Are WWE Viewership Ratings Not Improving In 2019?

Despite a public apology on Monday Night Raw and a promise things would change in benefit of the fans, the product has not followed the promise. Ignoring the stellar match between Shane McMahon and The Miz at WrestleMania, the wrestling being shown on the main roster has been far from the wrestling we see on NXT. It seems this has clear consequences for the WWE viewership ratings, which have continued to slump down in 2019.

WWE Viewership Ratings Declined A Lot Since The Year 2000

Before we move onto 2019 specifically, we need to look at some of the previous years in terms of WWE viewership ratings. The WWE had its biggest success between 1999 and 2000, where the amount of viewers exceeded five million. However, after the year 2000, ratings have dropped dramatically. Ratings continued to drop over more than a decade, with less than half the amount of viewers in 2016.

WWE Viewership Ratings Continue To Fall In 2019

Despite the fact the main roster is packed with major talent such as Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Ricochet, and many others, the WWE is continuing its decline in viewers.

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw only attracted 2.158 million viewers, which is even lower than the average in 2016. SmackDown Live did even worse, logging only 1.833 million viewers. To give you a better idea of the implications of this decline, the WWE viewership ratings have dropped by a staggering 32% over the past five years.

It seems the WWE is not convincing its younger demographic, with the biggest losses attributed to teens and those between the ages of 18-35. I fall under the second category, so I can certainly provide some insight into why the numbers continue to drop. Clarification for this I provide below.

Big TV And Saudi Deal Enough For Salvation?

So, this is the problem the WWE has at the moment. The recent numbers once again prove my theory. The company is so focussed on its deals with Saudi Arabia, as well as its deal with Fox Network, it completely forgot about the things fans want. Despite that public apology, which was basically a ruse to keep us tuning in, nothing much has changed in terms of storylines or even good wrestling matches.

Dear Vince and accompanying management, what people want – especially my age group – is wrestling matches like the ones we get to see on NXT. Funnily enough, your developmental brand gets it right, while your main roster is far behind. You have the talent there, yet we get boring wrestling matches with wrestlers too scared of getting injured and losing the spot they have worked years for. You refuse to build the wrestlers we are interested in, but focus on the likes of Baron Corbin, who frankly we do not give a hoot about.

What we want to see are matches such as the War Raiders versus Ricochet and Aleister Black, Gargano versus Ciampa, and even Asuka versus Ember Moon, or Nikki Cross versus Asuka in the NXT days. Where is that aspect of wrestling? Where are those stories? Probably got lost because the company is too focussed getting Brock Lesnar on stage for Saudi Arabia. If the WWE does not get its priorities straight, it will lose the loyal fans that have built the company in the first place. Without those fans, I fear you will not get a Fox deal again…