AJ Lee Vs. Naomi

Everything seems so irrelevant to talk about in relation to CM Punk most likely walking out on the WWE. I am not going to pretend I was ever a fan of the guy, but this is really shaking things up. It is bringing the WWE attention. The kind of attention they want? That is not the topic today. I'll try moving on to talking about something else.

Since I am going to talk about AJ Lee, I'll start with her connection to CM Punk. They were dating. A lot of fans are asking how long it is going to take before the WWE buries AJ for what CM Punk just did. I think most fans saying that kind of thing are just joking. Will the WWE punish AJ for this? It would be stupid if they did. AJ Lee is someone the WWE has actually developed to be a star. I don't think they will mistreat her as badly as someone they didn't want over. If she was in that category, then the WWE might use what has happened as some kind of excuse. Then again, does the WWE even need an excuse to bury someone they don't want over?

Moving on, AJ Lee has been feuding with Naomi for a few weeks now. It is a simple feud of developing momentum for Naomi, who will then most likely be used to put over AJ Lee. Nothing interesting. Why is this even worth mentioning then? This is continuing in the string of nothing too interesting as far as diva feuds go. This is filler. Even if Naomi does win the title, her reign will most likely be just as mediocre as AJ Lee's has become. It'll probably be even worse. Look around that diva division. AJ Lee is still being pushed better than any other diva. She is pushed with the best consistency. And yet, it is still so dry. That should tell you how horribly the other women are being used. No great hype or creative interest for anyone. This is a feud that could have ended at the Royal Rumble, if they tried to squeeze a match in there. This feud obviously won't be taken all the way to Wrestlemania. It is too mediocre for that and I doubt the WWE will inject anymore hype into it. Assuming AJ does retain, she would have gone through The Bellas, Natalya, and Naomi. How many more credible face challengers does she have left in the current diva division?

Should either AJ or Naomi be developed as the centerpiece. Being the centerpiece of the diva division isn't the same as being centerpiece of the entire company. Things regularly revolve around the men's matters more than it does the divas' matters. Nevertheless, the centerpiece of the diva division should still have the wrestling credibility and overness to deserve the spot. AJ Lee is not currently being pushed as the centerpiece. I am not basing that simply on the WWE's history of developing eye-candy divas to hold that position. If she was the woman they wanted as their centerpiece, they would be pushing her with better attention and rebuilding the division around her. Instead, they are just going through filler pushes. How about Naomi? Not to sound racist or accuse the WWE of being racist, but they have not developed women of  various races to be the centerpiece over the years. Will that all change if the right woman came along? We'll see. I will say that it would have been better if they kept Naomi in some kind of periphery angle to keep her interesting. I could say the same for AJ Lee. As far as Naomi goes, she wasn't getting much in terms of character and storyline development alongside Brodus Clay, but they could have kept her somewhere to still let her entertain. Right now, she will most likely get lost in the shuffle once her filler push is finished. Should either of these women be the centerpiece? Obviously, neither are as over as Daniel Bryan, the guy I brought up as a potential new centerpiece earlier in the week, but it is unfair to hold them by that standard. As I said, being centerpiece of the whole company is a more important position than being centerpiece of just a division. AJ Lee has wrestling credibility and Naomi is improving. A lot of fans have connected with Naomi, but I would still say AJ Lee is more over. Nevertheless, I don't think either has really solidified their overness to deserve the spot. How over is AJ Lee outside of vocal wrestling fans? Is she still over with that general audience? That is what matters. It would help if the WWE pushed her better.

Let me go back to CM Punk and Daniel Bryan for a moment. With their popularity, they have certain leverage. Neither guy is pushed as the centerpiece, but they now have overness that makes the WWE want them around. That makes them important. How about the diva division? How does leverage work there? Mickie James became the most over diva off of being pushed as a credible jobber, being used to put over the centerpiece and used as interim centerpiece when the true centerpiece was not there. Why did her popularity not give her that kind of leverage? Look at that diva division. Look at what has become of it. Look at how mediocrely the WWE is pushing AJ Lee, someone they have developed to be over. When the WWE is not afraid to let things collapse like that, getting over just does not give you any leverage. They are not afraid to lose you. You might sometimes see in movies where the bad guy holds someone hostage to try to get the hero to do what the villain wants. That hostage gives him leverage. You might also see some movies where doing that does not work. In a Bond movie, I believe it was Goldeneye, the bad guys held a girl hostage, but James Bond called their bluff and pretended he didn't care anything about her. Later on, the tables were turned and it was the girl that does that to Bond, pretending she didn't care about him. Point is, if the WWE doesn't care about the diva division unless it can get its way, someone they never wanted over getting over will not force them to treat that woman better. Why are things different in the men's division? As I said before, things revolve more around the men's matters than the divas' matters. A collapsed diva division is not stopping the WWE from still having overall success with their male stars.

