The MFTs WWE SmackDown October 2025

Troubling Stat Reveals How WWE's Creative Direction Is Faltering

Originally posted on The Sportster | By Shawn Van Horn | Last updated Nov 24, 2025 8:46 AM ET

When Triple H took over WWE creative control from Vince McMahon, wrestling fans were excited to see The Game potentially replicate the success he had running NXT. For a while, the change resulted in a huge improvement. Silly storylines fell away, midcard championships mattered again, and matches became about the art of the contest and not just a means to an end. Business was better than ever for WWE, but in the last year plus, audiences have noticed a change. WWE feels dull a lot of times again, with the same bland feuds and the same matchups every week. And how many Raw and SmackDown matches end with yet another disqualification or no contest because of a run-in or count out? An interesting new report from Wrestlenomics shows just how much WWE, and to an extent AEW, is relying on match non-finish match results.

WWE Non-Finish Match Results Have Increased Dramatically

Match non-finishes had become a predictable trope under Vince McMahon, but Wrestlenomics (with data sourced by Cagematch) showed that this outcome became nearly non-existent when Triple H took over in July 2022. It mostly stayed that way for a while, but in 2024, non-finishes slowly became the norm again, and have really taken off in 2025. You have no doubt noticed this, with Raw having week after week of Judgment Day, and now the Vision, interfering in a match. On SmackDown, it has gone from the Bloodline to the MFTs ruining everything. But how bad is it?

According to Wrestlenomics, going into July 2022, about 12.5% of Raw and SmackDown matches ended with a disqualification, count-out, or no contest. With Triple running WWE's booking, Raw quickly fell to about 6% and SmackDown to 5%. However, the last year has seen the stat line climb dramatically high. Today, Raw non-finishes are up to 10%, and it's even worse, at 12%, on SmackDown.

For subscribers: % of DQ/count-out/no contest finishes in WWE and AEW Moving averages since 2020, by event type for Raw, Smackdown, Dynamite, NXT, Collision, and PPV/PLEs www.patreon.com/posts/144239...— Wrestlenomics (@wrestlenomics.com)2025-11-23T21:51:13.553Z

If there is one bit of good news for fans of clean wrestling matches, it is that NXT has steadily stayed the same at around 4%, and main roster PLEs have only continued to drop, with about 1% of those matches ending in a non-finish.

Is AEW Relying Too Much On Match Non-Finishes As Well?

Adam Page & Swerve Strickland AEW Full Gear 2025

WWE is the worst offender of DQ, count-out, and no-contest match finishes, but is it a problem for AEW as well? The Wrestlenomics report shows that it is barely an issue at all for Tony Khan's company. Collision matches have about 1% non-finishes. Dynamite has seen a bit of a significant increase in the past year, but even with that rise, only about 2.5% of Wednesday night matches end this way. And as for AEW pay-per-views, a shocking stat revealed that not a single one of their PPV matches has ended this way.

The wrestling boom is over and decreased ratings are showing that, even for WWE. If Triple and company want to change this, the data shows that making the matches truly matter, and taking away the predictable and frustrating endings, could go a long way to regaining the trust of fans and creating an product exciting again.

This article first appeared on The Sportster and was syndicated with permission.

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