WWE have been stunned by this week's RAW ratings. Here's why.

This weeks RAW ratings by hour:

First hour: 3.592 
Second hour: 3.464 
Third hour: 3.094

All together RAW's number of viewers was 3.383 million. This is a huge drop compared to last week's episode of RAW which gained 4.089 million views. It is a huge blow to the WWE after last weeks successful episode of RAW.

It seems that the appearance of The Rock was what got RAW so many views last week along with the aftermath of one of the most shocking Royal Rumble's in history, but why have the ratings dropped so significantly? 

The reasons for this huge ratings drop could be due to one simple thing. The booking. A lot of WWE television nowadays is very predictable, the crowds are quiet and unresponsive most of the time, because arguably there isn't anything exciting going on in the WWE at the moment, and this is now being reflected in the ratings for the flagship show.

This is worrying as everything of any significance happens on RAW, other shows like Main Event and SmackDown! contain very little storytelling and continuation of storylines, which means RAW is the most important show on WWE television and the drop in viewership can only be seen as a bad thing.

Is the third hour the problem?

As we can see by looking at the breakdown of the ratings that there was a huge drop in the third hour of RAW. This is a problem that a huge portion of fans have been complaining about as the third hour is something that seems unnecessary, as it seems like the show tends to drag on and with the constant replays of previous segments and matches, it all seems a bit much for the fans to take in.

If RAW was to return to the two hour format many fans believe the show will become more watchable and exciting, and if this is the case then the ratings will start to rise once again.

However, WWE is making huge amounts of profit from the third hour, and the numbers are still good enough that the USA Network is happy to support the company having three hours worth or programming, and although the ratings have dropped, they still have a significant audience within the third hour, showing fans are still going to watch regardless. 

But the argument for this will not stop whilst numbers are decreasing, and some fans are bored and who can blame fans for wanting a shorter show. A three hour show means the WWE need three hours worth of material to fill it, and nine out of ten times it doesn't feel like they do have this material as a lot of it seems rushed and not thought about.

No matter what the view on it, something needs to change and if the WWE wants the ratings to start picking up, they will have to act fast. 

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below!