WWE New Era Ratings War Spoilers: Who Won The Week Beginning September 26th 2016? Raw Or Smackdown Live?

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Thanks to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Raw was down this week, from 1.97 to a New Year low of 1.75.

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Which must really sting; however, with the presidential debate and Monday night football to compete with, it could have been even worse.

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Smackdown failed to capitalise on this scoring a 1.69 rating, down just 0.1 from last week. While Raw still leads Smackdown, the ratings war is truly there with both shows so close.


One thing that I really wanted to write about in this article was the crowd during Raw. I cannot understand why anyone goes to see wrestling, just to try ignore what is happening in the ring and chant irrelevant things is beyond me. Nonetheless, if you pay for your ticket, you have the right to chant what you like (within reason). However, I also have the right to think you’re an asshole.

People want their favourite Indy stars to get chances in the WWE, they want smaller guys to get opportunities, they want cruiserweights and they loved the cruiserweight classic. Yet in just the second show into having cruiserweights on Raw, a small minority is chanting “CM Punk” during a perfectly fine match. We’ve seen it happen with other former Indy stars, though never this quickly, and the women’s division also. Some people get behind something, and then as soon as WWE also get behind it, they decide it’s time to rebel. It’s so frustrating, considering the guys in the ring – TJ Perkins and Tony Neese – were hardly given a chance; they had a pretty good match in my opinion. Raw has such a variety of characters and personalities; of course some people won’t enjoy everything. So use that time to get a snack, go to the bathroom, or check social media. Sure, you payed your money, so if you wish to continue chanting irrelevant things, go ahead, but you will be ruining my experience, the experience of many others and probably not doing the guys in the ring many favours backstage.

I’ve seen many people talk about how we could be heading towards an eventual Kevin Owens Vs Chris Jericho match. Recently on JR’s podcast, I heard John Pollock suggest that having Owens turn on Jericho, for them to face off, Jericho looking to win the big one, one more time, at Survivor Series, in Toronto. Pollock suggested that because people are so behind this team, having Owens turn on Jericho would be one of the only ways to have a Canadian crowd boo Owens. I’d mostly agree, I think no matter what; Owens will get a massive positive reaction when his music hits. However, this idea could play out excellently on TV.

Everything Owens and Jericho have done in the past few months has been fantastically entertaining. I love the story of the former champion; trying to win the big one (As the Universal title and WWE titles are basically equals) I could really get behind Jericho, especially with how awesome he and Owens have been recently. Sami Zayn fits into this storyline too, warning Jericho how Owens will turn on him, telling Owens he can see past his lies. A Kevin Owens Vs Jericho match I would imagine could be a show stealer. Plus, adding Zayn or Rollins, or even both, to a title match involving both Jericho and Owens at a Pay per View after Survivor Series.

Moving on over to Smackdown now, some of the best content WWE produces at the moment, is on ‘Talking Smack’. ‘Talking Smack’ is a truly successful post-show, because you actually feel like you have to see what happens on the show, it has purpose. The show isn’t clips, interviews and discussions that add nothing. Instead, the segments on ‘Talking Smack’ add depth to storylines, more detail, more understanding for viewers. Easily the best part of the show, and possibly all of Tuesday night, this week was John Cena. Cena responded to Dean Ambrose and not only did he continue to build the clear differences between the two – and the differences both have with AJ Styles – he also reminded everyone of just how hard he worked. It was a passionate speech, one which was a reminder of why John Cena has been the face of the WWE for so long.

We also saw Alexa Bliss attack Becky Lynch this Tuesday. It has been said by a lot of people, with much regularity, lately, but Alexa Bliss has been awesome since joining the Smackdown roster. She, and honestly, the complete Smackdown’s women’s division, has grabbed their opportunities with both hands. It feels as though all the women on the Smackdown roster have made changes, to their character, their in ring style, to something. This has given the division such a fresh feel, you feel as though there are so many potential matches along the road.

I wouldn’t be nearly as critical with Raw’s women’s division as many others; however, I don’t feel it has quite lived up to Smackdown’s equivalent. Having said that, I find myself grinning at how much of a star Charlotte comes off as each and every Monday night. Not only does Charlotte seem to say all the right things, see also does the small things. I feel as though often it is the small things that make a wrestler appear as a superstar. The right facial expression at the right time, the right look into the camera, it seems as though it comes natural to those who truly are superstars. Having said that, I feel Charlotte really does need new challengers. As having her face Sasha or Bayley for months on end will simply make matches that should be remembered as classics, come off as nothing special, as they follow each other so quickly. At this point, it seems a good time to mention an idea I’ve had recently. As much as Ember Moon seems like the chosen one to defeat Asuka in NXT, that would kill off any chance of a potentially awesome storyline. Having Asuka come to Raw, or Smackdown, but preferably Raw at this point, while still undefeated, then winning the Raw women’s Championship, could be incredible. Such a story could be payed off with Bayley finally earning her redemption over Asuka, possibly at Wrestlemania?

Dolph Ziggler putting his career on the line, at No Mercy, is an incredibly interesting storyline for me, because I honestly don’t know what will happen. Sure, at first glance you’d assume Ziggler is winning the Intercontinental title, therefore maintaining his WWE career. Ziggler has worked for years though, almost without any time off. Possibly he is going away for a while to get some surgery? Or just to have some recovering time? Additionally, Ziggler has lost a lot of the support he once had. Possibly they are just giving him some time off? Hoping a return will reinvigorate Ziggler, or maybe he loses just to become a villain in contradicting himself and refusing to leave? The amount of possibilities makes me incredibly interested in this match up, so it is doing its job.


Next week we can expect Raw to surely jump back up in the ratings, I’d hope Smackdown jumps up too, yet I can see Raw increasing their gap ahead of Smackdown next week.

I am 18 years old, and a journalism student at university. I write about professional wrestling and soccer. Twitter - LewisMichie0