FORECAST: Brock Lesnar (other wrestlers to follow)

**Pepsi Man** · 12-31-2003, 07:59 PM

Are you saying Heyman should give up his GM role for this, or are you factoring that in as an inevitable eventuality anyway? (Naturally, I have not read the SmackDown! spoilers, so if he's "already fired", please don't tell me.)

**Heyman** · 01-01-2004, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepsi Man

Are you saying Heyman should give up his GM role for this, or are you factoring that in as an inevitable eventuality anyway? (Naturally, I have not read the SmackDown! spoilers, so if he's "already fired", please don't tell me.)

I made the post under the assumption that Stephanie (or another McMahon) will eventually replace Heyman as GM. When this happens, I think Heyman should go back to being Lesnar's manager.

**Heyman** · 01-01-2004, 06:53 PM

What Cena has going for him

-GREAT gimmick. He has a gimmick which the fans of today (the target audience) can relate to. In this sense, he is similar to Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and The Rock. Cena's "8-mile" gimmick should be 'cool' for atleast 2-3 more years.

What Cena has going against him

Cena doesn't really have anything going against him right now, but I think it's still too early for him to be main-eventing. In recent memory, he has jobbed to the Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, and Chris Benoit. Because of this - perhaps the fans perceive him to be a mid-carder right now. If he were to be made champ right now, perhaps he would be perceived as more of a 'transitional champ'.

FORECAST

-Have John Cena stay in the US title Division. Let him have a lengthy and successful reign as US Champ. Let him beat the Rhyno's, the Sean O'Haire's, and the Hardcore Holly's of Smackdown. In half a year or so (or even longer) when Cena has CLEARLY established himself as a bona-fide winner, THEN have him move up to the main-event level.

The key however, lies within Cena getting a SOLID title reign as US Champ.

Also - what's the rush? Cena has a LONG career ahead of him. Pushing him too soon to the main-events could actually backfire.

**The CyNick** · 01-02-2004, 03:35 PM

Eddie:

I agree with the concept of keeping CWs separate, in fact I think I recall reading the Lewis-De La Hoya analogy somewhere.....

However, I dont think just because they are CWs that means they have to take a backseat to the heavyweights. In fact many times when it comes to real fighting sports the CWs are actually bigger stars than the heavyweights. Its all about educating fans that you dont have to be 6'4 270lbs to be considered a tough guy.

Now that being said, I dont think Eddie has to be put into a cruiserweight division, in fact I think he can excell at the HVW level. If you look at the summer Eddie was easily the most over guy on the SD roster and he was getting huge pops, especially in areas that have a large hispanic fanbase. And even in terms of ratings he was proving to be a draw, which the WWE hasn't had in years.

All that they needed to make him successful was to have him work with the main event guys and start to go over them. I really think if done right, Eddie should have been set up to challenge Brock for the title in MSG. While Eddie is a smallish guy, I dont think its simply about height and weight, a lot of what makes a legit ME'er is how legit their stuff works. Benoit and Angle are both smaller guys in comparison to a lot of guys on the roster, but because their stuff is so good, people are willing to accept them as main eventer. Whereas depsite the hundred pushes they give him, a guy like A-Train is never accepted, even though he has the size.

The problem of course and its been well documented here is that they missed the boat on when to push Eddie, and now they are pushing him further down the acrd with this fued with Chavo. They need to quickly move him out of that fued, but unfortunately I think he's lost most of the steam he had in the summer, so they'd probaby have to take another 6 months to build him back up. Perhaps a fued with Cena over the US title is the way to go, and they could recreate the magic that Rock and HHH had in 1998. However, another idea, and I think this is a better plan is keep Eddie and Chavo as a team. I think its a rare thing to have a tag team with main event level charisma. If you keep Los Guerreros together, you can put the tag team division in the main event spotlight (which would help out teams like WGTT, Bashams and any other teams that are put together), and you give Eddie a diviison to dominate which keeps him away from the World title picture before he's ready to actually take the title. Then at some point in the future (6-8 months from now) you have Eddie and Chavo drop the tag titles, and Eddie focuses on the singles scene. From there he can go after the WWE Title.

John Cena:

Cena is IMO in the spot Eddie was in the Summer. Its clear the fans like his gimmick (its current and "hip"), and he's a very charismatic guy and has no problems connecting with the fans.

I think they made some mistakes with him early on, especially in the matches with Taker where each time, regardless of the outcome he came out of the match worse off then when he came in. Now, at the same time his matches with Benoit and Angle, where even though he lost, he was put over by both guys and was slighlty elevated. However slight elevations are not going to make him a main eventer.

They seem to have chosen the traditional path of winning the secondary title, and use that to test his chances as a WWE title contender. I'm okay with this plan as long as they do it right. People like Cena, and they will want to see him win, and win a lot. If and when he gets the US title, he needs to dominate the division. If I was booking, I would probably put the title on him within the month and then have him hold it for close to a year. Assuming he's still over, I'd have him drop the title, and then transitiion into a WWE title chase for WM XXI possibly.

The key to remember with Cena is that the window of opportunity closes very quickly with these guys. It doesn't mean Cena needs the WWE title in the next couple of months, but he does need something, but more importantly he has to be booked as a dominant US champ. On top of that, he should be booked as almost being equal to the WWE Champion. In fact they could do something very interesting if Cena is the US Champ and Benoit is the WWE Champ. You could perhaps have a deal similar to ECW where RVD as TV Champ was more popular than the World Champ, which of course could lead to jelousy and a possible fued between the two somewhere down the line over the WWE title.

