WWE Raw: Why John Cena Has to Remain the Top Superstar on the Red Brand

Love or hate him, you must admit that John Cena is a ratings draw for WWE. Whenever he is injured or out of the main event picture, WWE ratings suffer.

While some fans, like myself, would be content with two hours of back to back wrestling, that is not how WWE does things.

They add other things to the mix, and Cena is usually a big part of the entertainment aspect of WWE television.

Orton had some ratings backlash when he was champion, as did Punk and Miz, so it just goes to show you that some guys are more popular than others.

This may all be because of little kids who tune away as soon as Cena is off TV. However, WWE needs to do something to start not only keeping their audience, but increasing it.

Even though WWE has often had several people sharing the spotlight, there is usually one guy who is known as the top draw.

Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, The Rock, Steve Austin and now John Cena are those kinds of guys. They are the ones who draw in the numbers.

Ziggler and Bryan are talented as all hell, but they are not making people tune in from Monday Night Football to see them.

They appeal more to the pure wrestling fans, while guys like Cena appeal to the fans of sports entertainment. There is nothing wrong with liking one more than the other, but WWE is definitely more the latter.

Cena is the guy who WWE uses to hype the crowd. Whether they are booing or cheering him, he always gets a loud response. He takes it all in stride and always puts forth his best effort.

His years of dedication to WWE and helping those outside the ring have also given him a reputation as being a company man, which is not a bad thing to be when you are in the super political atmosphere of a WWE locker room.

Being the go-to guy has downsides. However, in the end, Cena is the one who brings home the bacon with merchandise sales and PPV buys. He main events and numbers go up. It is undeniable.

I think it is great Cena has taken a back seat to others recently, but WWE needs to worry more about how to grow their audience.

John Cena may not be your favorite wrestler, but he is a lot of people's favorite. I like Cena and I think if he keeps working eventually he will turn most of his critics into fans, much in the way the Rock did.