Hitting Below The Beltway 10.07.07: The Wave of the Future
Posted by Alex Barcham on 10.07.2007
WWE has just about hit rock bottom. Who will be the guys to lead them back to the top?
Wrestling is a cyclical business. The industry always hits rock bottom before coming back behind some great programming and great stars. Right now WWE is clearly on the downswing. So who's going to be the guy to lead WWE out of its current malaise? Let's take a look at who are going to be the guys leading WWE into the next big era.
John Cena - Even though he's out for up to a year with the injury he suffered Monday night, John Cena's future is extremely bright. Cena is only 30 and should have at least another 10 years left on him. He's not wrestling a high-risk/high-impact style which would lead to a short career. He has the opportunity to be WWE's biggest star for years. Hopefully, WWE will allow him to be a heel again because it will be very hard for him to stay fresh for that long. The biggest concern I have with Cena's future in WWE has nothing to do with his abilities, but with his desire to remain in the wrestling business. Cena has the potential to follow in the Rock's footsteps and leave WWE for Hollywood. Sure "The Marine" wasn't a critical success and only wound up making money on DVD, but the film industry is always looking for the next big action hero. The Rock's films haven't been particularly good, but he keeps getting paid plenty of money to make them and doesn't have to take the beating he did in the ring. While the lure of making movies full-time would be strong for anyone, I think Cena will ultimately decide to stick with the wrestling. From everything I've seen, Cena is extremely devoted to wrestling. He wants to be the big star in WWE and he loves what he's doing. I look forward to seeing him come back and playing a big part in WWE for a long time.
Randy Orton – Orton has all the talent anyone could possibly need to be a star in WWE for years to come. He's athletic, good looking; solid on the mic and can have good matches when he's not spending half his time putting is opponents in chinlocks. He should have a great run as a main event heel. The only thing that can stop Randy Orton is Randy Orton. The reason Orton does such convincing job acting like a cocky asshole is because he isn't acting at all. He really is that big of a jerk. His talent has and will get him a lot of second chances, but eventually if Randy doesn't turn his behavior around, Vince will have no choice but to show him the door. Whether it's disrespecting the Divas, using drugs, destroying hotel rooms or just pissing people off with his attitude Orton keeps finding ways to hold himself back. I really hope that he grows up and realizes what a prick he is, because I enjoy his work. Maybe he'll find Jesus and see the error of his ways; it worked for HBK.
Bobby Lashley – Remember Lashley? The former ECW champion will be back on Raw in a few months. The biggest thing holding Lashley back is his mic skills. They guy is just not convincing. He doesn't speak with any emotions and he doesn't have the strong powerful voice you would expect from huge guy like him. He's clearly got the look, size and athleticism to be a huge star. He's not amazing from a workrate perspective at this point, but he can have good matches when he's put up against a good worker like Finlay, Regal or Cena (yes, Cena is a good worker). Lashley has gotten much better in the ring from the time he debuted on Smackdown and should continue to improve. It's going to be hard for Lashley to be a top star if he can't produce on the mic. He would benefit greatly from the services of a good manager.
Mr. Kennedy – Kennedy is another Raw guy with the potential to be a superstar. It hasn't come together yet for Kennedy and that's mostly due to injuries and his recent suspension. Every time he comes close to breaking into the upper echelon of wrestlers he winds up having to take several months off. If he ever manages to stay healthy for an extended period of time, he could be the next Rock. He's great on the mic, good in the ring and oozes charisma. Kennedy is already 31 years old, so he's way behind the pace of Cena or Orton. The guy needs to pull it together soon or he could miss his shot.
