Ratings are in the hole. NOC isn't selling out. I believe, now, WWE's plan was never to have Brock hold the title until Wrestlemania -- At least that wasn't the entire plan.

I believe, based on recent Raws, WWE thought Brock Lesnar would bring back casual fans because, well, he's the biggest draw in the industry. It's not working. Hardcore fans are tuning out because the product is in limbo with Brock not appearing.

I don't think they're going to be willing to let the experiment go on much longer if the numbers continue to plummet. If Brock beats Cena, and honestly right now I think that's questionable, I can't see him lasting two more months. The ratings, numbers, everything is down. They went with Brock, in part, because they thought it would boost network subs. That's not working either.

TL;DR Brock experiment backfiring. I think Reigns beats him clean, Daniel beats him clean upon his return, or Seth Rollins cashes in. He won't be champion headed into December IMO.

He shouldn't even be champion to begin with. He's a part-timer anyway. That's stupid for part-times to be champions at the first place.

The thing is, if he's "such a big draw" then why was the RAW with him on it the lowest rated RAW in the past few weeks? It's not like he made a surprise appearance either, he was announced to be on the show for a while.

But agreed, I felt he wasnt gonna last as champ till Wrestlemania. It just didn't seem plausible.

PPVs he's on always sell well. That is UFC/WWE combined. Always way above average figures. Summerslam sold really well as well. Week to week, when you're not expecting a match, he's not a draw because, well, no one cares about Brock Lesnar talking.

kinda wanna see it happen tho. The reaction from people would be funny as hell. Some I bet will cry.

If Lesnar loses the belt at NOC its not because the ratings are down, its because his dates were never extended like they reported they were. If WWE could put on a competent product that didnt revolve around John Cena feuds 95% of the time, theyd have a decent show every week. Theyd have something to compete against football and all the reality shows and sitcoms that beat them out every time. Even if Cena were to win the belt again, the ratings arent going to show up drastically like you may think, simply because people have seen it already before.

I think it might depend on Bryan's schedule for a return. If he can come back in the next month or two, then WWE may keep the belt on Lesnar and put him in a program with Bryan (which would help re-establish Lesnar as a heel, and allow Cena to feud with Rusev). If Bryan's not going to be back until the Rumble, then Cena might be picking the title back up before then.

Personally, I hope we don't see Cena as champ again until after WrestleMania, but WWE's in a corner right now with so few big name draws.

I would actually prefer Bryan beat Lesnar over Cena or Reigns. I love Roman, but he is not ready for the big leagues just yet. Bryan would get so much more from beating him.

Ratings are down because the show has been consistently awful and the two most over babyfaces on the roster are injured and filming a movie. I love Brock, but I'm not sitting through Raw just for him even when he does turn up.

As far as Brock as a draw, he came back to the WWE as the biggest draw in PPV history and they fed him to Cena. Bryan Alvarez's rant seems to fit perfectly here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPRtzVsYvZs#t=1084 (Should go to 18:04). He drew the most money in MMA, he's a household name, he looks like a monster, he's arguably the most athletic pro wrestler of all time, he can work, and as far as MMA legitimacy on a pro wrestler the only guys who come close are Kazushi Sakuraba (Who's arguably the GOAT in MMA) and Ken Shamrock. WWE's booking really hurt Brock's drawing power.

Can we all stop kidding ourselves?

Ratings are down because of The Bella Twins.

The Bella Twins AND Vince McMahon's doofus son-in-law. #IWC

The Bella twins don't account for the poor NOC sales.

EEYEN wrote:

The Bella twins don't account for the poor NOC sales.

Are you sure?

Yes. I'm sure.

Monday Night RAW viewership drops consistently in late August/early September. It's been that way for years. I'll agree that people know Brock isn't gonna wrestle on RAW and sure as hell aren't gonna watch to hear him talk, but recent TV ratings don't reflect his ability to draw.

Unless a MAJOR shift in TV ratings occurs soon, WWE doesn't need to worry about them; they'll bounce back in a few weeks. Attendance numbers, though, could be an issue, especially if Cena takes time off and Daniel Bryan (and now Roman Reigns) aren't cleared to compete soon.

If they had Dolph Zigger as one top guy, and still had ADR and CM Punk with them, they wouldn't need Brock Lesnar or "Dwayne" to boost draws anywhere and they'd have solid characters to keep the ratings stable.

That's their problem, they refuse to attempt to make a new star if he doesnt have a certain look. Why do you think Reigns was getting the push over Ambrose.

the problem, the show is unbearable to watch. Only two or three things are actually watchable for the most part to me. The main stories are so...just I don't give a fuck about. The Bellas couldn't give any fucks about, Cena vs Brock...Fuck it too.

^^ You act like Ambrose wasn't getting pushed. Just because Reigns was getting pushed doesn't mean Ambrose wasn't. Him being in the feud with Rollins was only natural from the Shield splitting. And then he took time off to film his movie, or else who knows where he'd be.

Still champion. A+

^^ Reigns was getting pushed to the moon...where was Ambrose going after Rollins, despite the fact he's one of the most over faces on the roster, even more so than Reigns?

Myke wrote:

Still champion. A+

"next two months"

^^ Pushed to the moon? You mean feuding with Orton, the only other Evolution member active? Meanwhile Dean and Seth feuded, which logically made sense?

Umm....you do realize that they have a long term plan for Reigns and pretty much nothing for Ambrose that we know of after Rollins, right?