You know what I've noticed over the years? The fact that the WWE "ruins" wrestlers, actually makes us "true" fans watch it even more. It might sound weird, but if you think about it, it's true. Case in point...Shelton Benjamin.
Shelton Benjamin is fucking AWESOME. He can do ANYTHING he wants to in the ring, BUT...they don't "let" him. They started him off by making him sweet and then brought him to RAW...immediately making him a piece of crap. Since then, fans have been BEGGING for Shelton to become a main eventer and have been tuning in ever since. Bad use of talent or genius marketing? :dunno:
I do kind of hate when they "ruin" good wrestlers for "long term ratings" though. Val Venis was/is one of my favorite all-time wrestlers and they ruined him. Same thing goes for Chris Masters. They start them off by being really talented, fan favorites...then they give them shitty ass gimmicks, make them lose a bunch of crap matches and then eventually weed them out. I don't get it, but it still keeps us watching.