Should Dean Ambrose Turn Heel?

I was on a message board last week and I saw a fan make a topic about there being a lack of top heels. He suggested/predicted that Dean Ambrose turns heel. I like seeing other people paying attention to the depth of the roster.

How about it? Is there a lack of top heels? You have Seth Rollins being groomed to be a top heel. You have Big Show turning heel in recent months. Triple H just returned, although he is a part-timer. You have a few upper-midcard and midcard heels you can just stick into main-event situations. When it comes to true top heels, however, I would agree that there is bad depth. Depth is not just about quantity, but also quality. If you have three guys that can fill a spot when someone gets injured, but all those guys suck, your depth is still bad, even though you have options in terms of numbers.

Is Dean Ambrose the answer? Should they turn him heel and push him as a legitimate top heel? Right now, he is an upper-midcarder. The WWE has been sticking him in main events here and there in recent months, but he is not getting the development that Seth Rollins has been getting. Instead of feuding with a legitimate main-eventer right now, he is feuding with a guy in a similar position as him, Bray Wyatt. He is neither a top star nor a heel. Would he work as a heel? I think he can be an entertaining face for now. Save the heel turn. But even if you do want to turn him heel, how are you going to push him to really help the lack of top heels? If you just stick him in the midcard, he is not helping the main-event heel depth. Do you align him with The Authority? Or do you try to develop him as a top heel independent of The Authority? That latter option might be hard.

How about Bray Wyatt? He is a heel, but I do not consider him a top heel. He might have had that credibility a year ago, but without his stable and proper feud development, he doesn't seem like a big deal anymore. His feud with Dean Ambrose has just settled down to the two playing around in gimmick matches. It was good having this heading into TLC, but too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Too many gimmick matches. Focus more on developing Bray's character and making him look like a boss. A solo feud for the WWE Championship might help, but wait for someone else to be holding the title.

Roman Reigns? He is obviously being groomed to be a top star, but he is a face. Why would you turn him heel? Because the faces at the top are getting crowded. John Cena will not turn. Daniel Bryan is still as hot as ever. Randy Orton is set to return soon and he just turned face. Three is a good number to have as A or A+ faces. The depth here is perfect. It is your heels that need help. Even Roman Reigns may not be the most credible guy to turn and fill that spot, but he's fresher than Big Show and will wrestle more often than Triple H. What kind of top heel? Aligned with The Authority or solo? I think he needs The Authority. His mic skills are not great and someone like Triple H might help to carry him through some promos. You can have Seth and Roman against Dean. That might be interesting and give Dean Ambrose something big to feud against.

2014 Ratings Review

I get my numbers from here. Some of the data is not in, but you still have enough to get an idea of what is going on. I will not be talking about Total Divas.

I'll start with TNA Impact Wrestling. It didn't even last the full year on Spike. Of course, they will be on a new network this year. They will continue to tape episodes, with a few live ones sprinkled in between. Getting to the actual numbers, the annual ratings average in 2014 was a 0.94. They didn't have enough original content to finish the year, so they were doing "Best of" episodes. Even if you allow for that, the ratings average is still below what it was in 2013. Steadily sinking. They did switch nights in the middle of the year, which did have a negative impact on initial ratings after the switch. Regardless, had they not switched, football on Thursdays would have still murdered them. How will they do on a new network that is not too mainstream? They will need time to build back up. Aside from the numbers, they have lost a lot of top stars in recent years. They cannot properly create stars. They need to get over that to stay above a 1.0.

Smackdown is also making a move this year. It is moving to Thursdays. Football will not be an issue until the end of the year, but it will surely hurt them. Smackdown averaged an 1.89. That is in line with what Smackdown has been doing in recent years. Amazing. Smackdown can do stable numbers even without any World Champion showing up, no John Cena there on a regular basis, and just rotating around a bunch of guys in the main-event spotlight of that show. The numbers are not huge, but there is something to be said for not consistently dropping. Problem is, I will probably be saying something else one year from now, if I am still blogging then.

