Last week's Raw had a 3.3 rating overall. That is good. That is the highest rating in months. WWE could be proud of that. This week's Raw, on the other hand, had a 3.1. What do I love about all this the most? This means the average Raw rating for August so far is still a 3.2. That's the number of doom Raw was revolving around after the WWE really pulled the trigger on this CM Punk angle last month, and ratings were even worse prior to that.
3.2 is not great at all, especially when football season is not yet in full force. To be fair, this week's Raw was lacking. They already brought CM Punk back, got rid of Vince McMahon, brought in Triple H to run things, put the title on Cena, and set the match for Summerslam. What reason would people really have for tuning in this week? Nothing really surprising or controversial was advertised. No mysteries were teased last week which would be answered this week. This Raw was not very well hyped at all, in my opinion. Yes, they had the contract signing in the main-event slot, but I already talked about that and even gave a lengthy, confusing example of why I did not enjoy the segment. Even then, I wouldn't be surprised if the segment still did well in the ratings. It lasted long and might have led fans to think that this whole debate between the men was actually leading to something. I think it went nowhere.
As always, there is also an undercard to think about. Ratings do not revolve around the main event alone. As usual, the other matches and segments were pretty dry. That is how things usually are these days, with a few exceptions. I remember when they had the tournament to crown a new WWE Champion after Punk left. That was an example of putting heavy focus throughout the card, but the WWE does not make that the norm. The WWE used Miz, Del Rio, Kofi Kingston, Alex Riley, and a ton of other hot talent. They used guys with main-event credibility, such as Swagger, who looks like a jobber these days, but is still a former World Champion. Fact is, the talent is being hyped, pushed well, having credibility invested in them, but not entertaining enough to help ratings. The WWE really needs to start giving them storylines. Not just feuds, whether a title is involved or not, but real storylines. Let them show some character. They are trying a bit with what is going on with Ziggler, Vickie, and Riley, but it can go further than what I see them doing. It is obvious CM Punk and John Cena cannot carry the ratings for Raw to where they should be, even with the whole point being to pander to the fans and bringing controversial reality to the storyline world. You want better ratings, try building the midcard up.
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