VERY interesting report on who draw viewers in WWE

[Guest unleashedfury]

This is a very interesting information posted by Dave Meltzer from the observer newsletter on who are the superstars that draws ratings and who don't.It covers a four month period from May through 10/6.

 

The first number is the total number of viewers gained or lost during the 4 months of the study, and the second number is the average per segment.

 

Smackdown Characters

 

Kurt Angle +6,032,000 +402,130

A-Train +350,000 +70,000

Basham Brothers +439,000 +43,900

Shelton Benjamin +3,350,000 +304,545

Chris Benoit +3,425,000 +311,360

John Cena +322,000 +22,130

FBI -188,000 -29,500

Zach Gowen +7,269,000 +484,600

Eddy Guerrero +4,966,000 +310,375

Billy Gunn +1,676,000 +279,330

Charlie Haas +4,787,000 +299,190

Matt Hardy +243,000 +20,250

Hulk Hogan +3,746,000 +468,250

Brock Lesnar +5,879,000 +326,610

Stephanie McMahon +6,201,000 +620,100

Vince McMahon +11,263,000 +625,720

Shannon Moore -250,000 -50,000

Rey Misterio +1,106,000 +100,550

Nidia -444,000 -111,000

Jamie Noble +65,000 +8,130

Rhyno +1,181,000 +131,220

Rikishi -443,000 -110,750

Big Show +3,895,000 +299,620

Spanky +51,000 +12,750

Tajiri +1,166,000 +89,690

Undertaker +2,265,000 +226,500

Torrie Wilson -284,000 -56,800

 

Raw Characters

 

Steve Austin +6,873,000 +429,560

Eric Bischoff +2,671,000 +381,570

Garrison Cade -163,000 -27,170

Christian +2,245,000 +132,060

Dudleys -412,000 -37,450

Spike Dudley -707,000 -117,830

Ric Flair +5,078,000 +282,110

Mick Foley +2,870,000 +574,000

Bill Goldberg +6,833,000 +427,060

HHH +6,944,000 +408,470

Molly Holly +46,000 +5,110

Hurricane -900,000 -69,230

Chris Jericho +7,071,000 +261,890

Mark Jindrak -1,091,000 -181,830

Kane +3,774,000 +251,600

Gail Kim +1,413,000 +235,500

Rodney Mack -1,983,000 -180,270

Maven -1,029,000 -114,330

Shawn Michaels +2,396,000 +266,220

Kevin Nash +1,575,000 +143,180

Randy Orton +1,413,000 +88,310

La Resistance -745,000 -41,390

Rosey -1,092,000 -156,000

Scott Steiner +306,000 +30,600

Lance Storm +413,000 +41,300

Trish Stratus -965,000 -96,500

Booker T -424,000 -70,670

Test -1,174,000 -117,400

Rob Van Dam +747,000 +53,360

 

Some Comments from the Article:

 

-based on total viewers gained or lost during a segment when these characters were either in the ring having a match or were the lead portion of angles (for example, Sable was standing next to Vince most of the time, but isn't being considered for the angles where she was window dressing).

 

-As a general rule, these numbers are going to reflect who is focused on and who is put in the main storylines. When the show is built around the McMahons, or on Raw, Austin, they are going to have the best numbers. When guys are buried and booked for people not to care, the casual fans, who make up the bulk of the audience, won't care.

 

-Smackdown numbers shouldn't be compared to Raw's. Because Smackdown is available in about 95.6 million homes while Raw is in 86.6. To fairly compare, approx. 10% should be added to Raw numbers (this should end one debate)

 

-A main event performer should have an average of about +260,000 on Raw and +290,000 on Smackdown which would equal approx 0.2 rating points. A number above +400,000 on Raw and +440,000 on Smackdown should be considered a major ratings draw.

 

-Big Show's numbers are inflated because he was booked in the main event almost every week, and the main event should show the most growth.

 

-Benoit's and Guerrero's are suprisingly high considering their booking treatment.

 

-Undertaker, who's been positioned as a major player most of this time, show's his superstar "pops" aren't equally ratings, nor are John Cena's raps aimed at the teenage audience.