And how about Raw? Still the most important wrestling show on television. 2.96. That is down from 2013's 3.01. Raw finally dropped below that 3.0 benchmark. Viewership for this week's Raw was also pretty bad. The final Raw of the year averaged 3.17 million viewers for the first hour, 3.48 million for the second, and 3.73 for the final hour. This episode of Raw featured a few big things going on and was not against any NFL competition. The college bowl games that night were not even too great and did not draw killer numbers. Imagine how horrible Raw would have done if it actually fell on New Year's Eve. People would be out partying. Who would watch Raw? You would actually see at least one hour of Raw drop below 3 million viewers. That is something you might see in a few years. The WWE has been able to slow the bleeding in recent years, but they have not been able to stop it. There has been a steady decline. They need to do a better job of entertaining fans to draw them in. Simply picking and choosing guys to develop them to be stars is not the way to go. It is better to build around individuals that can naturally connect with fans. Forcing guys like Roman Reigns and Captain Work Ethic is not working.

I once read that a financial executive in the WWE said that their TV contract is structured in a way in which they do not need to worry about ratings from a money standpoint. Does that mean that ratings do not matter? I always see some fans acting like that. The numbers are going down because less people watch TV today than a decade ago. There are so many other ways to watch Raw. There are more channels on. You can make some arguments. The stupidest argument I have ever seen is that the same number of viewers watch today as they did in the Attitude Era. I have actually seen some fans argue that Raw always gets the same number of viewers. It isn't true.

Are there more channels? Yeah. Thing is, a lot of these channels are not even mainstream. I have talked about before that I had never even heard of Destination America, TNA's new home. And these channels and these other shows are really supposed to be slowly killing the WWE? The population is growing in the United States. The population growth rate might have slowed in recent years, but it is still positive. There is more competition for wrestling shows, but there are also more people to win over. Pro wrestling is supposed to be competitive. The business isn't dead, but it should not be this stale and in such a decline.

Numbers do not have to be declining like this. I think back to 2011. TNA's ratings average actually grew from the previous year. At a time when Raw's average dropped, TNA's grew. I look at Smackdown maintaining around the same number even though it does not get the same focus that Raw gets. I look at the great numbers Raw got just a few weeks ago the night after Survivor Series. Against a lot of competition, it still drew a ton of viewers. The potential is definitely there. The WWE can do things here and there that usually lead to a ratings spike. Even though those part-timers draw, you actually have to give the fans a quality product to get them to stay after those part-timers leave. You have to go in the direction of what is working out.

Regardless of whether or not ratings matter from an immediate financial aspect, they are still an indicator. They help you to determine how successful your product is. Are they the only indicator you should look at? No, but they are an important one. And you have to analyze them to understand what kind of fans you have and what draws them in. If you look at 4 million viewers for one episode of Raw and think you have 4 million A+ fans, you are making a terrible mistake. And you usually have to take these things into consideration before you make costly investments. If you misjudge your worth, you might end up flopping. Look at the WWE Network. The WWE misjudged how many subscribers they would be able to get. For such a cheap price and everything they were offering, you would think they could reach their benchmark easily. Nope! And as those ratings continue to steadily decline, do you think that is a good sign for the health of your business?

One last thing, you shouldn't make too much of a small change. If Raw's ratings drop 0.01 from one week to another, no need to panic. Even that kind of change from year to year is not bad. What do you look at before you say things are going good and bad, and not just being stable? If you see huge drops or gains, that is worth talking about. If you see a steady decline or increase over time, that is worth talking about. You can even set a certain benchmark. I like to go by 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and so on. When TNA drops below a 1.0, that is bad. Now that Raw's annual average has dropped below a 3.0, that is worth talking about. Whenever Raw can get a 4.0 or better, you should pay attention to why. If numbers are dancing around the same area, that's fine. But it is when things are definitely moving in a certain direction that you should be paying attention. My overall point is that these pro wrestling shows should at least be stable. They do not have to declining the way they are.  

Daniel Bryan & The Authority Return

Daniel Bryan had an announcement to make on Raw this week. There was speculation that it might be his retirement. It wouldn't be the first fake retirement segment the WWE has had. Mark Henry had an epic one a while back that led to a title feud against John Cena. Daniel Bryan did not come back to announce his retirement. He came back to announce that he will be in the Royal Rumble.

