Rebounding WWE Raw Ratings Should Not Lead to Reliance on Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon isn't the cure-all for all that has ailed WWE Raw for months.

The marquee shows' numbers have trended in the right direction with McMahon on board, but WWE can't now make the corrupt chairman its focal point. The hype around his return won't last. Roman Reigns can't be a secondary character in a retread of an old narrative.

WWE will be tempted to position Mr. McMahon on center stage and leave him there, though.

The two times he stepped on-screen, the ratings went up. As seen on Gerweck.net, Raw did a 2.66 rating on Dec. 14 and a 2.47 on Dec. 28. That's after October and November saw the show's viewership tumble, hitting ratings of 2.23, 2.28 and 2.16 during one painful stretch.

Voices of Wrestling's Brandon Howard showed how much of a spike McMahon's return earned Raw:

Dave Meltzer noted of the last Raw of 2015 on F4WOnline, "Even going against the highest rated Monday night game of the season, Raw did well above its fall season average with the Vince McMahon show-long arrest angle."

That's great news for a show that had been sinking in terms of viewership. 

The numbers are always lower when the NFL season kicks off, but things were worse this time around. Even when WWE brought in Undertaker, Steve Austin, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels on Oct. 19, Raw flopped. As James Caldwell noted on Pro Wrestling Torch, Raw that night "fell to an historical low 2.21 rating despite the abundance of star power on the show."

Eventually, McMahon took the reins and began riding the horse himself, with him back to a top heel role. 

That's not the long-term answer. Quality storytelling and compelling stars will bring in viewers consistently; WWE's boss taking over will only provide a boost temporarily. 

The Buzz Will Wear Off

When McMahon stormed into the ring on the post-TLC Raw, it had been a year since fans saw him in that role. Once a staple of the show, McMahon has slipped into the background, letting Stephanie McMahon and Triple H take over as the resident corrupt executives terrorizing the babyfaces.

It's been a thrill to see him back to his old tricks.

One can't help but think back to the days of the Attitude Era when McMahon is that hammy, over-the-top, cartoon villain all over again. But nostalgia fades. And if he's around on a consistent basis, the novelty of him being back will fade as well. 

He's a special attraction at this point in his career, and that's a big reason for the bump in ratings.

Make him a Raw regular and risk numbing the effect of his arrivals. How long really before the notably fickle wrestling fanbase starts shrugging its shoulders when McMahon comes sauntering down the entrance ramp?

ProWrestling.net's Will Pruett, for one, is already over the boss being back. He wrote, "Vince McMahon has already overstayed his welcome."

Wrong Focus Thus Far

WWE Creative has pointed the spotlight directly on McMahon, leaving Reigns to stand off to the side.

On last Monday's Raw, McMahon opened and closed the show. It was his arrest and mugshot that generated headlines, not anything that Reigns did. McMahon had the provocative lines, was the center of the night's big moment and got the last word as the show closed.

Jim Ross wrote of the show on his blog, "Vince McMahon was the star of the broadcast."

It's hard to argue with him there. But isn't that an issue that worries WWE? When Austin and McMahon went to war in the late '90s, there wasn't that same unevenness. Stone Cold was a megastar, as was McMahon.

But WWE hasn't quite entrusted Reigns with the keys to the Cadillac. In two of his first three Raws as champion, the company chose to focus more on McMahon. He is, after all, the more established entity.

Relying on him more moving forward will likely leave Reigns struggling for momentum.

There has to be a better balance, with Reigns making news as much as his foil. Besides, the smarter move is to have Reigns move on from McMahon and start trading blows with Triple H.

The Game the Better Fit

As tremendous a heel as McMahon is, Reigns already has an ideal archenemy in Triple H.

Brian Fritz wrote for Sporting News, "Mr. McMahon is the most evil villain that WWE has at its disposal. It needs him to help make Roman Reigns into one of its top heroes for now and years to come." Triple H can play that role just as well, though.

Daniel Bryan's rise to the world championship at WrestleMania XXX needed no Vinnie Mac. Instead, it was a snarling, merciless Triple H who tried to stand in the babyface's way.

Bryan's victory was momentous, and had injuries not derailed his career, he would have likely been the star that WWE is hoping Reigns can be.

Besides, Reigns has more history with Triple H. McMahon just popped up in his life a few weeks ago. Triple H, meanwhile, has long been tangling with The Big Dog.

Their rivalry goes back to the days that The Authority used The Shield as attack dogs until the black-clad trio resisted taking orders. They clashed during the The Shield vs. Evolution feud. Triple H tried to make Reigns' road to the title as arduous as possible well after that.

And most recently, Reigns laid out Triple H at the end of TLC.

It was that attack that turned the resistant crowd around. The audience went from bored to enthralled when Reigns erupted. Building on that makes more sense than constructing something from the ground up with McMahon.

Make McMahon a key role player in this story, but Triple H makes more sense as the star.

The Cerebral Assassin can thrive in the corporate tyrant role just as McMahon long has. Triple H, though, can wrestle Reigns in a money matchup.

That's where WWE's focus needs to lie, in setting up that battle, not forcing Reigns to reprise the Stone Cold role against McMahon. Elevating Reigns better sets up the future. Centering the show on McMahon is more of a past-focused move.

The company also can't forget that McMahon can't take full credit for the recent upswing in ratings; those shows were also Reigns' first as the man on the WWE throne.