sportsENTERTAINMENT is the answer!

[Guest GameCop]

Well, do you know what the ratings suggest? People want to see weird stipulations, perverse matches, and an unpredictable, spontaneous atmosphere that seems to be lacking from Smackdown.

 

Let's face the music. Today's demographic doesn't have the attention span to sit through a 25 minute bout featuring Angle or Edge. The exorbitant amount of backbreakers, german suplexes, roll ups, and superplexes eventually become an interminable blur from the perspective of the casual viewer. The casual viewer is interested in seeing Regal dress up as a showgirl, as opposed to seeing Angle do a german suplex for the 1000th time. How often do we see paddle on the pole matches? Blind fold matches? Almost never. The rating for RAW suggests that people are interested in seeing something that ISN'T commonplace; the tired, old formula - wrestling matches, and trite angles don't appeal to the masses anymore. New, innovative concepts have to be thrusted. RAW did just that - The RAW ROULETTE was a new idea that provoked everyone's imagination. Fans were salivating at the prospect of seeing a "capture the midget" match or a "diaper" match. No matter how atrocious the match is destined to be, the curiosity factor will always outweigh any premonitions.

 

Guess what? RAW ROULETTE delivered a 3.8, thus signifying the fans' affinity for innovative concepts. Smackdown can have ***** matches every week, but if new ideas aren't implemented, the fans will become apathetic. RAW presented a new idea, and it delivered.

[Guest Mulatto Heat]

OMG! A 0.2 increase! STOP THE PRESSES!

[Guest godthedog]

they hyped the shit out of this raw. i'd like to see the quarter hours.

 

this is kinda-sorta a good thing, because it seems that they're trying to distinguish more between the 2 shows: smackdown being REALLY wrestling-concentrated, and raw being REALLY glitz-concentrated. if getting flashier & more stupid on raw means getting more old school on smackdown, i say bring it. i prefer a classics/crap dichotomy to a lot of mediocrity, cause the classics are better to cherish & i can always just not watch the crap.

[Guest Kingpk]

Guess what? RAW ROULETTE delivered a 3.8, thus signifying the fans' affinity for innovative concepts. Smackdown can have ***** matches every week, but if new ideas aren't implemented, the fans will start becoming apathetic. RAW presented a new idea, and it delivered.

Yeah RAW ROULETTE, a gimmick, drew.

 

It was a novel, interesting concept, for a one week thing.

 

Let's see how they do next week with this idiotic murder angle.

 

And Smackdown HAS brought a new concept. They let the wrestlers who can wrestle do so for 20 minutes.

 

I'll take that over a mediocre TLC match (does WWE have any gimmick matches they HAVEN'T run into the ground?) any day.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

I think Smackdown and the fans reaction to matches like Edge/Eddy and Angle/Benoit show that fans DO like "wrestling" Smackdown has had good ratings like that the last two weeks.

 

It was the hype and the TLC match that made this RAW go up in ratings.

[Guest subliminal_animal]

Is your IQ really 165? That sounds pretty good.

[Guest El Psycho Diablo]

If SE was the answer..the absolute overload of it we've been getting on RAW would mean they'd be getting 5.8..not 3.8.

 

According to the numbers, it's more TLC than anything else.

[Guest DJ Jeff]

Actually, I liked RAW this week, just because it was different. RAW Roulette is something different, and something alot of fans probably haven't seen, unless they watched WCW. Also, when HHH said that Kane was a murderer. I don't think that many people saw that coming, I know I didn't. I would say that RAW had the surprise twist, which isn't in every show.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Is your IQ really 165? That sounds pretty good.

On that silly 32 question internet IQ test yes, but hey it's fun to say that I'm a genius.

[Guest AndrewTS]

Sounds like Raw was only entertaining for the spotfest TLC match and the steaming pile of wrestlecrap the rest of it was.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Doooood, those hardcore matches are really providing a new form of entertainment for the fans like! You're right, paddle on a pole is the CUTTING EDGE~!~! stipulation of the NEW GENERATION~!~! Cage matches = Ratings~!~!

 

Seriously, this is ridiculous. Raw has been getting higher ratings than Smackdown! for what, it's entire existance? Not only has paddle on a pole happened often enough, but if you're trying to convince us that HHH vs. Di Lo was a ratings draw because of the stipulation, you're only making it painfuly more obvious that this entire viewpoint is a sham. How are cage matches, hardcore matches, "winner gets to bang some chicks" matches, and even TLC matches new concepts that the fans want? Have I been watching a different five years of wrestling than you, because I could have sworn I've witnessed everything that happened last night at least twice, and NONE of it was new and/or originial in any way. Kane murdering someone? Check. Over-blown spot-fest on free TV? Check. Pointless T&A match? Quadruple check.

 

Fact is, the WWE hyped this event for all it was worth, and it barely affected ratings. Concepts don't draw, wrestlers draw. No one in the WWE is drawing right now, and dressing them up in drag doesn't suddenly make that any different.

[Guest Bricks]

Aren't Cable ratings different than Network ratings, so a 3.0 on Smackdown would be more than a 3.0 on Raw?

[Guest Mulatto Heat]

Yes, that is true, so for the last 3 weeks or so Smackdown has been drawing more viewers in than RAW.

[Guest cynicalprofit]

I'm leaning on it being the TLC, but if its not, heaven help us, our mentality is wrong. Good matches dont mean shit compared to entertainment....heaven help us.

 

*crosses fingers and hopes the ratings dont go up next week, just to prove it was the tlc*

[Guest MarvinisaLunatic]

RAW Roulette and wrestlers being accused of murder every week=RATINGS!?