Fans are still crazy for that guy. And you mean to tell me that Roman Reigns somehow got more votes from those fans to win the "Superstar of the Year" Slammy? Roman Reigns is not that over, he is not ready for a big push, and he has not had the kind of year in 2014 that certain other guys have had, including Daniel Bryan. Does that all mean that Daniel Bryan will once again be main-eventing Wrestlemania? If they book Roman Reigns to win the Royal Rumble over Daniel Bryan, they might have to turn Reigns heel like they did Batista. Will they book Reigns to win it? That is a topic for another day.

Raw did not end with Daniel Bryan's announcement. Raw ended with Seth Rollins getting John Cena to bring back The Authority. A lot of big things seemed to happen on this Raw. The segment was done well in general, but there is always something to complain about.

I am glad Triple H and Stephanie McMahon returned. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Thing is, I wouldn't have done it so soon. Triple H would obviously have to come back before Wrestlemania to further that likely feud against Sting. You also have Randy Orton's return being worth more if The Authority is around. A lot of fans are still complaining about The Authority coming back. I think this is comparable to the Nexus angle. A lot of fans had a lot to complain about there. One thing was John Cena losing his job in kayfabe and still showing up every week. They knew Cena was not gone for good, but they would have liked him to stay away for a while to sell the angle. The Authority was not gone too long. They could have had Seth Rollins continue his quest to bring them back for another 3 or 4 weeks. There would still be plenty of time to build something up for Wrestlemania. They also could have developed up to the return in a more epic fashion with that extra time.

You have Daniel Bryan on one side and The Authority on the other. You saw a ton of this since 2013. Will seeing more make you groan? This time around, having Randy Orton play a face might freshen things up. You also have Cena more involved as an enemy to The Authority than he was at one time. While he was feuding against Randy Orton last year, it was more like Cena and The Authority were fine with each other and everyone was against Randy Orton. The WWE has also done a better job utilizing guys like Ziggler against The Authority. You have Ambrose and Reigns. This will not be the same tired feud you had between Daniel Bryan and The Authority. There are more face players available.

...Or They Can Turn Him Face

Wade Barrett returned on Raw last night to in-ring action. He faced and defeated Cesaro, who is another person I will be talking about. Barrett returned as a face?

When I was talking about Wade Barrett just yesterday, a face turn was something I did not bring up. How do I think he will work as a face? I think he could be good. He can be a bad ass face. That can help him stay connected with those fans that loved him as a heel and possibly become more popular with other fans.

Barrett is still a midcarder. There are issues in the midcard that I have brought up a lot. Unless you are in a title feud, you will probably be lost in the shuffle in no time in the midcard. Does the fact that Barrett is now a face help him avoid the midcard abyss? Another thing to consider is who loses a push now that Barrett is back. Instead of thinking of a heel that loses a spot, you have to think of a face that might be losing a spot. I think that would be Erick Rowan. He got pushed out of nowhere last month. That was due to Sheamus dropping out. I would say Barrett is being rotated in to fill that spot. When a guy like Sheamus does return, you might see Barrett back to being a jobber to the stars. Until then, he will be featured well as a face.

What is there to say about Cesaro? Before losing to Barrett, he was dropping a pipe bomb. Complaining about how you are being treated and putting yourself over is all there is to a pipe bomb. What was the point of that? Testing how he does? Developing him to be a big star? Just to set up Barrett beating him? To take a shot at CM Punk? The WWE has shown themselves to be pretty petty at times.

How did Cesaro do with his promo? He obviously had a little botch at one point, but just ignore that. I think his overall delivery was too stiff. It wasn't natural. His message was obviously something a lot of fans would like to hear, but it is how he tells it that really counted the most. He didn't deliver. People already knew his promo skills were not too great. If the WWE wanted the promo to purposely be awkward to take a shot at CM Punk, they did that. If this was Cesaro legitimately trying to sound like the next CM Punk, he fell short.

