What WWE Really Thinks Is To Blame For Poor Ratings

Vince can’t say it, because it’s a pronoun.

by Michael Sidgwick
Vince McMahon SmackDown
WWE

WWE luxuriates in the obscene wealth handed to them by the USA Network, FOX, and the Saudi Arabia General Sports Authority. Supplemental revenue streams—merchandising, international TV deals, the Network—further safeguard the company’s existence for years and years to come.

WWE boasts also an obscene roster of talent, from the greatest pro wrestler and sports entertainer alive in Daniel Bryan, to the best Women’s bout machine that is Charlotte Flair, to the most phenomenally gifted athlete in a modern landscape defined by them in Ricochet.

WWE enjoys the unprecedented degree of exposure that is their global television audience, the ratings metrics of which help to identify which performers are over, and which are not.

WWE, per Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, enjoys also the unique advantage of its live arena audience and their determination of what works, and what doesn’t—data that isn’t muddied by YouTube clips and cutting off cable and competition in the form of live sports, excuses of that nature.

So why is WWE’s audience fading away? Why is Twitter flooded with daily complaints and mocking memes?

What’s the problem?

It’s you, pal!

CONT'D...(1 of 5)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!