WWE Raw rating for Apr. 29, 2019: 2.16 million viewers
TNA iMPACT! rating for Jan. 4, 2010: 2.2 million viewers
Man. That Apr. 29 episode of WWE Raw was bad. I decided against watching Apr. 30 Smackdown! I’m taking a break. At least until it becomes more bearable than staring into a bucket of explosive diarrhea that Jim Bakker touts as Armageddon gourmet. I’m Stone Cold Steve Austin tapping out to Kurt Angle’s ankle lock. I’m only interested to see those Firefly Fun House segments (probably as a way to reintroduce Bray Wyatt back to his original character).
Think about it. WWE Raw is getting lower ratings than TNA when they were pitted against one another on Monday nights. WWE used to get close to 10 million viewers when they were pitted against another wrestling behemoth, WCW. Now it’s barely two million with no credible competition. The third hours are falling below two million. Those numbers may fall even lower when more people tune out for the eventual NBA Conference Semifinals and Finals.
Whoa. Don’t forget about hurting stocks. Those are expected to make a recovery.
Remember when cassettes and CDs were popular? Track lists featured about a dozen songs. Radio stations played catchy ear-worms that appealed to the masses. File-sharing websites weren’t around. Neither was previewing albums online. Fans took a chance on purchasing the entire album that featured that song. Often it was the only good song. Sometimes it was the only tolerable one.
That’s the current WWE product. They’re the record companies marketing one likable tune into albums loaded with filler content. Bray Wyatt and the Firefly Fun House vignettes are the Spin Doctors, “Two Princes.” It’s so undeniably cheesy and awful that your only choices are to love it or hate it. Nothing in-between. Now if you can listen to the rest of that Pocket Full of Kryptonite album without feeling like Superman or Krypto, then you’re a S-O-C-I-O-P-A-T-H.
Care for another comparison? CDs began to fade after the Internet gave people the option of purchasing or stealing individual songs. It became much more convenient to preview entire albums. Likewise, missing WWE Raw or Smackdown! is no big deal. If someone misses a significant event, then they can always watch it online. Just read the WWE Raw or Smackdown! reviews. Missed something good? Off to YouTube!
Will WWE ever retain its audience during a time when people are cutting cords? Game of Thrones continues to earn milestone ratings. No LeBron James and uninteresting matchups mean NBA playoff ratings are down approximately 18 percent. WWE can’t take advantage. That’s with an upcoming feud that’s probably the most prestigious fight that they can offer, Seth Rollins vs A.J. Styles.
What’s wrong with WWE? A lot. Talent wise, they’re richer than King Solomon. It’s all for naught. The reality is that, while the art of wrestling will never die, it will never again achieve the mainstream popularity that it enjoyed during the 20th century. The ratings and interest levels have trended downward for nearly 20-plus years. Everyone can put away their razors because a revival period is not coming back.
Let’s highlight a few reasons for the death of mainstream wrestling popularity. Well, at the very least, WWE popularity.
No Cliffhangers
One can find more cliffhangers from an episode of Between the Lions than months of WWE Raw and Smackdown!. Episodes used to end with segments that created excitement for the next broadcast. Today’s creative team treats it as a lost art. Key angles are placed at the end of the first and second hours. The third hour? Nothing more than going through the motions. It exists for no other purpose but to create more advertising opportunities.
Availability
The saying goes, “Availability is the best ability.” Vince McMahon defended declining attendance and television ratings with “talent absences.” A cancer diagnosis forced Roman Reigns to relinquish his WWE Universal title. Multiple injuries have impacted certain feuds and character developments. No doubt that injuries play a role.
What about booking Mojo Rawley to spend the last three months screaming in a mirror to himself? What about using the flagship show to book a main event champion who rarely appears and never wrestles outside special events? What about the hoards of workers who haven’t been used in months? EC3 and Heavy Machinery disappear within weeks of debuting.
No-shows aren’t the only problem. Another irritating practice occurs when a healthy wrestler makes his or her only appearance via a video promo. Don’t paying fans want to see these wrestlers live? Isn’t that the point of attendance? Why attend if they’re only used on a video promo?
Most “talent absences” are self-inflicted wounds. Want a three-hour show that’s enjoyable from start to finish? Book better.
