Roman Reigns, Low Ratings, Seth Rollins and More in the Viewership Mailbag

Raw's ratings spent much of the summer, and now some of the winter, reaching new record lows. Per F4WOnline (h/t WrestlingInc.com), Raw's viewership sunk below 3 million this past Monday for the first time since 1997.

In times like these, fans who frequent message boards take the opportunity to insist that WWE call up Samoa Joe to solve all their problems. But the real solution is patience.

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@ThisIsNasty How can everyone in the @WWE Universe realize the current state of the product is so bad, but creative is so blind to reality?

— Brian Patterson (@BNotoriousPAT) November 25, 2015"

The day is always darkest before the dawn. WWE has been long overdue for a lean period to build up its next base of full-time stars. Basically, WWE is like the Los Angeles Lakers, whose next crop of superstars are high-round draft picks currently in development.

For far too long, WWE has been reliant on part-time stars and Attitude Era mainstays. Now that it's finally confronted with the always-daunting task of creating new stars, it must endure the accompanying viewership declines.

For years, fans were trained to believe that Brock Lesnar, The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H and a host of part-time stars were the centerpiece of the company. These names were ubiquitous during WrestleMania season, and with their exit came sharp declines in viewership and ratings. WWE now needs to stick with its young crop of talent to develop a new fleet of full-time main eventers.

Many hardcore wrestling fans have taken to Twitter to swear that they too have stopped watching Raw during a historic ratings decline. That's probably a lie. In fact, it's almost certainly a lie, as hardcore fans will always watch. WWE's chief concern should be convincing casual fans not to flip over to Monday Night Football, because its current roster is for real.

Sure, tweaking the general format of Raw and Smackdown, and altering outdated philosophies is a welcomed change, but the core of WWE's struggles right now is acclimating the casual audience to new stars.

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@ThisIsNasty What young Superstar do you see becoming the next big player while Seth is out?

— Derrick Jerrolds (@DerrickJerrolds) November 20, 2015"

Roman Reigns is on his way to becoming WWE's top star, and WWE did a good job of building up Dean Ambrose during the tournament. But, strangely enough, this is WWE's chance to make Seth Rollins a big star during his own absence.

By the time Rollins returns to WWE, he should have a full head of steam that establishes him as the major star he was already on his way to becoming.

Through social media and television, WWE should routinely invoke Rollins' name in storylines. But as he nears his return, WWE should go overboard in promoting his comeback as a very big deal. With a strong roster upon Rollins' return, there's a real possibility that WrestleMania 33 will be able to sell out a stadium exclusively with the current roster.

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@ThisIsNasty WWE recreating with RR storyline from WrestleMania 30? It will take more than that to convince me. Heel is the only way 4 him.

— Israel Roman (@isra_is_real) November 23, 2015"

WWE's babyface roster is too weak for a top good guy like Reigns to turn heel. And while WWE may not be able to sell the Internet Wrestling Community on a Reigns underdog story, they do not need to sell that contingent on anything due to their inelastic demand for pro wrestling.

WWE's plan to make Reigns a fighting underdog has a good chance of working on the more important casual fanbase. In fact, it already is working. Monday on Raw, fans in Nashville chanted "Roman" during the opening segment and cheered him on throughout the show. Per WrestlingInc.com, there were fan reports of growing support for Reigns.

If WWE stays the course for Reigns, at the very least, he'll receive mixed reactions from fans. This should be expected for every top star from here on out due to the growing cynicism toward renowned public figures. As long as there is a passionate response for WWE's biggest rising star, there should be no fear surrounding this ongoing project.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. LIKE him on Facebook, and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast.

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