"They don't care" - WWE won't react strongly after RAW ratings dip for Crown Jewel go-home show, says veteran (Exclusive)
WWE's viewership hasn't improved despite the upcoming Crown Jewel show, and Vince Russo believes the company won't do anything to address the problem as it doesn't directly affect their financial status.
The pro wrestling juggernaut has inked big-money deals with some of the biggest TV networks globally, which amounts to a major chunk of their annual revenue. WWE's booking might get scrutinized regularly, but their business-related decisions have always been very beneficial.
The go-home RAW episode for Crown Jewel drew 1,391,000 viewers, which is a bad number as there is competition from Monday Night Football. When asked whether fans should expect a big reaction from WWE to counter the ratings, Vince Russo had no hope of seeing it, as he claimed the promotion just looked at the money and nothing else.
The former writer gave a brief yet telling description of what WWE had become, as you can view below on The Wrestling Outlaws:
"Bro, again, we talk about this a million times. They don't care. They are looking at the bottom line, and they are looking at the money coming in." [4:43 - 4:59]
Vince Russo points out a mistake that USA Network has made with WWE
As announced a while ago, SmackDown will move to the USA Network in 2024 after the deal with FOX expires. USA has been airing RAW for many years now but has succeeded in acquiring what seems like the A-show at the moment, SmackDown.
The blue brand has raked in better TV ratings than RAW, primarily due to Roman Reigns' storyline and its two-hour runtime. While trying to secure the TV rights for SmackDown might seem like a good plan, Vince Russo felt it was a 'hysterical' mistake from a business standpoint.
Russo said that the television network had no added incentive to add SmackDown to their catalog, as the show isn't going to draw better than it did on FOX. He explained:
"Bro, USA Network just paid a crap load of money for SmackDown off of a show that's doing less than one and a half million? If I'm USA Network and I know we're going to get SmackDown in a year, and I paid all this money, and then I'm looking at that rating today, I'm saying to myself, 'What was the incentive for me to pay all that money on SmackDown?' They are not going to do the SmackDown number they were doing on FOX Network, bro." [From 4:59 onwards]
Vince Russo also compared WWE to McDonald's, you can read more about the fascinating analogy right here.
Please credit The Wrestling Outlaws podcast, embed the exclusive YouTube video, and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.