Insulting Intelligence
Not all millennials are assclowns who enjoy humor that appeals to the lowest common denominator. Does it even appeal to lowbrow audiences? Who is requesting No Way Jose, The Bunny, or any of these silly gimmicks? Are they specifically for live crowds? They get little to no reaction. Are they for children? Once they’re out of the Nick Jr. phase, it’s like TheBradRules suggests: they’re off to Fortnite and looking up porn on their cellphones.
Let me point out a cringe-worthy comedy segment. On Apr. 29, The Usos mocked The Revival for shaving each others’ backs. Is this supposed to attract new viewers? Couldn’t one view this as homosexuality shaming? I mean, the idea behind the humor in men shaving backs typically revolves around queer stereotypes.
Try that segment in Exreme Warfare Revenge. The Usos lost overness from this segment. The Revival lost overness from this segment. The WWE lost viewers from this segment. Viewers lost brain cells from this segment. Brain cells lost brain cells from this segment.
Name Changes
Bobby Roode to Robert Roode? War Raiders to Viking Experience to Viking Raiders? Eliminating first names? Stop! Needless name changes prove that WWE has no confidence even with the simplest matters.
Top Draw Heel
Most people would refer to this as not having a top draw superstar. No debate there. Would anybody mistake anyone on this roster having the overness of Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, or even a Ruthless Aggression era mainstay, e.g. John Cena? Only the most delusional fans.
What about the top draw heel? Stars have the help of their nemesis getting them over. Austin with McMahon. Rock with Triple H. Batman had The Joker. You get the picture. A face gets over when they take down the villain that irritates everyone.
Heels today either get no reaction or they’re cheered more than jeered. Crowds just don’t play along with it. The closest thing they’ve got to a top draw heel is Baron Corbin. The question is whether it’s heel heat or that turn-the-channel type of heat. If booked correctly, Drew McIntyre has great potential as a top heel.
Wrestler Credibility
Bad booking always gets in the way of pushes. Look at Seth Rollins. WWE wanted fans to see him as a beast slayer. After what was more of a prematch brawl than a WrestleMania match, Rollins didn’t make me think “Beast slayer” as much as “That’s my purse! I don’t know you!” Why not let Brock Lesnar and Rollins do what they’re capable of doing: have a great match?
Title Credibility
Is there a better example than the new women’s tag team belts? They started off well with trying to establish credibility with Sasha Banks and Bayley. Then WWE uses WrestleMania to have them pass off the belts to a comedy tag team, The IIconics. These women almost never win. Winning the belts hasn’t changed that. It took two months before the women’s tag team belts were handed to the duo who’s booked as the division’s weakest team.
Now those straps are a joke. WWE gave the men’s tag team belts to a wrestler whose gimmick was a losing streak of 269 matches. Why? This company doesn’t give its fans a chance to care about anything.
Commercial Interruptions
My primary pet peeve with WWE. I understand they want advertising money, but, as Renee Young would say, “Come on!”
Storytelling isn’t prioritized. WWE focuses more on the matches. They have a deeper roster with more workers who are capable of technical masterpieces. Matches often go 20, even 30-plus minutes. Apr. 22 2019 Raw showcased A.J. Styles and Baron Corbin working multiple matches that night. Why not break that finale into the Apr. 29 episode? Whatever, that’s beside the point…
Neglect storytelling and focus on the higher quality wrestling content? Okay, fine. How can I get into a match with one, even two commercial interruptions for every match exceeding five minutes? WWE returns from a five-minute commercial break with a wrestler trapped in a headlock. The wrestler breaks out of it and…we’ll be back after these messages!
Imagine an NFL game during the first quarter. FOX goes to commercial. They don’t return until midway into the second quarter. Same thing happens during the second half.
WWE in a nutshell. They’ve done this for years. People accepted this in the past. Not today.
You know what I do during commercials? Either fall asleep or turn the channel. My intentions are to turn back to RAW. Wait! The Monday Night Football game has my attention. Should I miss this for that upcoming main event tag match that everyone knows will end in disqualification? Meh. If I miss anything good, I can check it out on YouTube.
