If not Roman Reigns, then who?
 

Just curious to see what you guys think on this - listening to the Observer Radio this past week they were talking about how Roman doesn't feel like he has the momentum to be the guy to carry the company just yet, and how he's got big shoes to fill since the idea is for him to be the guy. But it begs the question - since it is time for a new top babyface, if Reigns fails, who else is around that could actually fill that spot? Think Bryan or Ziggler would be enough?

The Big Guy.

Bryan if he can. Ziggler if he can't.

Ziggler has been consistently over since his debut. He's got a great look and is one of the best in the ring and on the mic. He may never be the elite "face of the company" guy like Steve Austin or John Cena, but he could easily carry the company like Shawn Michaels in 96/97, until the next Austin or Cena comes along.

Survivor Series was also an amazing starting point for a road to the title story for him, but WWE is still going with driftwood.

Dean Ambrose

Ryback. I don't understand how the trigger hasn't been pulled on him. He's got an entertaining personality, he's definitely over and history has shown, especially in the WWE that fans love wrecking machine faces. His work has gotten better. Not 5 star matches or anything, but he's good enough in the ring. They completely screwed up his first run worse than any push I can remember, when it was so friggen simple to book him. I doubt he's going over Rusev, but it would nice to see what they can actually do with Ryback on a slow build.....kinda like they are doing with Rusev.

Ambrose, Ryback, and a Wade Barrett return all sound infinitely more interesting and compelling than anything having to do with Reigns.

Ryback, Ambrose, Wyatt, Cesaro, Ziggler and Rollins are all on my short list of guys more preferable than Reigns.

I'm curious as to why now is deemed the time for a new top babyface? Cena has been stale for a long time, numbers have been relatively stagnant for a while.

Also, kinda laughable they think they can just pull the trigger on someone and *BANG* new top babyface when they've failed to cement somebody at the top of the card for so long.

I'm not against Reigns being the guy, but I don't think he's ready and here's why; it has to be a natural progression to being that top guy, a ground-swell of support, a solid fan-base built over the course of time, the respect that comes with putting the time in.

Bret, Michaels, Austin, Rock, HHH, Foley, Punk (to name a few of the guys to crack the top) all had years in the business and their rise to prominence took time. Cena and Batista didn't really have the tenure but they had the entire crowd pulling for them to make it - and maybe the audience wasn't as savvy as to when they were being force-fed something as they may be now.

Reigns has been on the scene 2 years, spent most of that time as the hot tag guy in a three man stable, when that stable split he wasn't given anything new to work with - same attire, same theme, same entrance. I've never seen a crowd die as much as when Reigns is taking a beating; maybe they're just waiting for the inevitable comeback, safe in the knowledge that he'll win in the end - yet the same could be said of Cena and he gets a reaction.

Bryan was the guy to have put the tenure in; he wrestled around the world on the independent scene before working his way through the ranks of WWE, he won the respect of the crowd with his hard work and athleticism, he added to his character during his work with Kane and his heel run as WHC, then he booked them with the "YES!" phenomimon to point where management couldn't deny him anymore; he was a true "People's Champion". Then he got injured. I think they've every chance to pick up where they left off with him IF he's healthy enough to dethrone Lesnar at Mania.

Failing that, the closest we have now is Ziggler.

I think Ambrose is a solid choice. He's been getting consistent reactions since the breakup, has put on great matches and cuts great promos. I'm pulling for Ziggler, but Ambrose is a close second for me. Feel like he's a total package.

Ziggler seems like he's the backup plan with how focused the WWE is into his push this time. Could easily just have been another case of the IC belt doing nothing but he's been winning matches and gaining momentum with it.

Also the chance for a possible title vs title match if the WWE were to keep the IC title on him by then.

Ryback definitely. How WWE seems to "get it" with him enough to keep pushing him but then clearly doesn't get it enough to follow through with any of the pushes just doesn't make any fucking sense.

I was about to say "these guys are right", until I realized the same guy made both posts.

