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Do Wrestlers Draw, Or Does the WWE Brand Draw?

  • Wrestlers Draw

    Votes: 251 39.5%
  • WWE Brand draws

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**The Official Raw Ratings Thread** (Discuss Ratings In Here)

987K views 9K replies 852 participants last post by  Starbuck 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
For a list of the weekly rating dating back to January, please click here:

http://www.gerweck.net/tv-ratings/2012-tv-ratings/

RATINGS BREAKDOWN FOR THIS WEEKS RAW 4/9

Raw on 4/9 did a 3.10 rating and 4.29 million viewers. The show was third for the night on cable. The show did a 2.4 in Males 12-17, 2.7 in Males 18-49, 1.0 in Girls 12-17 and 1.1 in Women 18-49 with a 69.3% male skew. It was down 21% from the 5.46 million viewers of the week after Mania show last year, and last year there was no bombshell along the lines of the Brock Lesnar return on the night after Mania show.

In the segment-by-segment, Brodus Clay & Santino Marella vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger lost 99,000 viewers.

Backstage with Laurinaitis with Miz an Cena, Marella looking for the Three Stooges and R-Truth vs. Cody Rhodes gained 255,000 viewers.

Lord Tensai vs. Yoshi Tatsu lost 415,000 viewers.

The mic work between C.M. Punk and Chris Jericho in the top of the hour segment gained 379,000 viewers to a 3.19.

Punk vs. Henry and the post-match with Jericho pouring beer all over Punk, as well as the quick Del Rio vs. Ryder match lost 169,000 viewers.

The Three Stooges in-ring segment lost 240,000 viewers and was the low point of the show at 2.90.

The Brock Lesnar interview gained 423,000 viewers.

And the Cena vs. Otunga match with Lesnar run-in gained 301,000 viewers, which is a very weak overrun number, finishing at 3.42.
 
#2,049 ·
Mostly the Cena/Rock feud isn't bringing the goods. HHH/Taker actually has had a really strong build, probably the most consistent out of the main events. Jericho/Punk has been ok, but no spectacular. As Starbuck pointed out though, that's really all anyone expected out of it and that's really all WWE needs it to be. Nobody was looking for Punk or Jericho to carry this show. Sheamus vs. Bryan build has been pretty much non-existent, which is unfortunately par for the course when it comes to WHC matches.

That leaves Cena Rock. The match that was supposed to carry ratings, Wrestlemania, and business in general. This feud has felt like these guys talking past each other for some time now. We get a segment about Cena putting his nuts in Rock's face, followed by Rock calling Cena some variation of a ****. Rinse and repeat. I think that creative expects the Rock to just carry this feud by virtue of being THE ROCK, but even he needs something to work with. Even the Rock can't carry a 30 minute meandering segment about Cena's lady parts. It feels like there is no real narrative to this feud (again, compare it to HHH/HBK/Taker) and just lots of segments.

That's not to say WM won't do well. I think it will. But god help this company if they can't even make Rock vs. Cena segments seem interesting.
 
#2,055 ·
One things for sure I don't think we'll ever see a match get announced a year in advance ever again.

I can see why WWE thought it would be a great idea, but it hasn't panned out.

Numbers suck right now but if Wrestlemania's buyrate delivers I'm sure Vince will take it.
I don't see why not. From a ratings standpoint thing haven't been up to par but they have nobody to blame but themselves for that. Mania 28 travel packages and general tickets sold out pretty damn fast. People wanted to see and still want to see the match. I have no doubt it will still do a big buyrate too. But something has happened along the line that has turned people off. Either that or all the initial hype surrounding Rock's return last year and his freshness has well and truly worn off at this stage. The simple fact is and I'll stand by this because I honestly believe it to be true, people don't want to see 2 guys legitimately trying to bury each other. That's not how wrestling works and it's never been how it works. Year on year they've lost a million or so viewers. I think that's a testament to that fact. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Most folks were expecting Rock vs. Cena. What we have got these past few weeks has been Dwayne vs. John. The former was pulling record numbers and had immense interest. The latter is struggling to break 5 million viewers every week. Take that for what you will.
 
#2,053 ·
Starbuck right again.

Tho, I thought they took the right direction with the Rock/Cena feud last night. Shame it's maybe to late.

They can still do a million buys. 4 million people in the USA watch each week and millions more around the world do too. They can still hit the 1 million mark.

