WWE Chairman Vince McMahon speaks during the announcement of the WWE Network. (Photo : GettyImages/Ethan Miller)
The WWE is facing a tough challenge at the moment with the ratings of Monday Night Raw being historically bad for the last several weeks. According to the latest rumors, Raw might finally be getting canceled by the USA Network.
Ever since the 1990s, Raw has had a strong viewership and peaked during the "Attitude Era" with stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. It steadily declined throughout the 2000s until the early 2010s but there were no worrying numbers.
However, Raw has been doing poorly in the ratings ever since the NFL season started in September. According to The Charleston Post Courier, the WWE's flagship show drew an average of 2.478 million on September 29 which equals to a lowly rating of 1.8.
It is noted that these numbers is a new low for Raw since the last time the show drew the same results were back in the 1990s. Given that the red brand was against the first presidential debate and Monday Night Football, it is clear that they will get very low ratings.
The all-time low for Monday Night Raw is a 1.5 rating on the December 23 episode in 1996. Additionally, the show's average viewers for the month of September are the lowest in the past two decades. Another possible reason for this decline is Raw being repetitive unlike SmackDown Live.
According to The Inquisitr, there is a chance that Raw will get canceled but there are also ways to prevent it. One way is to improve the overall product of Raw and avoid being redundant with the storylines.
SmackDown has been very successful after the brand split because they focus more on the wrestling side of the industry and not the scripted promos. It helps elevate the talent and the story means more since it is simpler.
Raw has been using The New Day too much and they currently have no direction. The women's division only revolves around Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte and Dana Brooke while not having any secondary stories.
Roman Reigns is being pushed to the top again while Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho cannot save the show despite being the most entertaining duo on the roster. Finally, it might be better if Raw gets cut down to two hours just like SmackDown.
Nevertheless, these are just pure speculations at the moment and nothing has been confirmed. Check out the video below to see the highlights of Raw's main event this week.
