10 Things You Learn From Rewatching LAST Time WWE Raw Lost In Ratings War
4. Fans Gave A Sh*t!
Even though October 26, 1998 saw Raw beaten out in the ratings war by Ted Turner's WCW, it's not like today where the WWE product so often fails to illicit any semblance of a positive response from arena crowds. Well, when fans were allowed to be in attendance, of course.
Back in '98, you're instantly struck by how boisterous the in-attendance fans are. From the first minute to the last, Raw is consistently soundtracked by screaming fans. It's not just your marquee names like Steve Austin, Vince McMahon, the Rock and Kane who draw huge responses from the crowd, but every match on the card is full of chants, wild cheers, ferocious boos, and then there's the delightful visual of signs, signs and more signs dotted across Madison, Wisconsin's Kohl Center.
Simply put, people cared.
With a roster of widely varied characters, short matches that stopped audiences becoming bored, and the sort of storylines that were designed in the same mould as The Jerry Springer Show, there is an energy on display 22 years ago that has long been absent from WWE.
That's not to say that there haven't been wrestlers who fans have cared for over the past two decades, it's just that the fan investment and fan interaction of today are so vastly below the levels they were the last time WWE was toppled in the ratings.