You could say that for about 3 to 4 other guys.

The sad thing is, there is no one. No one has been built strongly enough to be that "new guy." No one really seems right to take the ball and dethrone Lesnar at Mania. My first picks would probably be Dolph or Bryan, but in reality, neither of them is really the "superstar" that the WWE has always pushed as their main guy.

Nobody really has that big time charisma factor. It's a sad state, to be honest.

Is Ryback genuinely what you would want? Or is he the answer in terms of WWE "needing to push a big, muscled up guy cos that's what brings ratings"?

Honest question.

Ryback would be fine down the line, but like Reigns he really doesn't have the momentum at the moment. Ziggler would be my pick.

I feel like that, if Ryback could work as well as Reigns does, or if Reigns had Ryback's natural ability to get the fans behind him, Vince wouldn't have any problems right now.

Idea...

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/phot...77-855-482.png

Photoshoppers, you've been called out.

We want Ryback

Wade Barrett.....

Who would not want Ryback? Dude is full of charisma and is a fucking beast.

I'll take Dolph over Ryback he's charismatic enough I suppose and has the WWE look but he is nothing I'd really want to constantly watch ring-wise whereas Ziggler has been bringing it for a loooong time (a few years now) and could absolutely be the man.

Ambrose is a given so nothing to say about him.

And dear god I miss DB

Went to a house show last weekend and the crowd was BY FAR hotter for Jack Swagger (who was facing Rusev) than they were for Roman Reigns (who was facing Kane in the main event).

Hell, the crowd was a tiny bit hotter for The New Day (versus Miz/Mizdow) than they were for Reigns. I'm sure that was NOT what WWE officials wanted to hear for a recently returned "Future Face of the Company".

Dolph. You can't go wrong. Great matches, has the mic skills. They should just have him win the Rumble and go from there. Ryback ...no. Maybe as champion down the line but not the main guy.

Dolph going into mania as ic champ in a champion vs champion feud could be something fresh

Dean Ambrose.

I feel like he's the most naturally charismatic, has the best skill set and is not afraid to go out there and improvise and/or do anything to be entertaining/steal the show, and has the most edge, ala Austin/Rock 98-2002.

Next up I guess I'd have to go with Ziggler, probably the second most naturally charismatic and skilled.

After that I'd say Rollins. Also very charismatic though not as sure he's as natural as maybe Ambrose or Ziggler but he's a VERY close 3rd.

I can't really say Wyatt, especially not in his current gimmick. I feel like he can be a top guy in the company but he needs to stay out of the spotlight in terms of media, press, interviews, etc., to protect his character, mystery, aura, ala Taker, Kane.

Ambrose would definitely be the best choice. Ziggler and D-Bry are both great, but I'd put them more in the Michaels/Bret camp. Realistically based on WWE's track record I'd say Ryback is the most likely to actually get it. However, Ryback isn't ideal. He's definitely better than Reigns by miles, but he's not face of the company material.

Dolphin Ziggler or Dean "The Man" CURTLY Ambrose.

Of course.not Roman Reigns. Its The RYBACK BIG GUY who will takeover

Honestly, any of these guys could be considered main eventers and they could all help carry the company. Kind of like when Rock & Austin both left in 2003, essentially at the same time, you basically had several guys carrying the company at that point and not one BIG star.

They had Lesnar, Angle, Taker, HHH, HBK, Eddie, Orton, Batista and Edge. I suppose you could argue that HHH or Taker was the company guy at that point but I don't think you can say anyone in the main event scene at that time carried the company or was truly pushed like Rock, Austin, Hogan or Cena were in comparison.

There's no reason they couldn't go back to this with the roster they have now. In fact, I'd argue it would help these guys get even more over and could help to organically create a new top dog in the company. It's really not hard, just let the fans decide who the top guy or guys are instead of trying to awkwardly force and script EVERYTHING.

He is definitely the most entertaining option for someone who is not stuck deep into an ROH "anti-establishment" mindset and remembers the little things that make wrestling awesome. Guys like him bring in ratings for a reason.