There was a time earlier in the year where it seemed like the WWE might be grooming Cesaro to be the next CM Punk or Daniel Bryan. Build him up to be popular, play with now wanting to push him, then let the fans go crazy. If that was still their intent, it hasn't worked. Fans have not gone insane for Cesaro. In general, I am getting sick of these types of promos and storylines. Are they going to purposely mistreat their workers and hope fans go crazy? This is entertaining? One day, they are going to push some of these fans too far and something bad will happen.

If the WWE is mistreating Cesaro because they really don't believe in him, they are being foolish, as well. Yes, he lacks mic skills. So what? The whole point of pairing him with Paul Heyman was that he would be the mouthpiece for Cesaro. Brock Lesnar has even worse mic skills. Roman Reigns is not that great on the mic. Daniel Bryan is insanely over, but his mic skills are not the greatest. There are guys pushed as top stars or being developed to be top stars that are not great on the mic. Cesaro does not even need to be pushed at their level. Push him as a solid midcarder or upper-midcarder. You need to feature stars there better. With all the issues you have in the main-event scene, you have to do better with other areas. It's like a football team with issues on offense that has to rely on their defense and special teams to carry them to success. It happens. Centerpiece sucks and other main-eventers don't always seem to be consistent draws. With those issues, you have to improve the overall product. That should involve pushing Cesaro better.

What Happens When Wade Barrett Returns?

Main-eventers are not the only ones that you can expect to make a return sooner or later. There are a few midcarders who have been injured this year. Wade Barrett is one of them. What should they do with him when he returns?

The obvious answer would be to stick him in a feud for the Intercontinental Championship. He was injured while holding that title. He never really lost it. Dolph Ziggler, a face, is currently holding the title. It could be an obvious feud, although the matches should be good. I would just like to see Barrett do something outside of the midcard title scene.

Another thing to consider, should he keep the "Bad News" gimmick? I am not saying it is a bad gimmick. It is good. I liked it. Many fans liked it. Made for a great heel character. I just don't think he needs it. Wade Barrett is a good worker. I think he has some versatility. This is an era in the WWE where they are spamming gimmicks. If they do not let him keep the same gimmick, they might develop a new one for him. Regardless, Wade Barrett is one of the few guys I think can take being pushed as a generic midcard heel and still connect with the fans. He has great charisma. As long as you push him well, no fancy gimmick is needed.

How about pairing him with Paige? They have the British thing going. They are both currently heels. Paige has not had any real periphery roles yet. She is not doing anything now. You might as well give her this. With AJ Lee not around, it would be good to push some female wrestler as something more than a credible jobber to please rebellious smarks. It would also be something different for Wade Barrett. This could be part of pushing him with a new gimmick. I am not saying they should create some European-themed stable, although that is another idea. Toss Sheamus in there. Just put a midcard heel and a diva heel together with something in common and develop some interesting feuds from that. It would make both the midcard scene and diva scene more interesting.

One last thing to consider, who loses a push when Wade Barrett returns? Wade Barrett seems to be a midcarder they would be interested in pushing. With him out, they have had to push other guys. Whether you think any of those guys have done a great job or not, it is still likely Wade Barrett will get back a good push. Luke Harper has been getting pushed well in recent weeks. He is the one I can imagine getting lost in the midcard shuffle when Wade Barrett returns. That does not necessarily mean he completely disappears. He will either just be pushed even more mediocrely or they'll toss him with someone else and create a tag team. Putting him back with Bray Wyatt is always an option.

