A Look at WWE's ratings decline beginning with 2001-Present Day (Kliq stans tryin to deflect LOL)

[Berniewood Hogan]

Got tired of writing at the end there

No its just that we've all seen what's been going on the last two years and discussed it to death so I didn't feel like reiterating the points..

The authority and roman's superman push I believe are the culprits for the recent downswing

HE SAID YOU WERE BLOWN UP, BROTHER! HE'S TRYING TO BURY YOU IN FRONT OF THE BOYS AND TAKE YOUR SPOT, DUDE!

 

[RammerJammer]

Good analysis . I stopped watching wrestling consistently in 2002 and didn't start actively watching again until after I heard the buzz about CM Punk's pipe bomb. I was always a hardcore WCW fan so when the went out of business and the invasion angle flopped it wasn't really that hard to stick around.

Watched Wrestlemania 19 to see Booker T beat Triple H only to be disappointed. . Tuned into Raw a few times but it seemed like almost everytime I would tune in I would see Triple H(don't get me wrong I actually liked Triple H's run on top in 2000).

I have to say though that the Ruthless Aggression era had some of the best wrestling in the history of the WWE.

The feuds as well, you had:

Angle/Brock
Angle/HBK
Taker/Batista
Edge/Matt
Flair/HBK
HHH/HBK
HBK/Y2J (started in RA and ended in PG era)

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

HE SAID YOU WERE BLOWN UP, BROTHER! HE'S TRYING TO BURY YOU IN FRONT OF THE BOYS AND TAKE YOUR SPOT, DUDE!

 

[Playaz Eyez]

The feuds as well, you had:

Angle/Brock
Angle/HBK
Taker/Batista
Edge/Matt
Flair/HBK
HHH/HBK
HBK/Y2J (started in RA and ended in PG era)

Just to add matches in general, Edge vs Eddie from SD in a ladder match, Angle vs Shelton (05), Edge/Rey vs Benoit/Angle, Benoit vs Matt Hardy from an SD episode, Rey vs Angle from NWO 2002. Those were some of the biggest standouts for me early on

 

[Boy Wonder]

@Momentum @Da King

 

[Da King]

Kliq started the height of wrasslin, in both WWF and WCW, ratings and business were its peak


But let's just ignore that piece of information so you neckbeards can continue having your circle jerk of hating the Kliq, who never taken an L

 

[Playaz Eyez]

and there the headass is

 

[AquaCityBoy]

SD from 2002-2005 was Eddie, Rey, Angle, Lesnar, Taker, Benoit, Thuganomics Cena.

Raw was... Triple H feuding with old WCW guys.

 

[CM_Burns]

I'm actually not gonna blame 04 on HHH, because he was on top for half of 2005 too as top heel. I'm gonna blame the top faces in 04. Benoit, Eugene and Orton. Once they switched to HHH vs Batista and Angle vs Cena as the main feuds in 05, the ratings went up brother. Those guys could draw!

But the 3 hrs is fukking brutal. There has been like one Raw since the brand split, the first one, that has actually been engaging the whole way through, and that's because they treated it like a PPV. 3hrs is too much for wrestling. It was too much for even WCWS GOAT 98 roster., let alone this half Jay-Brone roster they have now.

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

 

[Boy Wonder]

What is this?

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

What is this?

Them receipts

 

[Boy Wonder]

Them receipts

The receipts are already in the OP

 

[Devilinurear]

Part 1

WWE has been in the news lately for RAW's ratings decline and there's a number of factors like easier accessible on the internet, Hulu, YouTube, people cutting cable, increase in population, there's no way to pinpoint one single factor, they all add up but I thought it'd be interesting to look through the years and see what was going on then.

We see our first ratings decline in 2001. the average rating is 4.64. The previous couple years the ratings were well over 5. My guess:

- WCW folds in February. With no competition and nothing to compare WWF to, some things start to stick out like sore thumbs.
- Invasion angle starts following WrestleMania and it's a disaster. WWF punks the WCW talent and stars like Sting, Goldberg, Steiner, Flair etc. don't make the move.
- Stone Cold is the hottest babyface in the company, him and The Rock. Stone Cold is turned heel for no reason and is singing and reduced to a chickenshyt heel.

2002. Average rating is 4.01. After the WCW debacle and the Austin debacle, Austin ends up leaving for a while due to creative differences. The Rock is becoming more of a movie star, part time talent and is gone for a while following SummerSlam. There's a brand extension. Smackdown! ends up becoming the better show with guys like Rey, Eddie, Benoit, Angle, Edge, Lesnar throughout the fall and into the new year.

2003. Average rating is 3.76. Another big decline. RAW is focused around Triple H vs. HBK as the main feud (Booker T is the WM feud ). Goldberg is brought in but is never built as the monster he was in WCW.

2004. Average rating is 3.67. Evolution is in full swing.

2005. Average rating is up to 3.81. Batista is built up as a new star and John Cena is brought in to replace everyone as the face of the brand. John Cena is still doing the throwback gimmick.

2006. Average rating up again to 3.90. Ruthless Aggression in full swing. Cena and Edge. Also everything surrounding ECW and them receiving their own brand.

Everything starts to seem like it's heading in the right direction.

But then 2007 happens. Average rating is down to an all-time low. 3.61. Worse than the Evolution days But why? A number of factors at play.

- John Cena began doing his MARINE gimmick last year but in '07 he's full on corny, no edge left to his character at all.
- ECW is a failure. Cokeboy completely destroys it and Heyman walks away. It's nothing like the old ECW. RVD who had seen a resurgence is punished for getting caught with weed with Sabu.
- Then the Summer comes and Chris Benoit decides to murder his family

2007 is a turning point and a year they would never really recover from.

I stopped watching after Benoit killed his family.

 

[Deucage]

Kliq stans gonna come in with the usual &