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WWE Superstar Cesaro attends the WWE 2K15 SummerSlam Confidential Panel at Club Nokia, on Saturday, August 16, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision for 2K/AP Images)
WWE Superstar Cesaro attends the WWE 2K15 SummerSlam Confidential Panel at Club Nokia, on Saturday, August 16, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision for 2K/AP Images)Todd Williamson/Associated Press

Cesaro, John Cena, 'Tough Enough' and More from the Main Event Mailbag

Alfred KonuwaJul 9, 2015

Cesaro is having a very strong two-week run in the absence of his wingman, Tyson Kidd. But let's not confuse that with a new lease on life in the main event.

Question of the Week: Cesaro in the main event?

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@ThisIsNasty do you see Cesaro ever main evening a pay-per-view? Or will the comments from Vince continue to hold him back?

— SuplexCity (@suplexcitywwe1) July 8, 2015 

"

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Now that we're in the era of the WWE Network, when live events pop up like superhero spin-offs, I could see a one-off situation where Cesaro is in the main event.

Middling Bad News Barrett and upstart Neville once main evented a WWE Network special, so anything is possible.

After two good, meaningful matches with John Cena—who can have a good, meaningful match with anybody—fans are now making that familiar mistake with Cesaro where they see him have a good wrestling match and immediately question why he isn't in the main event. 

Vince McMahon's comments about fans not connecting with Cesaro aren't to blame for his singles failures. If there was really that much demand for Cesaro to be in the main event, he'd be there. Cream rises to the top. I talked about this on the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast: If a WWE Superstar is meant to be in the main event, he'll get there no matter what political wildfires hold him back. 

Don't go blaming Vince. If Cesaro should be in the main event, put him there. Chant his name throughout Raw. Come up with a trendy hashtag. Buy his merchandise. Create a demand that makes it awkward the more WWE resists.

Don't take no for an answer.

But fans simply don't put in that much energy into a Cesaro main event push, which actually proved McMahon's point. Fans know deep down that Cesaro is really just a good hand who is best used as a tag team performer. That's why they popped when he won the tag team titles with Tyson Kidd.

How many managers and uncomfortable promos will be dedicated to Cesaro until the diehards realize he's not main event material? He's not for everybody.

Opponents for Cena and Rollins at SummerSlam?

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@ThisIsNasty who's Cena gonna feud with heading into Summerslam. Same question with Rollins

— Nick Kistler(@kistler10) July 8, 2015 

"

I can see a fourth Cena-Owens match.  If Owens wasn't the United States champion at least once between now and the end of SummerSlam, I'd be shocked. 

It would help Owens immensely to win his series over Cena, 3-1. WWE is investing a lot in the 31-year-old rookie, and booking an even-steven feud would only make it easier to lump him in with previous Cena opponents who had similar results.

I expect Owens to win the United States Championship at Battleground to set up a final stipulation match between Owens and Cena at SummerSlam.

As for Rollins, I can see a program between him and Triple H, but I really think it's premature to turn him babyface. He is showing no signs of becoming a babyface anytime soon and is knee-deep in heel waters after buying off members of The Authority.

Fans still chant "Justin Beiber" and "You sold out," and there is no demand for him to become a good guy. I think a program between a heel Rollins and a (temporarily) babyface Triple H would work out just fine.

Tough Times?

"

@ThisIsNasty Why do you think Tough Enough as been an epic failure?

— Melanie Gomes (@Melitxix) July 8, 2015 

"

Tough Enough is overproduced, it has the wrong host, it has too many talking heads and none of the contestants are likable. Not even JJ. The overweight, southern, common-man gimmick designed to get fans to root for the underdog is patronizing.

Steve Austin brought a mainstream appeal to the show, and furthermore, he looked like a tough dude you didn't want to mess with. Chris Jericho looks like a daffodil with a scarf these days.

There's so little time dedicated to so many humans that fans can't connect with anything. Tough Talk—a freewheeling show where fellow scarf-wearer Miz screws around with the contestants for an hour—is more compelling, and it's not even that good.

The problems for Tough Enough go even deeper, as there is a poor track record for the men and women who actually won the show. Castoffs like Miz and Ryback went on to bigger and better things, and you can't build a show around the notion that "maybe the judges will make a mistake!"

As the bad ratings continue to pour in, according to James Caldwell of PWTorch, perhaps WWE should consider making Tough Enough a WWE Network exclusive in future seasons.

John Cena in WrestleMania 32 Main Event?

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@ThisIsNasty should John cenamain event at wrestlemania32?

— RaheemMansaray(@johnnymansaray) July 8, 2015 

"

No. And for the same reason Steve Austin shouldn't be on the cover of WWE 2K16. WWE is in a period where its future is now. Many of its top stars are making main event runs for the first time in their careers, and if WWE wants to build its product around a bright, young future, that future should be front-and-center.

Seeing Rollins celebrate his first world title win at the end of WrestleMania 31 felt fresh. That's what WrestleMania 32 should feel like.

John Cena will be a focal point of WrestleMania for as long as he wants to wrestle, but it's likely he has wrestled his final main event, unless there are plans for him to lose to an heir apparent like Roman Reigns.

If you've noticed, Cena doesn't even get those flashy WrestleMania entrances anymore. Rusev came out on a tank. Cena came out to Ronald Regan. Is WWE planning a "Camptown Races" entrance for Cena at WrestleMania 32?

Seth Rollins Bad for Business?

"

@ThisIsNasty It's Seth Rollins as WHC is bad for business? Because of the bad ratings....

— Melanie Gomes (@Melitxix) July 8, 2015

"

As a first-time world champion, Seth Rollins will have his growing pains. Fans just need to get used to Rollins as a world champion.

It's very rare for an upstart world champion in this era to draw strong ratings. But as he continues to feud with top stars and cement himself into a main event position, WWE will be able to build around him.

It would be unfair to say Rollins is bad for business based on the ratings alone, because Raw is a three-hour show, and a handful of big names are featured.

WWE usually goes into a ratings slump in the post-WrestleMania season that tends to pick back up around SummerSlam, which in recent years has been promoted as the WrestleMania of the summer.

Rollins has performed admirably as WWE's heel world champion. As far as ratings go? All he needs is time.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast.

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