For the better part of the past two decades, it almost felt automatic that WWE's Monday Night Raw was going to enjoy high ratings.
However, now there's legitimate reason for concern as reports indicate that this past episode of Raw, on Sept. 21, scored its lowest ratings since 1997. What's more concerning is the low ratings came the night after the WWE's pay per view, Night of Champions (2015). Traditionally, the Raw after a pay per view is wildly popular and considered must-see television to the WWE Universe.
According to What Culture, Raw pulled in 3,420,000 viewers at 8 p.m. this past Monday night with viewership plummeting further in the second hour to 3,368,000 and again in the third hour to 3,260,000. So, what's the reason for the ratings dip? Is Monday Night Football being in the same time slot a reason? It's possible. But then again, MNF has always been around during Raw.
Or could it be that legions of WWE fans don't approve of their current main storylines, which has Kane returning and immediately embroiled in a feud with World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins? While Kane and Rollins have really never feuded before and it was wildly interesting to see the monster drag The Architect to hell, there's something about the feud that feels forced, dated and a plot that the WWE is turning to because, quite frankly, it doesn't know what else to do.
With the 2015 NFL season in full swing, there's no doubt that Raw will have to up the ante to better compete and get its ratings back where they should be.
But should the WWE throw a curveball in its storylines to spark more viewership or should it simply continue with its current plot and hope for a boost in ratings?
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