6 Problems That Led to WWE Ratings Decline

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Raw is too predictable

For i don’t know how long Raw has followed the same formulaic approach. Every week without fail we start with an in-ring promo, it usually goes on far too long and fails to really do the job that it’s meant to. The match that is made coming out of the segment is usually pretty easy to guess so why not just have a 30 second piece of chat from Triple H, or the announce team, telling us what to expect from the show? Or why not throw that segment onto the pre show? You can still have that section but it doesn’t need to be at the expense of actual wrestling matches, after all that’s why the majority of us tune in every week.

That opening segment is followed by a handful of quick matches that don’t do a great deal to further storylines, mixed in with plenty of backstage segments featuring the same guys that opened the show with 20 minutes of chatter and lots of recaps of things we saw less than an hour ago. The main event, don’t forget this was set up with that long boring opening segment, usually ends in a screwy finish that does little to appease anything storyline wise or actually mean anything when we know the same stuff will happen the following week.

One thing happened on this last weeks Raw though that stood out and made a difference. The Dudley Boyz have become embroiled with the Wyatt Family, and looked like they were to be outnumbered during an in-ring segment. Then they announced that they had a “Family” member ready to stand by their side. Out strolled Tommy Dreamer, the ECW original, to stand with his Dudley brothers against the Wyatts. As the crowd realised it was Dreamer there was an actual reaction of shock and they popped for him. A small thing like bringing back a well-loved star form the past became, probably, the best moment of the show.

That’s all it would take. Every now and then throw a little surprise in along the way, bring back a guy, an unexpected title change, a big moment that nobody expected, will pop the crowd and get people talking about the product.

This is live tv after all. Why not treat it that way? Why not start the show with a match? Throw in something like Neville vs. Kalisto as the first 15 minutes of the show, start it with a hot match, something exciting to get the crowd pumped up. You can still set up your main event either during that match or immediately after it but you don’t have to bore the crowd to death in what is one of the most important segments of the show. A quick start to the show would instantly have the crowd on their feet and have them ready for a big night. Not leave them sitting on their hands after seeing the millionth promo featuring all the usual faces.

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