Why It’s Time For WWE To Play The Ultimate Trump Card

The last of 'The Great One's sporadic appearances in WWE was as celebrity as they come.

Then, now and forever the 'Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment', he stood shoulder to shoulder with Becky Lynch in a decent comedy segment with Baron Corbin that served to give 'The Man' the rub in front of what WWE hoped would be one of their biggest television audiences that year.

They hoped that not for Lynch, but for their new paymasters. The episode in question was the debut edition of SmackDown on Fox. The first ever billion dollar wrestling show, effectively, and it had to look like it. Rock and Lynch were formidable in the ring and in front of the live crowd, but internally a minor milestone was ever-so-slightly missed. The show pulled a total viewership of 3.888million, but pre-show hopes and projections had it over four. WWE wanted the highest possible number not just to impress the bosses but to theoretically keep some of the old/new viewers treating themselves to the wrestling for the night.

The strategy ultimately failed, because - and both AEW and WWE prove this still - ratings only go up when you have something people want to see, and see more of. WWE's failure to adjust to difficult pandemic circumstances expedited a decline, but SmackDown's only once approached that number since and with a Roman Reigns/Kevin Owens December 2020 episode as a rule-proving exception, around a million viewers left after the glitzy premiere and probably aren't coming back.

Maybe, as one of his catchphrases always suggested, he could find those millions. And maybe he could keep them. And maybe, if he keeps them, the buzz can be sustained for more than just a night.

But it's not just about having a trump card. It's about how the company play it...

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