Carlito – I'm not as enthusiastic about Carlito as I am about the other guys I've listed so far. He's got a lousy attitude, but he isn't on the same level as Orton where he's good enough that he'll keep getting shots regardless. Carlito simply appears bored on Raw. He hasn't improved much since his debut a few years ago. His rope running is still awkward and aside from a couple of innovative moves, he's very bland in the ring. He's got ability and charisma, but if he doesn't pick up his effort level he'll never be a top star. The promo Ric Flair cut on him on Raw a few months ago deriding him for his attitude is one of my favorite in recent memory and it hit the nail right on the head. If Carlito doesn't really want to be in WWE, he shouldn't be and I wouldn't be all that surprised if he quit before too long. It's good to hear that his little brother is an up-and-coming wrestler in Puerto Rico who actually has a passion for the business.
Cody Rhodes – This kid hasn't done too much yet, but I've been very impressed with what I've seen out of young Cody Rhodes in his short time on Raw. He's only 22, but he seems extremely comfortable in the ring. He's got great athleticism and reminds me of a young Shawn Michaels in the way he bounces around the ring with energy and explosiveness. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and Dusty should be able keep his feet on the ground. If nothing else, Hardcore Holly has been beating respect into him on a weekly basis. So far, he hasn't gotten much of an opportunity to show his skills on the mic. I haven't seen any of his OVW stuff so I can't judge him on it. I would imagine Dusty Rhodes' son would be able to cut a decent interview, but you never know. I'm not going to say he's the next big star in WWE after only a month or two on the roster, but he's already one of highlights on Raw and should only get better.
Lance Cade – In his four years with WWE Cade hasn't had much of chance to shine. His early run teaming with Mark Jindrak has been all but forgotten. He is doing some nice work right now with Trevor Murdoch as tag team champions, but he hasn't put on anything too memorable. Though he's not bad by any means, I can't think of any match of his that stands out in my head. The fact that he's been remarkably average up to this point in his career doesn't mean that he isn't going to get a big run as singles star. Vince loves big guys with great physiques and Cade is one hell of a physical specimen. Anybody with that look and any kind of ability is going to get a shot to make it in WWE. Hell, even if you don't have any talent Vince will still give you a shot.
Trevor Murcdoch – The same thing that makes Murdoch interesting is the same thing that could hold him back in WWE: his unique look. Murdoch is a pretty big guy, but he's not the ripped Adonis that Vince looks for. He's a good enough wrestler and has a solid gimmick, but I don't ever see him being a top star.
Matt Hardy – The Sensei of Mattitude has evolved into one of the most complete stars in WWE. He's playing a straight forward babyface and getting big reactions, which is hard to do in this day and age. Since his return from being fired, Hardy has been one of the most consistent performers in WWE. Every week his matches range somewhere from solid to outstanding; you never see a dud out of this guy anymore. His current feud with MVP is far and away the best thing going in WWE right now. MVP deserves plenty of credit for that as well and I'll get to him next. Hardy belongs in the main event scene, but I'm not quite sure he's ever going to make it quite to the top. Hardy doesn't have the size of a Batista or a Hogan, which has become something of a prerequisite to be a top superstar in WWE. He's closer in size to Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and Bret Hart. Those three all wound up being top guys, but Hardy's not quite on the same level as those three. Matt also has the occasional habit of pissing off management by bitching the internet and not wanting to get annihilated by the Undertaker. If Vince realizes what he has in Hardy he could have a guy who could make him a lot of money.
Jeff Hardy – While he's always popular Jeff Hardy doesn't have the main event potential that his older brother does. He's got plenty of charisma and is willing to kill himself to entertain the fans, but he's lousy on the mic and not a tremendous worker. He's good in his current role on the midcard with occasional ventures into the upper-card.
