When Cena came to Smackdown, that was supposedly a plus for the show. Cena is supposed to be this huge draw for the last decade. People talk about him drawing at house shows. They can pull up numbers for that. But do they pull up numbers for fans that have just gotten sick of Cena and stopped watching or coming to events? Is it a net gain or net loss when it comes to John Cena?
Of course, part of the problem has been how the WWE has chosen to use John Cena. There have been nights where he could have been used on the televised portion of Smackdown and the WWE chose not to. They have not hidden the fact that Cena is not there every night. Cena used to give these self-righteous promos about being there every night. It wasn't true when he said it then, and if he tries to say that kind of thing again, he's definitely a liar.
In terms of viewership, Smackdown has just been underachieving. With or without Cena, they have not been beating Raw. In fact, some of their recent viewership numbers are in the same area you had earlier this year, when they weren't even live. All things considered, I think that is a sign of underachieving.
In terms of feuds, what can you say about the lack of Cena? With the brand split back, there are two ways the WWE could handle limited rosters. One way is to have long feuds involving the same people. The other way is to rotate guys that would normally not get certain pushes. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens is an example of a long feud. If the WWE had chosen to bring in someone like Cesaro to feud with Kevin Owens, that would be an example of rotating guys to make fresh feuds. The WWE is obviously going with long feuds, not rotating guys properly. If Cena was around, that would be another guy to be used in the main-event scene, which is something Smackdown needs, especially if they are not going to rotate fresh talent. It looks like Dean Ambrose is moving away from AJ Styles, which is a good thing. James Ellsworth is another story. But there are so many other guys on the roster that could be used better.
You also have to keep in mind the number of faces. Cena is not around. Randy Orton is playing a heel, whether that is a long-term thing or not. Someone like Dolph Ziggler could be elevated, but the WWE might not be interested. Dean Ambrose, who seems to be the real face that runs the place right now, has already been feuding with AJ Styles for too long. Some call him stale. Some point out him getting booed. Some say he should turn heel. Well, they can't do that right now. Who would they push as top face? AJ Styles? Just because smarks like him? That might ruin a lot of feuds the WWE has planned going forward.
So, what do you make of John Cena? Is he someone the WWE needs right now? He won't fix the ratings issue, but he will make life easier in terms of depth and refreshing some feuds. The WWE put themselves in this predicament. If they utilized the entire roster more efficiently, there would not be a discussion about Cena needing to come back. Let him make all the Hefty commercials he wants.
If Cena still remains a part-timer, which is likely, how should the WWE treat him? Should he be paid the same as The Rock and Brock Lesnar, guys that are expected to create a buzz when they show up? John Cena isn't that kind of part-timer. He isn't special like that. Maybe if he took a few years off, then came back to be a part-timer. If anything, and I'm sure the WWE won't do it, I would pay Cena less. Restructure his contract to be more friendly to the company. Sports stars do it all the time. If Cena cares about the company so much, he would put aside his individual monetary gain and help the company to properly afford other talent. With Cena getting all these gigs outside the WWE, it isn't like he needs to put the WWE on the spot financially.
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