In late September, ratings for World Wrestling Entertainment's Monday Night Raw dipped to its lowest numbers since 1997.
A month later, ratings only continued to slide.
What didn't help the free-fall is WWE's World Heavyweight champion, Seth Rollins, who was really coming into his own and gaining momentum, suffered a torn right ACL, MCL and medial meniscus early last month and was forced to relinquish his title (he is expected to miss six to nine months of action).
That firestorm of events led to what many in the WWE Universe feel is a watered-down, predictable product week-in and week-out on Raw ... and it has reared its ugly head in the ratings.
The New York Post reported Wednesday that Raw ratings on the USA Network have dropped dramatically by nearly 50 percent from their high for this year. While the New York City tabloid chalks that up to the storylines being too predictable, it does seem like WWE owner Vince McMahon has a problem on his hands ... or does he?
Although the Nov. 23 episode of Raw fell below three million viewers — at 2.96 million — according to WrestlingNewsWorld — and ratings of Smackdown slid 44 percent to 1.65 million viewers on Thanksgiving Day, WWE stock shares have soared 41 percent this year, the Post says.
Industry insiders aren't concerned with the ratings.
"WWE programming delivers one of the most massive live audiences in cable on a weekly basis and is consistently a top performer for our networks," NBC Universal, which owns USA Network, told the Post in a statement.
Could a possible return of Daniel Bryan help breathe life into Raw's ratings, or will it take something like introducing new talent and gambling on bold storylines to turn the numbers around?
Probably all of the above.
WWE could always return to the Attitude Era of envelope-pushing, raunchy themes and storylines, but that could potentially prohibit kids from latching onto its product early on.
Decisions, decisions ... and WWE should think fast, considering that this time of the year, which precedes The Royal Rumble in January, paves the way for the road to WrestleMania.
