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In recent months we have seen the rise of talent in the WWE and TNA who could make it as a top tier guy for the WWE and TNA. Wrestling fans have been wondering who is going to rise to the top and be the next top guy like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and The Rock. We have seen guys come up in the WWE who have replaced them like John Cena who is considered by the younger fans as a hero similar to Hulk Hogan was in the 80’s and early 90’s. Even though John Cena is not the best in ring worker he stills does a great performance with the crowed behind him. Edge is another example he was a tag team wrestler in his early career and has turned out to be the best heel in wrestling for a long time. He has the charisma and the techniques to play a heel and to get the crowed against him. The other guys that they have replaced them with well there are not that many really maybe Batista but WWE has a new set of 5-7 stars who could make it to the top and are at a place where the WWE could give them the chance to shine on the big stage. TNA also has a few stars that could make it to the top if they are patient.
Wrestling fans are at a stage where they want something new and WWE has not really provided it they are still using the same old guys even though they can put on a good match and still get a huge crowed pop they will not be around in 10 years unless they do a Ric Flair. The guys I am talking about are The Undertaker, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels in the WW. This s also the same in TNA like Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, Kurt Angle and Sting.
These guys have been main eventing wrestling for 10-20 years for some of them and that is a long time in wrestling. You can see on television on Raw, Smackdown and TNA Impact how old they really are. Kevin Nash looks like a pensioner on TV trying to hold on. The same for Scott Steiner still trying to gain muscle and look 25 years younger that he really is wrestling fans do see what is going on.
Recently we have seen the WWE make some change they have used Triple H and HBK to put over some talent, which I will talk about in some very good matches recently. The Undertaker maybe is a character you can’t change much and make him lose a few matches but he doe make talent look good especially Batista.
My problem is though when WWE/ TNA do not see it out, they see potential in a star and then a few weeks later they crush that momentum. One example of this was Chris Harris well over with the crowed in 2007 and putting on some great matches in TNA with James Storm and giving a main event spot at Slamiversary. TNA quickly lost faith in him and then jobber him out and recently left TNA. My worry is could WWE and TNA lose faith and do it again in the next few months?
So who are the guys am I talking about?
Recently we have seen a lot of guys get a lot of momentum behind them and some of them could make it to the next step as a top tier wrestler. In the WWE we have Jeff Hardy, MVP, Mr Kennedy, Matt Hardy, Umaga and Randy Orton have all shown signs of having that potential. In TNA Kazarian, Motor City Machine guns, Samoa Joe even though badly booked and James Storm. I will now make a full run down why I think these are the wrestlers who could do it.
Jeff Hardy – He has made the most progress recently and has got the fans behind him big time. In recent months we have seen a star be made, you could see he was going to get a serious push after Survivor Series after his win with Triple H in the Survivor Series Tradition Match. Jeff Hardy has been made to look like a top tier star by being given time on the mic to establish his character and to get a huge baby face reaction. His matches have always been of high class and his recent match with Umaga was a great moment for him doing the whisper in the wind of the top of the Cage. The recent push for Jeff Hardy has been top class beating Triple H becoming the number one contender and his feud with Randy Orton for the WWE title has a lot of potential. Now will the WWE keep his momentum going or will Jeff Hardy wan to continue because he doe have a history of backing out of wrestling.
Matt Hardy – This guy must have a lot of bad luck never seen by WWE as a top guy but always has lots of potential. In his recent feud with MVP we have see more growth. Matt Hardy has always been a guy who an make it to the top but Vince McMahon has never really seen it he still believe a muscle big man can main event more. His matches are usually on a good level, by far one of the better in ring workers on Smackdown, but he does not have great mic skills sometimes. But he is over with the crowed and they love him. I suppose only one brother can make it and Jeff Hardy looks favorite. I would love to see Jeff Hardy Vs Matt Hardy at Wrestlemania in a main event spot a year from now. Matt Hardy does have it but will the WWE let him if he does comeback in a feud with MVP then he’s on the right track.
MVP - Considered by some as a waste of time when he joined in 2006 but over the last year we gave seen the rise of a top heel being taken seriously which has been rare in the WWE as we have not seen that many heels being made that are given serious roles in the company. MVP has a chanced to be even more of a top heel if pushed correctly and not jobbed out to keep The Undertaker busy or Batista. I found that his potential started when he ended his feud with Kane in 2006 when he got burned. MVP/ WWE wanted the fans to feel sorry for him but they were not buying and made him more of a heel. Recently over the last 6 months in his feud with Matt Hardy he has been brilliant and has shown true character of what MVP is and about. Avoiding everything he can do to make sure he never defends the US Title against Matt Hardy. A different type of heel his in ring work has improved and potential is there for him to be a great heel main eventer. The same question goes for him will WWE let him be that top heel in the next year or will he full down the pecking order to job out to Kane again.