I dunno. Granted I haven't been watching much recently but I'm not an ROH fan by any means but I just can't take Ryback seriously. All I think of when I see/hear him on tv now is this guy's a muscled up dumb jock meat head who can't even put two sentences together.

I never felt that way about Hogan, Big Show, Taker, Kane, Lesnar. I also didn't feel that way about Reigns at first, but I now view Reigns almost the same way I view Ryback.

I'm not denying their in ring ability to entertain, but to me I need more than that (charisma, story, mic work, etc.), just like I needed more than Hogan dropping a leg, Goldberg spearing the crap outta people, Benoit's great technical ability or Rey's awesome lucha libre matches.

Ambrose, Bryan, Wyatt, Ziggler, Cesaro (w/ Heyman), Rollins (w/ Heyman), etc, etc.

You can add Ryback on that list too, I just personally can't stand him. Not saying he is "bad", but dear god he comes across like a fucking meat head, which just makes it impossible for me to like him. And I mean his character. His character seems so fucking dumb it is irritating.

Genuinely don't see the appeal in Ryback.

Saw the appeal in heel Ryback. Not a fan of one dimensional "feed me more" Ryback. Limits his charisma.

Used to not like Ryback at all. Now I can kinda tolerate him as long as he isn't cutting a long promo. Some guys don't need to talk a lot. Roman Reigns is one of these people.

THE RYBACK by far. Nothing to say about him that hasn't already been said really but I think he's by far the best choice

You don't need to be an amazing talker to be the face of the company. Honestly, if Lesnar stuck around and appeared once a month, he'd be perfect.

Look at MMA (bad comparison, I know), but the guys who are super popular there aren't always the most charismatic or the best talkers, but they are badasses. That is why I think someone like Cesaro could do well, if you just let him go out and have amazing matches, come across like a badass, and let him push a bit of his personality through.

They are waiting for the 4th coming of Hogan (3rd coming of Austin/Rock, 2nd coming of Cena), but there just isn't that person right now. So you have to work with what you have.

With that said, dark horse candidate... Sami Zayn. He really is the most empathetic face in the company. He is the true "good guy" in a company of "good guys" who are really just assholes.

Same here, Rusev doesn't speak English and is a better choice, but my choice would be Swagger.

Same here. Other than being bulky, I fail to see the charisma he allegedly has. Not outright dismissing him, but not on his nuts like most.

I went to a scientist today and he told me Ryback is the correct answer.

So my opinion has transformed into scientific fact.

lol ryback is so bad

Fucking science bro.

Heres the thing Dolph is rewind and rewatch material Ryback once I've seen it I've seen it.

Was it Dr. Acula?

He knows alot about people who suck.

:roll::nono:

Dolph is the show off, Ryback is the turn the show off.

I can buy Ryback as a top guy, but not as THE top guy.

I would like to note that I made the previous post before I found out Ryback's inspiration is self help books for middle aged lonely women.

How do you feel now knowing Rybacks backstory and reading habits ?

I feel like the people who think someone like Seth Rollins is a better choice as the face of a wrestling company than Ryback are the same people who think that Chris Benoit should have been the top guy over Goldberg in '98. Or Cena/Batista in '05.

Guys who's personal preferences don't take into account what will drive ratings/who will "cross-over"/what will create the next "boom"? And really, why should any of that stuff have any effect on a persons personal preference?

We've had 10 years of a charismatic, muscled-up face of the company and we're all to a man bored with it. Why would we want the same thing again?

Only he is less charismatic than Cena :|

Why not Bobby Holly and Jeff Jearrett they are legends of Memphis!

Has anyone said Scott Norton yet?

Except that Rollins actually has charisma and a look that would translate well into other things. Benoit was a fugly toad who just happened to be able to wrestle and had the charisma of a stump of wood.

Lol no he doesn't. He's Greg Gagne with a goatee.

Chris Benoit was a great wrestler, but he never had any mic skills. And pretty obvious he never actually drew money. And I don't care what anyone says... The be all, end all in the WWE is how much money is made from a certain superstar...

