Originally Posted by Tommy Thunder
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I don't necessarily agree that the WWE is in a trough ratings wise. This might be the worst period for WWE in a long time but it still could get lots worse. There is no guarantee that ratings will rise and with the way the wrestling world is right now just keeping ratings steady would be an achievement.
I don't think the wrestlers in WWE are the problem. They have a bunch of talented guys both in the ring and on the mic. Hence why bringing back the old legends hasn't had much of an impact. They do need to let these guys be themselves to make them more believable and create some diversity though. The mid card comes over so bland these days its unreal.
There are 5 major things that I think would improve ratings that I don't see mentioned every few days;
1) Shorter in-ring promos. They need to get the point across and advance the storyline in half the time. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks time drags when watching some promos. Obviously there are guys that are better at keeping interest than others but even then they seem to take up more time then they really need to to get the point across. Tune into Raw 15 minutes late and you wont have missed anything, which brings me on to point 2.
2) Less recaping. Far too much time is spent recaping what has happened and what is coming up. Yes a gentle reminder every so often is good but its far too much. Just having the commentators mentioning what has happened during ring entrances or during a match is enough. Its a 2 hour show but only has 1 hours worth of original content.
3) More actual wrestling. With the new found time created by implementing the above two points you can now give each match a couple more minutes. Also will be able to add in 1 or 2 more backstage promos/interviews giving lesser guys a greater chance to showcase themselves.
4) Unpredictability. Everything is far too predictable, you don't need to have read dirtsheets to know what is likely to happen on a show or who will win the matches. It shouldn't be obvious in the first couple of weeks what the outcome of a feud will be (such as Rhodes/Big Show) and ideally shouldn't be obvious even when the match is taking place. WWE do a fair enough job of keeping PPV results unpredictable (but could still be better) but calling the results of RAW matches 100% correctly has become a weekly occurance for me. Maybe I've just watched wrestling for so long that I now see how the writers think but either way bringing back the unknown and the uncertain is essential.
5) Sudden shocks. Like point 4 in many ways, but to make TV interesting you need to have it that anything can happen on any given week. If going into a show I know there is no chance of a title change, debut or reappearance, heel/face turn or major storyline update then there really isn't any point of watching. Far too many shows just feel like they are filing time from PPV to PPV.
These are the more major problems I see in WWE, I'm sure some will agree and some won't as tends to be the way. I'm sure there are many reasons not even related to the product that infleunce ratings as well but bottom line is the WWE will not be happy with the way ratings have plummeted over the last decade.
Sorry for the long post, got carried away. Probably should have been a blog in itself. If any admin thinks it would be better off there please move it.
I don't think the wrestlers in WWE are the problem. They have a bunch of talented guys both in the ring and on the mic. Hence why bringing back the old legends hasn't had much of an impact. They do need to let these guys be themselves to make them more believable and create some diversity though. The mid card comes over so bland these days its unreal.
There are 5 major things that I think would improve ratings that I don't see mentioned every few days;
1) Shorter in-ring promos. They need to get the point across and advance the storyline in half the time. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks time drags when watching some promos. Obviously there are guys that are better at keeping interest than others but even then they seem to take up more time then they really need to to get the point across. Tune into Raw 15 minutes late and you wont have missed anything, which brings me on to point 2.
2) Less recaping. Far too much time is spent recaping what has happened and what is coming up. Yes a gentle reminder every so often is good but its far too much. Just having the commentators mentioning what has happened during ring entrances or during a match is enough. Its a 2 hour show but only has 1 hours worth of original content.
3) More actual wrestling. With the new found time created by implementing the above two points you can now give each match a couple more minutes. Also will be able to add in 1 or 2 more backstage promos/interviews giving lesser guys a greater chance to showcase themselves.
4) Unpredictability. Everything is far too predictable, you don't need to have read dirtsheets to know what is likely to happen on a show or who will win the matches. It shouldn't be obvious in the first couple of weeks what the outcome of a feud will be (such as Rhodes/Big Show) and ideally shouldn't be obvious even when the match is taking place. WWE do a fair enough job of keeping PPV results unpredictable (but could still be better) but calling the results of RAW matches 100% correctly has become a weekly occurance for me. Maybe I've just watched wrestling for so long that I now see how the writers think but either way bringing back the unknown and the uncertain is essential.
5) Sudden shocks. Like point 4 in many ways, but to make TV interesting you need to have it that anything can happen on any given week. If going into a show I know there is no chance of a title change, debut or reappearance, heel/face turn or major storyline update then there really isn't any point of watching. Far too many shows just feel like they are filing time from PPV to PPV.
These are the more major problems I see in WWE, I'm sure some will agree and some won't as tends to be the way. I'm sure there are many reasons not even related to the product that infleunce ratings as well but bottom line is the WWE will not be happy with the way ratings have plummeted over the last decade.
Sorry for the long post, got carried away. Probably should have been a blog in itself. If any admin thinks it would be better off there please move it.
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