01-01-2004, 06:53 PM	#3
Heyman Father of Hinduship Posts: 21,083	PROFILE: John Cena What Cena has going for him -GREAT gimmick. He has a gimmick which the fans of today (the target audience) can relate to. In this sense, he is similar to Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and The Rock. Cena's "8-mile" gimmick should be 'cool' for atleast 2-3 more years. What Cena has going against him Cena doesn't really have anything going against him right now, but I think it's still too early for him to be main-eventing. In recent memory, he has jobbed to the Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, and Chris Benoit. Because of this - perhaps the fans perceive him to be a mid-carder right now. If he were to be made champ right now, perhaps he would be perceived as more of a 'transitional champ'. FORECAST -Have John Cena stay in the US title Division. Let him have a lengthy and successful reign as US Champ. Let him beat the Rhyno's, the Sean O'Haire's, and the Hardcore Holly's of Smackdown. In half a year or so (or even longer) when Cena has CLEARLY established himself as a bona-fide winner, THEN have him move up to the main-event level. The key however, lies within Cena getting a SOLID title reign as US Champ. Also - what's the rush? Cena has a LONG career ahead of him. Pushing him too soon to the main-events could actually backfire.

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12-31-2003, 07:59 PM	#1
Pepsi Man Posts: 15,983	Are you saying Heyman should give up his GM role for this, or are you factoring that in as an inevitable eventuality anyway? (Naturally, I have not read the SmackDown! spoilers, so if he's "already fired", please don't tell me.)

01-02-2004, 03:35 PM	#4
The CyNick Make the IWC Great Again Posts: 8,922	Eddie: I agree with the concept of keeping CWs separate, in fact I think I recall reading the Lewis-De La Hoya analogy somewhere..... However, I dont think just because they are CWs that means they have to take a backseat to the heavyweights. In fact many times when it comes to real fighting sports the CWs are actually bigger stars than the heavyweights. Its all about educating fans that you dont have to be 6'4 270lbs to be considered a tough guy. Now that being said, I dont think Eddie has to be put into a cruiserweight division, in fact I think he can excell at the HVW level. If you look at the summer Eddie was easily the most over guy on the SD roster and he was getting huge pops, especially in areas that have a large hispanic fanbase. And even in terms of ratings he was proving to be a draw, which the WWE hasn't had in years. All that they needed to make him successful was to have him work with the main event guys and start to go over them. I really think if done right, Eddie should have been set up to challenge Brock for the title in MSG. While Eddie is a smallish guy, I dont think its simply about height and weight, a lot of what makes a legit ME'er is how legit their stuff works. Benoit and Angle are both smaller guys in comparison to a lot of guys on the roster, but because their stuff is so good, people are willing to accept them as main eventer. Whereas depsite the hundred pushes they give him, a guy like A-Train is never accepted, even though he has the size. The problem of course and its been well documented here is that they missed the boat on when to push Eddie, and now they are pushing him further down the acrd with this fued with Chavo. They need to quickly move him out of that fued, but unfortunately I think he's lost most of the steam he had in the summer, so they'd probaby have to take another 6 months to build him back up. Perhaps a fued with Cena over the US title is the way to go, and they could recreate the magic that Rock and HHH had in 1998. However, another idea, and I think this is a better plan is keep Eddie and Chavo as a team. I think its a rare thing to have a tag team with main event level charisma. If you keep Los Guerreros together, you can put the tag team division in the main event spotlight (which would help out teams like WGTT, Bashams and any other teams that are put together), and you give Eddie a diviison to dominate which keeps him away from the World title picture before he's ready to actually take the title. Then at some point in the future (6-8 months from now) you have Eddie and Chavo drop the tag titles, and Eddie focuses on the singles scene. From there he can go after the WWE Title. John Cena: Cena is IMO in the spot Eddie was in the Summer. Its clear the fans like his gimmick (its current and "hip"), and he's a very charismatic guy and has no problems connecting with the fans. I think they made some mistakes with him early on, especially in the matches with Taker where each time, regardless of the outcome he came out of the match worse off then when he came in. Now, at the same time his matches with Benoit and Angle, where even though he lost, he was put over by both guys and was slighlty elevated. However slight elevations are not going to make him a main eventer. They seem to have chosen the traditional path of winning the secondary title, and use that to test his chances as a WWE title contender. I'm okay with this plan as long as they do it right. People like Cena, and they will want to see him win, and win a lot. If and when he gets the US title, he needs to dominate the division. If I was booking, I would probably put the title on him within the month and then have him hold it for close to a year. Assuming he's still over, I'd have him drop the title, and then transitiion into a WWE title chase for WM XXI possibly. The key to remember with Cena is that the window of opportunity closes very quickly with these guys. It doesn't mean Cena needs the WWE title in the next couple of months, but he does need something, but more importantly he has to be booked as a dominant US champ. On top of that, he should be booked as almost being equal to the WWE Champion. In fact they could do something very interesting if Cena is the US Champ and Benoit is the WWE Champ. You could perhaps have a deal similar to ECW where RVD as TV Champ was more popular than the World Champ, which of course could lead to jelousy and a possible fued between the two somewhere down the line over the WWE title.