 

-Tori Wilson's numbers are suprisingly bad considering the Playboy exposure, but she burned out pretty quickly.

 

That's about all for now, that should give us all plenty to debate and chew on for a while.

[Guest Ray]

Vince McMahon +11,263,000 +625,720

 

McMahons = ratings ?

[Guest webmasterofwrestlegame]

Ratings is what WWE judges everything on for their TV, so their exposure from their point of view is understandable.

 

But where it all falls down is PPV buys - so basically people seem to be interested in a lot of the WWE characters, but the crap storylines are not causing people to buy PPV's.

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Triple H DRAWS MORE than Jericho

 

Eat shit and die, Smarks.

 

UYI - Real identity: Paul Levesque.

[chaosrage 0]

Gail Kim +1,413,000 +235,500

Trish Stratus -965,000 -96,500

?

[Guest FrigidSoul]

Rodney Mack -1,983,000 -180,270

 

I guess nobody is Backing the Mack

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Gail Kim +1,413,000 +235,500

Trish Stratus -965,000 -96,500

?

THAT I seriously do not understand.

 

Not only is Trish hotter, but she's about 500% more talented than Gail is on her best day.

 

Eh, marks. Impossible to comprehend.

 

UYI

[chaosrage 0]

Gail Kim +1,413,000 +235,500

Trish Stratus -965,000 -96,500

?

THAT I seriously do not understand.

 

Not only is Trish hotter, but she's about 500% more talented than Gail is on her best day.

 

Eh, marks. Impossible to comprehend.

 

UYI

To top that, Gail never gets any kind of crowd response.

 

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Going by those figures, Vince is the biggest draw in the company at the moment.

 

VINCE MCMAHON.

 

Maybe he knows what he's doing afterall.

 

UYI

[chaosrage 0]

Stephanie beat out Angle.

[Use Your Illusion 0]

In other news, No Mercy rates 2.00

 

UYI

[Guest Korgath]

Not only is Trish hotter, but she's about 500% more talented than Gail is on her best day.

 

Eh, marks. Impossible to comprehend.

Trish is overexposed. Gail is new... not exactly rocket science.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Triple H DRAWS MORE than Jericho

 

Eat shit and die, Smarks.

 

UYI - Real identity: Paul Levesque.

 

Fuck off.

[chaosrage 0]

Not only is Trish hotter, but she's about 500% more talented than Gail is on her best day.

 

Eh, marks. Impossible to comprehend.

Trish is overexposed. Gail is new... not exactly rocket science.

And when she's in the ring without Trish..... you can hear a pin drop in the arena.

[SamoaRowe 0]

Gail Kim was pretty good at the house show on Friday. She's hot in person, I don't know what TV does to her.

[Silence 0]

Vince:"Let's have Molly Holly turn face so Gail Kim can win the Women's Championship and have an 8-month reign that'll go over as well as HHH's World title reign. Come on, smarks, you know you loved it!"

[Lil' Bitch 0]

^ Replace Gail Kim with Victoria and I would love it.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

But Gail Kim can throw 50 different versions of the ArmBar and Hurricanrana!!!!

[Guest JericholicEdgeHead]

Looking at those numbers it doesn't look like women's wrestling is a draw. I like the WWE divas and all but maybe they shouldn't get so much attention as they do, at least on RAW.

[alfdogg 0]

Triple H DRAWS MORE than Jericho

 

Eat shit and die, Smarks.

 

UYI - Real identity: Paul Levesque.

HHH +6,944,000

 

Chris Jericho +7,071,000

 

Someone's in denial.

 

Anglesault is going to have a field day with this. Test, according to this, has lost the most viewers.

[Guest Fook]

So Benoit and Guerrero draw bigger ratings than Taker, but guess who gets the main event push...

 

And I notice a lack of Shane McMahon on this list. I was kinda curious as to whether the marks were really supporting his Superman-esque character.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

-Smackdown numbers shouldn't be compared to Raw's. Because Smackdown is available in about 95.6 million homes while Raw is in 86.6. To fairly compare, approx. 10% should be added to Raw numbers (this should end one debate)

 

Before anyone gets confused, I should point out that this has to do with the total viewership, not the rating number.

