Wrestling as a sports entertainment by WWE used to be a big draw to many fans even though they know that the matches are fixed and that it is never about competition but more on the hype and drama anchored normally on a good versus the bad plotline.
It has been a tired formula for the WWE but has been proven to be effective over the years. Of late, however, fans have grown tired of fixed wrestling contests and it is now showing on the ratings of the two major WWE shows – Raw and SmackDown.
There are still other WWE wrestling shows such as NXT but they are considered second fiddle to Raw and SmackDown.
From a business perspective, Raw and SmackDown are very important for the WWE owned by the McMahon family headed by patriarch Vince McMahon.
The two flagship TV shows of the WWE need to draw the ratings and sustain fan interest for the company’s pay-per-view events, which are often the culmination of plotlines, dramas, or conflicts in both Raw and SmackDown, and also on NXT.
Back then, WWE only had four major annual pay-per-view events including the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, the King of the Ring, and the Survivor Series. Over the past couple of years, however, the company is now holding a pay-per-view event almost on a monthly basis.
Plotting new ways to sustain fan interest
But with the decline in the turnout of some of the smaller pay-per-view events, the WWE had to rethink and plot new ways to sustain fan interest.
While its WrestleMania 32 held on April 3, 2016 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, set multiple records for the company as per WWE, the reason was obvious. The event was loaded with its superstars of yore including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, among a few others. There was also the cameo appearance of Shaquille O’Neal.
In other words, without the big-name WWE superstars of the past, the wrestling pay-per-view events with not be such a big draw.
As a matter of fact, TV ratings of Raw and SmackDown have both experienced declines in the last couple of months.
The WWE has an annual quick-fix solution to perk up its ratings and revitalize fan interest. When both Raw and SmackDown wrestlers have tangled with one another on each show, it becomes boring and fans lose interest.
So the company has institutionalized the WWE Draft. Unlike any sports draft, the WWE Draft is not about picking new wrestlers from a young talented pool. What the company does is put all wrestlers of both units up for grabs by the other outfit.
So a Raw wrestler can go to SmackDown and vice versa. It’s basically meant to shake things up in both brands and allow the development of new storylines or conflicts that would sure to excite fans and keep their interest on a high.
The WWE Draft 2016, also referred to as Brand Split, represents a bold new direction for a company that badly needs it. Fans will continue to speculate until the final draft pick is made.
First time live
The WWE Draft 2016 shall happen in SmackDown on July 19 and it will be the very first time that it would be held on the show live.
Everyone is up for grabs in both Raw and SmackDown including wrestlers, broadcasters, and authority figures in an attempt to create parity and more importantly perk up TV ratings and arrest declining fan interest, notes What Culture.
The only persons who shall be untouchable in the draft are Stephanie and Shane McMahon, who rules Raw and SmackDown, respectively. Each of them will be responsible for appointing their own General Manager and everyone is up for grabs thereafter.