So lame and contrived. Word on the street is that Ryback Rules.

Shawn Michaels almost carried the company into bankruptcy. ..so i agree zigler could totally do that

Anyone who thinks benoit lacked charisma has no clue what it is. Charisma isnt flash or showmanship its an innate magnetism.

Most people think charisma means being as good as The Rock on the microphone.

This is exactly true

Gonna say after his promo/announcement on Raw, I gotta go with Daniel Bryan on this one. He connects with the audience both young and old. He can work both in the ring and on the mic, and he has that perfect underdog persona that anyone can get behind. I was concerned that the severity of his injuries might not put him in a favorable spot for a major push, but then, Austin broke his fucking neck and came back to totally become one of the biggest names of all time. So yeah, I'm all for Daniel Bryan filling this spot, beating Lesnar and becoming the new face of the WWE.

Exactly charisma is for the most part an intangable thing some people just have Daniel Bryan has it in spades but he isn't The Rock on the mic nor does he have to be,he just connects with people its incredible really. Roman has looks and no charisma and they need to find a way to fix that until then hes as others have said driftwood.

At least what I said was true.

I feel like people are way too hard on Roman Reigns, I don't feel like he's completely bereft of charisma, and he's better in the ring than people say. Like a lot of guys on the roster he is the victim of bad booking, but in his case it's bad...good booking. Like they are pushing him ,but not giving him any interesting feuds or real reason to care about him, it's just like "here is this guy, you should like him because he's cool and he's winning". I don't think you can manufacture a "face of the company", you need the support of creative, but some of it has to be organic or whatever.

I would like to see Cesaro step up. I think if given a legit chance as a babyface he could be THE man, but during his "moment" on Raw he pulled a "Roman" with his "4 ropes... er sides" comment. Maybe Vince was right after all.

If not Roman Reigns, then I'm afraid I've got some Bad News...

Daniel Bryan, definitely. The man essentially stole the main event plans away from Batista last year, and the guy made people boo Shawn fucking Michaels. Now that he is back, he's the only emotional option for me. He's never won a Royal Rumble, never lost the championship, is probably the most perpetually over face they have had in a long time -- fucking go with him. Brock vs. Bryan would also make a WrestleMania classic. Bryan could then make Reigns a star. He'd probably drop the title to Seth Rollins first, but he could always win it back with help from Reigns or something, starting a cold war between those guys.

Dolph is pretty great, but something about him just screams "bridesmaid, not bride" right now. As insane as this sound, I actually think a heel turn later this year could get Dolph to that "permanent" main event level.

Dean Ambrose is one of my favorites, but something just isn't right about him at the moment. It seems like he is stuck in some sort of "I hate this guy and am going to beat him up while being crazy and cheeky about it." I'd like to see him get a "star-making" moment later in the year. Maybe he and Triple H have some sort of brawl at Extreme Rules, and Ambrose wins that?

People are hard on him because of everything you go on to say. Given how long he's been in the business Reigns is pretty much exactly where you'd expect him to be. The problem comes when they want him to be the next Hogan/Austin/Rock/Cena level guy. That's where the expectations rise; he simply has to deliver in more than one area above what everybody else is doing.

If the company will cool off guys like Cesaro and Ziggler because they "can't cut a promo/have no charisma/don't connect", Reigns needs to stand head and shoulders above those other guys.

Your top guy doesn't need to excel in all areas; Hogan had the look, an incredible magnatism, and could cut a promo. Austin was a great all-rounder in fairness, as was Rock; look, character, in-ring but again they had charisma/magnatism in spades. Cena fails on a few areas, his in-ring (like Hogan) isn't great, but he works his ass off in and out of the ring, he's dependable, he can cut a great promo, he's charismatic, he hooks the kids, he's a great poster boy with a great "clean cut" look. Reigns has a look, and at this point, little else. He's got some decent presence but I'm not sure he's got the magnatism.

