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Opinion: The State of WWE And It's Future

Quote:

http://www.tpww.net/2017/03/opinion-...nd-its-future/

Taking a look at WWE's current roster of contracted superstars it is, without question, the most talented and diverse acquisition of talent WWE has ever had. While looking in the rearview mirror at roads previously traveled it can be easy to see why the booking today, in particular on RAW, is often not as exciting as roads already traversed. It's easy to see why fans often self-employ themselves in the role of a backseat driver, questioning the direction (and maybe even sobriety) of the WWE driving forward. It is my opinion the WWE is set for more success than ever before as we near the post-WrestleMania season. To understand why take a look at the main-event talent (and those on the cusp of being labeled as such) available to mix and match between SmackDownLive and RAW when the next draft looms:

* AJ Styles
* Baron Corbin
* Braun Strowman
* Bray Wyatt
* Dean Ambrose
* Finn Balor
* Kevin Owens
* Randy Orton
* Samoa Joe
* Roman Reigns
* Seth Rollins

That is the list of wrestlers who will consistently appear, year-round, on whichever show they are assigned to in 2017. When you add the list of part-time talent, even more upswing is apparent:

* Brock Lesnar
* John Cena
* HHH

I have left off Undertaker and Bill Goldberg from the above list, since both are rumored to finish up their runs with WWE at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando. However, should either decide to continue wrestling, their starpower will equal the three names above. The Undertaker and Bill Goldberg are not the only talent rumored to be wrapping things after WrestleMania, as the following wrestlers are expected to end their runs with WWE in the near future:

* The Big Show
* Chris Jericho
* Kane
* Mark Henry

Before the above wrestlers retire from in-ring competition (though in Jericho's case a return down the line is possible) all will be used to help elevate the 11 names near the top of the piece further. Next, take a look at wrestler's currently on the cusp of the upper-mid card/main-event scene, who could possibly flourish after a draft:

* Austin Aries
* Big E
* Cesaro
* The Miz
* Xavier Woods
* Sami Zayn

Wrestlers like Cesaro or Zayn could rise to the top if transferred from RAW to SmackDownLive, while both Big E and Xavier Woods could heavily benefit if The New Day breaks up in 2017. Both have the mic skills and charisma to shine as singles stars, in Big E's case as a face and in Xavier Wood's, as a heel. Austin Aries has only recently returned from injury but with his popularity, promo skills and technical prowess he likely won't be relegated to the cruiserweight division for long. Lastly, let's take a look at whose around the corner from showing up on RAW or SmackDownLive in some capacity:

* Hardy Boys
* Kurt Angle
* Shinsuke Nakamura

The Hardy Boys would be returning to WWE likely around mid-summer and in the middle of a career resurgence. At one time Jeff Hardy was among the top merchandise sellers in all of WWE so the popularity and name-value of The Hardy Boys should not be taken lightly. Kurt Angle is rumored to replace Mick Foley as the GM of RAW after WrestleMania, with the possibility of a final match in his future at a big event. Whether that final match would be at SummerSlam or WrestleMania, regardless of who it was against, Angle would take on the role Sting and Bill Goldberg have recently, of the veteran returning for a final run. Both Sting and Goldberg's runs have been considered wildly successful and there is no reason to doubt Angle's would not be a slam either. Shinsuke Nakamura is likely to be called up to the main roster soon from NXT as he has run his course there in the NXT World Title Picture. Shinsuke could have a major impact on the main roster, and would assuredly be given a top spot, not unlike Samoa Joe or Finn Balor.

There are a few talents I see as having their remaining time in WWE marked as less stellar than their future, those being Shane McMahon (who is speculated to be leaving after WrestleMania season as well), Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler and Big Cass. In the case of Sheamus and Ziggler it is a matter of too much inconsistent booking over too many years for fans to invest in them as top-tier talent again. In the case of Big Cass, it isn't that he did anything wrong, infact at one point earlier this year Big Cass was looked at as a potential breakout star -- It is more that the role he would occupy has seemingly been snatched by the more talented Braun Strowman and Baron Corbin. The other thing that hurts Big Cass is he suffers from the infamous case of "does not look fit, does not look flab" so WWE might struggle in how to market him via the color commentary during matches.

Overall, the list of four talents whose best roads have "already been traveled" does not equal the numerous talents above whose best roads are in front of them, in particular the eleven names mentioned at the top of this article. The road ahead, though possibly filled with some questionable turns and routes, is ultimately about the destination. WWE's destination for the future is bright and bountiful, so stay tuned, the possibilities are plentiful and positive for fans in 2017.

Baron Corbin is fucking aweful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruien (Post 4939281)

Baron Corbin is fucking aweful.

