There was no talk whatsoever about “Tough Enough,” which given they were talking about U.S. television
future, would indicate USA Network has decided to pass on doing a second season. However, McMahon
announced there is a plan in place to add a third live hour on Monday nights, starting at 8 p.m., that would
essentially be a Raw pre-game show. No date was given for the start, nor much in the way of details of
what the show would entail.
For the same reason, “Tough Enough” was a risk because even though the ratings were far stronger than
Ultimate Fighter going on at the same time, that wasn’t good enough for the USA Network, the No. 1 cable
network in prime time.
Any first-run show airing in prime time on the USA Network that has to do with pro wrestling, because pro
wrestling shows draw far lower ad revenues than the network dramas, can’t be a drain on the company’s
prime time average, which means anything below a 2.4 or a 2.5 rating is not going to last.
NCIS reruns usually do in the 2.7 range in that hour. When WWE does a three hour Raw, the first hour
usually does about the same 2.6 or 2.7. So they would have to maintain that level, and most likely there
will be no wrestling in that first hour but simply a build for Raw. In addition, those 2.6 or 2.7's usually came
with a big match in the first hour. They’d have to maintain a number like that weekly or the show would be
in danger. “Tough Enough” was well received, but in the end, it drew well below USA Network’s prime time
average.
Doing a show like that also indicates a lack of paying attention or ignoring of history at worst, or at best,
pretending previous history of the industry doesn’t apply to them. Nitro did the same thing in the late 90s
when it expanded to three hours and those in the company felt that was the kiss of death. And WCW had
far more talent depth at the time.