Interesting statistic surrounding Vince McMahon’s return to SmackDown
It appears that Vince McMahon may not be the ratings draw for WWE that the company thinks he is.
On Friday morning, WWE announced that Vince McMahon would step back as the chairman and CEO of the company due to the ongoing investigation against him. Following the announcement, WWE announced on social media that "Mr. McMahon" would appear on SmackDown. This was met with a polarizing response from the WWE Universe.
McMahon opened up SmackDown, regurgitated the company's "Then, Now, Together, Forever" tagline, and threw the microphone to end the segment. This left people questioning what the general point of his appearance was. Most assumed it was done as an excuse to get a ratings bump for FOX.
However, according to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, hour two of SmackDown outdrew hour one. Mr. McMahon's segment on YouTube also (which has the comments disabled) has flattened out for views as the videos involving Roman Reigns continue to climb.
The Lesnar-Reigns YouTube video from Smackdown still getting views, passing 4 million, as other highlights including the Vince segment have flattened out. https://t.co/PZccNOfluF
Vince McMahon made a surprise appearance on WWE RAW last night
While Vince McMahon's appearance on SmackDown was heavily promoted, his segment last night on Monday Night RAW wasn't previously announced.
In a rather odd segment, Mr. McMahon came out to discuss John Cena's return to WWE RAW next week. This led to further confusion for fans as the company has been promoting the former WWE Champion's return for weeks now.
"#WWERaw has been on the air for almost 30 years. 20 of those years have been dominated by the greatest @WWE Superstar of all time. And that man makes his return to #WWERaw next week ... @JohnCena!" - Mr. McMahon https://t.co/XURzJ7z18j
It has been reported that Cena's return next week will begin a storyline that will set him up to face Theory at SummerSlam.
Theory is currently scheduled to defend the United States Championship against Bobby Lashley at the Money in the Bank premium live event.
While Mr. McMahon's last two television appearances have been rather awkward, it would be interesting—and possibly strange—to see if he decides to step in front of the camera again on WWE TV.