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Same old "Raw" act growing tiresome
Since the return of Austin and The Rock's sabbatical from Hollywood, ratings suddenly sparked for WWE's Monday Night staple, peaking at 4.5 three weeks ago. That number was the highest rating for "Raw" since last May.
Last Monday's "Raw," heavily sedated in Austin-Rock confrontations, couldn't crack the 4.0 mark, drawing a paltry 3.8. A week earlier, "Raw" barely hit 4.0.
The steady decline in ratings can be attributed to fans' lack of interest in something they've seen too many times in the past. The Rock and Austin have been feuding on and off for almost six years, since the two transformed from WWE hopefuls to full-fledged superstars. The two former WWE champions have headlined "Wrestlemania" three of the last five years, suggesting that Austin vs. The Rock just doesn't have same impact it did during the days of "WWF Attitude."
The latest Rock-Austin chemistry comes across as nothing more than two larger-than-life superstars hungry for another tasty paycheck, not adding anything to WWE's plight Tuesday morning, the day ratings are released. The Rock and Austin have found a certain comfort level with one another to the point that they have no desire to risk wrestling someone else at professional wrestling's most important event.
The lack of viewership doesn't bode well for WWE heading into its biggest event of the year, "Wrestlemania," scheduled to take place next Sunday at Safeco Field in Seattle. "Wrestlemania" always generates millions of dollars in live attendance and merchandise revenue for the company, but buyrates for the event often times are directly related to ratings for both "Raw" and "Smackdown."
At the core of WWE's ratings woes is a lack of dedication toward building new stars and giving proven mid-carders a chance to consistently prove their worth as top-tier performers. WWE clearly finds itself in a transition period that seemingly has no end in sight, which is why the federation must act quickly once "Wrestlemania" has passed.
The Rock and Austin have to be positioned against fresh opponents once they've finished stroking each other's egos at next Sunday's pay-per-view event.
Thus far, Austin hasn't done much other than cost The Rock matches and use Eric Bischoff as a punching bag. To his credit, Austin bagged the "What?" gimmick in favor of his traditional "Stone Cold" character. That said, Austin desperately needs to work against someone who hasn't already felt his wrath.
That means no rematch with The Rock, and it certainly nixes any type of feud with Triple H, another opponent on Austin's short list of favorite foes to share the spotlight with on a regular basis.
A Booker T-Austin program seems like an obvious choice, since the two have met in a high-profile singles match. The proposed feud between the two a few years ago never panned out because Booker T still had too much of a WCW stigma to him.
As for The Rock, he probably won't be much of an option since Hollywood will once again beckon for his acting skills. If he decides to hang around longer, he should continue his entertaining feud with The Hurricane, who needs to drop the silly comic-book gimmick and return to his Gregory Helms' roots in order to be taken seriously.
That serious level is sorely lacking among anyone other than Triple H, The Rock or Austin, three superstars WWE built and now needs to build around in order to ensure the company's longevity. Just interchanging top stars each month to fill a pay-per-view quota won't generate anything except frustrated wrestlers and equally perturbed fans in search of variety, not complacency.
