Television by Numbers reports WWE’s reality series Tough Enough ratings grabbed 2.785 million viewers. The numbers show a decrease from last week’s debut.
Tough Enough scored a rating 0f 0.9 for adults 18-49.
In this week’s episode, Stone Cold Steve Austin eliminated indy wrestler Matt (aka M-Dogg 20 of CZW fame) for not having charisma and lack of wrestling ability (check you tube to see some of his moves). Its apparent that Miss USA will be one of the last competitors on the show to maintain ratings. So, yes, perhaps pro wrestling is fixed. It was also interesting that Austin started to use the nickname “MMA” for former mixed martial artist Jeremiah Riggs.
Bloody Elbow argues what makes TE better than TUF is Steve Austin:
One of the main reasons for this is Austin himself. As someone who grew up watching during the peak of the “Austin Era,” he has been and always will be one of my favorites. Maybe that has something to do with my love for Tough Enough. At the same time, though, I’m also a big fan of Lesnar’s antics and it just hasn’t translated like I thought it would. One of the best things about Tough Enough is the final 10 minutes of each show where Austin corrals the bottom three contestants in the ring and eliminates one of them, but not before grilling them with questions.
Payout Perspective:
TUF isn’t the only reality show that is experiencing down ratings. The strong numbers for the season premiere of TE were aided by Monday Night Raw and the momentum of Wrestlemania. Still, TE attracts more viewers than TUF. This week, we’ll see what UFC Primetime will do to assist, if anything, TUF ratings.
I miss the old days where almost all the hardcore fans hated wrestling. Now it seems most of the TUF generation come from wrestling. Pro Wrestling was always something most people grew out of. All kids watched it. Most moved on. MMA was a sport most of them moved on to when they grew up and realized wrestling was fake. Now pro wrestling fans watch MMA and want it to be pro wrestling. No one is just a fan of fighting anymore. People care more about their hero athlete than the sport itself. I hope MMA continues to distance itself from pro wrestling like it did a decade ago. The UFC took out the pyrotechnics and fancy intrances to avoid comparision to WWE and give a more boxing/sport feel.
Probably wont ever go away but i can hope.