Board 8 > All-Purpose Wrestling Topic 457: Ticket Sales are Experiencing a Super Slow-Down

(+) Yeah! (+)

We're definitely getting to the point where it's not going to be ahead of USA's typical stuff (keep in mind USA has fallen well below its peak-- it's already well below USA's lineup when it was actually relevant) by much at all

Fox must be kicking themselves about now. By the time it shows up on Fox it's possibly going to need to go up pretty substantially from USA ratings to be competitive. I wonder if Fox has an out if the ratings are crappy enough.
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The empire, long divided, must unite
long united, must divide
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Obviously there will be an initial boost for the move just based on the hype and the increased amount of homes that have Fox as compared to USA

I think theyll ride their plans out through WM 36 and then re-evaluate if things are going poorly
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Smackdown is headed to Fridays, right?

Because apparently they won Friday night ratings with Last Man Standing 1.8 rating. ...We're really getting pretty close, huh?

What was the Raw rating this time last year, out of curiosity?
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PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

Smackdown is headed to Fridays, right?

Yes

Let me look up those ratings
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Although keep in mind 1.8 is a ratings share, not total viewership

Last Man Standings premiere on Fox had 8 million viewers
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I dont think theyll change course on booking while Vince is still in control. Hes so out of touch with what the audience wants, and is so stubborn that hell just keep pushing what he wants and not worry about anything else.

Once Vince is no longer in control I think theres a chance for good things.

I really want to hear WWEs spin on the ratings drop, since Vinces golden boy is champ and people are watching less and less.
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While I think Roman is a problem they have even bigger issues than that IMO.

They willingly sacrifice so much programming time to self promotion and cross promotion that literally no one outside of their investors care about.

They spent the entire episode hyping a show that most people arent going to watch.
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I really don't think it's specifically a Roman thing and spinning it that way seems mighty convenient

Roman may be a contributor but I'd say there's been a consistent decline in ratings for many years, possibly before Roman even debuted? I wonder what it'd look like when broken down by month over the last 8 or 9 years.

I remember for example the post-MitB 2011 not even being that highly rated a show (I guess I could be wrong on that?). And that was a huge angle with a non-Vince guy (Punk) as a central figure.
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Eddv posted...

They willingly sacrifice so much programming time to self promotion and cross promotion that literally no one outside of their investors care about.

Yeah. This combined with the excess of recaps are why I find the shows to be unwatchable if you're not heavily skipping around, which isn't possible if you watch live.
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Also I wonder how much sharper the ratings dip became after the switch to 3 hours, because while I was on board with that at first (I think it has definitely led to better match quality) it's made it pretty difficult to watch from start to finish. That to me is a far greater issue than whoever is on top.
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Looking at the history, assuming this dude is right, the ratings started really taking a precipitous drop in 2014. 2016 to 2017 leveled out a bit but 2018 is looking to have another drop as bad as every other year since 2014.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/6g5za2/year_over_year_ratings_in_wwe/

Raw became 3 hours in 2012 for the record
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They remained pretty steady for two years after the switch to 3 hours, so I don't think it's that.

There was a drop from 2011 to 2012, but not a massive one, and it stayed pretty consistent until 2015.

What happened from 2014 to 2015, because it started spiraling from that point
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PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

What was the Raw rating this time last year, out of curiosity?

2.77M viewers

And this week averaged out to 2.29M viewers

So they lost about a half million year over year

And the main event segment a year ago was Enzo gloating about the CW Title

Zo Train > Brothers of Destruction vs DX
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2014 is probably the year where you would say the era of Roman began

I still disagree that blaming Roman tells the story accurately though. He's a symptom of a greater problem not the actual cause for the drop.
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StealThisSheen posted...

What happened from 2014 to 2015, because it started spiraling from that point

They sunsetted Cena and started the Roman megapush, and DB retired
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Oh, I don't think Roman himself is the problem

It's how they treat Roman

Everything else seemed inconsequential because you knew it was all just building to Roman being on top

And then they decided to take... What, 4 years to actually get there?

Though I think if you did that with anybody it'd be the same problem
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StealThisSheen posted...

They remained pretty steady for two years after the switch to 3 hours, so I don't think it's that.

I dunno. I feel like the three hour thing took a while to wear me down personally. Like you're into it at first because you think more is better, but then after a while it starts to wear you down and becomes exhausting. I know many were against it from the start but sometimes these things just take a while to really take their toll. I wouldn't write off three hours as a reason altogether.

Like, did the third hour always drop so much? That seems to be way more of a recent development (like in the last two years), which is what led to them putting the Cruiserweights in the ME and stuff like that.
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StealThisSheen posted...

And then they decided to take... What, 4 years to actually get there?

You would think he was there when he beat Triple H for the title in the main event of WM 32

But nope!
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So for 4 years, you basically had a WWE where only one storyline actually mattered and you couldn't fully enjoy the others because you knew Roman would eventually come in and beat whoever.

It's like... Just imagine if the princess was in another castle every time for the span of 4 games before Mario finally beat Bowser, and you kept being told people like Luigi didn't matter. You get to the end of one game but then like Wart Lesnar shows up and Mario continues Starman Punching into the next game
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StealThisSheen posted...

So for 4 years, you basically had a WWE where only one storyline actually mattered and you couldn't fully enjoy the others because you knew Roman would eventually come in and beat whoever.

But they try to trick you so that you know hes gonna win but not when you think! Gotta wait 6 months to get the actual win!
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StealThisSheen posted...

