>>13283052>(pro)lapsed fans>buzzing online Yes, The Rock is a memberberry name and probably get a few pair of eyes on mania on their available everywhere online streams. Won't sell anymore seats cuz there ain't more to sell. What good does "buzzing online" do to really if it's for a part timer whose gonna have 3-6 date schedule for a year, a good number of those lapsed fans will just lapse again after he gone -
If someone can show numbers on how much Stone Cold Steve Austin directly affected viewer growth after his return from retirement then we'd know it is worth it.
No fan actually is against seeing The Rock or other oldies if the content is good. Cena didn't even have his best matches but was welcomed. But when you push them to the main spot in the biggest night over the people fans are actively invested in on going shows then it sours the pot.
And that's the thing, WWE/TKO doing this booking probably decided long ago but with how it is presented and set up as "last minute surprise" is catering to a fickle "lapsed audience" THAT WASN'T EVEN THERE for this modern roster to begin with while farting in the face of active fans, in hopes that 'someone who might have maybe possibly seen wrestling 20 YEARS AGO when The Rock was most relevant or vaguely got into him by osmosis during his part time appearances 2011-2016, which was 8 YEARS ago, so zoomers?
People coming from that far apart are just going to go "wut Randy Orton is a baby face now?", "lmao wtf is judgement day", "Who this Tomato and Oregano DIY midget team?", "Why fat men have fat men matches" etc. They won't understand "what are the stories" and the "why", which then gets damaged, undermined by booking part timers to take on the highest pedestals.
You can't take form the old good stock for a momentary high WWE/TKO if you don't actually try replenish the stock with new talent, and that happens through main events in PLE's too.
