10 Quick WWE Fixes To Save Randy Orton
3. Or, Alternatively...
Write Randy Orton off television altogether for the foreseeable future.
Only John Cena truly moves the needle. That's why WWE is portraying him as a "free agent"; if RAW requires a ratings boost, there's a baked-in explanation for it. By all accounts, Jinder Mahal's reign - received with a mixture of rage and apathy by the shrunken core audience - had no actual, measurable effect on live event business one way or the other. Ultimately, the only reaction that mattered was of acceptance. People complained online, but did not effectively transmit this message. Which is a roundabout way of suggesting that neither fans nor his employer would truly miss Randy Orton, if he were to disappear from screens for several months.
Orton doesn't seem to want to wrestle on a part-time basis, and wrestles a style designed to put himself through the wringer of WWE's intense grind of a touring schedule. Just because he can do it doesn't necessarily mean he should. It's worth repeating: Orton has chinlocked his way through WWE main events for 13 years. That is an insane length of time. Orton's grasp of the mechanics is expert - ditto body language - so perhaps installing him as a Performance Center coach during this imposed exile would still benefit the company.
It's all moot. He's a McMahon favourite and it makes no sense to pay him an annual guarantee to stay at home. But still - absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that.