This season, even the NFL is taking a noticeable loss in the ratings. Monday Night Football has still averaged more viewers than Raw every week, but numbers are still down for the various networks and various nights. It has become a real issue now. Even commentators are bringing it up during games.
Why is it happening? There have been a number of reasons floating around. First, you have the drama involving Colin Kaepernick. He has been kneeling during the national anthem as a protest. Some fans hate what he is doing and have said they would stop watching as a protest. Second, you have the game just not being as fun as it used to be. There are way too many penalty flags flying all over the place. Players get penalized for little things that a lot of people feel aren't that bad. I know it takes me out of the game. Some people say it is a lack of stars. Peyton Manning is gone. Tom Brady was suspended for a month. A lot of the other star players from recent years are flopping, like Cam Newton. I don't personally buy this excuse. There are a ton of stars all over the NFL and more are drafted every year. But this excuse does lead into another point. A lot of these games are terrible. Whether you want to say the stars are under-performing or what, a lot of games are one-sided and terrible to watch, unless you are a fan on the right side of the domination. Aside from that, you have the general excuse that this is an election year and numbers are down everywhere.
There is one interesting thing to keep in mind for those people that want to downplay the NFL's struggles. College football has actually seen a slight increase through the first few weeks compared to that same time last year. A lot of people like to say that numbers are decreasing for every show or that no one watches TV anymore. And it just isn't true. The first presidential debate between Trump and Clinton saw record numbers. SNL ratings are up thanks to parodying the presidential debates. In an era where NFL ratings are noticeably declining, college football ratings are at least holding steady and sometimes showing a bit of an increase. It is still possible for TV shows to create buzz and draw an audience.
Now, I do want to tie it back into wrestling. Look back at some of those reasons I gave for why NFL ratings are down. How do those reasons fit with what is going on in the WWE?
Let's start with Colin Kaepernick. He has become a polarizing figure, and not even for his work on the field. As I pointed out, some fans hate what he is doing. Some fans, and players, respect it. People are joining in all over the country. In just about every NFL game, they seem to always look to the sidelines during the anthem and point out if any players are doing anything to protest. It has become something to look for. Kaepernick's jersey has sold well since he started protesting. But he is still hated by many and I pointed out that some say he is the reason they won't watch anymore.
Sound familiar? Sounds like John Cena. Cena is a polarizing figure. Some fans hate him, while others love him. You always hear reports about his merchandise selling well. You might even see reports claiming he is still a draw for the WWE in terms of house shows. Do those reports ever stop to consider how many fans Cena has lost? I know a lot of fans that have said they are done with the WWE every time they let Cena win, but these fans never seem to leave. But how about some viewers that aren't smarks? How about some of those viewers that get annoyed by Cena and choose to stop watching, not just complain on the Internet? Ever since John Cena has become the centerpiece, he has not energized the product. Just like Kaepernick has this attention on him, so does Cena. It is a kind of attention that does have the ability to get people interested in what you are doing, but also has the ability to drive people away. Cena may no longer be the centerpiece, but you always have to watch out for the next guy being groomed as the centerpiece.
A lot of these football games are just not fun anymore. Similarly, a lot of people just don't find the WWE fun anymore. I know I don't find it fun anymore. It is the main reason I don't want to watch anymore. Ever since watching what the WWE did to my favorite female wrestler, Mickie James, I just couldn't look at them the same way anymore. They went on to screw more of their workers, including Zack Ryder and Daniel Bryan. They just created this seedy environment of complaining and exploiting things going on in real life to try to create drama. The WWE has been a little better recently in terms of giving their workers better treatment, but it is pretty much too little, too late for me, and probably a lot of other fans. This is not what captivated me during the Attitude Era. Another reason it is not what it used to be is that they are making all these decisions designed to cater to wrestling fans and smarks. It has lost that mass appeal.
What about the lack of stars? A popular philosophy I see some people bring up is that the WWE doesn't need draws because the brand is the draw. That is the kind of thing I might have felt would be true for NXT. They just have to appeal to smarks. Just have a few talented wrestlers, promote wrestling, and don't do anything too stupid. And yet, even NXT cannot be a draw in itself. It needs stars. And the same goes for the main roster. The WWE obviously believes they need stars. That is why they rely on part-timers. Goldberg helped them get a ratings boost this week for Raw. But the WWE has failed to sustain these ratings boosts. Where are the full-time stars? Who are the full-time stars? There is definitely a lack of stars. Most of the blame goes to the WWE for not featuring their talent better.
A lot of the football games, especially the ones in prime-time, are terrible. Whether they are sloppy or plain blowouts, they can get viewers to tune out. The issue with the WWE isn't really sloppy matches or too many squash matches. But they are sloppy in terms of how they handle the shows and manage their talent. They are inefficient. If the audience cannot connect with what they are seeing, they might stop watching. I always see fans saying Raw is unbearable. The WWE has made some improvements, but the WWE has not really learned how to be efficient with what they have. They just keep on bringing in all these people. I question what they are doing from a business standpoint. From an efficiency standpoint, this is not what they should be doing. And if some of this is not helping them to draw on a steady basis, they should consider cleaning themselves up.
As far as the election excuse, it is a real factor. Even if Raw or Smackdown don't go directly against a debate, primary, rally, or whatever, there is always analysis and reporting before and after these events that people do watch. This has been a terrible year for the WWE, especially Raw. They are going to just tell themselves that it was the election year. They are going to hope things will improve next year.
In the end, you cannot just pin things on the election. That goes for both the WWE and the NFL. Stop and look at yourself and you will see faults. The NFL obviously does not have as much control over things as the WWE. The NFL cannot predetermine aspects of a game in the same way the WWE can try to manipulate what goes on during their scripted broadcast. The NFL cam make all these rules, but that doesn't mean the rules won't be broken. You can debate whether NFL refs rig games, but that is just part of the show when the WWE does something like that. The WWE is just in a better position to control their product and could do better.
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