Kevin Owens vs. Brock Lesnar, the Royal Rumble and More from the Panic Mailbag

WWE Raw's ratings are not very good right now, and with Brock Lesnar still a ways away, WWE seems content in letting it fly with its young roster. Good on the company.

The Rating Game?

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@ThisIsNasty Should there be panic about low ratings? With youtube and DVR do ratings really matter with no real competition?

— Nur Boyd (@n1faping) December 3, 2015"

As long as WWE is on television, ratings will always matter. And while WWE has shifted its business model to revolve around the WWE Network, historically low Raw ratings are still a source of panic.

I truly believe within next 10 years, WWE Raw will air exclusively on WWE Network, as traditional cable television goes the way of the newspaper and radio.

But for now, WWE needs television as its young stars continue to acclimate themselves to the main event. The consistently low ratings shouldn't necessarily warrant any overreactions (i.e. adding dates to Lesnar's contract, etc.), but perhaps a format change is in order.

While much of what we saw during the Attitude Era cannot be replicated in a TV-PG environment, one aspect WWE can borrow from is the way storylines intertwined and came together like Magnolia or Crash. There were very few throwaway matches during that time. Every segment and every match meant something, which kept the viewers engaged right up until the end.

WWE needs to do everything in its power to limit the "popcorn" match. This could mean eliminating the third hour.

Not-so-Early Royal Rumble Favorite?

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@ThisIsNasty royal rumble winner? #Mailbag

— Jack Bird (@MrJackBird) December 3, 2015"

I truly hope Lesnar wins the Royal Rumble. Quite frankly, I don't think WWE has a choice. I mentioned in Wednesday's piece that Roman Reigns even entering the Royal Rumble in 2016 would be a fool's errand.

He'll likely be the champion by then, so the winner has to be somebody who would set up an intriguing main event worthy of a 100,000-seat stadium—and not named Triple H.  

As far as WWE Superstars currently under contract, Lesnar is that guy. It's either him or John Cena. Cena's WrestleMania storyline could see him acknowledge the end is near and that he'd like to tie Ric Flair's record before he leaves to swing around kettlebells on Fox.

Owens-Lesnar?

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@ThisIsNasty how do you feel about the rumor WM match between Kevin Owens and Brock Lesnar?

— Prof. Woods (@Bwoods25) December 3, 2015"

Kevin Owens, like any WWE Superstar seeking a healthy payday, threw his name into the growing "I want a match with Lesnar" discussion. During a recent interview with the Like Father, Like Son podcast, Owens said he'd like to see if he can hang with Lesnar. He joins Daniel Bryan and Sheamus in making such an ambitious request.

And while an Owens-Lesnar match seems like a long shot, WWE's current plague of injuries may open up opportunities for Owens to back into a program with the beast.

WrestleMania 32 should be about WWE's next generation, and one way to do that is to position top stars against up-and-comers. Unfortunately, Owens isn't the next generation; he just does a really good impression of somebody who is.

Stepping away from Reddit and into reality will reveal that Owens is a 31-year-old, 15-year veteran in a 45-year-old's body. Sure, Reigns is 30; I get it. But he has only been wrestling for less than five years, and the odds of his body holding up for another 10 years are far greater than that of Owens.

If WWE wants to give such a monumental match or victory to a man with a history of serious knee injuries, it'll only have itself to blame when he's a backstage agent by WrestleMania 37.

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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