It's how they treat Roman

Everything else seemed inconsequential because you knew it was all just building to Roman being on top

Yeah. This could be it. For me, anyway, the way the storylines have come off as very telegraphed has definitely contributed to me being like "this shit is too fake" a lot more lately. I'd imagine you probably shed a lot of the more casual fans as these feelings start to build up. The way the product is framed definitely feels a lot more sterile than it has in a long time-- like you could easily skip months at a time and still have a general idea of what's happening because no meaningful risks are taken and things evolve at a glacial pace. I feel like it's gotten significantly worse recently in that regard.
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Lopen posted...

StealThisSheen posted...

It's how they treat Roman

Everything else seemed inconsequential because you knew it was all just building to Roman being on top

Yeah. This could be it. For me, anyway, the way the storylines have come off as very telegraphed has definitely contributed to me being like "this shit is too fake" a lot more lately. I'd imagine you probably shed a lot of the more casual fans as these feelings start to build up. The way the product is framed definitely feels a lot more sterile than it has in a long time-- like you could easily skip months at a time and still have a general idea of what's happening because no meaningful risks are taken and things evolve at a glacial pace. I feel like it's gotten significantly worse recently in that regard.

To add to this, none of the characters feel real because of how Vince demands they be scripted and are directed to deliver their lines

Its such a small dumb thing but whenever they show someone backstage watching TV in from their peripheral vision it KILLS any engagement I might have had
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I think another issue is that they have no stars.

Like, they had all of these guys retire and never put over anyone new and the only stars I really consider made are Daniel Bryan, Roman and Seth Rollins. Maybe AJ Styles and New Day. But all these guys they had during the Cena and Roman era and you have not much to show for it.

That's a byproduct of only caring about putting over Cena and Roman forever, and to an extent, the nightmare of Brock.
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PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

I think another issue is that they have no stars.

Sir you must be mistaken. Triple H and the Undertaker are stars and theyll always be there forever and ever
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Jakyl25 posted...

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

I think another issue is that they have no stars.

Sir you must be mistaken. Triple H and the Undertaker are stars and theyll always be there forever and ever

Well, apparently they aren't big enough stars to sell out the Australia show!

Maybe they should bring out that ratings grabber last year, the Zo Train, to show Triple H and Taker how it's done.
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It's a joke but what makes it funny is I'd legit rather see Enzo vs most members of the roster than Triple H vs Taker
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The thing is, they had a chance with Braun. He was the big star the fan base was begging to get behind. But he was pushed aside and used as yet another tool to put over Roman. They sit there and talk about how people arent grabbing the brass ring, but its impossible to grab said ring when its locked away in a vault and only appears for one guy. Its not about making new stars, its about making sure people dont overshadow Roman, because theyre determined to make him the next Cena.

I think the problem is really Vince though. If it wasnt Roman itd be someone else that makes him moist
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Lopen posted...

It's a joke but what makes it funny is I'd legit rather see Enzo vs most members of the roster than Triple H vs Taker

hot takez

...although I find myself agreeing which is strange
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Jesus who knew Seattle was so damn sensitive about a basketball team.

I'm a little late to the discussion but the ratings are not going to change any of WWE's strategy until the networks actually start taking issue with them. They've been in freefall for a while now, but that didn't stop two deals for a ludicrous amount of money being offered this year. What incentive do they have to change anything? They're being rewarded for their terrible performance.
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We need to force the Saudi Prince to watch an entire 3 hours of Raw.

It's the only way.
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I forgot about One Night in Milwaukee. Lots of interesting stuff on Smackdown at least.
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That was a decent looking counter by Carmella.
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NBIceman posted...

I'm a little late to the discussion but the ratings are not going to change any of WWE's strategy until the networks actually start taking issue with them.

Well I'm interested because they're getting dangerously close to the point where they should. At the rate of decline in the past few years they are gonna be below the USA network average in two or three years. And Fox should already care unless the WWE gets a huge viewership infusion entirely from moving to Fox which I'm skeptical of to be honest.
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Its worth noting that the last time WWE moved to Fox they were almost immediately canceled.
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At least Smackdown is still good. Becky is life
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R-Truth is a fucking legend
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like seriously dude is like 50 and is still killing every single segment he's in
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People talk about Becky but Truth is the best thing going on Smackdown
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Lopen posted...

People talk about Becky but Truth is the best thing going on Smackdown

freal

like i love me some becky dont get me wrong

but truth is well... the truth
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Back from SmackDown. Decent show, sat camera side 2 rows up, off to the right of the ring. 2 important notes:

When Orton killed Tye, I started a 9 chant that I hope was at least heard.

AJ Styles did not appear on the show at all (no dark match even) DESPITE doing a meet and greet at a Comcast in East Portland this morning. It was baffling. We all got swerved by not getting swerved by the stay at home thing.
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ViviffTheMobile posted...

When Orton killed Tye, I started a 9 chant that I hope was at least heard.

It was heard. https://twitter.com/yugiohtas/status/1047288567657947136
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Nameless2000 posted...

ViviffTheMobile posted...

When Orton killed Tye, I started a 9 chant that I hope was at least heard.

It was heard. https://twitter.com/yugiohtas/status/1047288567657947136

Holy shit that's awesome! Well done
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Billie Kay and Peyton Royce losing another match, scares the dickens out of me that maybe they'll be fired soon. :(

@RaidenGarai @Eddv @scarletspeed7 @XIII_rocks

Again, stop tagging me.
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https://twitter.com/maffewgregg/status/1047578163470106630?s=21
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I like how the ref checked on Shelton because he just assumed Bryan died
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Jakyl25 posted...

https://twitter.com/maffewgregg/status/1047578163470106630?s=21

That'll show us!
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