First, Smackdown. Ratings are actually doing fine. Not spectacular, but not horrible. They seem to be in line with what you had last year around this time. What can you take away from that? Having a separate World Champion that gets featured better on Smackdown than on Raw does not seem to matter. Of course, you can say that it depends on who is holding the title and how well he is being pushed. Alberto Del Rio holding the title and not being featured as a top star will not help ratings. In the end, the way they are handling Smackdown right now is leading to stable ratings in comparison to recent years.
How about Raw? Last year, the annual ratings average came close to dropping under a 3.0. Right now, the average for the year so far is a 3.08. Around this time last year, the average was 3.15. Football season is a few months away. Putting it all together, this is likely the year that they do drop below a 3.0. I cannot see how they can stop the bleeding. Not only is CM Punk gone and Daniel Bryan recovering from an injury, but it has not actually been shown that those two can bring in the ratings like The Rock has. Of course, you can make the argument they were in the midst of being developed to be those top draws. Daniel Bryan is hot, but how well can he draw in viewers outside of the usual fans? He will return eventually this year. CM Punk is another issue. And Brock? They might seriously put the title on him. It might bring a ratings boost and they probably need it.
TNA Impact Wrestling lost a bunch of talent last year. Is it a coincidence that ratings have been very bad this year? They are already under 1.0 for their annual average. They have gone through streaks of ratings under a 1.0 from week to week. And football season has not even started yet. Look at that roster. They lost all their legends. Is Kurt Angle supposed to be the closest thing to a legend they have? They signed or brought back a bunch of guys that really aren't that popular. They are very good workers, but when it comes to bringing results in connecting with the fans, they are not spectacular. As far as TNA's booking goes, they continue to be very inconsistent with their overall direction. Sometimes, it seems like they are going their own way. Other times, it is obvious they are copying the WWE. I do not believe TNA is conscious of what their agenda is. To put it another way, they don't know what they are doing. You probably already knew that. I will admit that I like some of the things they have done at recent tapings, but whether or not it works in drawing in the audience for them and whether or not they can be consistent with it is another issue. Taping so many weeks in advance is also going to hurt ratings. Why watch when you can just read spoilers? Don't expect a miracle to save TNA's ratings this year.
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