The storyline has not wowed many wrestling critics, but for the past few weeks, the ongoing soap opera storyline involving Vickie Guerrero, AJ Lee, John Cena and Dolph Ziggler has demonstrated some ratings momentum.
That momentum came to an end this week. This week’s chapter in the saga, which included Cena and AJ sending a message of defiance to Guerrero by making out in the ring, added only 195,000 viewers in its quarter hour, notes the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Considering the nature of the storyline and the fact that it aired at 9PM, a timeslot that usually brings new viewers by default, this was a very underwhelming number.
Even worse, the later backstage segment involving Lee, Cena and Dolph Ziggler in the lockerroom actually turned away 241,000 viewers from the prior quarter.
— CM Punk’s show-closing interview, which had been hyped throughout the episode and was sure to feature follow-up to the Dean Ambrose-Roman Reigns-Seth Rollins interference at Survivor Series, added only 419,000 viewers. While not an outright abysmal number, given what was being offered in that segment, larger growth should have been expected.
