Who Is The Future Of Wrestling

[Guest Drake]

Who do you guys think will be the biggest star in wrestling lets say 5 years from now that is active on either the WWE or TNA roster?

 

Despite being stuck with the gimmick of doom I still see a huge amount of potential in Rob Conway. Assuming this gimmick doesn't completely kill the guy then I can see him making major strides over the next couple of years.

 

Carlito is going to be a major player in the not to distant future. As long as WWE manage to hold off on pushing him into the main event and turning him face he could very well go on to have a Piper like impact.

 

Shelton Benjamin is the next Chris Benoit, for lack of a better analogy. He's going to be the guy that hovers in the upper mid card/main event getting good matches out of people for years to come and will probably get a decent run at a World Title later down the line. Of course if he manages to improve his mic skills then the sky really is the limit for him.

 

I will alos root for Orlando Jordan to be given a chance to actually do something. I personally think he'd surprise a lot of people given the chance to get his teeth into an actual feud.

 

As far as TNA goes...

 

Lance Hoytt is a run away train right now and if TNA can keep his momentium going then he'll do wonders for them. The fans are getting solidly behind him so all they have to do is keep them there and make sure WWE don't try and snap him up.

 

I'm not a huge fan of his but Monty Brown should be a lot higher up the card then he is. He can talk and his matches tend to be pretty good. Why he's been reduced to a midcard extra I have no idea.

 

And how it is TNA have given Styles so many shots with the NWA Title and not given Christopher Daniels, who in my opinion is a better talker and wrestler, a single run I have no idea. Daniels should be main eventing already let alone in five years time.

[Guest TheShawshankRudotion]

It's kinda hard to see guys who are stuck in the midcard (Carlito, Benjamin, Conway, OJ) and whom are essentially buried by having no direction, as "the future". Back before Benjamin had the "taint" of being on WWE television, it was easier to see him as "the future" because the guy obviously had the skills for it. But hasn't really done anything for a few months and whatever momentum he had is gone and they have to start from square one with him again. It's hard to keep doing that, because the fans will be conditioned to expect him to never make it "over the top" and will just wait for him to be depushed.

 

With Carlito and Conway, I see nothing in their wrestling ability or their gimmicks which say to me "Main Event Superstar". One could say the same thing for John Cena, but at least when Cena was doing his raps he was doing "other" things (hand gestures, catch phrases, crowd participation with mic work, etc.) that made himself marketable and appealed to the audience. I can't name a single Carlito promo that made me want to see him wrestle, so his gift of the gab doesn't carry weight.

 

I like OJ, I think his promos are good and his ring skills are satisfactory. But he is just about toast. The guy has been jobbing and jobbing and jobbing - being JBL's whipping boy has been doing him no favours. Batista was in a similar position with HHH in 2004 and was able to escape it, but Batista is also a huge guy which makes it easier for the audience to believe he can kick your ass - plus they did a nice burn on his turn. Could they do the same to OJ? I doubt it.

 

I can't really see anyone in the WWE at the moment who I could describe as "the future of wrestling". No doubt most of the above will have varied success in the promotion, but when I think of "the future" I think of an "Austin, Rock, Hogan-level" guy. These guys appear to be more like "Jericho, Benoit, Angle" guys.

 

Guys who have impressed me on the independent scene are Jimmy Jacobs, Kevin Steen, Beef Wellington (IWS), and Colt Cabana. Then there are obvious guys like Samoa Joe, American Dragon, and AJ Styles. Sadly, most of these guys are too small to be pushed strongly by the WWE. But, in general, these are guys who I think have the ability to be the future; it's just the chances may not be there for them.

[Coffey]

I don't even know anymore. Nowadays, you can be the hottest shit ever and not learn how to wrestle until a few years after that. If you would've asked me a couple of months ago, I would've said Hassan. Obviously, that's not going to happen now.

 

Most of the people that I think have "the look" are the shits in the ring. Chris Masters comes to mind immediately. I think Carlito has the charisma to get the job done as well...but we'll have to wait and see.

 

Of course, I thought Conway had a shot. Now he has this current gimmick, so I think he'll probably just become another Val Venis. Potential never reached. Of course, he could turn out to be a Rick Rude type character too.

 

I think Paul London could be something despite his lack of size. He brings a lot of energy.

