3 reasons why the Superstar Shakeup won’t really help WWE ratings
It is a well-known fact the WWE ratings and ticket sales go down after the WrestleMania pay-per-view and there is a need for change. For that purpose, the company tries to bring in new twists and turns and they have confirmed that the Superstar Shakeup will happen one week after the RAW following WrestleMania; on the 16th and 17th of April on RAW and Smackdown Live respectively.
However, as we have seen in the past few years, the event has not really done too much for WWE ratings in the long-run. Also, the ratings had fallen to their lowest ever recently this year, which has hurt the company.
With that being the case, the McMahon family had to make their on-screen return and took charge from their respective general managers. Now, with the fans awaiting the Superstar Shakeup with high expectations, here are three reasons why it will not really help WWE ratings.
#3 The preferential treatment for RAW
It is tough to remember any combined pay-per-view featuring both brands, which hasn’t really favoured Monday Night Raw. Be it last year’s Superstar Shakeup, which depleted Smackdown of a number of top stars or this year’s Survivor Series, which saw the Red Brand do a clean sweep, the company’s B-show policy towards Smackdown Live has always been quite evident. Whether they like to admit it or not, this has hurt their overall ratings many times too.
If that is the case once again this time, the fans will just not tolerate it anymore, as the Raw locker-room is already full of talents that are being wasted or eventually leave. Also, Smackdown can’t afford to lose their top stars yet again as they are already low on top full-time stars who are injury free, though the situation has improved a little in recent times.
Further, their switch to the Fox Network means that even they need a strong squad of talents and can’t afford to lose any after WrestleMania, as they transition into the next phase of their overall development.