Finally, let me end things with a tangent on Daniel Bryan. Let's go back to what happened at the Royal Rumble. Did the fans overreact? Technically, the WWE never hyped Daniel Bryan would be in the Rumble match. They were hyping his feud with Bray Wyatt. That feud had been getting developed for months. I am not saying Daniel Bryan should be mistreated. I even said a few weeks ago that I would have put him in the title match at the Royal Rumble. I have been saying that he deserved better around this time of year than a feud with Bray Wyatt. Nevertheless, I think fans did overreact. And it doesn't help that certain individuals stirred the pot with what they said prior to the PPV. So what if he wasn't in the Rumble match? Do those fans want him to come out just so Batista can eventually toss him out? I know he did not win the feud, but his storyline with Bray Wyatt received more attention in weeks prior to the Royal Rumble than most of those guys in the Rumble match were getting. Daniel Bryan does deserve better, but fans just reacted too strongly to what was going on. Did anyone say that Daniel Bryan was booked to win the Rumble, then the WWE ended up screwing him out of it? Is it written somewhere that the most over guy when January comes around automatically wins the Rumble? If there are rules like that, then the fans might have reason to be so angry. As it stands, fans got way worked up for something I don't think was that horrible. The WWE still had time to develop a good feud for Daniel Bryan heading into Wrestlemania. With all these negative things happening this week, he might end up with something even better than originally planned.    

CM Punk Walks Out On WWE?

I usually do not like talking about every rumor that causes a stir. But this rumor seems to have become a hot topic. I usually sometimes even avoid the hot topic and just talk about what I would rather talk about. But this current hot topic is more interesting than what I was going to talk about today. Has CM Punk walked out on the WWE?

This could all come down to people jumping to conclusions. They see CM Punk taken down from events, not being involved in things since the Royal Rumble, and they say that he has just walked out. Is he injured? Is this part of some angle? Is this similar to the epic "pipe bomb" angle he had?

CM Punk has become a top star in the WWE. Contrary to what some people might think, including CM Punk, the WWE was pushing him well prior to that epic summer storyline. He had held the World title before, in addition to other titles. Of course, it was that storyline that took him to new heights that he had not had before. And he deserved the better treatment. Has he been treated horribly in recent months? Has the WWE gone back to underutilizing him? I wouldn't say that. He has been getting a well-developed feud against The Authority. He has gone from feuding with The Shield to feuding with Kane. The next logical step would have been Triple H, the boss of the corporate heels. Prior to all that, he did get that crappy "feud" against The Wyatts that went nowhere for him. But that did not last long. Before that, he got a big storyline against Paul Heyman, which included him getting to face Brock Lesnar. Punk did not win that match, but he did win the feud against Heyman. Point is, I don't think the issue is that CM Punk has been mistreated recently in terms of how he is being pushed.

What would it mean for CM Punk to actually leave? The WWE still has Daniel Bryan and John Cena, in addition to other guys. If they could survive without Austin, they could survive without Punk. I doubt CM Punk will be going back to TNA. They cannot utilize talent properly and I doubt they can offer Punk what he would want.

Of course, this can all be people blowing things out of proportion. If it is, how likely is it that the WWE will take advantage of it to add fuel to the storyline between Punk and The Authority? Were they somehow planning this the whole time to cause a stir? I don't see why it is even necessary. They were already developing a solid storyline with him. Doing this just creates a stir that could ruin the attention other feuds are getting right now. All of a sudden, Daniel Bryan not being in the Royal Rumble doesn't seem like that big a deal. Brock Lesnar wants a title shot? Who cares? CM Punk wants to leave! If this really is a work, they probably should have pulled it at a time when you don't have anything else major going on. It just draws attention away from everything else. And is that best for Wrestlemania season?

Should John Cena Feud With The Wyatts Or For The Title?