 

I don't see anything in Shelton Benjamin or Orlando Jordan.

 

If I had to pick two people that would be "the future" I guess it'd be Cena and Carlito. They modern era Austin & Rock...but that's REALLY stretching it.

 

TNA? Abyss. Samoa Joe. Alex Shelley. If he's sticking around, Austin Aries. AJ Styles. TNA has a lot of people that I could see as potential stars. Of course, in TNA, wrestling talent matters a lot more than it does in WWE.

[Guest DylanWaco]

Carlito is the closest to matching the WWE requirements, while still having solid "work related" skills. He bumps very well and is a good stooge heel, plus he's got the "pedigree", a good look, is solid on the mic with a neccesary catchphrase and has a charisma suprluss. Still I have my doubts.

 

Benjamin to me is the new RVD in terms of how he is developing. He's a betteer worker than Rob, but he's clearly going for the "top this" style of offense as a signature, while not really developing solidly on the mic. His high risk behavior is his charactor and I'm not sure how the WWE is gonna run with that.

[Guest Drake]

It's kinda hard to see guys who are stuck in the midcard (Carlito, Benjamin, Conway, OJ) and whom are essentially buried by having no direction, as "the future".  Back before Benjamin had the "taint" of being on WWE television, it was easier to see him as "the future" because the guy obviously had the skills for it.  But hasn't really done anything for a few months and whatever momentum he had is gone and they have to start from square one with him again.  It's hard to keep doing that, because the fans will be conditioned to expect him to never make it "over the top" and will just wait for him to be depushed.

 

 

Austin.

 

Foley.

 

Triple H.

 

Three names that I can think of, right off the top of my head who completely go against that theory. If WWE want to push Benjamin (or anyone) who they've left with no direction for an extended period of time it won't really matter what they've done in the past. Because as soon as you give someone that direction people latch onto them and run with them.

 

Look at Chris Benoit. For years they did very little with the guy and people were pretty apathtic to the guy. Then about six months before WM20 they gave him the angle with Lesnar on Smackdown, which people really got into. They gave him The Rumble win. And then the WM main event.

 

Going into and coming out of Mania Benoit was insanely over. And he sustained that pretty much until he lost the title. And then they stopped using him as much and his popularity dipped.

 

People put far too much stock in people not having any direction right now.

 

WWE can and have completely turned that on its head and gotten people hugely over. It just comes down to whether people have the talent and/or patience to wait for it.

 

Hell they managed to make Bob Holly a contender to Brock Lesnar a couple of years ago, and people brought into that. To a degree anyway.

[Guest MJHimJfadeaway23]

The next big star is probably not in WWE or OVW right now. I don't think the next huge star is anyone we know right now.

[Guest EastCoastJ]

I would say that Bobby Lashley, Brock Lesnar and Matt Morgan would be the three guys I could see main eventing in five years time, filling out the main event scene with John Cena, Christian, Batista and Randy Orton.

 

John Cena is pretty much already there. The guy has more charisma, more connection with the crowd, more marketability and more crossover appeal than anyone since The Rock. Plius, if and when his act gets stale Cena has all of the makings of a phenominal heel. His ringwork has nowhere to go but up as well, and he is getting a little better.

 

Carlito is a guy who might be there some day. I swear when he's walking around the outside of the ring and riling up the crowd something about him reminds me of Roddy Piper so much. His look definitely hurts him though. Even moreso than Piper, when he's standing in his gear he just doesn't look like a guy who should be challenging for a World Title.

 

Shelton Benjamin is maybe one of the most overrated guys in terms of potential that I can think of. He's better than most in the ring, but he slips up more than almost anyone. He almost never hits the dragon screw, he can't make his finisher look intimidating and every 50% of his high flying moves involve some kind of a slipup, even before they gave him that new character trait. The guy is poor on the mic and delivers his lines like he is reading off of cuecards. I love Shelton, but I can't see him holding the WWE title for any kind of an extended reign in the future.

 

Chris Masters will be a heel World Champion and a damn good one some day I would bet.

[sek69]

One thing that made Piper great is his kilt was instant heat for everyone. His opponent would get heat for calling it a skirt and Piper would get heat when he'd go nuts over it.

 

Carlito just looks like a doofus with his tropical shirt and out of control 'fro.