Go back to what I was talking about last time. I was talking about Randy Orton's eventual official return. He ended up returning at a house show later that very day I talked about him, but that's not my point. I didn't bring up the idea of someone getting depushed when he returns. I did intend to do that. I just forgot. Christmas hangover. Had too much of my aunt's fruitcake. In all seriousness, Randy Orton is obviously a top star that they want to push. When he was away, they obviously had to push guys in his place. When he returns, he will obviously get his spot back and you will see at least one person take a slight depush. It is better to realize that than think that someone that suddenly gets depushed had to have done something wrong or failed to connect with the fans during his opportunity while Orton was away. When Orton left, he was a face. Unless something crazy happens, he will return as a face. What face is likely to get depushed? Dolph Ziggler was looking like a top guy a month ago. He won the match for his team at Survivor Series. You have already seen him get a slight depush since then. Dean Ambrose has also looked like a top face recently. Slightly. His feud with Bray Wyatt has gotten some main-event attention. I don't buy it. Putting a B+ feud in an A+ position here and there does not make the guys involved true A+ players. Neither Ambrose or Wyatt are true main-eventers. Regardless, Ambrose is another guy I can picture taking a slight depush when Orton returns. John Cena will continue to be pushed as the top star. Roman Reigns is a star in the making. Randy Orton is still up there. These are really the faces I believe are the main priorities. And when Daniel Bryan returns, things are going to get a little more crowded. As of now, an Orton return could very well mean less of a few guys in the main spotlight. It isn't Orton or Cena burying these guys. It's just how the WWE works.

What Happens When Randy Orton Returns?

Instead of speculating what might happen should someone the WWE wants to be a star does not return, let's speculate what might happen when someone the WWE wants to be a top star does return. I am not talking about AJ Lee. I mean Randy Orton.

The last time Orton was on Raw, he was in the midst of turning face and was getting taken out by the The Authority. You might have an obvious return feud right there, but The Authority has disbanded. Another reason I feel they should not have broken up the group when they did, in addition to the impact it has had on the development of Seth Rollins. Face Orton vs. The Authority would have been great. It wouldn't be the first time Randy Orton broke off from a stable led by Triple H and feuded against them, but Randy Orton now is better than Randy Orton in 2004.

You still have some remnants of the stable. Orton can come back for the Royal Rumble and start a feud with Kane. After going over him in February, they start a feud between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins. That will lead to a match between the two at Wrestlemania. I just think these feuds would mean more if Triple H was also involved. That is not going to happen.

There is another option that is not likely to happen. How about Orton vs. Brock Lesnar for Fast Lane? If Brock Lesnar retains and the WWE decides to have someone else get a title shot other than Cena, Orton vs. Lesnar would be good. Lesnar would obviously win, but this is about creating some fresh matches against other top stars for Lesnar. Orton could still move on to a feud with Seth Rollins after. I just think the WWE is more likely to go with Kane as Orton's return feud. Build him up to Seth Rollins. But a feud against Lesnar might have been more exciting.

Natalya Going Against The Bellas

Day before Christmas. Merry Christmas! I'll keep this short. I'll talk about this feud again next month.

Natalya is having a feud developed against The Bellas. This is a simple read. Natalya has been pushed as a credible jobber her entire career. Despite getting some periphery angles, including now with Tyson Kidd, she has not been featured as a star in the periphery to be considered a true periphery diva. Translation? Don't expect too much from this feud. Natalya was used to put over AJ Lee last year and it will be the same kind of feud this year against Nikki Bella.

You do not even need to bring Natalya up in the discussion of whether or not she will fill the void of AJ not being around. I brought that topic up a few days ago. Natalya is not someone they want to be a top star, she does not have the overness that might lead to the WWE being pressured by fans to treat her better, and she does not have the freshness that someone just debuting from NXT might have. It is not simply a question of whether she deserves to be pushed in AJ's spot. It is about whether it is likely. And it is not likely. Again, do not expect too much from this feud.

What Do You Do With Kane Now?

Kane has been pretty relevant for most of 2014. That is because he was aligned with The Authority and had a corporate gimmick. In between wearing the suit, they brought back the mask for a while and let him play his horror character again. That also involved him going after the WWE Championship. Pretty good, consistent treatment.

I have mentioned before how the demise of The Authority might hurt the development of Seth Rollins. Not really a question of development, but how does the demise of The Authority impact Kane? He has definitely taken a demotion, and I don't just mean in terms of kayfabe (storyline). He is not featured with the same attention. He had his feud with Ryback, a midcarder. He has been messing around with Adam Rose and The Bunny. Yeah, that's definitely a demotion.

Does Kane deserve better? I think they are doing fine with him for the moment. I am not saying that because I have this attitude that the WWE needs to bury old stars for the sake of new stars. Kane has had a good year. He is frequently used and can switch characters by just putting on or taking off a mask. Let him be used to put over other talent right now. It won't be long before he is relevant again. His character can take these ups and downs. It can take being treated as a jobber to the stars. I can see him in the Royal Rumble match, looking good for a while, then getting tossed out by Roman Reigns. And that's fine for Kane right now.

Who Benefits From An AJ Lee Exit?

It seems once again that AJ Lee is gone from the WWE. For good? Like her husband? Let's say that is the case. What is the WWE likely to do?

AJ Lee was the top female wrestler of this dark age. She was following in the line of Chyna and Lita. The way the WWE has handled the diva division since it started, this is a system meant to revolve around someone like Sable or Trish Stratus. The WWE does not necessarily need to think about filling the void that AJ Lee has left. They are already pushing The Bellas to be top stars. With AJ Lee gone, that could make it easier for the WWE to put more focus on one of The Bellas, if not both. They could start creating a new centerpiece. That might make the diva division look one-dimensional. The WWE did this before in between the golden age ending and this dark age starting. It did not work out. They pushed the wrong women to be the stars and screwed the women they should have been pushing better. If the WWE chooses to have that one-dimensional focus again, you can see the same problems again.

Charlotte could benefit from AJ Lee being gone. When she does debut, the WWE can devote that time and creative energy they would usually give to AJ Lee to Charlotte. The WWE will only feature so many divas with the kind of treatment they give to stars. With one star out, that can pave the way for Ric Flair's daughter getting a very good career as a periphery diva.

Would they think about replacing one female wrestler smarks adore with another female wrestlers smarks adore? Paige is currently a credible jobber. There is no other female wrestler on the roster that I think deserves to be pushed as a star as much as Paige. I think she has more potential than AJ Lee. She has started to connect well with the fans. I wouldn't say A+ overness, but this isn't exactly a situation of a diva becoming that over and earning the better career. This is a situation of one A player leaving and the WWE choosing to push another in her place. I think it would be wise of them to do it. Fans are more vocal and rebellious these days than they were a decade ago. A lot of casual fans have gone and the hardcore regulars are easily irritated. AJ Lee was someone these type of fans could cheer for. If the only divas you have being pushed well on a consistent basis are The Bellas, these fans are not going to like it. Pushing Paige in the position AJ Lee had would be good for her, the fans, and the overall quality of the diva division.

Take that all into consideration. The Bellas are locked. They are two women the WWE wants to be top stars. If the WWE chooses to fill the void AJ has left, Charlotte and Paige are the top candidates. Charlotte is someone I can picture being pushed well. Paige is someone I think more fans would rather see more of. To appease those type of fans, it would be best to develop Paige with the kind of "anti-diva" character that AJ had. But I don't think the WWE will do that. They are still as stubborn as ever. They are more likely to just run with The Bellas and continue to rotate all the other lesser periphery divas and credible jobbers around in minor angles and feuds.

Let me bring up one last thing. I was watching football over the weekend and one of the commentators said something I liked. Paraphrasing it, he said that you can't go broke if you make a profit. First time I had heard that saying. I like it. To put it another way, any gain is better than no gain. He said that after a quarterback turned down an easy pass for a small gain and instead tried for a bigger play down the field, which ended up not working and putting them in a bad position for the next play.

For almost a decade now, the WWE has had issues making stars. Not only have some of the men and women they have pushed to be top stars flopped, but you have some men and women that actually did succeed in getting over that the WWE did not want to push better and continued to go in the direction they would rather work out. Mickie James got over while being pushed as a credible jobber and continued to be pushed as a credible jobber. Zack Ryder got over out of nowhere and the WWE didn't want to take him anywhere. Daniel Bryan became insanely over and the WWE had their arm twisted to force them to start pushing him better prior to his injury. You now have Roman Reigns possibly following in the footsteps of John Cena. The WWE has not learned.

