Ideas to get Raw ratings back up

We all know that Raw's ratings are pretty bad right now.

Here are some of my suggestions for making it watchable again and exciting.

It's a long read but worth it.

No matter who is facing who on any given Monday night we know a belt will not change hands for the most part.

There is really absolutely no reason to only have a belt change hands during a pay-per-view because no one is spending $40 since the network arrived.

Think about it, there's four major belts and none of them ever change hands on TV (minus an extremely few times) anymore.

In my opinion there should be four to eight title changes (world champ strap at least once) per year on TV. That would be exciting because once it starts happening you'll never truly know when it's going to happen again. Now, you just know it's never going to happen.

Bring back a version of the hard-core title belt.

Sure it'll never go back to how it was (so maybe a re name would in order) but the most exciting part was seeing the falls count anywhere contests.

In the ring? Absolutely
Out of the ring? Sure
In the parking lot? Just ask Molly Holly

Point is it was really exciting and funny and helped expose a whole bunch of low carders and no carders to a bigger stage with the potential of getting over.

Remember when the Hulkster picked out some seemingly random dude from the crowd ( tugboat) or when the 1-2-3 kid very surprisingly beat Ramon out of nowhere?

Now I am definitely not a wrestling historian at all but when was the last time something like that tugboat happen? Was with Kurt angle?

Same thing goes for the 123 kid. When did something as major as that last happen?

Again, that stuff is exciting and you definitely don't see it coming.

I agree that today's WWE is nothing like the way it was back in the 80's and 90's when Vince would be at the show regulating. I miss the variety of matches that used to be aired on the old "WWF Prime Time Wrestling" or "Saturday Night's Main Event". Now it appears that both Raw and Smackdown use these weekly shows as a method to set us up for the PPV. Raw airs for 3 hours now and the extra hour IMO can be used more productively like add a unique match. I mean NXT had an Iron man match? why can't Raw do the same?

I'm in the opposite boat with titles. I want to see longer runs, where feuds actually build. Not a PPV to PPV feud, but something where there's an encounter, then some verbal jarring for a week or two, maybe the rest of the month. A tag team match (like a 6 man) to get the physicality in the feud going, maybe the two costing their teams the match, because the tension is building up. Then, the next PPV (WITH NO PHYSICAL in ring action taking place) have a match. Sure, during that time, there may be interviews in street clothes or one competitor has fought and the other is in civilian gear and gets jumped, where other wrestlers, agents, refs break up the action.

Then, at the PPV, have some get DQ'd. An injury angle, where one competitor is out for a while, but is getting vignettes from rehab. Have a Dusty / 4 Horsemen deal take place, as the wrestler is arriving to the arena, and gets his hand, leg (whatever his injured appendage is) re-injured, so the (presumably) heel can get more time to rest and avoid confrontation in the ring. The NEXT PPV (3rd one) have a match, where more heelish ways squander the face's chance at winning.

This is the same thing Jake Roberts / Rick Rude did. Martel / Roberts. T.A. / Blanchard. Dusty / Flair. So, by the time everyone is 100%, there has been psychological & emotional & physical investment by the wrestlers and by the fans. That way, the crowd is beyond hot for the match at the PPV and folks will spend $10 to get the Network.

ALSO, STOP ****ING GIVING A MONTH AWAY FOR FREE ! The Network should easily sell itself, just alone on the content and extensive library.

Back to Raw getting better:

Stop ****ing pushing the same feud. Build something new. LEARN the teams / single wrestlers nobody gives a **** about and push them to the side. Los Matadors ... who cares. Have someone out of the blue, punk out Cena. Bray. Taker. Lesnar. Take out HHH. Have the fans guessing ... sitting on the edge of their seats. Imagine Steph out there, in the middle of the ring, *****ing about whoever has done the destruction of the locker room, that they are going to pay THEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT

When the lights come back on, after hearing some action in the ring, she's laid out; cold. Just stuff like this, having folks NOT knowing who it is, BUT having a payoff, unlike the ****ing stupid ANONYMOUS Raw GM, which was beyond one of the dumbest things the wrestling industry has ever endured.

I dunno, the writers there are beyond moronic. It's wrestling. Everything that has worked, has been repeated. Unfortunately, everything that has failed has been repeated with even more frequency.

How to improve the WWE?

More Cena-Orton matches!
Keep selling the Big Show!
More Mark Henry!

...said no one ever.

Clone Michael Cole twice more and have 3 Michael Cole's announcing Raw every Monday!!!!

Nate Colbert 17 said:

How to improve the WWE?

More Cena-Orton matches!
Keep selling the Big Show!
More Mark Henry!

...said no one ever.

Click to expand...

This is actually an easy one

Reintroduce the separate show brands
Raw wrestlers stay on raw
Smackdown guys stay on Smackdown

Thus eliminating duplicated matches
How many times roman and bray fight each other


Second , with nxt fully popular
Reintroduce a literal yearly draft where GM's pick NXT talent to get promoted to the major leagues
Each show gets 2 picks
1 guy and 1 gal

This can change by GM's making half year trades at the "trade deadline" aka Labor Day which is when the wrestling ratings tank Bc it's all downtime before WM buildup


Eg: I trade "Paige" for your 1 gal draft pick,
Offer waits or next week
Paige uses social media to campaign to stay on "Raw"

Smackdown GM counters I want Paige plus x
Whatever - you get my point



Could also get serious and
Have wrestlers "have contracts" to spice free agency and 3-5 guaranteed title matches of 1 title match and 3 IC matches etc etc etc

Could also do ppv fantasy leagues for network subscribers


There's other ideas I got but show brands and draft and trade deadline helps significantly

I don't watch wrestling anymore but I use to be a huge freaking fan. I loved it when I was little and even into the DX days. I loved the Rock's comedy skits but when the guys I knew left (is the undertaker still there?) I stopped watching at all

Vince needs to either die or just hand the reigns over to HHH and Stephanie.

End of story.

Do you see what HHH is doing with NXT?

Imagine him being in full control of WWE?

It would be a whole lot better than Vince having the final say.

Vince is clearly senile. He is clueless to what the fans actually want.

NY Tony said:

This is actually an easy one

Reintroduce the separate show brands
Raw wrestlers stay on raw
Smackdown guys stay on Smackdown

Thus eliminating duplicated matches
How many times roman and bray fight each other


Second , with nxt fully popular
Reintroduce a literal yearly draft where GM's pick NXT talent to get promoted to the major leagues
Each show gets 2 picks
1 guy and 1 gal

This can change by GM's making half year trades at the "trade deadline" aka Labor Day which is when the wrestling ratings tank Bc it's all downtime before WM buildup


Eg: I trade "Paige" for your 1 gal draft pick,
Offer waits or next week
Paige uses social media to campaign to stay on "Raw"

Smackdown GM counters I want Paige plus x
Whatever - you get my point



Could also get serious and
Have wrestlers "have contracts" to spice free agency and 3-5 guaranteed title matches of 1 title match and 3 IC matches etc etc etc

Could also do ppv fantasy leagues for network subscribers


There's other ideas I got but show brands and draft and trade deadline helps significantly

Click to expand...

I HAAAAAAAAAATED the brand split. I would not be in favor of that AT ALL!