Report: WWE Listening to Network Ideas to Improve Ratings

This week's Monday Night Raw brought in the lowest viewership in the show's history. And while WWE's Red Brand still managed to stay at No. 1 in the target demographic for the night, the company isn't taking the shrinking audience lying down. According to Andrew Zarian of The Mat Men Podcast, who has broken a number of stories over the past few months, Stephanie McMahon is reportedly meeting with network officials later this month to hear ideas on how WWE can improve its ratings for both Monday Night Raw on USA and Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.

"I don't know which network it was but somebody told me that [Stephanie McMahon] has a meeting with one of the networks at the end of the month for pitched ideas from the network," Zarian said (h/t WrestlingNews.co). "I don't know if this is a common thing that they do or if this is a regular thing but I know that the networks are pitching ideas."

It was recently reported that one of the ideas for WWE to stir up some excitement is by bringing back themed episodes like Old School Raw and the King of the Ring tournament. WWE president Nick Khan has also stated publicly that WWE's return to touring in front of live fans (beginning with the July 16 episode of SmackDown in Houston) will see an audience increase.

"... As it relates to live events that [the audience] always matters to us. Our fans are our fourth wall, if you will," Khan said during an investors' conference call in April. "We know immediately from them what's working and what's not working. The ThunderDome was a phenomenal creation by the creative team here, but to get live fans and to get our performers in front of them, we yearn for that as much as our performers do. And we think it's going to have a direct impact on all parts of our business in an overwhelmingly positive way."

WWE returns to pay-per-view on July 18 with the Money in Bank pay-per-view. Check out the updated lineup for the show below:

• WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Edge
• WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley vs. Kofi Kingston
• Raw Women's Championship: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
• SmackDown Women's Championship: Bianca Belair vs. Bayley (I Quit Match)
• Men's Money in the Bank: Ricochet vs. John Morrison vs. Riddle vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big E vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro/Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Baron Corbin
• Women's Money in the Bank: Asuka vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross vs. Carmella vs. Zelina Vega vs. TBA