The Undertaker's return at WWE Battleground, setting up a match against Brock Lesnar at Summerslam next month, was an extreme measure taken by WWE to presumably attempt to increase ratings for Monday Night Raw. Raw ratings have been hovering at record-low territory for a few months now, and Vince McMahon is not known to take those numbers lightly.

In the past, McMahon has resorted to hot-shotting his creative plans when ratings take a nosedive. The Undertaker's return (when he hasn't done anything non Wrestlemania-related in years) coinciding with low ratings has to be more than just a coincidence.

Undertaker vs. Lesnar is a major attraction match for Summerslam, but it's not the only attempt WWE has made to stifle the ratings slide. John Cena has been elevated back into the main event picture, likely facing Seth Rollins for the WWE World Title at Summerslam. Cena, after vanquishing Kevin Owens at Battleground, faced off against Rollins in a promo battle last Monday night.

Cena had been getting a lot of critical acclaim for his work as United States Champion, taking a step back out of the main event spotlight while putting on tremendous matches against up-and-coming stars on the WWE roster. Now, WWE's one proven draw appears to be back in the limelight, another move possibly made by WWE to bring more eyeballs to their television show.

This sets Summerslam up to be an important event, and one WWE needs to use as a stepping-stone to get Raw back on track. Utilizing Lesnar, Undertaker, and Cena in prominent positions is tantamount to expending all of their ammo. If the increased star power doesn't attract more fans to the product, then WWE may be headed for real trouble as Summerslam turns the corner into NFL season.

The scary thing for WWE is that it's not just Raw ratings that are sinking, but Smackdown is not doing well on Thursdays, either. WWE can look at this as a lame-duck period for the show airing on SyFy before it moves to USA Network early next year, and write it off as of no concern. But the fact that the ratings have failed to increase in the move from Fridays to the much more attractive Thursday timeslot has to be worrisome.

Then there's Tough Enough on Tuesdays. The reality program is drawing ratings comparable to Modern Family repeats on the network, which are much cheaper to air. The show is barely drawing one million viewers.

In a vacuum, the Raw ratings could be of little concern. But when combined with the low performances of the other shows in WWE's portfolio, along with the upcoming football season, and there could be more trouble ahead. This is why WWE seems to be going all-in on Summerslam this year, making it more of a high-stakes event than it has been in the past.


Greg Parks has been covering WWE Smackdown for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. He is the host of “Moonlighting with Greg Parks,” a PWTorch VIP-exclusive audio show posted each weekend. Follow him on Twitter @gregmparks for live Tweeting during Raw, Impact, and PPVs, as well as other bits of wisdom. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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