WWE Opinion: Merry Christmas, Vince McMahon and the WWE in 2011

The tail end of another calendar year for the fed is upon us and the WWE has done its best to soldier along despite professional wrestling being balls deep in the post-attitude era where wrestling is less mainstream and more niche-based. 

Still struggling to find its next big star, an art form that used to be more of a formality than a struggle, the WWE has largely relied upon nostalgia to spark interest in its product, building around the likes of the Rock, Triple H and the Undertaker around WrestleMania season when the company is most ripe for business.  The Rock even returned for a bonus match alongside John Cena in November at Survivor Series. 

Last year was about the youth movement, in which the WWE directly addressed obvious deficiencies in the next crop of young stars.  Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, Sheamus, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase and Drew McIntyre were among the promising prospects featured prominently on WWE TV and pay-per-views as first-time world champions became the rule, as opposed to the exception. 

The movement, for all intents and purposes, failed, as the WWE never seemed to fully invest in any of said talents despite their best intentions.  As the ratings and buyrates began to further regress in the face of the youth movement, the WWE moved away from its emphasis on young talent in 2011 with veterans such as Christian, Mark Henry, Randy Orton and John Cena returning to the front of the proverbial glass window. 

Cena was the main superhero throughout the year with little to no competition in the babyface department.  Even Orton, who made a frenetic surge as a babyface in 2010, took a significant step back in the pecking order as he has spent the better part of 2011 working with younger stars. 

Meanwhile, the anti-Cena contingent has only grown stronger for the WWE’s top babyface.  Once a vocal minority, it can easily be argued that the “Cena Sucks” crowd have now accounted for half of WWE live audiences, as it is impossible to hear a “let’s go Cena chant” without the accompanying “Cena sucks” retort. 

The Cena acrimony and quasi-mutiny amongst the WWE Universe has caused cries of a Cena heel turn to grow louder.  This seems to be more of an indictment of the WWE product than Cena himself.  A cookie cutter babyface as transcendent as Cena is extremely rare in the WWE, as shown by its inability to find the next John Cena. 

Cena is resident superhero of the WWE.  He’s Bruce Wayne.  Clark Kent. Peter Parker.  Boring, yet likeable.  Bland, but honorable.  Wholesome, but plain.

Like the aforementioned superhero alter egos, Cena needs an intriguing and transcendent villain in order for his otherwise limited character to shine through.  He needs compelling opposition and a strong threat to be taken seriously by otherwise restless observers.

He needs a Joker. 

That Joker was thought to be CM Punk midway through the year, but Punk got away from being the terrorist heel.  It wasn’t all Punk’s fault, as his midyear feud with Cena lead to a WWE Championship match with Cena in Punk’s hometown of Chicago—a match that was thought to be Punk’s last. 

The WWE largely peaked following an emotionally-charged feud between Cena and Punk that resulted in a brand spankin’ new contract for CM Punk, with Punk now challenging Cena as the top babyface in the company. 

Despite rave reviews from fans, critics, and the one percent, CM Punk garnered scant interest in terms of TV ratings and their tilt at WWE Money in the Bank only sparked a mild year-to-year increase in buyrates.

After a brief initial reign, Punk has since regained the WWE Championship—a title he currently holds.  Unfortunately, Punk’s second go around as WWE Champion has been just as flat as his first in terms of TV ratings, and maybe even worse. 

This past week on the RAW Supershow, with CM Punk in the main event, featured one of the largest ratings drop-offs for a main event in RAW history. 

Punk was entrusted to shoulder the load as the centerpiece of the first WWE pay-per-view all year not to feature Cena.

 It is internally believed that the event will draw the lowest buyrate of the year. 

The WWE continues to tread water as the company shuffles various superstars to the top of the card to provide Cena some run support in his prolonged stint as the face of the company. 

With the Rock waiting in Miami come April to help salvage the WWE’s business after another standard year in terms of star power, the WWE’s main concern moving forward will not only be cultivating and developing stars, but taking risks and going all-in with select talents with the objective of finding the next big thing. 

Watch Big Nasty's review of TLC on B/R video, then follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty.