Is it time for Vince McMahon to reinvent the wheel?

Monday Night Raw, RAW is War, the WWE "The World is Watching"... its been a staple of Monday Night American TV for almost 23 years, no-one not even Vince could have forseen the unrivaled success his flagship show would see but now as we drift towards 2016 Monday Night RAW is a lame duck.

Vince McMahon is 70 years old so maybe he hasn't got the appetite or the will to want to start again but the show is absolutely garbage, it's completely repetitive, the ratings are at an all time low having steadily declined for years, the reviews for the show week on week are embarrassingly negative and Monday nights have also became the go to night for top TV in the States which means people have many more options than Pro Wrestling on a Monday Night, particularly a 3 hour show.

What I believe is the only way to possibly recapture the bluster WWE once had would be to cancel RAW, make it a big deal, have the countdown to the last ever show then create a new show with a new name on a new night with a new format and presented in a complete new way....Oh and for the love of God only two hours please, a third hour occasionally would feel special and would draw but only very occasionally, not every damn week.

In Monday Night RAW's formative years the tagline for it was "It's uncooked! Uncut! And uncensored!" - it wasn't, everything was structured to the exact detail however thats the feel it portrayed, thats what it allowed it to grow in the first place, it's a Million miles from where it has ended up in 2015.

I fully believe that Pro Wrestling still has a huge role in society and people will still want to watch it, they just need a reason to commit two hours of theirives to it per week, if the WWE want to capture this generation like they captured the last three generations then its time to be brave, if Vince McMahon isn't up for the one last big challenge then its time he hands the reigns over full time to HHH and Stephanie

I read something interesting the other day stating that whilst it's been known that Steph had been selling a large number of shares of late (80% of her stock), the person that has bought them is...
Shane McMahon, and that plans were in place for him to return to the company next year with Vince calling it a day to leave Shane to run the business side and Steph/HHH to run the day to day show side.

There are two big problems I see with WWE these days:

1. Even Steven booking. You cant create stars when every one is trading wins with each other. Wins and loses dont matter now. They're too afraid of someone looking weak that no one ends up looking strong. This is why they are almost reliant on the old guard and a few legends come Mania time, because they need big names to sell the show but they havent made any new stars in so long. There are a bunch of guys who are more than capable of headlining WrestleMania, but you cant believe in it because of the way its booked and written.

2. Trying to appeal to every audience imaginable. The only thing consistent about RAW is its inconsistency. Every angle is written by a different person and its blatantly obvious. Instead of picking one demographic to appeal to, they try to go for everyone and its a disjointed mess. Even Triple H knows this is an issue, and why NXT is a success - they know their audience and book a show for them. The only group WWE should worry about is the core wrestling fans. Dont worry about making the product too accessable, if its entertaining then people will come back the next week and pick it up quick enough. Dont worry about the smarks, dont worry about the casuals, focus on people who have been fans for a long time. Pick a demographic, stick to it and the others will soon follow.

Oh, and dropping the 3 hour RAW format would be a great thing aswell.

Without any knowledge of numbers I guess the current format is a risk free way to make a load of money. Id guess like most things, it wont change until they start losing a load of cash

The extra hour of ad revenue would pale in comparison to the dividends they would see by producing a better product. If the ratings go back up to the high threes and fours then the 2 hour revenue would eclipse the current 3.

I think the only way they drop the third hour is if the Network exceeds expectations.

Shane getting back into it? A man who has made his own path in business. If the landscape of WWE is going to change then I think he would be a man who could do it. And if HHH was there with him I actually think they would have two very interesting heads on it. I don't like HHH, but I would suggest he has learned a lot and could be fantastic at running a show with a leash on him and his ego.

If you had Shane incharge of the business and Trips incharge of the talent and booking you could have a perfect mix.

Saying that on Huner's ego, last Sunday's Observer claims that the original plan for Punk's return was to him to come back with the title and then be pedigree'd by HHH. They claim Vince put a stop to this.

I think his experience with NXT has cooled his ego somewhat. He could quite easily insert himself in Regals position and make it all about him but he seems quite happy to take a back seat. I think the thing with CM Punk was the last time he let his ego get the better of him.

Really? I think we see it most weeks, I think we saw it with Sting regardless of whether Sting was happy to lose, I think we see it when he opens those NXT shows. His ego isn't abating, we might just benefit from it being now about the guys he feels he "created"

I think the Sting match turning into nWo vs DX was Vinny putting the final nail in the WCW coffin, and I think him opening an NXT special isnt any different to McMahon opening Wrestlemania.

All that said, there was a part of me that was half expecting him to drop Bayley with a pedigree

I think it is clear that WWE only has one focus at the moment, the Network. Everything else is secondary.

In some ways I think the Network adversely impacts TV. Traditionally, outside Mania and Summerslam, most PPVs were doing around the 250K mark. I think we can assume that most people with the Network would be watching the "PPVs" now, so that's a fourfold increase.

And honestly, if you are watching all the pay-offs, do you need the filler that is building to the PPV? Particularly if that build is really not that good. A bit like SmackDown has lost all relevance, because no stories of any meaning are covered there, Raw is heading down the same road.