[Guest GameCop]

"RAW Roulette and wrestlers being accused of murder every week=RATINGS"

 

Absolutely not. If it were to occur every week, people would become desensitized to it, and therefore ratings would decrease.

 

The point is- WWE must present the fans with novel concepts/matches on a weekly basis, and NOT rehash the same, tired formula.

 

The RAW ROULETTE was a breath of fresh air, and that's why more fans tuned in.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

The point is- WWE must present the fans with novel concepts/matches on a weekly basis, and NOT rehash the same, tired formula.

 

The RAW ROULETTE was a breath of fresh air, and that's why more fans tuned in.

Hardcore matches, murder angles, spanking matches, and cross dressing are novel concepts? Like I said, unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen all of this stuff before, and so have the rest of the fans.

 

Yeah, go .2 increase! Go corny phrases that you throw out to support an arguement with no logic behind it!

 

If there's any rational thought behind this entire thread's creation, I have yet to see it.

[Guest nikowwf]

Raw hurts Smackdown. Smackdown is good, and we are pysched for wrestling. 2 Hours of Raw makes our head hurt, and we don't want to see anymore.

 

If you were a casual fan and you saw the mess Raw is sometimes on monday, why watch Smackdown?

 

NiKo

[Guest buffybeast]

When did WCW choose matches via a wheel?

[Guest Smark Hammill]

There is a happy medium somewhere. I mean, gimmick matches aren't the answer, but if you're going to have a 30 minute pure wrestling match, it better be good. 3 minutes of a guy trying to escape from a head scissors isn't going to fly.

 

If you don't believe me, find some old AWA tapes. You'll be put to sleep.

[Guest AndrewTS]

When did WCW choose matches via a wheel?

Read it and weep. http://www.wrestlecrap.com/spin.html

[Guest Midnight Express83]

Buffy: all the jokes about "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal". This is a Dusty idea reharshed and to make it even funnier the wheel had "Coal Miner's glove on it".

 

RAW gets a 3.8 Big deal. 90% of the show was not funny, stupid, retarded booking, boring, and every match sucked up to TLC. The fact that I rated only 1 match above DUD speaks volumes for how much I hate it. TLC is a gimmick match that will pop the crowd and pop a small rating. Plus this RAW was hyped as much as a Wrestlemania. So I see it as a let down because with all the hype. They could boost atleast a .4 higher. RAW was bad, but TLC kept everyone from turning. The quarter hour numbers would be better to see.

[Guest Ram]

Ratings usually coincide with the amount of advertising and the week before. This week probably would have held up a 3.6 if it hadn't been for the advertising and gimmick.

 

We'll see next week if they stay. It's stupid to say 'REGAL IN DRAG SELZ D00D!' already.

[Guest snowfan]

Ratings usually coincide with the amount of advertising and the week before. This week probably would have held up a 3.6 if it hadn't been for the advertising and gimmick.

 

We'll see next week if they stay. It's stupid to say 'REGAL IN DRAG SELZ D00D!' already.

Yes it is....

 

You accusing the WWE of intelligence?

[Guest Chuck Woolery]

Uhm... I think that Raw's ratings actually went up (instead of drawing a 5.0 first quarter and then dropping to a 2.1) because of the Booker/Big Show opener, and stayed up when Bischoff announced TLC IV. Just my opinion, though...

[Guest snowfan]

Uhm... I think that Raw's ratings actually went up (instead of drawing a 5.0 first quarter and then dropping to a 2.1) because of the Booker/Big Show opener, and stayed up when Bischoff announced TLC IV. Just my opinion, though...

Absolutely...

 

I mean I'll bet the show spiked in quarter hour ratings with the GD/Regal "watch me shed my last ounces of dignity" match....

[Guest RenegadeX28]

Well, I liked this RAW alot. Finally, a new idea was introduced into RAW, and ratings went up. The quarter hours show that ppl had interest in the show.

 

I think the first hour did a 3.7, and the second hour did 3.9.

[Guest Chuck Woolery]

Uhm... I think that Raw's ratings actually went up (instead of drawing a 5.0 first quarter and then dropping to a 2.1) because of the Booker/Big Show opener, and stayed up when Bischoff announced TLC IV.  Just my opinion, though...

Absolutely...

 

I mean I'll bet the show spiked in quarter hour ratings with the GD/Regal "watch me shed my last ounces of dignity" match....

No no no, you're missing me here. What I'm saying is that people stayed to watch a lot of the show because of the opener and the fact that they knew TLC was coming up. Sure, they probably flipped channels during the showgirl segment, but for Godsakes who wouldn't?

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Well, I liked this RAW alot. Finally, a new idea was introduced into RAW, and ratings went up. The quarter hours show that ppl had interest in the show.

 

I think the first hour did a 3.7, and the second hour did 3.9.

Do you guys ever read the post, or are you content to repeat the same idiodic sentements over and over until my ears bleed?

 

Care to back up your points with more than just a .2 increase and explain to me how any of the ideas used last night were new in any way?

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Do you guys ever read the post, or are you content to repeat the same idiodic sentements over and over until my ears bleed?

 

Care to back up your points with more than just a .2 increase and explain to me how any of the ideas used last night were new in any way?

They weren't new, and 0.2 increase is very bad considering the amount of hype RAW got. If people like RAW so much, how come Smackdown has gotten better ratings since they started the 20 minute match idea?

 

Wrestling fans want to watch wrestling, just like football fans want to watch football. Vince never understood that one either.

 

Once again, a 3.8 is BAD.