[Guest TheShawshankRudotion]

The WWE pushed HHH for well over a year before he started to really take off in the top heel role, and he got over as a face due to being in DX. Austin had Bret Hart to play off of and his promos and ring work are better than any young prospect on the roster. Foley never amounted to the level of being "the future/present", and his immortality comes from writing an awesome autobiography and killing himself in the ring. Yes, it's possible to get out of a rut, but it usually takes extraordinary circumstances to get you out of there and become a big draw.

[Guest SweetMama Scaat]

Chris Masters will be a heel World Champion and a damn good one some day I would bet

WHY? I have no problem with Masters since he kind of Reminds me of Hercules Hernandez. But most people think he sucks and hasnt done anything worthwhile. What makes you think that he could be a good heel Champion?

 

Carlito just looks like a doofus with his tropical shirt and out of control 'fro.

I think his silly appearance would make for good heat. Like when Jericho would wear his ugly pants, loud shirts and crazy beard.

 

The next big star is probably not in WWE or OVW right now. I don't think the next huge star is anyone we know right now

I agree. Five years is a long time. Why is everybody always trying to find out "who the next big star will be in 5 years?" Back in the late 90s ALOT of people thought one of the New Age Outlaws would be carrying the promotion today. Remember how crazy over they were in 98/99? Yeah. Where are they now? Yeah.

 

The next big star has never been around when people were looking for the next big star, and if they were. Nobody thought it would be that person. Cena and Batista were doing bodybuilding or something in 2000. Now theyre the champs.

 

Some others:HBK- Big Run in 96/97, in 1991 he was still part of the Rockers.

Bret Hart- Lets say 1994. In '89 I belive his intial solo push had stalled and the brought back the Hart Foundation?

The Rock- 99/2000. Hadnt even debuted in 95 and in 96 was the least popular wrestler on the roster

JBL- heh. 2004. In 99 he was part of the acolytes. He gave up his redneck, bullrope carrying, puerto rican hanging ways and teamed up with civil rights activist and whitey hater Farrooq so they could worship their own personal Satan, The Undertaker.

 

This list could easily go on.

 

 

IN 2010 the world champ could be anyone from Antonio the Hearthrob to Hedeinreich. Theres jus no telling.

[Guest Alfdogg]

HHH

[Loss]

I'm surprised Trevor Rhodes hasn't been mentioned yet. Those who have seen him seem to be very high on him. Maybe by that time, Harry Smith will be looking to wrestle stateside as well.

[Guest EastCoastJ]

WHY? I have no problem with Masters since he kind of Reminds me of Hercules Hernandez. But most people think he sucks and hasnt done anything worthwhile. What makes you think that he could be a good heel Champion?

Most people are pretty shortsighted though when it comes to writing someone off immediately. Chris Masters doesn't suck, he's just inexperienced. WWE pulled him up to the full time roster when he had roughly two years of experience as a part time wrestler. Masters wasn't the one who injured Stevie Richards, WWE were the ones who threw Stevie Richards into an unsafe working environment because they were too stupid to realize Masters wasn't capable of protecting his opponent in the ring yet. It would be like a hospital bringing a med school student in to perform surgery and then when he fucked someone up saying 'Well that kid sucks with a scalpel". Most people hate on him as a crappy worker because they don't realize he's in over his head and it wasn't his decision to be put in that position.

 

Masters has incredible heel presence I think, and his mannerisms from his entrance to the subtle stuff in the ring in spectacular. The Full Nelson isn't a move that should conceivably be over anywhere anymore, but watch the heat Masters get when he locks it on. Masters got the crowd to rally behind Sgt. Slaughter and Val Venis in ways that they haven't rallied behind either guy in a long, long time when he had them in the hold. People were going crazy when he had it on Shelton Benamin. The guy is solid and improving on the mic, and getting better in the ring. The most remarkable thing is his poise despite being in over his head, as Masters is only 22 years old. The guy has a bright, bright future I think.

[Guest TheAnvil]

Another thing about Masters is that you can see him becoming more comfortable with his role. His first few appearances on RAW you could tell he was nervous, and he wasn't really fluid. You can see in his entrance, and the way he carries himself that he's learning from his experience, and I think he'll improve more and more in the next few years.