Stop that, Baron Corbin is decent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Vic (Post 4939288)

Baron Corbin is fucking aweful.

More like "Awe filled" :)

Because he leaves the crowd awe-filled.

He is the lone wolf, he walks alone

Baron Corbin also has the ONLY good titan-tron in the WWE today.

The state of WWE is Connecticut and I'm sure it will be around for a long time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Widow (Post 4939301)

The state of WWE is Connecticut and I'm sure it will be around for a long time.

Black Widow is STD

Quote:

yles
* Baron Corbin
* Braun Strowman
* Bray Wyatt
* Dean Ambrose
* Finn Balor
* Kevin Owens
* Randy Orton
* Samoa Joe
* Roman Reigns
* Seth Rollins

if this is the future ofthe company they're in big trouble

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destor (Post 4939303)

if this is the future ofthe company they're in big trouble

Absolutely this!

A massive list of great talent, but still no true stars. Whether that is by design is open to debate, but you can only get to a certain point without them.

Yeah. As far as talent from a purely in-ring standpoint I guess you could definitely make the argument that the roster is the best it's ever been. That doesn't matter all that much when none of them are stars though. You could put a lot of the blame on the booking but I don't think that's gonna change any time soon. They're definitely not gonna carry the company to new heights.

I fux with Baron Corbin. All the rest of this is speculation.

A lot of potential but unless they find a better creative philosophy overall they'll have trouble rising above the current plateau.

Smackdown and NXT exhibit great creative philosophies, so it's not like it's outside of the realm of possibility.

Most definitely the best roster they've ever had from an in ring perspective. A lot of guys who have star potential but every time someone takes a step forward WWE finds a way to push them 2 steps back. Honestly Seth being hurt has been the best thing for his career I think. Same with Finn, guy will be huge when he returns as they had already made him a big deal coming in and he didn't have to deal with any silly booking or had to make Roman look strong, although that's probably coming.

How can guys in their early forties and late thirties be the future of the company? They need to be THE PRESENT. Unless you're referring to next year as "THE FUTURE" this is pretty dumb.

John Cena
39 years

Bill Goldberg
50 years

Undertaker
51 years

Brock Lesnar
39 years

Samoa Joe
37 years

AJ Styles
39 Years

Finn Balor
35 years

Pull the fucking trigger, basically. Time is running out.

AJ Styles is 39?

Christ, he's looking good.

AJ Styles wrestled in WCW.

Seems weird to think about.

On paper, the roster they have has a tons of potential and arguably the best ever in terms of in-rings skills but Vince and Creative have been the biggest obstacles for turning that into a pool of big and mega stars.

Part of it is due to how horrible Creative has been since the end of the Attitude Era outside of brief periods and part is due to Vince only caring about recreating the Cena era in regards to all the real focus being put towards just 1 person.

16 years ago

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EqaLHQp81BQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Owens, Rollins, Wyatt, Styles, Rusev, Strauman, Balor, Miz, Ambrose, Nakamura, Reigns, Samoa Joe, Corbin, Harper, Aries, Roode, Cesaro, Sheamus, Ziggler, Zayn, Big Cass, Jinder, Enzo, etc. Of course Cena, Orton, Brock, HHH, Taker, Jericho, and Big Show coming and going, with the occasional Rock, Austin, Flair, Hogan, HBK drop-ins for a big feel atmosphere. Potential on-screen characters like Shane, Steph, Bryan, Foley, a returning Angle, Hardys, Shelton Benjamin (can't believe I didn't see names like Shelton, Rusev, or Harper on here. I know I'm forgetting people, and maybe just missed their names, but Rusev is top tier, Harper is entertaining, and Shelton Benjamin returning .. If Angle comes in and Benjamin debuts, they should bring back Haas, and have Angle manage a group of Benjamin, Haas, and American Alpha. Would feel a bit of a sting because there's no more Swagger to add though :-/ .. Anyways ...) Then the tag teams with Gallows/Anderson, New Day, American Alpha, Usos, Rhyno/Slater, and the other nonsense teams like Vaudevillians, Ascension, Hype Bros, etc. The Cruiserweights with Neville, Aries (who I mentioned, but I really like Aries. Guys like him, Roode, and Nakamura are guys I always wanted to see in the WWE), and all of 205, and of course the women with Charlotte, Sasha, Nia, Bayley, Mickie, Becky, Bliss, Nikki, Natty, Carmella, etc., along with Divas/Valets like Lana, Maryse, etc. The talent and characters are there in every division, a lot of fresh faces (even the announce teams and interviewers). It's the best ingredients the WWE has ever had, with plenty of PPVs to go with Raw, SD!Live, NXT, and 205 to spread everyone around, it's just the same shit since the decline - Can the writer's use these ingredients and make the right recipe.