I asked this same question a few weeks ago for Daniel Bryan. His feud with Bray Wyatt was not over and adding him into the title feud was not a bad option. Now, it is John Cena who is having some issues with Bray Wyatt and still seems to be in the title hunt. Which of these options should the WWE focus on now?

Obviously, unless the WWE switches directions, Cena will be in the Elimination Chamber match for the title, along with Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. The Wyatts attacked him on Raw to give the face team the win by DQ. The Wyatts also cost Cena the title at the Royal Rumble. Cena gets a title shot now, then feuds with The Wyatts for Wrestlemania? That is how it could break down.

But the issue now is not what they are actually doing. I want to talk about which I think they should do. How many times does John Cena get a shot at the title? I was actually looking forward to Randy Orton moving on to the next guy in line. You want to have an Elimination Chamber match for the title? Okay, but Cena has to be in it? A feud with Bray Wyatt, who did not lose to Daniel Bryan at the Royal Rumble, would not be bad for Elimination Chamber. But a feud against Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania? From the time John Cena has become the top guy of the WWE, he has either been involved in title matters at Wrestlemania or has feuded with The Rock, a legend. At last year's Wrestlemania, he defeated The Rock for the title. At this year's Wrestlemania, he could be facing Bray Wyatt? That is a drop. I would rather he was feuding with Wyatt now. Let title matters go to someone else for a few weeks.

Who should be in title matters now? Why not just keep it at Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar? I know the issue of it being heel vs. heel, but one of these guys can play face for this feud. What about the Elimination Chamber match for the PPV? Would it be so bad if they got rid of this PPV and only brought the match back now and then when it would make sense to use it? I would rather see Brock Lesnar challenge for the title in a one-on-one match than a match with 6 guys in it. If there has to be an Elimination Chamber match, why not make it to determine another wrestler to challenge for the title at Wrestlemania? Make it a triple treat. Batista already has his shot. Fans are obviously upset with how Daniel Bryan has been used. Sheamus just came back. The Shield have a lot of credibility still. You have some other former World Champions hovering around. You could definitely find 6 guys to go at it for a title shot at Wrestlemania, while leaving Randy Orton to face Brock Lesnar in a singles match and John Cena to go against Bray Wyatt.

Should Daniel Bryan Be The Centerpiece Of The WWE?

In terms of booking, things did not go Daniel Bryan's way at the Royal Rumble. In terms of fan support, it seemed to be another event owned by Daniel Bryan fans. He is extremely popular. I am finding it a little annoying, but I will not let that cloud my judgment. He is so popular, should they start developing him as the top guy of the company?

To me, the two most important qualities the centerpiece should have are overness and wrestling ability. Because the centerpiece will be pushed so much and so well, he should be over. As for the need to have wrestling ability, well, this is a pro wrestling promotion. Daniel Bryan is obviously crazy over. No one needs to question his wrestling ability. And there is nothing wrong with how he got over. Yes, the whole "Yes!" and "No!" thing did help get him over with that wider audience. Wrestling fans already loved him before all that for how good he was in the ring. Nothing wrong with that. You want to say a catchphrase or gimmick didn't help other top stars get over through the years, like Austin and Cena? If I were running things, Daniel Bryan would be someone I would definitely consider to be the centerpiece of my company. He fits my standards.

Problem is, the WWE is not running with him. You don't like his look? Don't like his mic skills? Well, fans seem to like him more than the guys you have more faith in, whether you are talking about John Cena or Randy Orton. His look does not bother me that much. As for his mic skills, you can always develop him to be better, if it really is an issue. The job of those officials in the back should be to bring the best out of their stars. Daniel Bryan is one of their top stars.

What do you do with John Cena? He has been centerpiece for years now. To say that he is stale would be stating the obvious. I think even the WWE is running out of original things to do with him. How long until Roman Reigns enters a solo feud against Cena, eventually loses to Cena, and then ends up like Ryback? Cena does not get the reaction that Daniel Bryan gets. It should be time to push Cena to the position Shawn Michaels had when he returned from that injury many thought forced him into retirement. Shawn still won some titles here and there, but he was never pushed as the centerpiece. He was still treated very well. Put Cena in that role. He may end up breaking Ric Flair's record still, but it is time to start developing someone fresh that can connect with the fans better than Cena. Unless Cena can reinvent himself or the WWE is willing to do it, they need to move on.

Again, is Daniel Bryan that guy? The centerpiece has to be able to connect with as many fans as possible. Wrestling fans love him and more of the audience outside of that is connecting with him. But can he draw? Push him as the top star and not as this guy always getting screwed. Give him a fair shot. When Eddie Guerrero got over on his own, his career went up. When Daniel Bryan accomplishes that, he does not get the career that he is earning. Eddie Guerrero never was pushed as the centerpiece of the company. Maybe Daniel Bryan should not hold that top spot, but better treatment would be nice.

2014 Royal Rumble Preview

That time of year again. 30 men in one match. Surprise returns? Chris Jericho wouldn't miss this. You might also expect Sheamus. But the most important thing to speculate is which one of these 30 will win the match and get that title shot for Wrestlemania. I'll talk about which I think are the top 3 choices.

Batista just came back this week. He has already made it clear that he wants a title shot. Randy Orton is facing a line of challengers. Batista feuding with Randy Orton definitely seems like a good feud. That does not mean it has to happen at Wrestlemania. Besides that, Batista has already won the Royal Rumble. Is this a guy that deserves to win more than one?

CM Punk has the worst number in the Royal Rumble. He will be #1. It is not unheard of that the WWE develops an angle where a face has his back to the wall at the Royal Rumble and finds a way to still win. CM Punk can win the match and The Authority then starts trying to screw him out of his title shot. Whether they are successful or not is a different story. If they are successful, that could leave CM Punk to go after Triple H, while someone else gets the title shot for Wrestlemania. I don't think that would be a bad way to go.

Daniel Bryan is hot right now. He already has a match against Bray Wyatt, but should he find his way into the Rumble match somehow, he would be a popular choice to win. I have said before that a guy like him should be having something big to do for Wrestlemania. A title shot would be big. I cannot picture him feuding with Bray Wyatt into Wrestlemania. If they don't go with a title match, I would like to see what else they bring up for him.

Out of these three choices, which do I think will win? Even though I like the idea of CM Punk winning it and getting screwed out of his title shot to help set up a big match at Wrestlemania between him and Triple H, I think Batista will win. I don't think the WWE managed to get Batista back because they promised him mediocrity. Rob Van Dam did not win his first PPV match back when he returned last year, but Batista might be a different story. I am not saying he deserves the win, but I would have to guess that Batista will win, if I had to guess.

Corporate Kane Is Angry

CM Punk still has his issues with The Authority. Things have slightly shifted away from him just having to deal with The Shield. He has now angered Kane. That has gotten him the #1 spot in the Royal Rumble match.

Without even speculating yet on whether or not CM Punk wins the Rumble, how likely is it that he will face Kane after this Sunday and before Wrestlemania? If this all culminates with CM Punk facing Triple H at Wrestlemania, what better opponent in between all that than Kane? Kane has not had an actual feud since his corporate makeover. No need to waste him by needlessly teaming with The Shield for tag matches. This current storyline has him as an authority figure. They don't get in the ring too often. But finally having him put on the wrestling gear again to face CM Punk will be good development.

Just to bring up the possible storyline for way down the road, what would it mean for CM Punk to one day become a corporate guy? He is currently taking shots at this guy and that guy for selling out. Would having a storyline where CM Punk does that really be a stunner? I think it could be interesting. You had Austin turn heel and join Vince McMahon. CM Punk is an anti-corporate guy, much like Austin was sold as back then. It wouldn't be unheard of. And I'm not talking about a storyline where CM Punk fakes joining the corporate side just to get his hands on Triple H or Vince McMahon. You have just seen that with Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. I mean really turning him heel and giving him a makeover. Have him follow the path of Kane. I don't think they should do it now. You have too much going on now. But down the road, it might shake things up a little.

Batista Officially Returns

Batista made his return to Raw last night. He made it clear that he wanted Randy Orton's title. He also came back later in the night to get some of Alberto Del Rio. I am not going to talk about whether or not he should win the Rumble today. I'll save the Rumble talk for Friday. But there are other topics to discuss as far as Batista goes.

First, should he have come back as a face? He obviously is a face. They could have had him return as a heel and join The Authority. Why not? Too similar to Evolution? The New Age Outlaws coming back and helping out Triple H don't bring back memories of DX? I am always saying that the WWE should be trying to develop a proper heel stable. They haven't done a good job with that, especially with Randy Orton. Since they haven't gone in that direction, I am not surprised that they didn't bring Batista back as a heel. Is there still a chance he takes Randy Orton's spot as The Authority's chosen one? We'll see.