You can't go broke if you make a profit. If the WWE had chosen to go in the direction of what was working out at times in the last decade, the company would not have lost momentum like it has. Maybe some of these individuals did not have what it takes to be an A+ player, like Zack Ryder, but gaining a popular midcard star is still a gain. They could have made stars with these workers. They could have made more money off these workers. They might have turned these workers into legitimate draws. Instead, their desire to go in the direction of what they want to work over what actually is working has led the overall quality of the product to collapse. With so much damage having been done, no one worker can truly undo it all. The WWE did this to themselves. It was their choice. It is always their choice. And they keep on making the bad choice more often than the right choice. All those small gains can add up to something big. Trying to make big gains and failing can lead to something terrible.

A Wild Brock Lesnar Appears, But Where Are The Fans?

The night after Survivor Series, Raw had some pretty good numbers. It averaged 4.2 million viewers and got a 3.05 in the ratings. That was the highest number since August. It was the night after a PPV. It featured the fallout of The Authority losing power. Sting debuted at the PPV, even though he did not show up on Raw. It is not surprising that this Raw would do well.

How about the Raw the night after TLC this week? Nothing huge happened at the actual PPV, but Raw did feature a few things that might lead you to expect good numbers. Chris Jericho was there. Roman Reigns, who is supposedly the hottest superstar in the eyes of the fans this year, was there. And Brock Lesnar even made a rare appearance. That last one was the biggest of them all. And yet, Raw was only able to average a little over 3.5 million viewers. The first hour had 3,703,000 viewers, the second hour had 3,477,000, and the final hour had 3,385,000. You see a decline through the show. The final rating was about what you had last week, a 2.66. These are not good numbers.

Keep in mind that the Raw after Survivor Series had more to overcome. You had a Monday Night Football game featuring two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, another NFL game going on around the same time due to weather issues, and many people being more interested in the news that night because of Ferguson. Raw this week was going against a sloppy game that wasn't very competitive. While the Raw after Survivor Series saw viewership rise from hour two to hour three, Raw this week just saw a decline. That is not a good sign when you take everything into consideration.

Fans knew Brock Lesnar was there. He didn't just show up for one random backstage appearance and leave. He showed up during the middle of the show and showed up again at the end during the main event. Fans knew he was there and had to have expected he would go out there for a match between two guys he has had issues with in recent months. Despite that, you have a decline between the final two hours of about 90,000. 

What does this say about Brock Lesnar? I don't blame him for the bad numbers. The WWE botched. I am usually not one to say that often. Often, you will see the WWE do something that fans do not like and the fans say the WWE botched it. No, more often than not, the WWE was simply not trying to do what you hoped they would do. They were going for something else and did what they wanted and usually get what they intended. Usually, this happens in feuds where fans think the WWE is trying to build stars. In a lot of these situations, they are building people or angles to put over the stars. It is only natural for the WWE to move away from these things eventually. What you have seen this year with Brock Lesnar is not one of those situations. This guy is not a jobber to the centerpiece. He is an A+ player. He is someone they are counting on to deliver for them. And you look at how much they have invested in him this year alone. I am not talking about money. He defeated The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. He crushed John Cena for the WWE Championship. He makes these rare appearances as Champion, which you would think would make them more valuable and get fans eager to see him. This guy is not all hype. He can go out there and demolish people and make it believable. You take into account his own abilities, things he has legitimately done, and those things he has been booked to do, especially this year, you should have an undisputed draw on your hands. That is, on paper. In practice, all that hype has not worked out too well.

Is it all worth it? The money they pay him for these rare appearances? Handing him The Streak? Letting him hold the top title in the company and not even be around for months? Are they really profiting off this? It certainly isn't drawing the way it should. You can say the big payoff will be making a top star by having some face conquer Lesnar. If that guy cannot connect with the fans properly, handing him Brock Lesnar will be about the same as handing Lesnar everything else they have given him this year. These things were not simply accolades to honor Lesnar. These things were designed to put him over and help him draw and create situations to draw. You have a centerpiece that fails to connect with the fans properly, other main-event stars with questionable drawing power, a mediocre midcard, a stale tag division, a poor women's division, and now your A+ part-timers don't seem to be able to always carry you like they might have in the past. The WWE messed up. They botched. Simply handing Lesnar all these things is not enough.