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Why WWE’s Ratings Have Dropped Off

By Brandon Carney

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Why are WWE’s ratings experiencing record lows?

WWE Raw is experiencing record-low ratings, and, with WrestleMania right around the corner, fans are wondering; when is business finally going to pick up? Things are undeniably stale right now. All of the storylines feel extremely shallow and many fans are quick to point the finger at Sheamus for being the centerpiece of the ratings dip. But Sheamus is not the issue, it’s the lack of depth in any of the mid-card feuds.

Sheamus is a transitional champion, that much is obvious. He isn’t going to keep the title for longer than a few months and it would be somewhat surprising if he were even involved in the main event come WrestleMania. He isn’t an overly-entertaining guy, but he’s fine. He’ll work for now, and it isn’t his fault the ratings are suffering. People are ready to root against Sheamus and, knowing that he’s the champion, people will tune in if he and/or Roman Reigns are involved in a segment. But what about the mid-card? What about the divas? What about the rest of Raw which is unfortunately still a 3 hour show? People need a reason to be invested and WWE isn’t providing that.

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Just look at the Intercontinental Championship right now. Kevin Owens is a fantastic champion, but what is he doing right now? The number one contender for the championship (Dean Ambrose) was determined in a triple threat match on Smackdown. There isn’t much of a story there and it seems lazily put together. This feud was obviously coming, but why not start it more organically with Ambrose mentioning how he has consistently defeated Owens on Raw and at Survivor Series, so now he wants the belt? It all feels like very lazy storytelling, and honestly it feels like a placeholder feud until Sami Zayn makes his way back to the main roster.

Speaking of placeholder feuds, Alberto Del Rio and the U.S. title are no more compelling than the Owens and the IC title. Del Rio seems to be beginning a rivalry with Jack Swagger, which is great; it’s a fresh feud and it brings Swagger, who was long overdue for reinstatement on the flagship show, back into the fray. But anyone who so much as looks ahead at the WWE live event schedule can see that John Cena is about to return and start feuding with Del Rio over the title right away. Del Rio and Swagger could be a legitimate feud with a great story behind it, but instead it looks like it is merely being used to kill time until Cena returns. So again, there’s no reason to really be invested in this.

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The Divas division is no better, with Paige randomly getting another shot at Charlotte’s championship. Paige is great and it’s understandable if they want to keep her in the picture, but the fact that Sasha Banks hasn’t been brought into the mix is mind-boggling. While Charlotte and Paige have possibly the most well-developed feud aside from the one around the WWE Championship, people don’t want to see the same match over and over.

Essentially, WWE is making it so 80% of their show is harmless to miss. There is no real reason to follow any of the mid-card title feuds because their development is either shallow, or the feuds are merely placeholders for things to come. If they take some of their creative focus from The Authority, Roman Reigns, and Sheamus, maybe fans would be more interested in the rest of the product.

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