10 Reasons WWE Raw Will Never Be The Same Again

9. Content-ment

Big E
WWE

WWE Monday Night Raw is a television show that doesn't function as a television show.

The company's YouTube channel is enormously popular and much of it is because the shortened match and promo highlights are substantially easier to digest than the show itself. Often, it feels as though this scenario is all by design; that the organisation will gladly accept a staggered drop in traditional viewers as long as they can pump up their views and clicks on the socials.

Hopefully, this reflects an era that's becoming passé (per multiple reports, USA Network haven't been best pleased with the various failings of NXT in the last) with television rights deals now the undisputed kingmakers in all forms of live sports and entertainment.

In 2021 - and especially on Monday Night Raw - WWE's output exists to be something loosely resembling what it once looked like. Just enough to keep people on the hook, but evidently not enough to drive their genuine emotional investment over the longer term. Content about wrestling, not wrestling content itself.

Only if ratings return to being the top priority at the expense of everything else will it ever be a product again.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett