The Future of Wrestling

A little bit about me (self indulgence) as an introduction:
I am 29 years old and love wrestling. Ever since I was about 5 years old I have watched the product and as I got older I read as much as I could about the industry. I absolutely love the real life aspect to wrestling, the business, the money making machine that it is, how it has come from a circus act to a multi billion dollar industry. I really enjoy discussions and debate over the attitude era and how people perceive that to be the best time for the industry and the product itself. Whilst I agree that as a fan it was the most entertaining time, there was a lot of dross given to us at the time. The key factor behind the boom at that time, was competition. Once the competition was gone, there was a severe dip in the product. As a fan of the product, I want to see a product with good story telling and meaningful feuds, as a fan of the industry I want to see it as a sustainable entity. Which leads me on to Wrestlemania 29 and the future thereafter:

Current top level stars:
Rock - WWE Champion
Jericho - Star Treatment in the Rumble
HHH - Mania Cert
Lesnar - Mania Cert
Undertaker - Mania Cert (potential Headline)
CM Punk - Champ for 434 days
Cena - Stalwart at main events
Ryback - New star made very well in the last year.

There's the top guys in the company currently. 5 of these guys have wrestled less then part time over the last year, yet Mania season is upon us and the card will more than likely be shaped by these stars. I have been reading over the articles after the Rumble and subsequent Raw, and can see that people are split over the decision to put the strap on Rock and off Punk. I think it would be clear to say that in terms of making money the obvious choice is Cena Rock 2 to headline Mania for the WWE championship. This did the best numbers they have had last year and Rock, regardless of his schedule is the biggest star that the company have got. He is mainstream, Vince has always wanted that elusive mainstream acceptance and all the riches that it brings. So our first match for mania is almost certainly set.
Rock v John Cena for the WWe championship

Another star who will give WWE mainstream exposure is Brock Lesnar, a man who has managed over a million PPV buys at a single event (during his UFC run) the first person to do this since Mike Tyson. Brock has signed an extension to his contract and we can expect him to be at Mania. Obviuosly the WWE have thrown quite a lot of money at Brock to get him to stay on and you would have to imagine they would want him to bring in a good buy rate at mania for their money. So that means he needs to be fighting a huge name... You could argue they should use Brock to "make a new star" but Vince will want to see a return on his money, and he can point to Mania figures as justification for the huge salary paid to Brock. Contenders then would be: Undertaker, HHH, Ryback. Comparisons between Ryback and Goldberg have been made constantly since this character was presented, and due to the poor showing between Goldberg and Brock I wouldnt expect to see this one. Undertaker's age and shape would suggest he wont be facing Brock this year, Taker will need someone to carry a lot of the workload so that would likely rule Brock out. Which leaves us with HHH. HHH will no doubt be looking at Brock and seeing the $$$ that he could bring and being involved in a match with Brock would essentially let him claim to have brought in the money. Match 2 Brock Lesnar v HHH 2

Undertaker: HHH has announced that Taker will be coming back and that surely means he will be at mania. But who does he go up against, Cena, Rock, HHH and Brock are all busy already. The streak will not end... so which wrestler can make us believe that it is in danger, and also carry Taker to an adequately high quality match. Could Ryback go up against the Deadman? Potentially yes, could he be deemed a believable threat to the streak? probably yes. However, the loss to the taker would mean another defeat at a major event for Ryback and he is in danger of having too bad of a loss/win ratio at the PPVs... Step up Mr Punk. The best wrestler in the world could surely carry Taker to a great match at Mania and given the last couple of years that he has had would certainly be a threat to the streak. Match 3 CM Punk v Undertaker - The Best in The World against The Streak

So there's 3 of the main matches that we can expect to see at Mania. Taker, HHH, Brock, Rock: 4 guys from the past and Cena and Punk, two top guys for the last few years. People are always crying out for WWE to "make new stars" and yet the best way to go from a money making perspective is still reliant on older guys/part timers. This isnt necessarily a criticism, but more a question of how they are supposed to do this.
Jericho is on the list of top stars, given his positioning from the rumble match and crowd reaction. He is likely to enter a feud with Ziggler, based on the rumble and following Raw. Jericho has acted as a jobber to the up and comers so much since his previous return that people have questioned whether going over him actually elevates anybody... Could we see Ziggler v Jericho at Mania, potentially for the WHC? It is a possibility, would that bring in buy rates? would Ziggler going over Jericho elevate him? If they went this way we would have 4 matches made for mania, all including an older star/part timer, is this detrimental to the product?

What about Ryback then? Where does this new star fit into the top show of the year? WWE have done an excellent job with Ryback, they have made a star and the reaction he gets in arenas is superb, but what to do with him at Mania.They have the potential to do great things with Ryback but I feel that his PPV record is hindering him, whilst putting him in with top guys has made him believable as a top level player, he must start to pick up wins at the PPV’s to be believable going forward. I would have him go at one of the mid level titles, preferably the intercontinental championship. I remember watching Bret Hart beat Mr Perfect for the IC title and then Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon feuding over it. It was always a big deal and as a youngster it was the title that I wanted to hold. I’d have the Barret Barrage continue for the next month or so, then have Ryback challenge for that. Babyfaces have the two main titles currently and Ryback needs to feud with a heel. Have him go over Barrett at Mania, and carry it until Mania 30 where we could have Cena v Ryback title v title ala Hogan v Warrior at Wrestlemania 6.

The level just below these guys would include: Orton, Sheamus, Big Show, Daniel Bryan, Kane, ADR... I'd expect to see an Orton heel turn soon enough setting up a feud with Sheamus, In the time between now and Mania, can they get enough interest in an Orton Sheamus feud to make it a big enough deal for Mania?

Kane and DB's comedy act has been excellent television, and the inevitable break up of the team will have viewers’ interest. This will be a valuable addition to the mania mid card. You would have to expect DB to go over in this one, but again Kane has been around for many a year too, which is emphasizing the lack of new star quality brought through in previous years.

ADR got the strap to try and enhance the hispanic audience the WWE has, can we see him continuing with the strap til mania?? if so who would he likely face at the event?
Mark Henry?
Big Show will have had his feud by then surely... Mark Henry is supposedly fit and ready to return, his heel run last year would be an excellent foil for ADR's babyface character, and could give a good match for mania. ADR lost the title in the first match at WM27... has his star risen any higher for this year's mania? or would this likely be the opener again in a star packed card.
Once again though, Henry isnt a young guy, so yet another match with an old timer.

The question then is: How do WWE make the next generation of stars? Is Mania not a place to bring them in? What does this mean for future Wrestlemania's with rumours of Taker continuing at least til 30 and Austin rumoured to be returning for one more too, the card seems to be packed every year with old stars, to bring in the lump of cash for one show. For the future of the company, this trend will have to change surely?

Wrestlemania 29:
WWE Championship - Rock vs John Cena 2
Streak - Undertaker vs CM Punk
Brock Lesnar vs HHH 2
IC Title - Ryback v Wade Barrett
Daniel Bryan vs Kane
WHC (a)ADR vs Mark Henry – maybe Ziggler cash in, then title match for Jericho??
WHC (b)Ziggler vs Jericho
Randy Orton vs Sheamus

Stars on the rise - The Shield, Rhodes, Sandow, Miz, Cesaro, Prime Time Players. These also rans… these are the future of the company, is a Money in the Bank a way of giving these guys their moment, or should they be given their own slots to perform?

Where do you see things going? Thank you for taking the time to read this, I tried to stay away from fantasy booking and look at it from the business point of view, whilst I know a lot of people wouldn’t necessarily go down the route of these main events from an entertainment point of view, it is what I would expect to see Vince do.

To answer your question
"How do WWE make the next generation of stars?"

One answer is to not have them job out their title in what, 10 seconds? Who did they snap up from WCW circa2000 to book that nonsense? There are some potential big money matches on there. You don't have to scrap them and replace established stars with potential stars. But they do need to take more care of the newer talent rather than taking the easy way out. Oh, lets make a tag match. Throw him in a Money-In-The-Bank match. Lets make a 20 man battle royale. Lazy booking!

Look at the earlier Wrestlemanias. They had a lot more matches, and as a consequence some of them were much shorter. But more people got a moment to shine at the big one. And even when they were lower card matches, there was still some build up, rather than a last minute "that'll do"

So yeah, keep the belts away from the future HOF part-timers, they don't need it. Move forward from Cena. Not that he's done by a long shot, but the man can't go on forever and the next Company Face will be so much more over if he hits top spot with Cena still there. And if the part-timers can't commit to a decent enough schedule (Rock's is kinda ok I guess... Brock's is a joke) then they're doing more harm than good when they're used to go over the mainstay talent. If people wanna see HHH face Brock again, whatever, but don't use either to derail say Ryback.

