Jim Ross addresses the WWE Raw ratings slump, and short title reigns in pro wrestling

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross updated the blog section of JRsbarbq.com. The following items are among the highlights.

-Ross on the WWE Raw ratings slump: "There are two primary reasons for this matter, in my opinion. Monday Night Football provides immense competition on cable TV on Monday nights. ESPN/ABC has a huge investment in the NFL and they spend countless hours promoting each Monday Night Football contest. MNF on TV is a right of passage in America...

"Secondly, and this is the old promoter coming out in me, if the attractions are spot on and personal issues are hot enough to create 'water cooler talk' then more viewers are likely to tune into Raw. After doing approximately 600 episodes of Monday Night Raw, we knew we always had to battle MNF and even Nitro back in the day. We always strived to create compelling TV and to earn our share of the marketplace.

"We were fortunate that we had a deep roster of talented, experienced athletes who, in one form or another, clicked with the audience. WWE has some very talented individuals performing on Raw and some are involved in thought provoking storylines. But the biz in general needs new stars to become established 'box office' sensations and that simply doesn't happen over night and honestly for some performers it will never happen."

Powell's POV: Ross had a lot more to say on this topic in his actual blog, which you can access via the link at the top of the page. Monday Night Football has had some great matchups to start the season, and the popularity of fantasy football is only helping the NFL's cause. Whatever happened to the WWE fantasy game? It will never be as big as fantasy football, but they should be capitalizing on the interest in fantasy sports. Yes, we're straying way off topic here.

-Ross on short title reigns: "Why do I dislike short title reigns so much in the unpredictable world of pro wrestling? That and 'stripping' someone of a title is a turn off to this fan."

Powell's POV: We just had several titles change hads at Night of Champions, yet it did nothing to create buzz about the product if the ratings are any indication. The titles just don't mean as much as they once did, and the idea of seeing a wrestler win the same championship repeatedly doesn't feel newsworthy. Honestly, Daniel Bryan capturing the United States Championship packed more punch for this viewer than Randy Orton winning the WWE Championship again.

Other topics include which WWE Hall of Famer will be sitting with Jim Ross at the big Texas vs. Oklahoma game on Saturday, Ross's upcoming surgery, and bigger bags of beef jerky (love it).