Hey Scott,
Great discussion of 50/50 booking the other day. This is a real issue in WWE, but I think they have shown when they really, really want to get behind somebody they will scrap it.
Look no further than Sheamus, Triple H's good workout buddy. Sheamus dominated 2012. He was pinned by Mark Henry on Raw in April 2012 then did not lose a singles match by pinfall or submission until CM Punk did it six months later.
WWE built up Sheamus strong, established that he was a serious force and he got over. After the bad taste that was left in fans' mouths following WM28, the only way to get him over was to have him beat everybody and he did that. Fans bought into him as a result.
We've established that there's a rhyme and reason why guys aren't allowed to look too strong, but for a company that is so starved for star power that they have to pay out millions and millions for part-timers, why not just do what every damn promoter has done for the past 60 years? It seems to work.
Am I crazy?
Worked pretty good for Ryback too until they decided to have him never win a match again.
Lemme tell you though, they LOVE their losing streaks. Kofi Kingston, Wade Barrett, Zack Ryder, Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, they've all "benefited" from being booked like giant losers for a prolonged period.