Ok, so I don't know if it's Roll Call or Row Call, but you get the point. I think the key thing that people fail to understand about WWE product is that for it to be good you have to have 9 keys spots filled at all times. When those 9 spots are filled the company is doing well. Now filling those spots all comes down to booking, angles, talent, product presentation, and match quality. There's no doubt, but even when WWE has been bad at some of those they've had enough in these 9 spots to keep the company rolling along.
A look right now reveals that they are basically on life support. So, let's take a look at my key 9 spots. Those spots are broken into three categories. Top 3 Heels, Top 3 Faces and Top 3 Draws. The draws are either part time guys or non-wrestling personalities. This is often managers or guys like Jericho that float in and out of the company from time to time. All this is being judged by whether or not guys can move the needles as far as interest and ratings go. Can they create a positive buzz for the company.
Top 3 Faces
1. Roman Reigns
This is a bad start, but Roman is the #1 needle mover as far as a face goes at this time. The ratings are in the toilet, but I'm still smart enough to know that people are interested to see how the Roman situation plays out. He's basically at the top of this list because WWE has decimated their face roster on purpose so he will be the only option. For the product to get better WWE's going to have to get some people ahead of him in a hurry. Him winning the title isn't going to help anything at all. If he were to do it at TLC then he would become John Cena 2.0, but way worse.
2. Dean Ambrose
Dean is probably getting the biggest face pop, but WWE continues to try to bury the guy to make Roman look better at every turn. The night the League of Nations was formed Dean ate the pin in the main event when teaming with the USO's. The fact that the USO's couldn't eat that pin says something. WWE wants to keep his pop under control. Don't be fooled by his feud with Kevin Owens. Dean was given a bag of popcorn and a coke this week instead of a mic to sell the second biggest feud in the company right now. The fucking show is three hours!!! He lost to Roman in under 10 minutes at Survivor Series and the end came out of the blue like no big deal. That was also done on purpose. That tells you that they just don't want to take any chances of him growing a stronger following. What's worse is he probably loses at TLC because WWE wants to keep him down and Zayn Owens long term for the IC title makes more sense, but where does that leave Dean after TLC? Now realize we are talking about the second guy on the list.
3. Ummmm, Uh, Ummmmm Uh....
It can't be Ziggler because he loses every other week. He lost to Tyler Breeze at Survivor Series, then won against him on Raw a week later. Then he lost this week to Owens. Ryback is a 1980's Superstar lost in the 2010's. Although I'll give him credit for his youtube work. WWE presents him so poorly on TV though. Why would anyone care? I might have put Charlotte here, but they turned her heel. The USO's? They can't even get a straight up match with the New Day. So yes right now I can't even put someone in the third spot and tell you with a straight face they move the needle at all. That's a big problem when you consider the two guys above this spot are struggling.
Honorable Mentions....c'mon really. Here's all I can say. If Daniel Bryan were to come back he would occupy the top three spots on his own. His story now looms very large for WWE, but they don't even mention the guy or use him in any kind of support role. That again would detract from Roman.
Top 3 Heels
1. Sheamus
Ok, so what's sad here is that Sheamus doesn't even rate in the top 3 if he's not Champ. I considered putting him below #1 just because, but the WWE Title carries some weight. Sheamus is a B- wrestler. WWE did a good job repackaging him post WM31, but then as soon as he won that briefcase they got their shovels out and started burying him. So, what did they really expect when they put the strap on him? There's always a difference between hate and heat. Sheamus is narrowly walking that line. When he defends the WWE title it's always going to be a big deal as was proven last week. The title match with Reigns moved the needle a little in these three weeks of hell for WWE. Maybe I should have just started at #2. I think WWE has to have him dump the title to Brock or Cena at the Rumble. Losing it to Roman would only further make things worse, unless they had a plan to turn Roman heel....doubtful.
2. The New Day
I strongly considered the New Day at #1, but they are a bit too much comedy and the only thing they do consistently is hold the belts. They don't strike fear into anyone. That being said they are fun to watch and Big E is owning twitter right now. What I would say is that Big E is a hidden gem. WWE had a decision to make (or at least in their minds they did) two years ago. Vince and HHH were feuding behind the scenes about who to push, Big E or Roman. They ultimately decided on Roman, but I think that Vince was actually right. Big E has proven to have more Charisma by far than Roman and he has major confidence on the mic. His ring work is solid, but too sparse to say it's great. If WWE wanted to flip Big E face and have Xavier manage him they might have something big there. I just don't think they can do it right though.
