10 Ludicrous Things In Wrestling We’ll Tragically Never See
4. A New 'Monday Night War'
Television ratings are tumbling for WWE in 2017, but the constantly dwindling figures may not be all to do with a creative output often caught in stasis for upwards of nine months a year.
Engagement with, and digestion of content has completely changed, with WWE themselves hopping on the On Demand service bandwagon led by such services as Netflix following the 2014 launch of their own Network. Alas, television rights represent a hefty chunk of the company's financials, ensuring that Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live! and any other vehicle they can flog to networks will remain crucial parts of the organisation's package no matter how stretched and lazy the storylines may subsequently become.
Competing with WWE on television used to be one the biggest measures of success, with WWE and WCW's pay-per-view numbers still fairly comparable for much of the period Nitro was crushing Raw on Monday Nights. Viewerships were vastly different, but WWE had a tighter grip on their core audience when it came to converting eyes to buys.
TNA were the last outfit to tackle WWE in an ill-fated attempt at aping WCW's better days when Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff took hold of the company in 2010. It was an absolute embarrassment for the Orlando group, who overloaded the roster with any named talent they could get their hands on, and still lost handily in the ten weeks they pitched Impact against Monday Night Raw head-to-head. No company will ever again attempt such a fruitless endeavour.