I have already ordered the ppv. So there's 1 ppv buy for WWE already. lol.
 
#2,054 ·
I feel like the feud came off the rails a little last week. We had two pretty heated exchanges with the "wrist" promo and then the one after it which lead up to what amounted to a comedy segment (even if it was a pretty good comedy segment) in the Rock vs. Cena concert. It feels like that's something that should've taken place much earlier. Now it feels like it's been 2 weeks and the feud really hasn't moved forward at all.
 
#2,059 ·
The brand is cold, this is why they're not drawing.

Cena/Rock don't gel.

Punk/Jericho not getting enough airtime.

Taker/HHH garnering minimal interest. We all know the streak won't end.

Predictable results, Punk, Cena and Taker all going to win. We could see it coming a mile away.
 
#2,060 ·
Unfortunately, this is exactly right. I am praying for at least one of the three to go the opposite but it will probably be Jericho winning which will be stupid. But like I said, if just one of the three matches goes in favor of the opposite I guess I can live with that.
 
#2,062 ·
IMO this is due to not promoting/advertising Rock' appearances enough. My brothers and friends don't even know that he's on the show till they ask me, whereas last year, when he returned they heard about it and watched a few shows after his return, hoping to see him. I haven't seen a commercial advertising Rock's appearance besides the Rock concert tbh.
 
#2,064 ·
Rock/Cena = Storyline ruined

Jericho/Punk = Not enough star power

Triple H/Taker/Michaels = Too tame and predictable.

No other feuds are significant enough to actually effect the ratings.

One problem is that the WWE refuse to let big storylines play out in a physical manner these days. It seems whenever we have a highly anticipated match, they don't allow the two wrestlers to have any of physical contact until the actual WrestleMania match or the RAW prior. Fans catch on to this and realise nothing interesting is going to happen so they don't need to tune in.

Sad really.

Remember Austin/Rock before WrestleMania 17? Austin stuns The Rock twice, Rock gets his revenge, they brawl on Smackdown. Thats how you build up to a match. Even Rock/Hogan had physicality prior to their match. I know they can't give the fans too much prior to the match but they need to give them something. Promo after promo gets boring after a while.
 
#2,065 ·
Lack of star power when everyone is booked like shit is the problem

Expecting 3 quarters to carry the entire show is crazy
They lose too many viewers in every single segment that does not have HHH,Taker,Shawn,Rock,Cena and is not in the 10pm/overrun slot

It used to be that Raw would start high lose few viewers and have big gains in the 10pm slot and overrun.

Now they start high lose a lot of viewers gain a few back in the 10pm slot lose almost all of them again and then gain some in the overrun.
 
#2,066 ·
imo, if i had to blame the ratings on one thing it would come down to the fact that people are bored of the same old wrestlers year after year hogging the spotlight. the majority of the fans want NEW stars and NEW feuds . thats what made the attitude era so great was there were so many new stars being developed to go along with exciting storylines and things felt fresh and interesting and keyword again...new !

the problem is the way wwe books the new stars these days is criminal . look at dolph ziggler for example. the guy was in a title match at the royal rumble on his way to winning the wwe championship . now hes stuck in a 6 on 6 tag match at wrestlemania where more focus is on the gms and vickie/aksana then the actual wrestlers in the match . you could go down the list with ryder, miz, barrett, sheamus ( before he was re-pushed )etc ...and all these guys have been de-pushed and had their credibility taken from them by wwe fucked up retarted booking.

so fans want new stars, new feuds, new matches but wwe either doesnt want to or just cant make stars anymore. so they rely on older wrestlers who ppl are just tired of . like rock for example, hes a huge star but his return last year meant a lot more then this year since he returned last year after a 7 year hiatus . and if look at most of the matches on the card , they feature older wrestlers who just arent as excting or in some cases just plain boring. kane, big show, orton, to name a few

the only match on the card which features 2 wrestlers who are relatively new is bryan vs sheamus and that feud has basically been given 0 hype .

so thats my opinion. im sure some ppl will disagree with me but i know that this is def a reason why i am not too interested in the product right now and maybe others feel the same way
 
#2,067 · (Edited)
The Rock has been overexposed and doesn't wrestle on TV, so the non-PPV-buying fans have no reason to care about him. Taker-Triple H is unoriginal, predictable and the promos have dragged on. Undertaker should not be talking this much. He's trying to blend his cartoonish gimmick with his real-life personality and the results have been disastrous. Also, Randy Orton might be the most boring character anywhere on television.
 
