The big crisis that is allegedly making Vince McMahon panic right now is the ongoing ratings dilemma of Monday Night RAW. Despite all of the media attention, celebrity appearances, deals with ESPN and the attention that NXT has been garnering, Monday nights are no longer destination viewing. The WWE is not reaching the intended standard that McMahon (and maybe USA/NBC Universal) has set.

I’m not one to crow about the ratings, because in the long run they aren’t really a big deal. Unless they become so abysmal that they challenge the show’s status on TV, it doesn’t make a difference to me whether five million people are watching or if my sonn and I are the only people in the country watching. The reason I’m bringing it up now is because the downward spiral in ratings is now negatively affecting the fans.

It’s an oft discussed topic that WWE isn’t making new stars. To be clear, they’re not struggling to make new stars; they are altogether, flat out refusing to do it. The last true new star with longevity is John Cena, and before him was Brock Lesnar. Batista Randy Orton can arguably be put on that list, but both men are very clearly lower on the food chain than Cena and Lesnar. Ironically, it’s the actions of Lesnar himself and Vince McMahon’s response that likely caused this crisis in the first place.

WWE was ready to put all of their eggs in the Brock Lesnar basket. He skyrocketed in 2002, became a solidified top-level guy in 2003 and was gone a few short months into 2004. He burned Vince by bailing after the boss used the machine push him all the way up the ladder. Brock destroyed that machine and took the name it made for him elsewhere, and he became a huge draw for UFC — because WWE made him a star.

John Cena made a name for himself, became a good publicity juggernaut and proved his loyalty to Vince. The WWE became his playground and the rest of the roster, even Triple H, became interchangeable pieces of the John Cena show puzzle. The only guy who remained untouched by the Cena train (have I used enough metaphors yet?) was, and still is, The Undertaker. Cena is the only guy that WWE treats like a big deal on the level of The Rock and Steve Austin. Triple H gets the lip service, but I think even he knows that he takes a backseat to Cena.

So here we stand. There’s one full-time major superstar, a few part-timers and a slew of generally interchangeable pieces. Some people are more popular with the crowd than others, but for the most part that doesn’t make a huge difference. The Dean Ambroses and Cesaros of the world can trade wins and losses with little effect. Even the WWE Champion, Seth Rollins, can generally lose without it being considered an upset. If you beat Cena, it’s an upset. Cena beating you is a foregone conclusion. It creates a situation that the NFL has loved to use over the years: parity. Almost everyone is even except for one guy at the top and a few guys on the bottom.

WWE is selling itself as a brand. There’s no need to create new stars if the WWE name is synonymous with pro wrestling — that’s the current thought process. The problem with that mindset is that it’s fast becoming a disproven theory. TV numbers are down and house show attendance is down. The recent RAW in Chicago wasn’t sold out (to the tune of a couple thousand tickets) on the night of the show! The event promoters for WWE’s tour of Mexico demanded to have bigger stars, so WWE had to send The Undertaker.

There is absolutely no reason for McMahon to be so skittish about giving somebody the ball. If everybody is on the same level, nobody matters. Once John Cena is done as a full-time guy, that’s the end of the road. You have the three guys from The Shield, but none of them have the drawing power that Cena does. None of those guys have been made to look like they’re worth shelling out money to see. Together, maybe, but not apart. This is a big mess and it needs to be cleaned up. The solution is obvious, but the denial is stronger.

Nicholas A. Marsico is a featured pro wrestling writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter!