Tomko, Hassan, Simon Dean, Snitsky, Masters were all thrown into the RAW mix with different gimmicks in such a short period of time... It's too early to tell which ones may encounter success in their WWE tenure and which ones will be flops...
On SmackDown!, recent rookies to debut include Carlito Carribean Cool and his protégé, Jésus... Too early to tell for these guys... Interesting gimmick to say the least though...
Many rookies have debuted in the previous years and some of them are headlining the biggest show of the year while others are being wasted away...
ROOKIE BREAKDOWN:
THE BIG 3:
Batista - debuted in that ridiculous angle with D-Von leading to his jump to RAW and stint with Evolution preceeding his face turn... Not the greatest in-ring talent, but works as a strong crowd pleaser with his brute force...
Orton - debuted on SmackDown! as a green up-and-comer upsetting Hardcore Holly... Jumped to RAW, got a push, strong IC title reign, short World title win, made the jump from midcarder to main eventer throughout the previous year... Not yet too polished in the ring but has had some great matches...
Cena - debuted on SmackDown! with a strong effort against Angle... Developed the hiphop persona and teamed with Bull Buchanan for a bit before going solo and turning face... Since then, his gimmick has become a crowd favorite and after a strong US title reign, he is headlining WrestleMania... Developing in the ring, not quite ready for the WWE title, may need a gimmick change soon...
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OTHERS:
Benjamin - debuted on SmackDown! with Haas as Team Angle... A very solid team that carried the tag division during that period with classic matches... Moved to RAW, given a strong push... Picked up several wins over HHH and is now having a IC title run... Future main event prospect indeed... Very strong in-ring worker...
Eugene (Nick Dinsmore) - been made to look like a clown from his gimmick... Has gotten amazingly over with the crowd though and was involved in a brief push against HHH... Not a main eventer, but could be a strong in-ring talent if given a chance to shine in the future... A gimmick change will be key down the road...
Rosey - debuted on RAW with the 3-Minute-Warning angle... The team was struggling and Jamal was released... Rosey somehow stuck around and is amazingly still around... Was given a ridiculous gimmick as the Hurricane's sidekick which has definitely gotten old and has held the Hurricane back... Not much of a talent and will definitely be released down the road...
Sylvain Grenier - debuted on RAW as part of La Resistance (originally with Dupree)... Not the greatest in-ring worker but pretty good in a tag team setting and a former WWE tag champ along with Dupree (and/or Conway)... La Resistance can stick around down the road but may need a manager or some changes to get a good reaction out of the crowd...
Rob Conway - a very solid in-ring talent that was thrown into La Resistance instead of Dupree (a decision that was wrong) and he has been wasted away since then because the crowd has not been able to appreciate his ring work... A team with Eugene (Dinsmore) would have been a good way to get both of them into the mix... Both are underrated in-ring workers... La Resistance will definitely need to be revamped down the road...
Charlie Haas - a hell of a talent... The most under-utilized out of all these rookies, in my opinion... Not a main eventer by any means (not yet at least) but he should have already had a run with the U.S. title... This guy deserves better than a constant spot on Velocity alongside Hardcore Holly jobbing to teams like the Bashams...
Paul London - an excellent cruiserweight pickup for WWE... Will need a push with the Cruiserweight title to get a kick out of the lacking division... Solid worker and puts on consistently exciting matches...
Heidenreich - debuted on RAW (or HEAT) and had a sloppy run... Was given some promos to add some steam to a SmackDown! run... Debuted and got involved with the UnderTaker... Way too much exposure for a talent that is half-decent at best... Going to be released down the road... Pretty sloppy in the ring and his gimmick is executed pretty well, but has gotten old and is not what people want to see when they tune into SmackDown!... Definitely not a main event by any means... He's a modern Nash or Sid, maybe worse... Nash was at least exciting on the mic... And Sid was well, umm, Sid...
Orlando Jordan - debuted on SmackDown! against Cena... Turned heel down the road and joined JBL... Has been given a push lately and he is the current U.S. champion... I think this guy is pretty entertaining and his push is all right in my books... Not going to be a main eventer down the road but is certainly a solid midcard talent to have on the roster...
Basham Brothers - very solid tag-team... Have gotten over way better than anyone in WWE would have expected... I love the switches they do... They are certainly refreshing for the SmackDown! tag scene and have had a good run, especially since aligning themselves with JBL and ditching Shaniqua... Not main eventers but could certainly be a tag-team to remember down the road...
Luther Reigns (Horshu of Powerplant) - debuted in some capacity, I don't really remember... Joined Angle along with Jindrak and it seems as though they are now separating... Has looked very solid lately, both in the ring with his brute style and on the mic with interesting promos... I'm a big fan of this guy and think he deserves a U.S. title run down the road... A feud with Jindrak for the title could definitely be reminiscent of WCW...
Akio - Debuted with Keiji Sakoda to form a stable with Tajiri... Good pickup for SmackDown!... The angle was dropped shortly and Tajiri was sent to RAW... Sakoda was released... This left Akio on his own... Hasn't been given much exposure aside from some exciting matches on Velocity... Will be released pretty soon, I can feel it... A strong cruiserweight nevertheless and his matches with the likes of London, Rey and Kidman have been very exciting... If I were booking, I'd give him a run with the title down the road...
Rene Dupree - debuted on RAW with Grenier... Run as tag champs in La Resistance... For some reason, he was moved to SmackDown! Was given a strong push at first with U.S. title matches... Still a green talent and has been completely burried lately... The future is uncertain for Dupree... Should have been kept in the tag-team with Suzuki, it at least gave him something to do and gave SmackDown! more teams...
Kenzo Suzuki - debuted on SmackDown! not too long ago... Was pushed with promos leading up to his debut... Has definitely disappointed... I personally don't mind the guy and didn't mind his work with Dupree... Definitely not a polished in-ring superstar, but is still decent and can contribute in some capacity... You can't debut new superstars and bury them shortly after because it may kill their career down the road...
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Many of the people that have been debuted within that time period have already been released due to their gimmicks and style being poorly received... Guys like Rodney Mack, Sakoda and Rico are gone... Lots of divas were released such as Gail Kim, Jazz, Nidia and Shaniqua...
It is too soon to tell for Carlito, Jesus, Masters, Snitsky, Hassan, Dean and Tomko... Carlito and Jesus will need more exposure... Masters will need ring experience... Snitsky will need to stop being pushed so hard... Hassan will need to continue racking up victories... Simon Dean will need to be revamped altogether or else he'll be released... Tomko will also need a push of some kind to get back into the scene...
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It's simply amazing how far Cena, Orton and Batista have gone...
Others like Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas have all the potential in the world but it's a steady process... Guys like Haas have been used completely wrong... Benjamin is on the right path though... Strong run since coming to RAW... Haas should be getting a similar run on SmackDown!
Others like Heidenreich will need to be cut down the road...
Will any of the new rookies reach Orton/Batista/Cena status?
Will Shelton/Haas or any others one day reach this status?
What are the opinions on this board?
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