Batista returns and gets right in Randy Orton's face. Coming back as a face is one thing, but making it clear that you are coming after the title? A lot of guys in the title chase. And they are selling it like everyone is gunning for Randy Orton. It makes me believe Orton may be retaining against Cena. The WWE seems to be liking this angle of Randy Orton needing to prove himself for The Authority. Why not keep it going after Cena? Congratulations, Randy, you just beat John Cena! Now, beat Brock Lesnar, beat Batista, and beat all these other guys. Sooner or later, doing this with Randy Orton will have to lead to something. Someone will have to turn on someone.

Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio. Whether Batista wins the Rumble or not, this is a feud you can imagine happening after the PPV. It's not exactly an epic feud, but it is something for Alberto Del Rio to do. Obviously, it will just be meant to make Batista look good. It would be similar to Big Show's feud with Brock Lesnar. Big Show looks strong now, but it is likely that Lesnar will win their match to put him over before his title shot. Why kill his momentum for the sake of Big Show? It could be the best feud Del Rio has had in a while. As for Batista, it is a worthy opponent.

State Of The WWE Tag Team Division: January 2014

I talked about the current situation of the diva division a while ago. Why not do the same for the WWE tag team division? The tag division in this company used to be very hot at one time. You had teams becoming legends in TLC matches. You had two sets of titles when the brands were split. On the other side of that, there was a time when Otunga and McGillicutty held the titles, did nothing great with them, and were buried. The WWE hyped a revival of the division, but that didn't go far. In terms of the overall status quo of the tag division right now, it is still a playground for midcarders and upper-midcarders. You might rarely get some lower-midcarders or main-eventers winning the titles, but the division typically revolves around guys you would expect to be getting good singles pushes or guys that eventually will get those singles pushes. Legitimate 2-man teams typically do not get featured enough. Consistent feuds and storylines are not there for those kinds of teams. But what about the specific situation the division is currently in?

Starting right at the top, The Rhodes are still Tag Champions. I saw someone mention recently how Cody and Goldust looked so great a few months ago and the WWE dropped the ball so badly with them. What does that make me think of? People that complain about the Nexus angle being buried so badly a few years ago. Some people blame Cena. Even though I do not like John Cena, I would say the guy gets blamed for things that are not his fault. Some people act like those rookies would have had such bright futures if things had gone differently in that Summerslam match. Is that the argument people make with The Rhodes? Cody Rhodes and Goldust got a big win against The Shield. They won the tag titles. They have been retaining the tag titles. And yet, their momentum has definitely taken a hit. You want to argue that John Cena buried them? You want to argue that The Shield buried them? Is it failure to connect with the fans that is to blame? It really isn't any of that. They have simply lost momentum. Blame the WWE for that. They have not developed proper tag-team feuds and storylines for them. The storyline they are currently running with them could be the one that leads to them losing the titles and splitting up. What does that do for the tag division? You had to have expected them breaking up soon. That is just the typical tag division these days.

The New Age Outlaws are back! And this might actually be the team that wins the titles off The Rhodes? Why not? Who else is there? Swagger & Cesaro? The NAO are a legendary tag team. They were there when the tag division was so hot. Their return does not actually make things like they used to be. Only the WWE's development of the feuds and storylines can make that happen. Another example of the WWE relying on past stars to help them now, but I'm not going to complain.

How about The Shield? Why don't I think they are the likely options to get back the tag titles? I don't see why the WWE would need to shoot the titles back to them. They have moved on. They have their issues with CM Punk. They are developing Roman Reigns to most likely be the breakout star of the group. They are still henchmen for The Authority. Even though this team still has momentum, I don't think it is momentum to get them another run with the titles.

The last team I will mention are The Usos. They got a big win on Raw last week. Of course, it was one of those matches where more attention was put on the loser for the sake of the storyline than the winner. The feud between Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt kind of overshadowed The Usos win. Nevertheless, this is a team I would like to believe will win the tag titles this year. The first step would be to transition it to a heel team. I cannot picture The Usos beating The Rhodes for the titles themselves. The Usos are great in the ring, they are over, and I would like to believe the WWE will run out of makeshift teams they want to give the titles to sooner or later.

I am not going to mention much about teams like The Wyatts, Real Americans, Los Matadores, and whomever else I am forgetting right now. Right now, these teams are just supporting cast in the tag division. Yes, The Wyatts are getting a huge angle right now, but that angle is really just a feud against Daniel Bryan. From the time they have come on the scene, they have targeted really just one wrestler at a time, not tag teams. The only exception was their feud against CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, but those two aren't exactly a legitimate team in the tag division. These teams are not major players in actual tag division at the moment.

Let me say a little about the diva division. And it does relate to tag teams. The Bellas have stated that they would like tag titles for the diva division. Do I like that idea? No. The WWE can't even properly keep two diva angles going at the same time these days. You can even say they have enough trouble keeping up one good diva angle around the Diva's Championship. The priority should be to get that momentum to keep more than one diva angle going properly. If they cannot motivate themselves to do that, how can you believe they will suddenly force themselves to run things better with another set of titles in the diva division? The WWE is not above tossing a title on someone and not have them do anything with it. Is Dean Ambrose still US Champion? If the WWE created tag titles for the diva division at this time, it would die faster than TNA's KO tag titles died on ODB and Eric Young.

Randy Orton Vs. John Cena At The Royal Rumble 2014

Randy Orton is the first ever WWE World's Heavyweight Champion, unifying the two titles last month. Making history doesn't have the same kick to it these days. AJ Lee holds the record for longest reign with the butterfly title, but what is that doing for the good of the collapsed diva division? Randy Orton is walking around with two title belts, but he isn't even getting featured in the actual main-event scene on Raw these days.

In the other corner, you have John Cena. My nephew, who will turn 7 in a few months, says his favorite wrestler is John Cena. While we were watching Cena's match on Raw this week, I asked him why he liked John Cena. His response? I don't know, all the kids like John Cena! He actually said that. Not too proud of that. Whether we are talking about wrestling, sports, music, or whatever, I will never say I am a fan of someone because everyone else around me is a fan of that someone. I would have rather he said his favorite wrestler was Jinder Mahal because of the fancy headgear.

Put it all together, the title match at the Royal Rumble PPV will feature a midcard WWE World's Heavyweight Champion going against my nephew's favorite wrestler. The first issue to bring up with this match is obvious, and it isn't my nephew's choice of wrestlers. This feud isn't getting a lot of the main attention. There are times when you don't complain about non-title matters trumping title matters. The Rock coming back is a good example of that. But there are also times where it is just not necessary to not give title matters better focus. There have been times where John Cena has gotten top billing over title matters and really didn't need to. I would say his feud with Kane a while back would fit in that category. It is true that this rivalry between Cena and Orton has gotten stale, but you have just unified the titles. That is a big deal. How do you sell the importance of the title after you book Orton to win it? Start booking him as a midcard Champion? Really? If you shook your head at the WWE doing this to CM Punk during part of his historic run with the WWE title, how do you feel about the WWE doing this to Randy Orton at this point? Titles have just been unified, entering Wrestlemania season, feuding against the centerpiece, Brock Lesnar looming in the background, and the WWE is putting better attention on a feud between Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt than they are the title feud. I would hope Orton vs. Cena takes back the spotlight heading into the PPV.

Another issue with this feud is the issue that never seems to go away. Randy Orton is having issues with The Authority. This is supposed to be the part where I talk about whether or not this will be the breaking point and you will see a split in the corporate heel faction. I don't care. They have teased it so much and not followed through, I'm sure a lot of people that were interested in that part of the storyline have also lost interest in it. Any intrigue that this could have caused is just being wasted. It really isn't helping to make the feud between Cena and Orton better.

Who should win this match? I would say Randy Orton. I know you have Brock Lesnar getting a title shot. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar has been done. From the time Randy Orton has become a top star, he has not faced Brock Lesnar. How can you get a feud between Orton and Lesnar to work well? How about doing more with The Authority not being on Orton's side completely? Sell that better and it could make Orton look like the face trying to overcome a legitimate threat. And after Brock Lesnar gets his title shot, regardless of who wins, the WWE can just go back to Orton and The Authority going back and forth with each other. It'll never end, will it?