Mr. Kennedy - This guy is my favorite wrestler in the WWE at the moment because his heel character is great and his vocal entrance to get noticed is brilliant. A heel who always wants to be heard, totally different from MVP and Edge as he has a lot of cheekiness and bragging in him. Even though all heels brag he does it differently. This is a wrestler who has the potential to also make it big his feud with HBK has been above average and has given Mr Kennedy the stepping stone to get over with the crowed as a good in ring performer and also a serious heel. Thus is what HBK should be used for because it will not hurt him losing a few matches to the likes of Mr Kennedy, the fans will still cheer for him and will still be a top guy. The problem with Mr Kennedy now is that with JBL on Raw now he could be lost in the pile and not be used as a serious heel but we will have to wait and see. A guy with great potential if he gets the chance to main event one day he will not disappoint.
Umaga – This guy is by far the best monster heel of this decade to come through the WWE. The way WWE has built him up has been strong when he first come in and looked a serious challenge to the WWE title and he was. Having a great match with John Cena at the Royal Rumble last year made him a top guy in my opinion. If I was Vince McMahon I have Umaga face The Undertaker at Wrestlemania and make Umaga a serious opponent for him. Umaga has potential and a feud with The Dead Man is what he needs to make a serious push again in the main event. The fans see him as a top heel with his monster look but his character has got lost recently. But if given the time again he can become a top star for the WWE.
Randy Orton – A lot of people seem to hate this guy's attitude, his in ring work, and lack of respect but I see that he has huge potential to be the top heel for the WWE RAW brand for a long time. When joining the WWE he has had potential from the get go but never seriously got pushed and WWE lost interest. It was not until when he joined Evolution you could see his potential. But in 2007 his heel character as the legend killer which has been used for a while now has really took off with the way he has been portrayed as a career potential threat to the older guys like HBK and RVD. I was happy he got the WWE title and Vince McMahon has gotten behind him to carry the company lately. Still needs a lot of work to become a top serious long term heel in the main event scene, but if he continues to grow he could main vent for 10 years. His feud with Jeff Hardy has been excellent and the way they have built it up with to younger guys head to head for the WWE title has been top class.
Those are the WWE guys now the TNA guys. With the way TNA is right now they don’t know the meaning of the word next group of stars. But here is my run down of also I think who could make it big for them.
Motor City Machine Guns - This is a tag team that has been given some time by TNA and have pushed them quite well. They are a tag team that remind me of the Old Rocker Marty Jannetty and HBK. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley both have great wrestling abilities and have great chemistry as a tag team. Previous matches in TNA have shown them they can get a great crowed reaction. TNA could really push these two to the top of the Tag Team Division and be the next top team ahead of Team 3D and VKM. But remember this is TNA and anything can happen! The crowed is certainly behind them like LAX so who knows next year or sooner they could be TNA Tag Team Champions.
Samoa Joe – Why Samoa Joe he is a wrestler who has not really done well in TNA in 2007 and one too forget. With lots of ability fans have waited for TNA to put the World title on him to carry the company but it has not happened yet or will it? Samoa Joe has had some of the best matches in TNA showing why he is proven to a top level performer. A lot of people thought his feud with Kurt Angle would take him to the next step to be a main event player for TNA but it hasn’t happened even though he has main evented it has not been taken seriously. At the moment he is in a big feud with Kevin Nash it may not be the feud he’s been in looking for a great match but they could use it to help develop Samoa Joes look again and move him back up. Wrestling fans have turned on Samoa Joe in recent weeks and a few boo’s starting. Maybe turn him heel he may do better! A wrestler who deserves more to be in the main event guy in TNA but may not get a serious chance again.
James Storm – One of a few good heels in TNA right now but sometimes made to look like a joke. When he first singles run started I was a bit sceptical about how they would play his character but he has show he can be a top level heel. Now if he ends this ever lasting feud with Eric Young he can be given a shot at the big time in my opinion. TNA can give him a chance and should because he has shown potential to be a main event heel for the company long term. He can have great matches like the one with Chris Harris last year and also with Rhino.
TNA does have other wrestlers who can be top stars for them like Tomko, AJ Styles, Robert Roode, Jay Lethal and even Christian Cage again. But the problem with TNA and also WWE is they are most likely to blow there chances with these talent maybe 1 or 2 will make it but history does show as soon as one shows a little bit of potential they throw it right back.
