Raw rating

[hyperchord24 0]

Since title changes don't occur very often, what were the ratings like when JBL won or when Cena or Batista won?

[Promoter 0]

It's not just people here praising Edge's reign so far either. I actually do think the wwe plans long term(there happens to be things that they wing though) and that's why I still believe Cena/HHH is going to be the wwe title match. Rey Mysterio winning also ties into long term planning because we read those rumours of Mysterio main eventing Mania around the time of Eddie's death when he did that stupid angle on the smackdown special. I remember the Batista/Rey rumours for the world title at Mania with Batista turning on Rey. They could have simply put Angle in Batista's spot which makes good sense with his face heat, plus we know it's a great match waiting to happen. It's for this reason it could very well be the wwe planning long term and not hotshotting. This Edge thing could have simply been a back-up plan for the heel heat Cena was getting against the veteran wrestlers at top. Everyone hates Edge and having him dethrone Cena gives him his face heat back and also makes him more vulnerable for making people think he has a chance of losing at Mania's championship match.

[bob_barron 0]

They don't know who's going to win the RR or main event WM. They don't have long term planning.

[bob_barron 0]

Like Ric Flair did?

 

Big difference between Flair and HHH in that regard. You can't even compare the two

[Promoter 0]

They don't know who's going to win the RR or main event WM. They don't have long term planning.

 

This may very well be true, but do you know this for fact? It's in their best interest to make the net fans think this to cut down the predictability of the shows. The wwe does plan everything around WrestleMania and SummerSlam. Stuff change in between that time, but they usually have the main events planned or at least the matches they want to draw for the event since it is their marquee events. I know stuff happens and they do hotshot angles, but read what I wrote again.

 

The wwe does NOT want heel champions running the show so much anymore. Edge seems to be a distraction. Now this is not to say they could just keep the title on him and have him defend it at Mania. The bottom line is that HHH and Angle are probably the only heel champions the wwe would trust to have on a long term basis and rightly so. I still don't trust Edge not to in his own words "Billy Gunn" the title if given a reign like JBL. If they wanted a heel champion Cena would have just been turned. Angle would have just remained heel.

[Dangerous A 0]

The bottom line is that HHH and Angle are probably the only heel champions the wwe would trust to have on a long term basis and rightly so.

 

 

Angle is a face now. They have booked him that way since the switch back to SD. Further proof bob is onto something in regards to WWE not knowing exactly what it's going to do.

 

Also, the Observer and Torch have said since the injury to Batista, Vince and WWE Creative have blown up their original Mania plans and are going in a different direction, hence Angle-sudden babyface.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

It's stupid to think HHH will all of sudden become Mr. Mom. He's going to be an absentee dad or worse, Stephanie will just take the kid with them everywhere they go. HHH will be here to stay for a long time. No kid is going to change that.

[Dangerous A 0]

Why is it stupid to think HHH would become a good father? Just because he held talent back in his career in wrestling, he wouldn't care about the beginning of starting up his own family?

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I'm going on a limb, but I'm pretty sure at this point his heart is still with wrestling. He is only 36-38. He is not going to feel ready to abdicate his "throne" to go play Mr Mom.

[2GOLD 0]

Why is it stupid to think HHH would become a good father? Just because he held talent back in his career in wrestling, he wouldn't care about the beginning of starting up his own family?

 

I think it'll have more to do with wanting morale to stay decent. You had a couple of guys who had kids and didn't get to become stay at homes without risk of losing their jobs. I actually think he'll make a good father, I just don't see him taking time off to go be with his child. I think he might limit his house show schedule some and go home, but I don't see him going off tv or PPV unless injury gets him.

[Guest Army Eye]

Someone here must know where to pull up the data - what are the ratings trends, historically, at this time of year? Anything discernable?

[naiwf 0]

http://www.geocities.com/odainnurse/r06.html

 

You can see archives for the prior years there. I'm not going to do an analysis but I don't see any large jumps from week to week at the start of the year for at least '04 and '05.

[NoCalMike 0]

Either:

 

A) Edge = Ratings

 

or

 

B) After Lita's right titty slipped out of the covers on national tv, thousands of horny men are tuning in every week in hopes of it happening again...

[Promoter 0]

The bottom line is that HHH and Angle are probably the only heel champions the wwe would trust to have on a long term basis and rightly so.

 

 

Angle is a face now. They have booked him that way since the switch back to SD. Further proof bob is onto something in regards to WWE not knowing exactly what it's going to do.

 

Also, the Observer and Torch have said since the injury to Batista, Vince and WWE Creative have blown up their original Mania plans and are going in a different direction, hence Angle-sudden babyface.