Let me change subjects. Go back to when I was talking about the difference between being efficient and being productive. I was watching a basketball game last night and one of the commentators said something that illustrates my point. The commentator praised a player that was defending against Kevin Durant, even though Durant had scored 31 points at that point in the game. The commentator was not being sarcastic. He explained that the player defending against Durant was doing the right things that he was supposed to do. In terms of how he was going about his duties, he was efficient. Problem is, he was obviously not productive enough to stop a great player and help his team win. Being efficient is not the same thing as being productive. You can do all the right things, but you just need to be absolutely superb to be able to get the job done in some situations. There are a lot of wrestlers out there that are solid in the ring and try to connect with the fans. In terms of skill and effort, they are being efficient. But does that mean all of them become as over as a guy like Daniel Bryan? That is an extreme standard to go by, but my point is that you don't get the job done until it is actually done. You want to be as efficient as possible to help make it easier to get the job done, but you are not truly successful in terms of being productive until the job is done. 

2013 Ratings Review

I go by the numbers found here. It took a while for them to get some of the numbers up. Some of the numbers are even still missing. That is why it took me so long to get around to doing this. I just decided to look for the missing ratings myself.

Starting with Raw, the WWE finished the year with a 3.01 for their main show. They managed to stop the bleeding that comes at the end of the year and not finish below a 3.0. I did not think they would manage to do it. The Slammy show helped. Creating hype by unifying the World titles also helped. Nevertheless, that 3.01 isn't exactly a big difference from the 3.0 average in 2012. I still believe you are likely to see Raw's ratings slip below that 3.0 within the next few years, unless they can turn things around. As far as viewership goes, it's nice to see them getting over 4 million fans again recently.

Moving on to Smackdown, the annual average was a 1.92, up from the previous year's 1.89. One thing you saw this year on Smackdown was the decline of importance in the World's Heavyweight Championship. During Alberto Del Rio's reign, they started to feature the title less prominently on that show. The main-event scene on Smackdown went to Daniel Bryan, The Shield, and other guys not directly involved in major title matters with Del Rio. How did that work out for the WWE? Ratings for that period of time in 2013 were about equal to what they were for the same period of time last year. What does that tell you? I would say you can make the conclusion that it really doesn't matter too much if the show is focused mainly on title matters. I still think they usually should be, but that is another issue. If they had done a better job creating good storylines and feuds for Alberto Del Rio, maybe things would have been different. The main rise this year from last year came at the end of the year. This is when you had John Cena as Champion and ran the feud to unify the titles. If I remember correctly, John Cena was not even featured on some of these Smackdown airings. People tuned in just to see if he would be on? Maybe. Whether you want to talk about the title or John Cena, both will continue to not be featured prominently on Smackdown on a regular basis. John Cena is not a main player on Smackdown now. The WWE World's Heavyweight Championship is not exactly the main focus right now on either of the two top shows. Smackdown's main-event matters is still going to other top guys. We will see what impact this change has.

As for TNA Impact Wrestling, that was the show where Gerweck.net is missing some numbers. Looking around the Internet and plugging in the numbers I found, the average for 2013 still rounds to a 0.99. That is down from the 1.01 from the previous year, although not by too much. Nevertheless, Raw may not have dropped below a 3.0, but Impact dropped below a 1.0. In case you are wondering, this is the worst annual ratings average for the show since 2006. What was the big move by TNA in 2013? I would say it is what they did with their PPVs. They stopped having regular monthly PPVs. They would have these themed PPVs, which would be taped. They would also have more special episodes of Impact. That is a good idea, but did what they chose to do with their PPVs have an impact on their TV ratings in a negative way? Did it lead to them developing storylines and feuds in a poor way? If I were working with a set PPV schedule, I know I would be using that to help me plan when I would want certain feuds to end or take them to another level. TNA has had an issue with being consistent in developing and featuring stars for a while, but it seems their game plan might have gone further down the drain by not properly developing feuds. If you do not have those PPVs there to help you map out things, it becomes harder to do it yourself. Of course, they lost top stars, like Hogan, but I feel their main problem last year in comparison to previous years was their overall strategy not working. The change in the PPV structure might have had  a negative effect in the proper development of their feuds and storylines. Some might have dragged on too long, some might not have lasted long enough, and some just might have been developed horribly.

Overall, I wouldn't say there is a huge difference in the numbers between 2012 and 2013. There definitely have been changes in the shows, but no drastic changes in ratings have happened. TNA having the worst ratings since 2006 is bad, but it was heading in that direction. Not a huge drop. The WWE is still in the same general area it was before. Let's see if the two promotions keep on following the strategies they have now. Neither promotion is jumping to new heights in the TV numbers, but they could settle for not dropping even worse.