Eliot Spitzer's not the only one leaving money on the table these days. The WWE has made a habit of it for a while.
Look at the way they've booked John Cena's return. To their credit, it actually started out great -- his unannounced appearance and win at the Royal Rumble was absolutely fantastic. There are those who'd make the argument that they should have announced he'd be there to pop the buyrate, but just starting a buzz once again that "Anything can happen on Pay-Per-View" is good enough for me.
They dropped the ball just 24 hours later.
After Cena's return at the Rumble, fans were buzzing. They wanted to see him, hear what he had to say, see him back in action. There was intrigue around him -- what he'd do next, why he'd come back the way he did, whether he could still handle himself physically.
So instead of milking this for all it was worth (and at its heart, the wrestling business is about one thing, making money), we get a long promo segment the very next night on RAW and his first match back also on free TV not too long after.
No!
Here's what you do: Randy Orton comes to the ring the next night on RAW and cuts a promo about how he beat Jeff Hardy the night before at the Rumble, yet all anyone could talk about was John Cena. Orton says he's the one who put Cena out of action and he knows Cena won't have the guts to face him at WrestleMania, and would probably instead face the SmackDown champion.
Then you put Cena on the TitanTron for 10 seconds (he doesn't even appear in the area, and no entrance -- just 10 seconds on the TitanTron). Says very simply, "Randy Orton -- I'll see you at WrestleMania." Then he disappears, and we don't see him again until WrestleMania. When you have to pay for it.
There. That's it. That's all you have to do. The back story is built in -- Orton puts Cena out of action, Cena returns for revenge. You get the intrigue -- what will happen when they finally come face to face? Will Cena be able to handle himself physically? You get the thrill of waiting for the big moment to happen. Let Orton tell me the story, balancing his cockiness against Cena's mind game of making him wait.
Make people pay to see what they most want to see!
But no. Instead, the WrestleMania main event is a Triple Threat with three guys who have no real defined story behind the usual "I want the title!" "No, I want the title!" bull that they always use.
You've already seen Cena wrestle since his return. Heck, you've already seen Cena wrestle ORTON since his return! And you get Triple H in there for no good reason except the fact that Triple H wanted to be in there.
Where's the intrigue? Where's the emotion? Why do I care?
The answer: There is none. And I don't.