Look at that block of text

I'll help ya out little buddy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emeye (Post 4939555)

Owens, Rollins, Wyatt, Styles, Rusev, Strauman, Balor, Miz, Ambrose, Nakamura, Reigns, Samoa Joe, Corbin, Harper, Aries, Roode, Cesaro, Sheamus, Ziggler, Zayn, Big Cass, Jinder, Enzo, etc. Of course Cena, Orton, Brock, HHH, Taker, Jericho, and Big Show coming and going, with the occasional Rock, Austin, Flair, Hogan, HBK drop-ins for a big feel atmosphere. Potential on-screen characters like Shane, Steph, Bryan, Foley, a returning Angle, Hardys, Shelton Benjamin (can't believe I didn't see names like Shelton, Rusev, or Harper on here. I know I'm forgetting people, and maybe just missed their names, but Rusev is top tier, Harper is entertaining, and Shelton Benjamin returning ..

If Angle comes in and Benjamin debuts, they should bring back Haas, and have Angle manage a group of Benjamin, Haas, and American Alpha.

Would feel a bit of a sting because there's no more Swagger to add though :-/ ..

Anyways ...) Then the tag teams with Gallows/Anderson, New Day, American Alpha, Usos, Rhyno/Slater, and the other nonsense teams like Vaudevillians, Ascension, Hype Bros, etc.

The Cruiserweights with Neville, Aries (who I mentioned, but I really like Aries. Guys like him, Roode, and Nakamura are guys I always wanted to see in the WWE), and all of 205, and of course the women with Charlotte, Sasha, Nia, Bayley, Mickie, Becky, Bliss, Nikki, Natty, Carmella, etc., along with Divas/Valets like Lana, Maryse, etc.

The talent and characters are there in every division, a lot of fresh faces (even the announce teams and interviewers). It's the best ingredients the WWE has ever had, with plenty of PPVs to go with Raw, SD!Live, NXT, and 205 to spread everyone around, it's just the same shit since the decline - Can the writer's use these ingredients and make the right recipe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destor (Post 4939303)

if this is the future ofthe company they're in big trouble

Nah because it is more about the brand than the performers. If the performers are serviceable to express the brand's message they'll be fine.

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Originally Posted by Dastardly Dale Newstead (Post 4939565)

Nah because it is more about the brand than the performers. If the performers are serviceable to express the brand's message they'll be fine.

Absolutely diagree. Mania isnt headlined the guys of now for a reason. They want have throwback guys in 10 years to keep the numbers up. The business needs stars, the brand isnt enough. Long term its a horrble model.

Exactly. The brand isn't just valuable because it's "got a message" and some serviceable performers are expressing it. You need substance and star power for it to have value. You take out all the stars and over time, the brand is worthless. Right now it's still thriving on the ability it had to make stars in the past.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destor (Post 4939567)

Sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder, so if say a guy like Orton or Cena come back as a nostalgia act after disappearing for years it could be effective.

I don't think it's ideal, but one of the benefits of being the only show in town.

Why did you use Cena and Orton as examples there? Because they're stars.

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Originally Posted by #1-wwf-fan (Post 4939570)

Why did you use Cena and Orton as examples there? Because they're stars.

And I'd hardly call eith guys from the "now era"

both are in their twilight years

but they'd be the next nostalgia acts that show up to headline manias. And I'd never say they were stars of anywhere near the magnitude of The Rock but they'd still fill the gap.

Someone else will fill that void, of "Star" that isn't quite on the Rock's level.

I'd be happy if you guys were right though. It'd maybe push them a bit harder to actually make a relevant, cohesive product I could consistently watch.

My point is though that the "now" guys cant weild that torch. Kevin Steen, Tyler Black, AJ Styles, etc

These guys are not going to show up in 20 years and mean anything. It would be like Psycho Sid Showing up in 2012 to face Cena at wrestle mania. it wouldnt mean anything.

These guys arent stars. they're good acts...for now...for the mid card.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dastardly Dale Newstead (Post 4939573)

They'll fill the gap to a lesser extent than The Rock though. And Orton would fill the gap to a lesser extent than Cena. Basically how well they would fill that gap is based on their star power. Not just because they were gone for a while and now they're a nostalgia act. They have to be a nostalgia act who is over. Which is the point we're making. If they don't make stars, there's no one to fill the gap.

These things kind of have a way of working themselves out. It may not be an Owens or a Rollins, but some kind of barnstormer you least expect as what happened with Rock and Austin. They caught their strides seemingly out of nowhere and never looked back.

So yeah you may be right with the list of guys it may not work out, but this is a company with infinite resources and although sometimes they are fucking retarded, have a keen eye for talent.