Ultimately, the best thing that could happen is the dregs of the Attitude Era disappear for good and they're forced to use new talent. I mean, that's how it got going in the first place when near everyone jumped ship (even Mike Enos) to WCW.

Mike Enos!! was he one of the Beverley Brothers?? haha!!

agree with you about Brock's deal... its a farce!! apparently he is down for 3 PPv's over the next year... disgraceful!!

I can see why there is a backlash of bitter resentment at present in regards to Mania in that despite the hardwork of many 'new' stars this year WWE are dragging out the stars of yesteryear for a quick buck.
But I think WWE have done really well of late to push the next generation through especially since Trips has become more hands on in his role.

Whilst back at the beginning of the Attitude Era it became sink or swim when the main stars all jumped ship to WCW and they had no choice but to push new stars. Now they're bringing through a new generation but have the comfort zone of the big names to still generate the casual fan purchase.

They do have a comfort zone, yes. And they should use this comfort zone and past experience to get the new guys over properly. If Rock vs Cena is the money match, go for it (it doesn't need a strap, nothing will convince me of that). Have the old timers come out for their moment too, but not at the expense of the current full time roster. These guys give up everything for the business and don't even get a WM paycheque as a bonus. And if they do make it on the card, you'll get a joke match like Daniel Bryan and Sheamus. HHH vs Undertaker III could've been shortened by a ball hair to give those two a decent showing.

As an example of the older Wrestlemanias. Number 7, look at that roster. Simply beautiful. But they still gave Shawn Michaels 10 minutes to show what he had, because they knew one day he'd be their main event. They gotta keep looking forward.

imthemoz wrote:Mike Enos!! was he one of the Beverley Brothers?? haha!!

He was! That man had Main Event written all over him.
Would Cody Rhodes be sporting that tasche if Mike Enos never went their first? I'd suggest not. Would Cena have opted for purple without Enos pioneering it first? Unlikely. WWF really dropped the ball on that one.

Haha brilliant!!

This is a very interesting topic, so apart from the obvious next gen.

The Shield, Rhodes, Sandow, Miz, Cesaro, Ryback and apparantly Prime Time Players, who btw i cant stand!! Who else do you see on the current roster beyond that?

I See

Barrett, Brodus Clay (If turned Heel correctly), Kruger, Ohno, Wyatt.

That's just it for me, I don't recall a time in wrestling when Ive been more excited about the future of WWE.

Punk
Daniel Bryan
Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins
roman Reigns
Antonio Cesaro
Kassius Ohno
Bray Wyatt
Luke Harper
Leo Kruger
Adrian Neville
El Generico
Tyson Kidd
Big E Langston
Damien Sandow
Cody Rhodes
Dolph Ziggler

It's a proper IWC wet dream nowadays coming through and yes this Mania is pulling out the big guns to bring in the casual viewer but once they've all had their pay cheques and gone back off to Hollywood or crappy rock bands then these lot will be around to make me Smarkgasm.

Depends how you see WWE capturing an audience. Does it benefit guys like Bryan etc to be seen at his peak by the casual fans? Without Rock v Cena and others involved would Sheamus, Del Rio etc be seen by so many fans, possibly garnering a new audience.

To some extent it is also down to the current stars to earn their spot alongside the giants. Punk has done that.

I'd agree with Hero, there is actually more to be excited about now than there has been in a few years, a lot of that down to how well WWE have reformed NXT.

Notably forgets Ryback, who I think will be a huge fixture.

Id also add The Miz, Kofi and Del Rio as people who could be around in the company for a good few years.

Then theres people not even signed who could come in. I reckon Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle will all have runs with WWE, maybe even Goldberg, runs that will fill slots and elevate other stars.

Sheamus and Orton also still have much to offer.

Suddenly, from thinking WWE might be weak cos of the part timers, you realise they may have slowly built up some people who could be huge.

There will be moments in the future where the likes of Kane, Big Show, Christian, Jericho and Mark Henry are put to bed by younger names. They may not be huge names anymore, but they will be huge scalps for whoever takes them out.

Then theres Cena and Punk, both of whom I believe will pass on the torch in defeat as they leave.

I think it happens with most generations where no new stars are made for a while and there is a big rush, usually every ten years, so the most recent was around 04-05 with Cena, Batista, Edge, Orton all pushed and before that we had Austin, Rock, Triple H, Kane all pushed up. Wrestling is all about cycles so I don't think people should be too worried.