Photo courtesy of wrestlingnewssource.com
For over 1,000 weeks, Monday Night RAW has been on the
air, entertaining fans of all ages. In nearly two decades, RAW has been a
constant part of Monday television programming.
So even when RAW has a stinker of an episode like last night's, it's okay. Ratings may fall throughout the night, but what else is there to watch on a Monday night? RAW will never be in trouble because it never has major competition.
Unless Dancing With The Stars or The Voice are shows that wrestling fans would prefer to watch, RAW really is in the clear in the competition stakes. This leaves just one real competitor, which has been a thorn at times to WWE with Monday night programming.
With the NFL returning this week, Monday Night Football returns to ESPN next Monday night. Still, the ESPN version gets heckled by football fans. MNF does not have the star power in the booth it used to and their games are almost always a snoozefest. On a Monday night, many wrestling fans would probably still roll the dice with RAW than watch a Jacksonville Jaguars home game.
Last night, unless you remembered American Chopper was returning to TV, RAW had you flipping through channels to find a suitable replacement. Still, these shows that compete with RAW are usually half-hour or one-hour programs, while the WWE's flagship show takes up a three-hour block. Even when your shows are over, RAW is still around to see a spike in ratings.
Even with those who complained about last night's episode, there is an overwhelming chance that next week's episode from Canada will be given a look. Numbers may fluctuate from segment to segment for RAW like a ratings roller-coaster, but their low point in the night will still do better than most shows on cable. That's just the power that pro wrestling has on its fan base.
So even when a three-hour RAW sees CM Punk take a personal day, a couple of squash matches and a ten-minute segment highlighted by a hug, RAW will be just fine. A match like the Alberto Del Rio/John Cena bout to end the night was good enough for any fan to want to give next week a chance. Even if it was among the all-time worst RAW's in history, there's no need to worry.
Will you be ready for some football next Monday night? ESPN has their tradition of opening week with two football games, one beginning at 7:00 and the other at 10:15.
By the time RAW is on the air at 8:00, the Cincinnati/Baltimore game will already be in the second quarter and could be out of reach by then. The late game has Oakland and San Diego, which has their first quarter competing with the final 45 minutes of RAW. Still, those games will not appeal nationally and RAW ratings will stand steady.
The reason that RAW has been on television every Monday night for so many episodes in a row is because there simply is not a program to compete with them directly on a weekly basis.
Not since Nitro has a show taken a direct chunk of their ratings share. Football will be gone from Mondays by December and the interest in each week's games will fluctuate. Meanwhile, RAW's ratings have a consistent number each week that it enjoys, which their channel enjoys as well.
So even when RAW has a stinker of an episode like last night's, it's okay. Ratings may fall throughout the night, but what else is there to watch on a Monday night? RAW will never be in trouble because it never has major competition.
Unless Dancing With The Stars or The Voice are shows that wrestling fans would prefer to watch, RAW really is in the clear in the competition stakes. This leaves just one real competitor, which has been a thorn at times to WWE with Monday night programming.
With the NFL returning this week, Monday Night Football returns to ESPN next Monday night. Still, the ESPN version gets heckled by football fans. MNF does not have the star power in the booth it used to and their games are almost always a snoozefest. On a Monday night, many wrestling fans would probably still roll the dice with RAW than watch a Jacksonville Jaguars home game.
Last night, unless you remembered American Chopper was returning to TV, RAW had you flipping through channels to find a suitable replacement. Still, these shows that compete with RAW are usually half-hour or one-hour programs, while the WWE's flagship show takes up a three-hour block. Even when your shows are over, RAW is still around to see a spike in ratings.
Even with those who complained about last night's episode, there is an overwhelming chance that next week's episode from Canada will be given a look. Numbers may fluctuate from segment to segment for RAW like a ratings roller-coaster, but their low point in the night will still do better than most shows on cable. That's just the power that pro wrestling has on its fan base.
So even when a three-hour RAW sees CM Punk take a personal day, a couple of squash matches and a ten-minute segment highlighted by a hug, RAW will be just fine. A match like the Alberto Del Rio/John Cena bout to end the night was good enough for any fan to want to give next week a chance. Even if it was among the all-time worst RAW's in history, there's no need to worry.
Will you be ready for some football next Monday night? ESPN has their tradition of opening week with two football games, one beginning at 7:00 and the other at 10:15.
By the time RAW is on the air at 8:00, the Cincinnati/Baltimore game will already be in the second quarter and could be out of reach by then. The late game has Oakland and San Diego, which has their first quarter competing with the final 45 minutes of RAW. Still, those games will not appeal nationally and RAW ratings will stand steady.
The reason that RAW has been on television every Monday night for so many episodes in a row is because there simply is not a program to compete with them directly on a weekly basis.
Not since Nitro has a show taken a direct chunk of their ratings share. Football will be gone from Mondays by December and the interest in each week's games will fluctuate. Meanwhile, RAW's ratings have a consistent number each week that it enjoys, which their channel enjoys as well.
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