#2,070 ·
Sad numbers.

Quarter hours will be interesting, but I'd say the "brand" of The Rock has become worn out through all of this. Ultimately, though, he's helping a bit with live gates and as Starbuck mentioned, the early indicators for Wrestlemania were all extremely bullish, including the travel packages and the general sales of tickets.

I'll give WWE credit in one regard, though. They've built up some matches at Wrestlemania this year that can't be recycled at the very next pay-per-view: Rock/Cena, HIAC, Ace/Teddy Tag and the divas match are all matches that still feel special to me in one way or another because I know WWE won't be able to simply, lazily rehash them for a couple of months and make me sick of them. I fully expect and even want Jericho/Punk to continue to Extreme Rules, and I imagine some form of Sheamus/Bryan will continue for at least another month or so, perhaps involving somebody else... Won't be surprised if Kane/Orton concludes at Extreme Rules, either. But it feels refreshing to have a good core bunch of matches, two of them being the two biggest matches on the card, that can't be sheepishly rehashed at the next PPV.

Wrestling on TV is going to experience some continued pressure, though. Almost every personal friend of mine who watches WWE regularly watches Raw, not to mention the "inferior" WWE programs, on YouTube these days. Wrestling is such a curio, such a niche product, even WWE's brand. People are enjoying the alternative means of seeing it in ways that feel inordinate for any TV program. Just something to consider, along with everything else.
 
#2,071 ·
I watched an entire episode of Raw in half an hour, that's how poorly entertained I was. Always glad to see a rating justify my hatred for this current product. When it's only the diehard fans left watching shitty feuds such as Dolph Ziggler vs Jack Swagger after WM, I'll be at peace knowing I got out before WWE became an absolute joke.
 
#2,072 ·
I just dont think there is enough action between the major feuds. Cena/Rock, TripleH/Undertaker, Jericho/Punk are all very talk heavy feuds. There are no cheap shots, brawls, no sneak attacks.
Its the same formula week after week where they get a segment and just talk. At this point you dont expect anything to happen until they actually have the match.
 
#2,083 ·
The match will still draw huge.

Few of my friends that haven't watched a WWE event in about 10 years know about this match and are going buy the event.

Listen to wrestling observer latest pod cast with Bryan and that other guy. He talks about how he's talked to people that haven't watch wrestling in years know about this match.
 
#2,084 ·
As noted before, the March 20th WWE RAW Supershow did a 3.10 cable rating with 4.38 million viewers.

In the segment breakdown, Kane vs. Big Show lost 125,000 viewers from the opener which is less than usual for the second slot. Santino Marella vs. David Otunga and the interview with The Rock outside in Philadelphia gained 205,000 viewers. Daniel Bryan vs. Zack Ryder lost 418,000 viewers.

Mark Henry vs. John Cena with The Rock coming out gained 327,000 viewers for a 3.20 quarter rating at the top of the hour, which is a weak gain for that timeslot. The Miz vs. Sheamus lost 279,000 viewers while the Randy Orton interview and Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler lost 151,000 viewers.

The final segment with Shawn Michaels, Triple H and The Undertaker gained 597,000 viewers, which is below average, but the 3.32 overrun rating was still the highest rated point of the show. The final segment saw the Male Teens rating go from 2.2 to 2.5, Males 18-49 go from 2.5 to 3.2, Female Teens drop from 0.6 to 0.5 and the rating with Women 18-49 go from 1.1 to 1.2.
Rock/Cena & HHH/HBK/Taker stuff are the only things getting gains.

Also, I agree that the build for Rock/Cena is gone now. The match however, is still huge.
 
#2,085 ·
So what did the opener do? Seems like it did a 3.2, but I might be off on that. If that's the case that's actually pretty good considering how the show went as a whole. 10pm timeslot under-performed, even with Rock ensuring he would be there at some point during or after the Cena/Henry match. Taker/HHH/HBK gaining 600,000 viewers isn't good by their recent standards, but the fact it was the highest point in the show makes up for it. Oh, and Rock's segment gaining is very good as well.
 
#2,088 ·
10 spot did bad considering who was in it. Then again matches hardly ever do well in that spot. Still, not good at all. And the closing segment did pretty bad too. What the hell, these three do awesome in the 10 spots but don't do so well in the overrun. How did the opener do? Looks like it was the second best of the night behind the overrun.
 
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