He has massive expectations to live up to, that's why he gets it hard.

I've been an advocate for Bryan-Lesnar for a long time. Even to the point where if Lesnar is going - and the crowd knows that the title is going to change hands - I think Bryan will be able to get the crowd into the match better than Reigns will.

I'm thinking we could have a Goldberg-Lesnar type situation from WM20; a defending champion who'll be gone from the company the next day and is guaranteed to drop the title against the company's force-fed new "top guy". The result is so telegraphed, will people even care about what happens in the match?

The match itself is likely to be a slow, lumbering, slug-fest. The dynamic of the smaller Bryan trying to pick apart the bigger Lesnar, Lesnar dominating Bryan who refuses to give up and eventually wins out - classic David vs. Goliath.

I agree with you there. You can already feel the smark sentiment is swinging from Reigns, and we were all on his dick when he was the silent tank in The Shield. The WWE have changed the dynamic with him, and he's just not there yet. The company might actually get more sympathy for him if they do "screw around" with his booking. They've booked him so well in a structural sense that it's actually sort of nauseating.

I guess they could gamble and go with Cena vs. Reigns for the World Title to close the show. The anti-smark brigade might be in favor of Reigns then. Still, I could see some sort of "bizarro-world" switch, where they actually begin rooting for Cena. In that case, Bryan could still face Lesnar, but I think it would lack the same power as Bryan reclaiming his championship.

I still think the best foot forward for the WWE is Brock vs. Bryan for the title (featuring Heyman's great promo work), Cena vs. Cesaro (I know the company seems sour on him, but the match itself would be great) and a Triple Threat between former Shield members. In addition to that, you've also got Triple H vs. Sting all but confirmed, and instead of Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker, have Bray single out The Rock for his Hollywood success deceiving people into thinking he some sort of superhero. Five huge matches offering something different, and in some cases, telling a WrestleMania-to-WrestleMania story.

Cena vs. Cesaro is the most unlikely out of all of them, due to Cesaro's positioning on the roster, but you could easily get a great story out of it. The Authority makes Cena vs. Lesnar at the Rumble a Street Fight or something. During the match, Cesaro makes an appearance and attacks Cena. Heyman smiles at Cesaro, who reveals on RAW that he did it because Vince McMahon himself said that he can't grab the brass ring, but he is going to do it this year, and he's re-aligning with the friend that can make it possible.

Cena wants to fight Cesaro for costing him the title, but Heyman tells Cena that his clients don't fight for free. Cesaro will face Cena, but he'll face him in 62 days at WrestleMania. The feud is basically Cesaro messing with Cena, and then bringing out a ring girl with the number of days until their Mania match written on a card. He can also do stuff like tell Cena he is holding off on the match because he wants Cena to be ready -- he wants to face the 15-time World Champion at his best.

What happens to the Cesaro/Kidd pairing? Why not keep it up, and have Kidd also get a good scouting from Paul Heyman? It could further the Kidd/Natalya stories, as Nattie could not approve of Kidd aligning with Heyman and Brock. Kidd says it's the best thing for his career, as Paul Heyman is angling him for an Intercontinental Title match at WrestleMania.

Ziggler vs. Kidd at WrestleMania for the IC Title might seem really unlikely too, but the match itself would be phenomenal, and again, offer a completely different style to the main events. Dolph would be over, Kidd would probably be getting good enough heat, and even if the Kidd push isn't sustained, it would be a nice little Mania moment for a guy who has helped out tremendously in NXT and really worked on developing a character.

Ryback should put all those vanilla midgets in a box and throw it in the ocean.

Or he could literally eat them. That promo on Monday night was clearly hinting at a cannibal storyline.

Ziggler, Ambrose, and Cesaro would all have been decent choices, but WWE Management doesn't see something in them for whatever reason.

I trust Heymans opinion on this. Eleven of the fourteen cocks he's sucked on have been black.

I hope Titus O'Neil is my next cock. :heart:

I would be trying to build Kevin Owens for a babyface run in 2017 (ie Mania 33).

