WWE News: Low attendance once again for Monday Night Raw

What's the story?

The live attendance for this week's Monday Night Raw was once again on the lower side, as 80 percent of the upper deck was curtained off. This below tweet sent two minutes before show time gives an example of what the crowd looked like for Raw last night.

Full House? Almost. @SAPCenter #RAW #WWESanJose pic.twitter.com/0WGWn1nkuu

— Alex C. (@TheEvolutionWWE) September 18, 2017

In case you didn't know...

WWE has had major issues filling arenas for a few years now. The problem seems to be getting worse every week, as more and more sections have to be "curtained off" to disguise the lack of seats sold.

This has become an issue not only for Raw but for Smackdown as well. And, the seats that are available are barely being filled up, as the interest in the product has been declining in 2017.

The heart of the matter

Once again, multiple sections were curtained off for Raw last night in San Jose, CA

Attendance for TV tapings has been weak this year for WWE, especially Smackdown. Not only are the upper deck seats being curtained off, but even some lower level seats are being covered up to hide the attendance problem.

People have noted the lack of compelling storylines and characters to be the reasons for the low attendance. A lot of blame goes to Roman Reigns on Raw, while Jinder Mahal has taken the brunt of the blame on Smackdown.

The quality of the content has also become a factor, as a lot of people have grown disgruntled with the product. Crowd favourites like Sami Zayn, the Hardy Boyz, and Finn Balor haven't had exciting feuds in recent months, turning a lot of people away.

What's next?

That's the million dollar question for WWE. With more affordable options to watch Raw and Smackdown, getting people to come to the arena becomes a bigger challenge.

While PPV crowds continue to do well enough, TV taping and house show crowds have gone way down. Convincing people to sit through four hours of a TV taping, which includes several commercial breaks and downtime, is becoming a challenge for WWE.

Author's Take

Diehard fans like me will always watch the program. However, going to a TV taping doesn't sound fun anymore. There isn't as much wrestling on the show and the breaks between matches can be extremely long.

If there was a way to change the format of TV tapings, then maybe attendance would go up. Otherwise, it's an uphill battle for WWE to get those numbers back to where they used to be.