Posted in: Mr. Tito
TITO RISING - RAW/Smackdown Ratings, Vengeance Buyrate DISASTER, Summer of Punk, and more
By Mr. Tito
Dec 1, 2011 - 8:46:32 PM

CONTACT MR. TITO - Email: [email protected] - Twitter: @titowrestling - Join LoPForums.com: Feedback Thread

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Don't cry... Don't raise your eye... It's only, TITO RISING!

Lots to talk about as we are in the aftermath of Monday Night RAW and the aftermath of the LIVE Smackdown show that wasted a Tuesday. Honestly, the post-RAW Blog or Column entries are probably my favorite to write. Just having RAW exist on Monday creates tons of news and topics to discuss. After all, RAW is the leading driver for Pay Per View hype, backstage happenings, WWE's health with ratings, and topics involving pushes or depushes of wrestlers.

For example, everybody is getting goofy over RAW's 3.2 rating. It was JUST a 3.2 rating. Sure, I'd argue that it's not statistically significant from a 3.0... But if we just took 3.2 at face value, it's the SAME rating that the post-Survivor Series RAW did last week. Better yet, everybody assumes that because the New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints game was a blowout, RAW should have had higher ratings. WRONG. Patriots/Chiefs, the week before, had lower ratings.

I would venture to say that a 3.2 is a decent number considering that the NEW YORK MARKET was playing an NFL game, blowout or not a blowout, especially in comparison to the RAW before that had a Madison Square Garden Survivor Series the night before. And Survivor Series had fallout from the Rock's appearance and a new WWE Champion in CM Punk...

Ratings don't always tell the full story... Smackdown, which was LIVE on Tuesday night, was absolutely lousy yet it drew a decent rating for the SyFy channel. Aside from Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry, which I enjoyed very much by the way, that show was BAD. "All I Want for Christmas" Battle Royal is all that I need to say... And where were the RAW superstars?!?!

Surely (and don't call me Shirley), the WWE would want to make a good impression on SyFy to make Tuesday Smackdown a permanent thing, right? Can't CM Punk, John Cena, Miz, Alberto Del Rio, etc. spare some time to help the Smackdown brand? After all, the top Smackdown wrestlers are regulars on RAW now. By half-assing the Tuesday LIVE Smackdown, the WWE just lost millions by being stuck on Fridays. Congrats.

Speaking of utter failures, how about that WWE Vengeance Pay Per View buyrate? 2nd worst of ALL TIME, and only better than the absolute disaster ECW "December to Dismember" Pay Per View. Quite interesting that since the Money in the Bank Pay Per View, where CM Punk peaked, we've been treated to Pay Per View buyrate disaster after disaster. Gee, it seems that interest in the WWE product must have dropped since the Money in the Bank PPV?

Of course it has. Instead of continuing to push CM Punk strong, his momentum was purposely cooled to shove Triple H as Chief Operating Officer and Alberto Del Rio's main event push down our throats. We were treated to what the McMahon family wanted and NOT what the fans wanted. WWE fans were completely into the CM Punk contractual storyline and the the threat of Punk taking the WWE Title to another promotion.

From SummerSlam to Vengeance, we've had lower ratings and buyrates. Funny, because each of those events pushed Triple H's involvement or Alberto Del Rio chasing the WWE Title.

NOW - That's not a knock on Triple H or Alberto Del Rio. I've argued since Wrestlemania 27 that Triple H should have "saved" Smackdown as an in-ring performer, provided that Edge's retirement and the 2011 Draft stripped the Smackdown roster significantly. Alberto Del Rio is a very talented wrestler and has proven it throughout the year.

But pro wrestling lives in-the-moment. CM Punk was red hot heading into Money in the Bank and his push should NOT have been derailed for needed attention towards Triple H's new non-wrestling role or the McMahon hard-on to get the belt on Del Rio by SummerSlam. We should have been truly treated to the "Summer of Punk", but instead, we were treated to the "Bummer of Punk".

What did it get us, McMahon family? RAW's ratings, briefly elevated after Money in the Bank, came back down to its 3.0 and below range and buyrates are becoming embarrassing. Vengeance was the SECOND worst Pay Per View of all time and that was the "awesome" teaming of Triple H & CM Punk together while Alberto Del Rio was fighting over the WWE Title. And by the way, where is Triple H as Chief Operating Officer again? OOPS!

That's all that I was saying from the infamous Blog is Tito blog entries that you were seeing daily. I was consistent in my message and facts are proving me correct. Just realize that my "swagger" will repeatedly remind you of this... I've been Mr. Tito since 1998 and you're just figuring out that I liked to rub it in when I'm correct? Come on, man!

WWE can easily right its wrong... CM Punk is WWE Champion now... Don't screw it up, WWE. Make the title reign lengthy and build up the heels strong against him. Honestly, it's not a hard formula. And if Alberto Del Rio, John Cena, the Miz, etc. want title reigns anytime soon, tell them to "get over it". Great feuds and great wrestlers can occur without titles, remember...

I was watching the Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD and I was easily reminded of this. Take Wrestlemania 7, for instance... The show was headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter, but the Ultimate Warrior vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage was a big deal back then as an undercard match involving main eventers.

By the way, watching the Ultimate Warrior DVD documentary reminded me of how AWESOME "Ravishing" Rick Rude was. He was perfect for the Warrior to feud with in 1989 and his WWE Title matches against the Warrior were great in 1990. He was a tremendous in-ring performer who could make anyone look great and his persona was awesome. I even once dedicated a blog to Rick Rude one time titled "Rick Rude Appreciation Day".

They don't make wrestlers like "Ravishing" Rick Rude any longer... He was a tremendous in-ring performer, but behind the scenes, he was one of the favorites backstage and was a legitimate tough guy. I admire the guy for his hardline stance against the WWE after the Montreal Screwjob when Bret Hart was screwed out of the company. He stuck it to the WWE by becoming the only person to appear on WWF RAW and WCW Nitro on the same night. He taped RAW, but thanks to his night-to-night deal, he showed up on a LIVE Nitro on the same night that the taped RAW aired.

I could talk about Rick Rude all day long...

"The Wrestler" is presently in the FREE MOVIES section of Comcast's On-Demand. Granted, it's a bit neutered because it's from the airings on the FX channel (movie is normally rated R), but if you haven't seen it yet, watch it! Then, check out the "The Wrestler" Roundtable Discussion which features Diamond Dallas Page, Roddy Piper, Brutus Beefcake, Greg Valentine, and Lex Luger discussing the movie and the business. GREAT insights not only of the movie, "The Wrestler", but of the pro wrestling industry as well.

Keep an eye out, folks, for those of you who enjoyed the incredibly successful BLOG is TITO and missed my daily musings... Stay tuned... Just keep an eye on LordsofPain.net or Follow me on Twitter (@titowrestling) for any details or changes.

I have nothing else to randomly discuss, so..........

JUST CHILL... TILL THE NEXT EPISODE!

CONTACT MR. TITO - Email: [email protected] - Twitter: @titowrestling - Join LoPForums.com: Feedback Thread

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