It is no secret that SmackDown Live’s ratings have taken a bit of a hit ever since the Superstar Shakeup happened. Long established blue brand names moved from the show and there hasn’t been a key performer to step into that void yet and numbers are sagging.

That little drought seems to have spread over the RAW as well because the numbers for the flagship show are not doing as well as would be expected. All of the worry about these measurables comes after a great WrestleMania that left a lot of fans satisfied.

There was a large belief that the goodwill gained by the event would parlay into a monster year on WWE television. This hasn’t been the case, but the creative team is still doing its best to come up with storylines and angles that will bring the eyes back.

On the Solomonster Sounds Off Podcast this week, Jason Solomon pointed out that these ratings troubles are not just confined to the weekly television offerings. Instead, there are problems with some of the less known television programming with the WWE as well.

Solomon mentioned that Halloween Havoc, a WCW pay-per-view from 1998, beat out 205 Live in the ratings for this week. Moments like that are a major sore spot for the company as it tries to figure out what to do with the cruiserwright division.

It is no secret that Vince McMahon likes his champions on the beefier side and Jinder Mahal’s rise to prominence is just the latest example of those leanings. There have been successful wrestlers without those Olympian-like frames before though.

Rey Mysterio was one of the most beloved superstars in the modern-era and his moniker of The Ultimate Underdog rings very true when it comes to his dimensions. The things that clicked about his approach and moveset are very similar to his other cruiserweights.

Those sorts of lightning-quick moves and lucha styled reversals always do well with crowds and it has been an underserved part of the WWE’s portfolio as of late. They are trying to change that by signing a number of talents in the division to give it a shot in the arm.

Still, they have their work cut out for them as they face an uphill climb in the meantime. WWE cannot keep having this kind of slide occur and the only way to prevent it will be having some star step forward as the face of the division.

The third episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here! Check it out via this link. https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-all-the-fallout-from-wwe-payback