By Pat McNeill, PWTorch columnist

If you're not on the PWTorch.com website, you may have missed the challenge issued by Torch editor Wade Keller this past Sunday:

What other ideas do you have for a hotshotting that WWE could do in the next month that might spike ratings? I know there are long-term options that could build to a stronger product and improve viewership over the course of months or a year or more; I'm interested in ideas right now that you think would have a chance to spike ratings immediately, within a few weeks.

Now, how could I turn down a challenge like that? Plus, if I *do* come up with some short-term fix that saves Vince McMahon's bacon, imagine the gratitude I'd receive from pro wrestling's billion dollar family.

Yes, Raw's ratings have been steadily declining for the past, oh, 14 years or so since WWE bought out World Championship Wrestling and ended the Monday night wrestling war. But since USA Network permanently expanded Raw to three hours back in July 2012, the situation has really deteriorated. The final three-hour episode of Raw drew a 3.4, which is just a little better than the 2.4 ratings we’ve seen for the past two Raw episodes.

Most everyone agrees that three hours and five minutes of Raw every week is just too much wrestling for any sane human being. But WWE receives a lot more money for three hours of live television than they were receiving for the two-hour episodes. So, we're stuck with too much Raw every Monday. Right?

No, not necessarily. Look, WWE's deal with Comcast Universal Whatever calls for three hours of live wrestling on Monday night. But numerous people in Stamford think two hours is the ideal length for Raw. WWE isn't going to change the way they book shows, so Mr. McMahon takes the format sheets on his jet every Monday afternoon, and stretches a two-hour show out to three. Raw needs to be a two-hour show.

So, where does the solution lie? It may lie with WWE biggest asset of the past 18 months. If there's one show on the WWE Network that most fans can agree on it, it's NXT. Here's what you do. Take the weekly episodes of NXT, move them off the Network, and give NXT the 8:00-9:00 spot. Raw starts promptly at 9:00 p.m. Done and done.

What if USA Network balks at the idea of paying for a pre-taped NXT every Monday? In that case, WWE might have to bite the bullet and put the Not Ready for Raw Players on live from 8:00-9:00 p.m. every Monday.

Some of the folks in Stamford may object to the idea of putting WWE's developmental brand on live cable television. They needn’t worry, because NXT isn't a developmental brand. You don't believe me? Take a look at who we've seen in action on NXT television in the past month:

- Kevin Owens (WWE main roster)
- Sasha Banks (WWE main roster)
- Lucha Dragons (WWE main roster)
- The Ascension (WWE main roster)
- Zack Ryder (WWE main roster)
- Charlotte Flair (WWE main roster)
- Becky Lynch (WWE main roster)
- Adrian Neville (WWE main roster)
- Finn Balor (former New Japan headliner)
- Jushin Liger (former New Japan headliner)
- Samoa Joe (former TNA & ROH champion)
- Rhino (former TNA & ECW headliner, former U.S. champion)
- Johnny Gargano (headlined Dragon Gate USA)
- Apollo Crews (headlined Dragon Gate Japan)
- Tomasso Ciampa (headlined for Ring of Honor)
- Solomon Crowe (headlined for Evolve)

Developmental territory, my ass. That's the second WWE brand right there. That’s the brand that sold out Barclays Center, just like Summerslam did.

But, you ask, what about the WWE Network? Who's going to fill that hour of prime time every Wednesday evening?

The short answer is, it doesn't matter. Replay the Monday episodes of NXT on Wednesday. (You might want to get Comcast Universal to sign off on that one.) Or, you could produce a second hour of NXT, exclusively for the Network. Or (and here's a crazy idea) you could start a developmental territory on WWE Network, using the dozens of wrestlers at the Performance Center who aren't trusted to work on NXT television. They could actually use some development.

There is one more big objection. It’s the objection we’ll be hearing from Mr. McMahon and Mr. Kevin Dunn, among others. Sure, NXT works as a niche product on the hyper-targeted WWE Network. But can NXT work on national television each week? Does it have the mainstream appeal of Raw or Smackdown. Will people watch a WWE show without the big WWE stars on it?

The last part of that question has the easiest answer. I’ll paraphrase something Bruce Mitchell once wrote about WCW. All the wrestling fans know who John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, The Big Show, and Sting are. But those fans don’t seem interested in watching those big stars on television every week. The rating dropped for the third hour of Raw off the announcement that Sting was wrestling Big Show.

It’s one thing to con gullible New York writers into thinking WWE has mainstream appeal, based on a couple of hot shows. Right now, 97.6 percent of American television viewers disagree with that assessment. NXT is every bit as mainstream a product as Raw. Maybe more so, unless Summer Rae and Dolph Ziggler plan to take those cringe-worthy skits over to the new program with them.

One hour of NXT, two hours of Raw. It’s a quick fix, and it will arouse some curiosity from wrestling fans who have left the product. Let Triple H and his crew try something different, while allowing Vince McMahon to save face.

It’s time.

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Pat McNeill of Greenville, S.C. has been a Torch columnist since 2001. Listen to him on the Wednesday PWTorch Livecast at 5:30 p.m. EST at PWTorchLivecast.com.

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