WWE may not have the superstars of a few years ago. But they do have the most solid roster they've ever had. And they are actively trying to squeeze as much as they can from wrestling fans outside the WWE umbrella, by bringing in so many indie darlings. But I do have to agree with Samo's point that trading wins and losses leaves 90% of the roster on the same level and is not an effective way of promoting stars. Add to this that most of the belts are also not protected.

WWE likes to quote their number of YouTube viewers and extrapolate on questionnaires that they do and run to huge numbers of wrestling fans. So, the question is why are these "fans" not watching Raw? Either there is something wrong with the numbers WWE is estimating (and quoting to its shareholders) or there is a reason these people are not watching. My thinking is that it is the former, because I think WWE has much more interest in trying to convert all its Raw viewers to Network subscribers than doubling the number of Raw viewers.

Smackdown may be going live when it changes channels, King hinted at that in an interview and it sounds like there will be changes. It needs it, as whilst some of the content is actually quite good, it means nothing. I feel for Breeze debuting on there, it just isnt a big deal.

Is Breeze a big deal?

He should be, hes got so much talent, he deserves to go places.

Breeze for me is Ziggler with a personality (Dolph rather than Dolphin)

I'm not saying Breeze can't be a big star, but I still feel he needs a lot of development both in ring and gimmick-wise. Both are on their way there. And I think Smackdown with less exposure and post-production editing might actually be a good place for him right now. He can be tweaked and if his selfie-sticks sell, Vince will take note. As Breeze is also not the biggest guy I think he may struggle to get a push in the world of VKM.

Hero wrote:Breeze for me is Ziggler with a personality (Dolph rather than Dolphin)

He gets to be a heel, which is the only place for personality in current WWE.


On topic, I think anyone thinking Vince doesn't care about ratings should look at who he flew in for this Raw. Opened the show with Austin, used HBK on the second hour and had Flair, Lesnar and Taker all there. And ratings barely went up. 

It's possible that Vince is noticing now. Surely, surely, the Authority's position on screen must be under threat. Daniel Bryan also looks more enticing to have active again.

I'm not saying Vince doesn't care about ratings, but do strongly believe everything is secondary to The Network.

And you can say the big Raw was to cause buzz for Mania in that area next year.

Also Lesnar and Taker are in HIAC just before the Q3 figures end, and quarter end network numbers will be looked at in a future incvstor's call.

Think I saw somewhere that the nett effect of a stacked Raw was 70k viewers. If Vince is studying the viewership that's worrying that he had all his names there and no one cared.

I've got to say given the plummeting ratings it's admirable that Rollins is still champion and they haven't defaulted to Cena yet

Cena is the real champ though isn't he, the US Title is the most important belt in the company at the moment, all the matches for it feel important, I know technically its not the big title but in all but name it feels like the most prestigious at the moment.

You're not wrong. They've treated the US title like they should have been treating the WWE title, instead the WWE title at this point feels like the European title.

I think I might take a break from WWE for a while. I'll see Hell in a Cell and unless something happens to excite me I'll be back for the Rumble. Its like a relationship, I need a break before I start to resent it.

I'm thinking of taking a break after Hell in a cell as well. Raw is just unwatchable atm

I've not seen a full Raw since the one after Mania. I tend to skim the reviews and then cherrypick the good matches / angles. The product would have to change considerably for me to watch more than 1 to 2 full Raw's each year.

I barely watch Raw, just clips and highlights of what was good. Doesn't mean I need to "take a break", as I still enjoy NXT, will watch all PPV's even if I skip the occasional match, and have shedloads of old stuff to watch on the Network.

I don't have Sky Sports anymore so Raw is an hour long version on Sky 1 on Sunday mornings which is fine to ensure I'm abreast of the plots (or lack of) and generally they show the full decent matches on it. I still watch NXT every week and as it's halfterm next week I've got it booked off for the PPV and the boys are allowed to watch it live (will wake them 10 minutes prior to it starting).

I watch it every week and whilst exasperated I also do other things whilst I watch it so I keep up with everything going on but dont sit looking at it for three hours.

I'll watch HIAC and I reckon I'll enjoy it, the matches generally are good quality and its my type of wrestling. I prefer the Sports Entertainment style of America to the Eastern values of wrestling.

I would be happy to say the problem with Raw is the three hours, and that actually there are some good concepts in most shows. They are being dragged down by the even-Steven "fear" booking, the Authority and not letting their talent show off to their limits. But I enjoy a lot of the performers even with the s*it thrown at them.

Talking of stale product, every match at HIAC has happened within the last two months. The only exception is Cena's open challenge at this point:

Kevin Owens vs. Ryback 9/29/2015 Smackdown Taping
New Day vs. Dudley Boyz - 10/3/2015 MSG Show
Seth Rollins vs. Kane - 10/12/2015 Monday Night Raw
Charlotte vs. Nikki Bella - 9/20/2015 Night of Champions
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt - 9/29/2015 Monday Night Raw
Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar - 8/23/2015 SummerSlam
Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro and Neville vs. Rusev, Sheamus and King Barrett - 10/19/2015 Monday Night Raw _ THREE DAYS AGO

However, just seen these figures on WWE stock:

October 21, 2011 = $10.62
October 21, 2014 = $13.82
October 21, 2015 = $18.95
78.436911487759% increase from 2011.
37.12011577424% increase from 2014.