Since the launch of the WWE Network, WWE has turned their formerly important pay-per-view events into glorified episodes of Raw. While fans are no doubt enjoying paying only $10 a month for events that used to cost $50, they have been conditioned to start skipping shows. When your fanbase begins to realize that every show isn't important, they skip events, they don't buy tickets, and they don't watch television. A few weeks ago, Vince McMahon made his return to WWE television and confronted Roman Reigns about his attack on Triple H. It was one of the most well-received Raw episodes in recent memory and the ratings went up as well. Why? Because Vince McMahon is seen as important. Now, you can't just trot out Vince every week and expect ratings to go through the roof but you have to give fans a reason to watch. They need to believe that if they skip an episode of Raw that they might actually miss something important. How many times have you watched an episode of Raw for three hours and asked yourself "what was the point of that?". At Raw's peak, it seemed like something important happened every single week. Someone turned on someone, a title was on the line, a huge announcement for a match was going to made, or a wrestler was going to get revenge on another. Episodes ended on cliffhangers that made you excited for the next week and storylines were effectively woven throughout the show. These days, Raw is just a series of matches put on for no real reason, winners and losers don't matter because no one ever advances up the card through victories in the ring, and fans are subjected to matches they've seen 40 times already. Change the dynamic, change the set, change the look of the show, make things seem dangerous or unpredictable. Do something, anything, to make it different. Also, be sure to check out our brand new eBook 100 Worst Wrestling Moments Of 2015 How Pro Wrestling Lost Over 25% Of Its Audience In 12 Months, written by WhatCulture.com author Andrew Soucek (writer of the weekly Worst Wrestling Moments Of The Week column!) by clicking the picture above. Priced only £2.99
