The dismal ratings WWE experienced over the last week, including Raw almost dipping below three million viewers for an hour as part of the worst Monday night in more than two years, are drawing attention.

A recent article on Forbes website focuses largely on the pressure these ratings will put on Vince McMahon to make his over-the-top service, WWE Network, profitable as quickly as possible. But author Blake Oestriecher draws a broader conclusion about the business for other players, too:

It doesn't take a mathematician to see the pictures that these numbers paint: Professional wrestling isn't as popular as it once was.

While industry observers from the lowly (yours truly) to the esteemed (Grantland's David Shoemaker) have argued that 21st century connectedness, targeted marketing and so-called nerd culture have created an atmosphere where wrestling fandom is as vibrant as ever, that hasn't translated to the bottom line of wrestling companies.

Ratings are only one piece of that puzzle, too. Reasons given for Comcast/Universal winning WWE's television rights, to Destination America possibly being the second network to pass on TNA in a year have to do with advertising sales more than number of viewers. You and I may think pro graps is "cool", but global corporations still think the folks watching it are poor and uneducated...so they're not going to pay to hawk their wares while it's on your channel.

Then there are high production costs, something that's dogging the cinematic Lucha Underground, but is also a complaint Discovery Networks reportedly has about Impact Wrestling. I know very little about television production, but apparently it costs a lot of money to put on a wrestling show - or at least too much when your salespeople can't get anyone to by time during it.

It's bad enough when those company's have to address their own weaknesses to potential partners, and it's why TNA doesn't have any tapings scheduled to create content for dates after the end of this month (when DA is allegedly pulling the plug on showing them in the U.S.), LU's talent has started taking independent bookings out to the end of 2015 and Jeff Jarrett's Global Force has episodes in the can, but is still hustling to try to get a deal in the U.K. - where he's getting closer than he's been able to in his home market (per Wrestling Observer). But when even the publicly traded, worldwide mega-corp can't get their ratings within shouting distance of past peaks...

While The Observer (subscription required, but recommended) points out that all three of those company's future depends on a television deal, things aren't rosy at the live gate either. Wrestlenomics expert Chris Harrington is skeptical of a surge in pro wrestling, because ticket sales aren't performing like they did before previous booms in the cyclical industry:

Before I buy alleged resurgence of pro-wres, expect to see attendance swell like it did in late 90s @AKATheMaskedMan pic.twitter.com/X133P65tNM — Chris Harrington (@mookieghana) September 9, 2015

What does it all mean? You'll need someone smarter, or with better precognitive abilities than me, to tell you that.

But when any one company struggles, the business suffers for it. And when the narrative becomes more and more about that suffering, it can take on a life of its own.

What's your take on WWE's rating struggles? The future of company's hoping to compete with them? Is wrestling more popular than ever? Does that matter to the bottom line?