 

 

Yes, Angle is face now. However that is not by their own doing. The fans forced them when all they were doing was chanting his name in matches. They tried everything from having him beat up women to disprespecting the troops. They just didn't turn him face out of the blue. It would just look more silly as the weeks go by with Angle getting face reaction and them ignoring it. It actually proves the wwe IS listening to the fans at some level. They wanted Angle to become a world champion and they gave it to them with the world heavyweight title(of course, those rumours of Henry winning the title would absolutely shoot my theory out the window ).

 

If Rey Mysterio wins the Rumble, how is there a change of plans if that's what they wanted to do? It seems Orton is getting punished for his dad's deed(thank heavens) and we will not see him win the damn rumble as reported a few weeks ago. That would explain him losing the HIAC and being put into the US title scenario. Besides, the fans online pretty much crapped on the idea of Orton winning the Rumble. So maybe the wwe saw this and scrapped it by going with Rey Mysterio. If Mysterio was going to face heel Batista what's the difference? Angle is known for flip flopping from both side of the fence. I'm usually quick to point out the crap the wwe does, but I also do credit them for doing things right. The whole Batista scenario was sharp thinking by having Angle replace him in a shocking world title win and turning him face which he was kind of anyways to the fans.

[SuperJerk 0]

Cena's got to feel like shit right now.

 

Then he finally agrees with the rest of us.

[Placebo Effect 0]

Ken Doane = ratings. Those guys look like Michigan St.'s male cheerleaders or something. This gimmick won't hurt anyone as long as guys break off from it after a little while and develop their own persona.

 

24 is being a bit overhyped in terms of its impact on wrestling. Personally I've never even watched the show and would never dream of turning off Raw in favor of it (no knock on 24, I've heard it is great). I've watched wrestling on Monday pretty much every week from 1992 till now, as well as watching from early 1988 to late 89 (I stopped watching in 90-91).

 

This week's Raw was the first in ten years that I didn't even bother to read the results of.

 

24 is that damn good.

[cabbageboy 0]

Well mostly the point I meant was that 24 and Raw have different audiences.

 

Why do people insist that Cena/HHH has to be a title match? I say do it at WM anyway but keep the belt on Edge. As far as him having a run like JBL, I don't think it'll be that long. WWE has to have learned from that debacle. I'm not saying it needs to change every month like WCW in 2000 but a title change every now and then is good.

 

1992 is a good example: Year started off with the title vacant, Flair won it at the Rumble, Savage at WM, Flair back after SS, then Bret beat Flair and held it the rest of the year. A certain amount of title changes but nothing so bizarre the audience can't follow it.

[Hawk 34 0]

Well mostly the point I meant was that 24 and Raw have different audiences.

 

Why do people insist that Cena/HHH has to be a title match? I say do it at WM anyway but keep the belt on Edge. As far as him having a run like JBL, I don't think it'll be that long. WWE has to have learned from that debacle. I'm not saying it needs to change every month like WCW in 2000 but a title change every now and then is good.

 

1992 is a good example: Year started off with the title vacant, Flair won it at the Rumble, Savage at WM, Flair back after SS, then Bret beat Flair and held it the rest of the year. A certain amount of title changes but nothing so bizarre the audience can't follow it.

 

Except for the fact, WWE at it's peak changed the titles(all of them) constantly and the fans followed it well enough. It's not about the amount of title changes but rather keeping the fans interested. The viewers were turned off by JBL and in turn, turned off their tv's. Edge has shown to be at the very least a attractive curiosity as the champion.

 

To compare Edge's run which has only been 3 weeks, but three of obvious increased interest to JBL's abomination of a reign as you called it "debacle" isn't fair. Edge, like JBL is a former tag teamer, who was brought up in the WWE and has tenure but beyond that they aren't similar in any other respects.

[Promoter 0]

I still think anyone of the same talent would have created interest. The fans were backlashing against Cena's long reign and then all of a sudden he drops the belt in a screwed up fashion. Then that champion uses sex to sell his first night as champion on RAW followed by almost beheading Ric Flair. They could have used Carlito and the same interest would have happened or even Shelton Benjamin. The thing that should be remembered is how hot was Edge before and after the Matt Hardy situation? That is the real Edge imo. We'll see. Hopefully, the guy can prove me wrong, but I have seen this same type of "interest" in a new champion in guys like Randy Orton in 2004 when he won the title out of nowhere and we know where that went.

 

The titles changed hands plenty of times in 1999 because of stupid booking and for the fact that the wwe was not sure of Austin's stature and they were building up The Rock for a babyface run. The same thing in 1992. Hulk Hogan's status with the company was up in the air because of the steroid situation and the wwe didn't really have a babyface to fall back on after the mad man Warrior disappeared once again. They finally decided to trust Bret with the belt by the end of the year. In 2002, the same scenario happened with the hot potato saga until they put the title on Lesnar. The wwe is in limbo with Cena right now and I still think they want him to be the top babyface.