product anymore, but I saw it several months later from when I last saw it. When I last saw it, Seth was backstage complaining about how he had to defend his title to Triple H and Stephanie and not getting along with Kane. When I watched again, Seth was backstage complaining about how he had to defend his title to Triple H and Stephanie and not getting along with Kane. Rusev and Cena were feuding and when I came back months later, Rusev and Cena were having a match.
But it's an hour long. You don't notice all the issues as much because it's an hour long. WWE you sit there for three hours and wonder if anything happening even matters. I barely watch the product anymore, but I saw it several months later from when I last saw it. When I last saw it, Seth was backstage complaining about how he had to defend his title to Triple H and Stephanie and not getting along with Kane. When I watched again, Seth was backstage complaining about how he had to defend his title to Triple H and Stephanie and not getting along with Kane. Rusev and Cena were feuding and when I came back months later, Rusev and Cena were having a match.
Baraka in the White House
2-Terms of Kombat
I don't even think they necessarily need to ditch their PG rating so much as they need to tell better stories and build up and support a robust roster again, neither of which has been done in a VERY long time.
friskykillface
Banned
yeah 3 hours is to much, bring back 2 hours or use stone colds podcast or other wwe network shows to fill the first hour
Are you sure? Remember the Fingerpoke of Doom or Bash at the Beach?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhS4ZDnRqJQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cps9Xd7wmw
Edit: Seeing WWE's handling of the Divas compared to NXT is a damn shame.
Not in the magnitude of 2.4 ratings :/
WWE is heading towards TNA numbers if they don't get their shit together stat...
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
PG has nothing to do with it. Every NXT Takeover special is super hyped and universally loved, and it's all PG. It's just not (usually) fucking corny, over-scripted, and awkward.
ScaryShark
Banned
You're obviously allowed to feel how you want but if you didn't like HHH during that time he was sort of doing his job. The difference between now and then is that once Triple H let Rocky ascend to the stratosphere, the writing and card was good that he was able to sort of move down the card, put on compelling matches and not fade away or become uninteresting. He got to do different stuff and help other guys lower down the card at that time (Jericho/Benoit). Now he'd fade in to obscurity. I also think his feud with Cactus Jack was incredible and he had two of the best matches in that entire era with him.
I'd really recommend people to go watch from like Backlash 2000 on and see how much the product has changed from a storytelling perspective and how they utilized their entire roster. Is it perfect or high art? No, it is still wrestling and there is a bad misogynist glaze over the whole thing but when it came down to showcasing talent and keeping you engaged and on the edge of your seat week to week it really is hard to beat.
Not seeing this on Raw anytime soon
that match was like watching my son being born. Simply beautiful.I don't think it's the fault PG era anywhere near as much as it is the product.
I mean, maybe my memory is failing me, but WCW was basically "PG" during the mid-late 90s, and they did fine. even the nWo was pretty much PG.
tbh, personally, I like the product more than I have in the last few years. I won't say it's great, but I like Cena more than I did, I like New Day, and I like the matches in general more than i have in the past, but I'm not the audience that probably matters.
edit: instead of "last few years" i'll say the last year or two
Ok that's great and all but that's better than this
Touche lol
old manatee
Banned
I hope wrestling tanks and American Gladiators comes back.
ScaryShark
Banned
I think almost none of their failings have to do with their television rating. That's just an easy thing for people to rebel against.
Are you 18-45 and watch live? Then you matter.
Outside of when Steiner was on the microphone, WCW was PG at their peak, yes. It's why they got much better sponsorship deals than WWF did.
Emperor_EL
Member
More. New Day
More. New Day
More. New Day
More. New Day
More. New Day
CartridgeBlower
Member
NXT is great and is the superior product at the moment, but the super love it gets is from hardcore fans. If WWE went that way with their main product, ratings would fall even more. RAW needs the theatrics and crazy story lines to hit a more mainstream audience, they just need to be more creative.
The PG rating, while not the main reason the company sucks at the moment, is certainly a form of censorship on the stories they can tell. Just like it is in film and television...
Oh it's only a matter of time before Vince gets his hands on them and JBL and Lawler are cackling at each other, 'New Day Rules!' and 'New Day Sucks!' back at each other
ReturnOfTheRAT
Member
Looks like the product is absolute shit. Shitty booking, inconsequential stories, an over reliance on Kane and The Big Show in 2015, and repetitious matches
Frustrated_Grunt
Member
Sweet. Glad LU is sticking around.
Yeah, I was my fair share of independent wrestling and am glad there's avenues to constantly get that. I'm more curious as to where larger wrestling companies will be in the next few years. NJPW will probably gain a stronger foothold in NA markets, but I wonder if companies like ROH and LU can maintain its audience.
half a moon
Banned
Haven't watched in 20 weeks
New Day sucks
New Day sucks
US belt on Woods
IC belt on Big E
WWE belt on Kofi
Ratings will soar like an eagle.
CreeperBlocks
Banned
I think the problem is and everyone else has echoed this in this thread: RAW is way too long.3 hours is too much for wrestling for me it might be alright for PPVs but regular stuff not so much.
Smackdown is ruined, they are doing nothing with that show, make it matter again and make it continue with the storylines that are on RAW and PPVs
Now the Wrestlers. This might be the dullest roster WWE has ever had, The New Day saves it but everyone else fucking sucks Reigns? Forgetable. Dolph Ziggler? Should have released him a long time ago. Seth Rollins? He's alright, he's an excellent wrestler but his character is just annoying. Ryback? Failed Goldberg attempt. I could go on and on about how the wrestlers but I won't.
Smackdown is ruined, they are doing nothing with that show, make it matter again and make it continue with the storylines that are on RAW and PPVs
Now the Wrestlers. This might be the dullest roster WWE has ever had, The New Day saves it but everyone else fucking sucks Reigns? Forgetable. Dolph Ziggler? Should have released him a long time ago. Seth Rollins? He's alright, he's an excellent wrestler but his character is just annoying. Ryback? Failed Goldberg attempt. I could go on and on about how the wrestlers but I won't.
I do. Well not bloody matches. Attitude Era wasn't about blood. Russo storylines are better than what they're doing now. At least he tries to make it interesting. They're not even trying now.
Not seeing this on Raw anytime soon
Sasha is Life, Sasha is Boss.
ScaryShark
Banned
What's scary is they might freak out over the ratings and kill off the stuff that they're actually doing well: New Day and a young, super talented champion in Seth Rollins.
At least they can't pin this on Daniel Bryan.
blackaroni
Member
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
Wrestling has always been a PG product to me. Turn it up to semi-PG14 for the big, serious feuds (like Lesnar giving Taker the middle finger last month), but there's no reason in 2015 for blood, excessive cursing, and edgy shit. Wrestling's a weird carny family show for people who don't get squeamish at simulated violence. It's just a great 1v1 spectacle, and all of my favorite moments have been PG-ish anyway.
Don't you dare!US belt on Woods
IC belt on Big E
WWE belt on Kofi
Ratings will sour like an eagle.
QueenOfThorns
Member
Do you think that will really change how good the show is? lol. Lots of the attitude era just flat out sucked with the same terrible writing they have right now. They couldn't replicate that even if they wanted to.
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.)
These changes plus Raw being two hours instead of three would do a lot to make people watch the show every week. When a large amount of your flagship show is obvious filler, you have a big problem.
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