Lesnar would be my pick for walking out with the title at Mania as a babyface., I dont care if he is a part time performer.

If not him, I would be fine with Reigns if the story culminates with Reigns and Rollins for the belt (maybe even throw in Ambrose for fun). I dont see the problem with Reigns. Then again, I dont understand why people booo Cena.

Cesaro, Ryback, Ziggler are all missing something IMO, I cant see either of them being "the guy".

There will be no new star until one of two things happen:

1. Cena suffers a catastrophic injury and they HAVE to make a new star.

2. Kevin Dunn is kicked out on his buck toothed ass.

Honestly, there needs to be a serious faction that is against the authority. It needs to consist of two top stars, a mid card guy, and female, and a manager/cool guy that just hangs with them because.

I know people are going to knock the faction thing, but with multiple people being in that spot, the fans will tell you who they want to be in that spot. Also, it gives a new look to the WWE and they can bring in cool celebrities, athletes, etc to get them "street cred". Also, this means that the people who arent wrestling that night are still relevant and can still bring heat to themselves and the faction.

Orton needs to grow his hair out (if he can), keep the beard or shave it all off, and refresh himself as someone who can flip on anyone at any time and needs to show off some other type of talent (artistic stuff, a particula sport, guitar player, etc) so that people feel they can relate or bring out his personality.

I think the WWE can be BIG, there just has to be a sense of urgency to make Cena look like he is actually have to COMPETE for the title rather than it be "another Cena title match where he overcomes all odds". Hell, SCSA didnt loose too much, but he still did in different ways.

Just ranting, may post more ideas.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.


There's a part of me that agrees with this, but there's also a part of me that says that the WWE will suffer if their "best guy" is out of the storylines for months on end. Case in point - this year. The WWE was actually red-hot until Stephanie fired Lesnar. Once Lesnar was out, the show went to shit. I just think that sooner than later, someone is going to have to go over Lesnar cleanly and convincingly.


If Reigns can somehow connect with the fans more, then I wouldn't mind seeing him be "the guy," but we saw how that panned out this past year. Reigns still has a little ways to go.


Completely agree with you on Ryback.


As far as Ziggler goes, I actually think his 'star' was on the rise a few years back, but the WWE failed to capitalize on it. I think it was a few years ago when Ziggler 'cashed in' on Alberto Del Rios and the roof blew off of the place. Had the WWE gone full force with Ziggler back then, I think he would have had a good chance of succeeding with the push. It's going to be tough to rebuild Ziggler's credibility with the fans, but who knows. I don't think Ziggler would exactly be the next Cena or Stone Cold, be he atleast deserve(s)(d?) a shot.


As far as Cesaro goes, I think the guy is ready, and was ready big time last year. Had the WWE given Cesaro the push that Roman Reigns got (as a face, and letting Cesaro keep 'Swagger's theme'), then I think he would've been huge.


Cesaro is a very solid wrestler, but also had the most 'over' move in the WWE last year with that 'airplane' move. That, combined with the fact the people loved chanting 'We, the people' when CESARO was in the ring duing tag matches, and also combined with the fact that his/Swagger's theme music was one of the most 'over' themes at the time, I think Cesaro could have been huge.


I still have hope for Cesaro, and still think there's a 'window' for him, but we'll see what the WWE does. I absolutely think that Cesaro can be the face of the company if pushed right. Management doesn't seem to think so however.



Dean Ambrose is another guy I'm bull-ish on. Like Cesaro, I feel like the fans would really get behind an Ambrose main-event push.

A re-united Wyatt family unexpectedly going after Seth Rollins and The Authority could be interesting. Wyatt's being bad-ass faces might be interesting and refreshing for their characters.

Cesaro doesn't have nearly what it takes to be "the guy". You need a larger than life personality in some way and/or a look and charisma that gives you an appeal outside of the hardcore wrestling fanbase that is gonna watch him no matter where he is on the card. Cesaro has none of that.