MVP – I'm amazed at how much MVP has improved in the short time he's been in WWE. I will fully admit that I was first on the bandwagon to say that MVP sucked when he first debuted. His blue jumpsuit looked ridiculous and his abilities in the ring seemed highly mediocre. What a difference a year makes. Right now I'm digging pretty much everything MVP is doing. His ring gear now seems slick and unique as opposed to ridiculous and he has one of the best entrances in WWE. He's also improved tremendously in the ring thanks to his work with the solid veterans on Smackdown. He's done an amazing job as a heel in his feud with Matt Hardy. Their segments together in and out of the ring click really well. I was surprised to learn that MVP is already 33 years old, but he hasn't taken all the wear and tear that your standard 33 year old wrestler has, so it shouldn't hold him back. His rapid improvement suggests that he's a hard worker and dedicated to wrestling. If he stays that way he should emerge as a major star.
Edge – There really isn't that much to say about Edge. The guy is a star and if he can stay healthy he's going to continue to be a star. His health has held him back a bit thus far, but he's a great heel and he deserves his spot at the top.
Kenny Dykstra – It's hard to judge how good Kenny is going to be in the future. Kenny isn't getting much of a push right now, but at least he's getting some experience in the big leagues. He's clearly got a ton of athleticism; his top rope leg drop is spectacular. The guy seems like a natural heel. He has that same natural cockiness that makes Orton such a good heel. Unfortunately, he may also have the same attitude of entitlement that Orton has If he can turn his attitude around and develop his skills some more he's got definite potential.
CM Punk – As I've mentioned in every column I've written, I'm a huge CM Punk fan. He's a great mic worker and he can put on great matches. That being said, Punk has a glass ceiling above him in WWE. He's ascended rapidly in ECW, but that's largely due to their extraordinarily thin roster. WWE has made him drastically change his wrestling style, which is kind of odd since he didn't really wrestle the usual flippy Indy style that Vince hates. The Muy Thai style works well for some guys, but I'm not a big fan of it on Punk. KENTA's moveset works a lot better for KENTA than it does for Punk. It would be great to see Punk the technical style he used in ROH, but it doesn't look like that'll happen. And too be fair, WWE fans probably wouldn't appreciate hour draws and side-headlock takeovers much. The other thing that is going to hold Punk back is his size. Punk is a naturally skinny guy. And while he looked tall on the Indy circuit he's only 6'1" which isn't big by WWE standards. From reports Vince doesn't like that Punk is "a string bean." He does have a point; compared to the giants running around WWE, Punk looks small and being straightedge he isn't going to get much bigger. That is going to be a problem for him. Do not take that to mean that I advocate the use of steroids by Punk or anyone else. It's just a statement of fact; in a world of juiced up monsters, a straight-edger is going to struggle.
John Morrison – If he can get a little bit more fluid on the mic, Morrison could be a player in WWE. I like his new gimmick and when he keeps his promos short he can be very effective, but when he goes off on his long tangents he loses my interest. That's a problem right now, but it's something that he definitely has the ability to improve if he works on it. He's gotten in some trouble for his attitude before, but that may be a product of dating Melina. I don't think he quite has what it takes to be a big-time main eventer, but he could be an upper-midcarder.
Elijah Burke – I covered my opinion of Burke pretty well last week so I'm not going to go into too much depth here. The guy is athletic, good looking, good on the mic, good in the ring, has charisma and can put on a good match. He isn't quite as big as Vince likes; in the triple threat with him, Batista and Jeff Hardy he looked a lot closer in size to Hardy than to Batista. He's big enough though and should have a solid career.
Results – WWE has a lot of good young talents who could lead them into their next big era, but they all have their flaws. Randy Orton, Carlito, Kenny and John Morrison have attitude problems. Kennedy and Edge can't stay healthy. Lashley can't work the mic. Punk, Burke, Hardy and Rhodes are all on the small side for WWE main eventers. And Lance Cade has been mediocre thus far. One of these guys needs to step up and be WWE's new superstar. I don't think any of these are going to make it as big as Hulk Hogan or Stone Cold, but not too many people thought Stunning Steve Austin was going to be the biggest star the industry ever had either (especially Eric Bischoff). Personally, I think Cena vs. MVP could be a poor man's Rock vs. Austin.
