Thursday, March 28, 2024
EditorialWWE Never Learns, So Nothing Will Change After Raw Ratings Slump

WWE Never Learns, So Nothing Will Change After Raw Ratings Slump

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Two years ago, WWE had gone through enough of a bad time that The McMahon Family felt the need to go on television and apologize for having such a bad product. They tried to spin it as a Constable Corbin issue, but that was just deflecting for the sake of saving face. We all knew what was really going on: WWE wanted to reach out to fans and tell them “Sorry. We’re going to try to do better.”

Then, they didn’t try. Or, at the very least, they tried so minimally and for such a short amount of time that they might as well not have bothered.

Now, this past week’s Monday Night Raw had its lowest ratings ever. You’d think they would be panicking even more—and some sources are saying they are—but it’s not going to mean a damn thing.

Don’t get your hopes up for some grand, sweeping changes. NOTHING is going to change, and you know it. Guess who else knows it? Everyone else in WWE.

Step 1: Acknowledging a Problem

The first step in fixing a problem is acknowledging that there is a problem. WWE can’t ignore that. The ratings are there and the numbers are what they are. It’s done.

This isn’t an issue of the pandemic being the sole reason WWE is struggling right now and no matter how much they’d like for that to be the case, things aren’t going to magically get better once COVID is no longer an influence.

You could make that argument if the ratings were bad only in 2020 once the pandemic started. However, if you look back the past 5 years or even longer, you’ll see that it has gone on far longer than just lockdown.

Thus, WWE has to be willing to say “there’s a problem beyond just the pandemic and we need to look at who and what is causing these issues.”

A Lack of Responsibility

Unfortunately, WWE is like any company or any singular person in that they are quick to play the blame game and point fingers in every direction but in the mirror.

How many times have we heard on investor calls that the reason ratings are so low is because “big stars” like Brock Lesnar aren’t available?

It’s not WWE’s fault the ratings are low. That’s the way the entertainment business is going, right? Digital platforms. Social media. Buzz words. Corporate speak. Revenue streams. Partnerships. Blah blah blah.

It’s all jargon meant to distract. WWE has people on its team and has trained specifically in the art of bullshit—just like every politician and company, mind you…WWE isn’t special—in trying to pull nonsense out of its ass to make up excuses so investors don’t back away. As long as the people bankrolling things hear what they need to hear and don’t stop signing the checks, that’s all that matters. And as long as those investors are stupid enough to accept excuses, all you have to do is keep convincing them to hold out a little longer.

WWE does this with its fans, too. Creative problems? Well, “plans changed.” Get over it. Forgive us and move on and give us the benefit of the doubt that next time is going to be better. If it isn’t? Well, get over it. Forgive us and move on and give us the benefit of the doubt that next time, we swear it is going to be better.

And if it isn’t…again? Well, if you’re not willing to listen to the cycle repeat itself again, then you’re just being a bad fan and you’re the problem.

Misdirection and Deflection

Once you’ve decided that you don’t want to take responsibility for your mistakes, you need scapegoats and ways to deflect.

Isn’t it interesting that WWE.com lists that apology promo from The McMahon Family not as “Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and Shane McMahon apologize for doing a bad job and promise to try harder”, but as “The McMahons to control Raw and SmackDown as a united front” instead?

Look at that deflection! This isn’t about them acknowledging a problem, it’s about them coming in to save the day!

“Mr. McMahon and the entire McMahon family reveal their plan to shake things up on Raw and SmackDown LIVE.” = Calm down. Your saviors are here to make things more interesting on the flagship shows. Remember, by the way, that SmackDown is live now.

Quick Fixes Rather Than True Solutions

Here is the trajectory of how to deal with a problem, from the easiest/simplest/laziest to the hardest:

1) Ignore it. Problem doesn’t exist. 2) Okay, problem exists, but it’s not a big deal. 3) Okay, it’s a big deal, but it’s someone else’s fault. 4) Okay, it’s my fault, but I have a simple solution that doesn’t require much effort. 5) Ugh. Okay, let’s actually try to fix the problem.

The most we ever see lately is for WWE to get to step 4 where the company does something super simple in the hopes to bump a rating and can revert back to the status quo.

Title changes are among the easiest, quickest ways WWE hopes to boost interest in the product. Don’t be shocked at all if TLC ends with The Miz cashing in the Money in the Bank, climbing the ladder mid-match and stealing the belt to technically become the new champion.

That would be WWE’s attempt to give fans a “WTF?” hook so they end the pay-per-view with a “must-see angle” and people will tune in to Raw the next night to see how that all works out.

They either will or they won’t. Even if they do tune in, they probably won’t the week after, cause that’s a temporary bandage and not addressing the core problem.

It’s the same as when the Brock Lesnar element comes in. WWE thinks putting the belt on him is going to solve everything because he bumps up the ratings. However, if simply having him on the roster and holding the title was the solution, wouldn’t the ratings be fixed on a more even basis?

They’re not, though. You’ll see based on the past 10 years, nearly, that even when Lesnar is champion, the ratings stay roughly the same. They only ever change when he’s promoted to be on the show and they only change on THAT show.

That’s because if Brock is a draw, he’s a draw when people think they’ll see him. Not that they’ll tune in for 8 weeks in a row where he’s NOT on the show and then just keep tuning in in the hopes that he will. Eventually, they realize he won’t and they don’t bother watching until WWE advertises that he will show up. They watch for that episode, then disappear again.

Anyone can do that with any kind of promotion. It requires no effort to dangle something special in front of someone to make them go “oooo” and temporarily have their attention. What really matters is sticking the landing and continuing to keep their attention once you remove that carrot.

It’s Not Rocket Science

Figuring out trends is difficult. Most of the time, something catches on out of nowhere because of some x-factor and by the time you can analyze and pinpoint why, it’s too late to capitalize on it.

But here’s the thing: some of this is self-explanatory and incredibly easy once you have the right experience to know how certain trends work out.

WWE has been in business decades. They know there’s more interest on the Road to WrestleMania, for instance. It’s also no surprise that NXT gets better ratings if you promote interesting matches and call it Great American Bash instead of just having it be a normal episode with segments you can see every week.

That’s just how shit works. You get more people to come into your store if you have a sale going on. More people will go see a movie if they hear good things about it from other people, and less people will venture out to theaters if there’s bad word-of-mouth.

You’re not going to keep returning to a restaurant that continually overcooks your steak, right? Why would you? So why would you tune in to WWE if you’re not fond of the show and nothing ever changes?

This is simple. You know this. I know this. WWE knows this. They have people in marketing departments who get paid just to know this kind of information.

The problem isn’t that WWE is stupid. It’s that WWE is stubborn.

Systemic Problems Are Long-Lasting by Definition

It takes a lot of effort to change. That’s why most people who are overweight don’t lose it (or quickly gain the weight back after crash dieting), addicts tend to fall off the wagon, etc.

What good does it do if you touch a stove, get burned, realize it’s hot, and then opt to keep touching it? You clearly didn’t learn your lesson or you value something else over the negatives that come from continually repeating that mistake, so you prioritize that over the risk of suffering the same consequences.

WWE suffers from the same error where the powers that be just do not want to do things differently. This is how they want to steer the ship and damn it, why doesn’t everyone just go along with it?

Think about all the things that have become rhythmic in WWE over the years and how even the little things rarely ever change.

Why is it that after all this time, interviewers still ask a question to a superstar, wait for their response and then just stare off into the distance like they are robots who shut down? In NXT, McKenzie Mitchell will actually say “Well, there’s your answer. Back to you guys at the desk.” But on Raw and SmackDown, they just go quiet and stare blankly.

Why is it that every single tag team match ends with all competitors getting into the ring and trading shots? Insert 100 examples and ask yourself “How come ____”?

Because Vince likes it that way. And there’s the root of your problem.

Innovation Needs Innovation

Vince McMahon is forever a legend and a genius for being able to turn the wrestling business into a global phenomenon. There’s no question about that. He did something amazing decades ago and was able to make his fortune from that.

But sometimes, WWE just stumbles into success, like with Steve Austin. Other times, WWE tries a ton of ideas, but most of them fail. Remember Tout? WWE Studios? Icopro? World Bodybuilding Federation?

If you can afford to fail, you can try over and over until you succeed. But if you stop trying, then you don’t find that success.

WWE is in a rut because WWE hasn’t tried to do anything with its formula for well over a decade. Nothing is inherently different from really 2007 or so, even, except stuff that is face value.

There have been 2 changes: the WWE Network and NXT. That’s it.

The WWE Network is great for some things and the pay-per-view business model has changed accordingly. NXT is fantastic, by and large, because Triple H runs it as something different from Raw and SmackDown, and they have the Performance Center to help train people going forward, which is also amazing.

But what is the creative difference in the product for Raw and SmackDown compared to 2006? They still write the same feuds, have mostly the same characters and depend on the same tropes.

I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and so do you, probably). But even though Iron Man is one of my favorite films of the franchise, if every single story was a copy/paste of that, it would get tiresome. That’s why Captain America: The Winter Soldier is so good, because it’s a spy thriller. Guardians of the Galaxy is a team comedy. Ant-Man is a heist comedy. Black Panther was by no means a comedy. They’re all well done AND they’re different enough from one another while being similar enough that they can attract new audiences and keep the same fans returning.

WWE doesn’t do that. Nothing appeals to the lapsed fan who isn’t fond of this product, because the product doesn’t change. There aren’t any hooks for casuals because nothing is happening to draw casuals in, other than temporary “hey look, it’s Rob Gronkowski!” moments.

WWE is constructed with this “audience of one” mentality where everything is to please Vince’s vision. However, Vince’s vision clearly isn’t what audiences want right now. The ratings show it.

This is simple and everyone in WWE knows it. If Vince is the one calling the shots and his idea of what the product should be is how they do it, and the product isn’t selling, then Vince is wrong. That’s it. The end. Discussion over.

Fix the problem or don’t. If you don’t, stop crying when you suffer the consequences.

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