But he's the best wrestler in the world, though.

i'm fine with Lesnar with the title as long as he does a few more matches throughout the year. The title becomes meaningless if it's passes like a hot potatoe every week. The intercontinental and the Us Championships are the ones that should be defended on a regular basis to make up for that gap. The Heavyweight Champion should be a special attraction like it was back when H* had it in the early 80's.

Cesaro has the look and he has/had the fans much like Ziggler, Danielson and various others. Bring back a few managers who can speak, some prerecorder backstage shit and let the guys who can shine, shine. Owens has everything you want in a heel and his body is perfect for being a bruiser.. so he doesn't have a six pack, neither did Dusty or any of the real mean bastards of the 60's 70's or 80's

Cesaro
Ziggler
Ambrose
Sam Zayn
Ryback-provided that they protect him on the mic a little
Hell if Mark Henry could find his passion he could work for a bit.
Give Orton one last shot

In the end it all depends if the Wwe wants to push them in a convincing way while not making everyone else on the list look like shit.

I think thats been pissed away due to injuries.
I would love him as a heel if they could rebuild him

Wondering if the WWE can push Dean Ambrose in a similar way to how they pushed Bryan (i.e. Undersized warrior overcoming odds).

I was thinking about this yesterday. If Management gets on board with this, then I think Ambrose is the guy you push. Ambrose has Foley level crazy in him, and has Scott Hall level bad-assishness in him.

He's not even that small. Just kinda skinny.

<font color=goldenrod>Yeah Ambrose is 6'4". Hardly a vanilla midget. But he's really lanky. Fortunately his attire masks that to a degree. And he's said in interviews that he prefers to wrestle in jeans and a t-shirt over trunks because it's more "realistic" fighting attire, so it'll probably stick.</font>

True.

But seriously - I think Ambrose is a guy that the fans can get behind. He's young, charismatic, had solid wrestling ability, great promo skill, and more importantly, hasn't been in the WWE too long (relatively speaking) to the point where his character is over saturated (i.e. Like a Ziggler, Sheamus, The Miz, etc.).

I always maintain that if a WWE character has been in the company for over 3 years and hasn't done anything significant, their chance of really being "the guy" for the company becomes almost slim to none.

For example - The Rock came here in 96', and made significant strides in 98. Cena came around 2002, and made significant strides in 04'. Austin came in 96 and absolutely blew up in 97'.

Especially in this day and age, if the WWE is serious about a certain wrestler, said wrestler needs to receive a significant push within their first 2-3 years to greatly increase his chances of being "the guy."

Piggy backing off the above argument, I really think the WWE needs to get serious with Ambrose and Bray Wyatt this year as to avoid pissing away their potential stardom.

Yeah, Ambrose woulda been great as the "one man vs. The Authority" angle... Doing the Brock Lesnar method of "taking them out one at a time" until Rollins was finally left unprotected....

Could have even been the guy to beat Brock Lesnar himself. Ambrose would be just "too crazy" to know when a sane person would give up and die, and would get the win in the end....

I think I sort of agree with that.

Would you say that Ambrose has done significant enough things to remain relevant up to this point? The Shield was legendary. He had a lengthy US title run where he defended maybe three times in a year. People are definitely behind him, but he does need to do something pretty soon to remain relevant, I think.

I think he lost a whole lot of relevancy after The Shield broke up... he was on fire for a bit, but then did nothing but continually lose to Seth Rollins/Bray Wyatt. It got to the point where I just didn't take him seriously anymore.

That being said, they then came out of nowhere and moved him into another short feud with Seth Rollins, where again he was on fire (less so then originally)..... He did come out of this feud looking a lot better than he did the first one, even though he still lost....

But pretty much right as that feud ended he went back to being irrelevant and not even being booked on the next PPV.... Not capitalizing on any of that "steam" coming off a MAIN EVENT feud....

My opinion on Ambrose is very similar to Bray, in that, yes, I think both men have done some very significant things to remain relevant to this point. Both guys flourished under stables that were quite over with the fans.

