WWE Extreme Rules 2013: Ryback Must Dethrone John Cena as the Face of WWE

Ryback needs to take over for John Cena as the face of WWE.

If anyone could do it, it's Ryback.  Cena just is not the answer for WWE anymore, and in the opinion of many, has not been for a while.  What's also possible is that CM Punk isn't the answer.  Fair or not, CM Punk did preside over the worst ratings for Raw since 1997.

Ratings aren't everything, but fans vote with their remotes.  As good as some of the matches between Punk and Cena were, fans tuned out during Punk's reign.  

And there's another interesting wrinkle:  Even though Raw has bled viewers over the past five years, ratings drop even lower without Cena on the show.  The fans that dislike Cena are all gone by now, but when Cena isn't on the show, his fans tune out. 

All the stats point to one thing: WWE needs to move in a new direction.  Ryback can be that direction, and he should take over for John Cena as the face of the WWE.  Here are four reasons why.

No. 4: Ryback Is a Superstar-in-Waiting

Ryback gets a lot of criticism from fans for his promos, botched moves and style of wrestling.  Some of those criticisms may be justified, but one thing is certain:  Ryback is a star.

He's been in high-profile matches and feuds with CM Punk, John Cena and The Shield.  And despite criticism from small pockets of fans, he's managed to become one of the most popular wrestlers on the WWE roster.

Up until Ryback abruptly became heel, he was getting cheered far more than Cena.  Ryback, as a face, was someone both the hardcore and casual fan could enjoy.  Cena, on the other hand, gets booed out of half of every arena he enters, and the other arenas are mixed.  

Now that Ryback is a heel up against Cena, he's losing the support of the casual fans that still cheer Cena.  But if WWE keeps Ryback away from Cena, there's no reason he could not keep that support, even as a heel.

No. 3: Fans in General Are Tired of Cena

Fans are growing restless.  As mentioned in the last slide, Cena is getting booed more and more.  What was once a loud minority has, in many arenas, become a deafening chorus of negativity toward Cena.

Whatever the reasons for that, fans are not as receptive to Cena's message of "say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong."  Oops, I meant "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect."  Hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Just like with Hulk Hogan, after a while Cena is wearing on fans.  Especially since his character has not changed much, if at all, in the past eight years.  

Ryback is a fresh face that, up until his heel turn, was getting mostly cheers.  If given the chance, Ryback could be a bigger star than Cena over the next few years.  And the fans would love it. 

No. 2: Ryback Is Gaining Popularity

The last slide detailed how Cena is going the wrong direction in terms of his popularity.  But Ryback is doing just the opposite.

Ryback, once the victim of loud "Goldberg" chants, has basically beaten them back and managed to get entire arenas chanting "Feed Me More!"

If Ryback remains a heel long-term, that might damage his popularity.  Or, it could make him the next Goldberg, Batista, or Edge, in that he has heel behaviors but gets cheered.  

As long as Ryback is paired with a face John Cena, the Cena fans won't jump ship to Ryback.  If WWE does it right, though, and doesn't have Cena bury Ryback, Ryback could be bigger than Cena.

No. 1: Cena No Longer Brings Ratings

You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a chart that includes 1995 to the present.  The chart above shows the history of Raw ratings.  Here's a website that shows more details on 1998 to the middle of 2012.

As the charts show, ratings are down significantly since the early 2000s.  But 2012 was the worst year for WWE ratings since before the Attitude Era began.  It was a year dominated by John Cena and CM Punk.  

As mentioned in earlier slides, ratings go down when Cena is not on the show.  But WWE has featured CM Punk and John Cena heavily over the past year, and all they have to show for it is terrible ratings.  

After years of declining ratings, it's tie for WWE to make a change.  WrestleMania may be the only thing keeping WWE afloat financially at this point, so would it really hurt to try something new?  And by new, I mean Ryback.

Some may argue that WWE tried CM Punk as champion and all they got were bad ratings.  But the 2012 ratings were simply the natural effect of the years-long decline in ratings.   Only The Rock's return buoyed Raw ratings in 2013.  And now that he's gone, ratings are dropping once again.  

It's time for WWE to try something new.  Maybe leave behind PG and move Cena out of the way.  That experiment failed.  Ryback could very well be the next face of WWE.  He should be.