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Vince Russo recently shared his thoughts about SmackDown and AEW Rampage's ratings war on October 15th. Russo slammed the two shows, saying even collectively they drew only meager numbers.
The blue brand had a 30-minute overrun, which went head-to-head with the AEW show, leading to both episodes clashing in that period. There was much talk about the ratings of the two shows, with SmackDown expected to gain higher numbers in the overall ratings. However, Rampage scored more viewers in the key 18-49 demo (328k viewers compared to SmackDown's 285k).
Speaking on the latest episode of Sportskeeda Writing with Russo, the former WWE writer criticized both SmackDown and Rampage's viewership. The WWE veteran stated that both shows collectively drew only 600k fans in key demos, indicating the extent of the decline in the audience's interest in wrestling:
"And bro, do you know, the audience combined, in that 15 minutes, the audience with WWE and AEW combined was a little over 600k. 600k bro! That's what we are talking about here. Bro the highest-rated WWE RAW of all time was 8.2 million, these guys are talking about 0.28. Disco had the perfect scenario on our show, today bro. Take a gymnastics competition at the Olympics. What do they do bro? They hold up the signs. Performer number one goes, across the whole board, they all hold up eights. The second performer goes, they all hold up 0.08. That's what we are talking about here, Chris. It's ridiculous bro!" said Vince Russo.
Check out the episode of Writing with Russo in the video below:
He added that these numbers were nothing compared to the highest-rated WWE RAW (8.1 million viewers) and termed the current situation "ridiculous."
Vince Russo on why AEW lacks mainstream success
The wrestling veteran also recently opened up about why AEW has failed to achieve mainstream success. Vince Russo explained that WWE's model, the brainchild of Vince McMahon Sr., is real professional wrestling with colorful characters and entertainment.
He added that, on the contrary, AEW has a starkly different model, with greater emphasis on in-ring work. Vince Russo said this kind of professional wrestling doesn't appeal to mainstream audiences, which is why they don't tune in to watch any of AEW's shows.
Do you agree with Vince Russo's assessment of WWE SmackDown and AEW Rampage's dwindling ratings? Sound off in the comments section below.