 

At least now I hope people will listen to me when I tell them UPN is in more homes than TNN.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Test, according to this, has lost the most viewers.

 

It was actually Rodney Mack, but I'll take the Mack over Test any day.

[2GOLD 0]

So, the people with ratings boxes love Vince, Triple H and Steph?

 

Welcome to hell.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

main events = ratings?! No way!

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

TV ratings generally reflect who is pushed. There are exceptions who guys who people just aren't interested in at all, or those that they are but aren't pushed, but you will find that they tend to follow that trend.

 

PPV Buyrates and House Show attendance is where you really see the 'Main Event' Effect. It has been shown over and over again that people predominantly order PPVs for the advertised main event. If buyrates are lousy, then it means people aren't willing to pay to see the main eventers and that is a major problem.

 

There are more variables involved in ratings, because people can just watch certain things and then turn it off. For a PPV, they need to make a commitment and the main eventers can't draw them in, its time to get new main eventers. You get those from the guys who draw viewers, but aren't getting pushes. On Smackdown Benoit, Haas, Benjamin & Guerrero are the best bets. On RAW they should push Jericho & Kane. Now granted, this is before Shane killed Kane's drawing power so these numbers aren't exactly up to date, but its better than nothing.

 

As for who not to push. Smackdown is pretty much okay, aside from the true jobbers like Shannon Moore (since Rikishi is now gone). RAW has a much bigger problem. They should avoid Mack (and Henry by association), Test, La Resistance, Orton (who's numbers are extremely low for someone who has been out there with Flair & HHH all the time), Maven, Rosey, Cade, Jindrak and apparently Booker T.

Edited October 19, 2003 by Kahran Ramsus

[Guest Anglesault]

The Test push has lost litterally a million viewers? I'm SHOCKED!

[Guest wildpegasus]

Vince and Stephanie are high because whenever they're on something happens. They're also the central part of the show. It's as simple as that.

 

I love seeing Jericho as the highest rated superstar on Raw. Yes, he's near the top of the card but he's not the most central charactor so that rating does mean something.

 

Benoit, Angle and Eddie being strong draws puts a smile on my face. I think it says a lot that Benoit attracts viewers despite the horrable way he's been booked these last 4 months.

 

There are some surprises in here which are very interesting. Some of the numbers really surprised me.

[ISportsFan 0]

As a general rule, these numbers are going to reflect who is focused on and who is put in the main storylines. When the show is built around the McMahons, or on Raw, Austin, they are going to have the best numbers. When guys are buried and booked for people not to care, the casual fans, who make up the bulk of the audience, won't care.

 

Of course Vince, Steph, HHH, and all the other main eventers are going to have high averages. That's to be expected. They're the ones who get the biggest pushes. Now, when you get that big of a push, ratings don't really matter for you anymore (because yes, more people are going to watch your segments, it's a fact of life when you get the biggest pushes). What matters for them are PPV buys - since they get the biggest pushes, people should want to see them on PPV. And Vengeance (built mostly around Vince v. Gowen, notice the radio ads and TV commercials, similarly for Vince v. Steph this month) was a failure.

 

The ones that should surprise people are the characters who are treated like crap; the ones who are given low placement on cards, etc. And, a direct quote from the paraphrase of the article...

 

-Benoit's and Guerrero's are suprisingly high considering their booking treatment.

People that are pushed like crap and people still tune in to see are the ones that SHOULD be pushed more. That means people want to see them in action, etc., no matter whether they're getting a push or are 1-6 on PPV for the year and have no direction at all.

 

Jason

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Angle's a main eventer, so he should draw. Benoit & Eddy were midcarders for most of this period, so they are the guys who should be getting pushed. The current main eventers aren't drawing buyrates (although I still think Angle & Brock have potential, just with better opponents), so Eddy & Benoit are the guys that should be next on the list to try.