Defenders will claim that wrestling companies have a long history of commercial interruptions. Yeah…times have changed. People have more entertainment options. They have shorter attention spans. Longer matches make for an unfriendly television product. Commercial interruptions disrupt momentum and hype. It’s not hard to understand why television ratings decline for a three-hour show loaded with filler content.
Seriously. Why watch a wrestling product when we’re restricted from viewing most of the actual wrestling? I’m watching a sports entertainment product to watch sports entertainment. Not puppets that go DURRRRRRRRRR.
Are commercial interruptions absolutely necessary to hit a quota? Then have shorter matches. Lackluster stories followed with 30-minute tag matches featuring 15 minutes of commercial interruptions won’t cut it anymore.
Lol. Idiot. Do ya research, fool . The next boom period is right around the corner. Ever heard of All Elite Wrestling?
Yeah… let’s control that excitement. What kind of impact can AEW have on the current environment? Getting a television deal with a credible network (TNT) does help. WWE already provides a product with too many hours of weekly content. AEW probably won’t have a show that competes head-to-head against any WWE telecast, but they must sway hardcore fans away from their WWE commitment. Only a handful of people will watch wrestling all day, every day.
As for casual fans or developing a brand new audience? Maybe they can reach some level of popularity similar to what TNA used to enjoy. TNA faded into oblivion. AEW enters at a time when people are cutting cords. The concept isn’t new. Same storylines, same headlocks, same pretty much everything else that any other mainstream federation does…
Another obstacle for WWE’s declining viewership? Sure. I’ll check it out. Consider me shocked if it becomes more than that. I hope it does though. WWE is suffocating itself with its monopoly on the wrestling industry.
Summary: Mainstream Wrestling Is Dying
WWE expects fans to commit hours upon hours indulging weak scripts, offensive humor, poor characterization, no builds, champions who either lose nearly every match or are part time, and matches with multiple commercial interruptions. All of this while facing more competition than ever.
Out of touch. The company doesn’t understand its core audience. They don’t understand millennials, perennials, or any youth. People have too many options to accept one-hit wonder shows. Entertainment isn’t Sami Zayn portraying himself as a self-righteous millennial stereotype.
Can WWE fix this? My doubts stem not just from nearly 20 years of ratings trending downward. Does performance wrestling provide enough originality to entertain mainstream audiences? Most mainstream matches showcase the same formulaic builds. How many times can bookers fascinate fans with a monster gimmick?
So much of wrestling is overdone. As an art, performance wrestling has existed since the 19th century. Just look at how Internet respondents reacted to these Firefly Fun House vignettes. They’re excited because these TV-14 Mr. Rogers Neighborhood segments are different. That’s how desperate fans are for something different than what we’ve seen since birth. Batista’s contract signing with Triple H was new and fresh. A.J. Styles and Seth Rollins contract signing was the 98,174th time we’ve witnessed a far less impressive rendition.
Mainstream performance wrestling is dying. That said, it’ll never flatline. It’ll always maintain a cult following when its mainstream success fades away. Kind of like 311. After the album Evolver, 311 devolved into a shell of their former selves. Their lifelong loyalists won’t let them fade into oblivion. Don’t expect any decent airplay from new songs on alternative radio. That won’t stop them from making music until they choose not to.
Like Chris Jericho used to say, WWE, “You’re on the list!” Can they get off that list? Matters won’t get easier as each passing generation become increasingly disconnected with this art form. Why sabotage any remaining viewership with segments that appear like they’re punishing wrestlers over petty matters (e.g. not signing extensions)?
CHECK OUT MORE
NBA Load Management: Where Amazing Never Happens
Athletes, Leagues Must Address Fan Misconduct on Social Media, at Live Events
MLB or NFL? Kyler Murray Decision Isn’t Complicated
Le’Veon Bell Made Wise Choice to Sit Out 2018 NFL Season
Debating Morality Arguments against Sports Betting in Tennessee
Joshua Huffman was born and edumacated in Middle Tennessee. He has published content for Yahoo! Sports (via Contributor Network) and Titan Sized, among other venues. At SoBros, he’ll provide Daily Fantasy Sports suggestions and broad sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter (although I rarely use it).
Check out the SoBros Shop. Subscribe to our Patreon. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Listen on SoundCloud. Watch on YouTube.