However, having said, both guys need to start going over in a lot of these feuds with upper card wrestlers.......or fans will start getting bored with them. Both Ambrose and Wyatt have done a lot of jobs over the past 1.5 years and have been made to look clearly inferior to their main-event calibre opponents.

If this doesn't change this year, then I think the 'windows' for both Bray and Ambrose could take a massive hit.

Back in the late 90's/early 00's, the "window" was probably about 3 years. In today's day and age however, it may even be less than that due to the advances of Social media' and because attention spans/brand loyalty is far less these days due to myraid of other forms of entertainment out there.

Random thought, but its funny how when i was such a huge fan years ago that people like my older cousins, father, or friends would say 'i dont know who ANY of these guys are except for SCSA, Rock, and UT and for the first two it was because they were everywhere and for UT it was because they remember him when watching it. But people like Jericho, Angle, Brock, etc they didnt know.

I feel myself reacting the same way now. Haven't watched in years and i feel i only know some of the roster. I swear i want to get back into it, im still a fan at heart, but i just want them to give me a reason to watch...like a REAL reason.

The talent is just like some of these companies that have been around for years: too wide of a gap of seasoned wrestlers and entry-mid level people (i mean this in WWE years, not other promotions). There's no one that i can say is "right between Cena/Orton and Ziggler/Caesaro, except for maybe Kane...and i definitely don't want Kane as the champ, sorry.

Even when Bret, Shawn, Henning, Yoko, Lex, and others took over the business and had their era, they still had years under their belt so when Hogan, Flair, Macho and others left, there were people that fans knew already. WWE doesn't seem to have that right now, so they have to keep bringing people back like Batista, Rock, UT, etc.

It's going to be tough for the WWE, but hopefully they can sustain. I also think that ROH or another wrestling company need more exposure but the business isn't what it used to be (with MMA, UFC and others dominating the "sports entertainment" realm) so they (TV networks) wont sponsor another company "just because". On a side note, i also think that social media is hurting rather than helping the WWE because it seems like fans that attend are the same jerkoffs that troll on twitter and forums and don't enjoy the product as much..the writers may have something to do with that as well

Lesnar working a limited schedule I feel works to the WWE's advantage.

It forces the WWE to book him as a special attraction. I dont follow the business side of things as closely as I once did, but I dont think Lesnar as champ last year killed ticket sales to live events. But when you hear he's going to be on TV or a Network Special you go out of your way to see it. In that sense he would be booked for like a UFC champion, which I think is a good thing.

If built correctly, you slowly establish Owens as a killer on the regular roster. Maybe he has a long run with the US title. You build in Lesnar's part time status into the storyline. Owens feels he is already the top dog because he has the US title. He defends it week in week out. Lesnar (through Heyman) says hey thats great, but Brock paid his dues for years, and proved to be a marquee attraction, so he doesnt need to be in Tuscon on a Saturday for a live event (subtly turn him heel for the match). Owens beats him clean at Mania 33 and you hope the crowd is with him.

But I also know Owens isnt the type of guy that WWE will look to lead the company. He will be more of a Daniel Bryan than a Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Good above post CyNick.


The only thing with Lesnar is that there's no way that the WWE can constantly have him be a part-time champ. I do like the idea of building up Owens over the next 1.5 years so that he's ready to be champ by Wrestlemania 33, but I also think someone needs to cleanly and convincingly go over Lesnar well before then (Wrestlemania 32), so that the WWE has a legit 'alpha star' to carry the company on a full-time basis.


My vote would go towards Ambrose or Orton as you know. Ideally, it would be Ambrose because he's not 'saturated' (been around for too long) like Orton, but the WWE seem content in holding him down for whatever reason.


If the WWE can salvage anything out of this year, it would be in giving both Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt very significant pushes and victories over main-event calibre wrestlers in feuds this year. I feel that if Ambrose and Wyatt don't make significant strides this year, then their "window" for becoming a massive star will likely close, and they will go into Sheamus/The Miz/Dolph Ziggler territory.