3. Kevin Owens
Owens should be higher on this list, but since his feud ended with John Cena the WWE has made sure of one thing. Don't give Owens a mic on Raw in the ring. This guy was on fire during the summer in NXT and on Raw cutting promos and having emotionally charged matches that fans were invested in. Since then he's had one in ring mic segment on Raw with Ryback. The WWE must have feared he would become a face by default and would go over Roman, so they have been holding him down. The bottom line is Owens could move up quick if they featured his promos on Raw in the ring and treated him like a bigger deal. He's the last true heel in a lot of ways. If he drops the belt to Ambrose where does that put him? Very far from a match with Brock Lesnar, but in truth the money is in Zayn Owens. They have a year long feud that the NXT audience is invested in and an excuse to make non-NXT fans watch the show to get caught up. Only the brain dead would steer away from a WM32 match between the two.
Honorable Mentions:
Alberto Del Rio looks like a million bucks and got to beat Cena for the US Title, but WWE has acted like that was not a big deal and the pairing with Zeb made no sense. WWE didn't want to make Cena look bad. That's hilarious thinking considering Cena was going away for a time. It would not have hurt John at all to put ADR over a bit more. Tyler Breeze has been doing nothing. The Wyatts just keep losing. C'mon you really can't consider them.
Top 3 Draws
1. Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman
They are part time and Brock isn't scheduled for TV until the new year from what I hear. Heyman has gotten a little repetitive with his promos and they continually don't do what you think they would do which is destroy the title holder and hold the belt hostage until someone can actually give Brock a real challenge. That's why the fall of 2014 was better with no Champion than the fall of 2015 with Sheamus. Brock means something. He's a big deal despite these short comings, but even he has had trouble moving that ratings needle. It just goes to show that the 50/50 feud with the Taker wasn't what people wanted. They don't want to pick who to root for. That really just put everyone in a bad spot. Lastly, why hasn't Heymen popped up and cut a promo or two? Especially given the ratings situation...because Brock getting more over hurts...Roman Reigns.
2. John Cena
If John Cena ran down to the ring next week beat Sheamus for the title out of the blue there would be a bunch of people really upset and a bunch of people really happy. Ratings would probably recover a little, but no one would think the solution had been found. That's why John floated over from being a face or heel to a draw for me. He's always going to be someone to consider, but since he's hated by the live crowd, but somewhat followed by a good portion of the audience you can't consider him anything other than a draw. WWE botched the second part of Cena's career whether they care to admit it or not. After Roman botched that promo on Monday I think it assured the fact that either Cena or Lesnar will get the title soon. I honestly think WWE needs to go Cena Lesnar for the belt at WM32. It's safe even though it's been done a few times and you can build on it. The problem will be Cena is not a long term fix and Brock will still be very part time.
3. The Authority
They should be off the list for Sting, but since he was hurt by Seth it's hard to put him on the list. If Sting appeared he would pop a better rating and at this point the Authority have worn out their welcome. HHH and Steph probably don't realize how bad this entire angle has really been. People probably forget as well because they still can cut a good promo, but otherwise they NWO Hollywood bad. They flip heel and face all the time and like a bad slot machine they never pay off. They sucked up a ton of heat off guys through the past 2 plus years and decided the only ones they wanted to throw that off on was Ronda Rousey and the Rock, two extremely part time talents. This angle has done nothing for anyone. Bryan was never accepted by management, and Seth was treated worse than heel Bob Backlund as Champion. That being said because they are mouth piece of the WWE they still move the needle slightly.
Honorable Mention:
Sting as noted. The Rock if he came around more, but that seems unlikely. The Undertaker, but after being made to look that bad against Lesnar who he had already elevated what can he really do at this point?
So there it is. I think it's fairly obviously why WWE has a ratings crisis, and eventually will have an attendance crisis and then eventually a stock crisis. It's rough times. What's so funny to me is how much they are doing to help Roman Reigns, but the guy just can't deliver for them. One thing the WWE has always embraced is a guy that stands up for himself. If Roman had a clue he would do that and demand his push be handled differently. Yet, I think he's just going along for the ride and as he is I feel it makes people like him less. Here's a guy that's truly motivated the wrong way.
I truly believe that Roman has never has to earn it. He trained at the fancy performance center and he's always been paid good money to work for WWE. He's never been a middling low level guy. He's always been a bull. That lack of seasoning, or feeling of earning $20 dollars for working a bingo hall is probably what this guy is missing.
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