Who will be the next 'Big Thing/Future' in the WWE?

[simonhirst]

Who will be the next 'Big Thing' in WWE? Who has the ability to make it big, rise up to the top quickly? When you think back to Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin, HHH, The Rock, to myself, it seemed apparent they had the skills to make it big in the WWE from the off. I can only think of the late great Owen Hart who clearly had it but didnt get his chance to make it to the top of the hill. With new wrestlers in the WWE such as Kingston Kofi, DH Smith, Kozlov, who will be 'The Next Big Thing?'

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

It's likely to b Kennedy or MVP. These are the only two guys in the mid card/lower main event tier who ever get any promo time so they are my picks.

Kurt Angle was destined to b a top draw, you're not going to let the only Olympic Gold Medalist in professional wrestling sink into obscurity.
Lesnar just appeared with no build and destroyed four guys in as many minutes and he wrestled at the same level as Angle, maybe at an even higher level due to his strength, so WWE saw a gold mine in him.
Austin, HHH, and Rock had to wait for around for a few years b4 they were given ME status, and that's only because they managed to hook the audience in one way or another, not because Vince and WWE creative saw mass potential in them. Austin used his 3:16 line and kept talking and acting like a drunk redneck to get over, which worked great, and when he broke his neck and they had to think of reasons to have him on tv, ppl loved his antics even more.
HHH got his exposure in DX w/ HBK and when HBK got put on the shelf indefinitely, they gave the ball to HHH to fill HBK's boots, and the Rock got pissed at people hating his gimmick so he told them where to go and ended up becoming one of the most popular guys of all time from his mic work.
The next big thing will b either a guy who can deliver a gr8 promo without having Creative holding his hand the whole way through like Austin or Rock, or has a shocking debut and is then able to maintain that level of unpredictability and talent throughout his career like Lesnar and Angle.

[I_Like_All_Wrestling]

Kennedy, MVP, CM Punk and John Morrison. Those are the only guys that I can see amounting to big names with the proper pushes, feuds and training. Each have a decent level of ring work/mic work but they all definitely have areas that could be improved. I honestly think that each of these guys should finish the programs they are in (are in Kennedys case just started) move on to a feud with a well known name and them move on to feuding with each other over the mid card titles. Other than these guys I can't see any other viable long term main eventers. No DH Smith, no Kovlov, no Kofi.

[Danmen001]

Well lets see.

Mr Kennedy - Has the mic skills, the charisma. He has been prone for the ME, but drugs and injuries have held him down. He has the skill in ring to make it.

MVP - He is also prone to being built up. He definately has mic skills, and he is good to watch in the ring. He will eventually be built up so he can be in the ME.

John Morrison - Since changing his persona, he has definately become an interesting wrestler. He is great to watch in ring. His mic skills are pretty good too. But his voice sort of has an uncomfortable scratch in his voice.... not his fault.

C.M. Punk - Whether or not you actually like him. He will probably get a push, especially with the amount of merchandise he sells.

Kofi Kingston - He will definately make it to the big time.... for a couple of runs at least. He is great in the ring, great charisma. And pretty good on the mic as well.

[Sicko]

I agree with MVP and John Morrison, I think Morrison can be a Mainevent Superstar, MVP is the complete package though, great on the mic, the "I am better then you" image is a very good one but did not understand him losing to Matt Hardy so easy twice though

Miz is a darkhorse though, actually Miz has more Charisma then Morrison but Morrison is better in the ring, they do remind me of a new version of Edge and Christian though

Mr Kennedy could be the next big thing on Raw if no one holds him back, so far I think he was better used on Smackdown, it is way too many stars on the Raw roster he kinda get lost between HBK, HHH, Orton, JBK and Y2J

[Frank the Frowner]

Here's one nobody has said yet:

Cody Rhodes.

He's improved a lot as an in-ring competitor. Although he and Hardcore haven't had that many matches lately, he's shown flashes in the matches he's had this year. I think all he needs at this point is a way to break free from Hardcore, a new finisher, and a new look. He's been excellent on the mic over the past few weeks as well when verbally sparring with Santino and Carlito.

You also have to factor in the family issue as well. He's Dusty's son. People can bring up how Dustin pretty much failed, but Cody seems like he's not a complete idiot. Actually, I see a rise to the top for Cody that was very similar to Orton's rise. In fact, I bet he'll be starting an Intercontinental Championship run by Survivor Series.

The WWE loves to push second generation wrestlers. Cody Rhodes will be the next one.

[L4L]

To be honest MVP is the only guy I see really being the next big thing. He has it all alot like the Rock did befor he made it big. I don't see anything special about Kennedy his promos aren't entertaining he isn't remotely fun to watch wrestle I just don't see him becoming anything more than maybe an IC champion at best. Kozlov is being pushed in all these squash matches and to be honest he hasn't impressed me either. I mean he is a pretty big guy but nothing overly impressive about him so far I don't see him getting to far, Mid card level befor his winning streak comes to an end. I don't see any Lesnar or Goldberg like stars on the rise in the WWE right now. Goldberg wasn't the greatest wrestler but he did some very impressive things in the ring which made watching him fun and his push worth it. Same with Lesnar I don't see anyone in the WWE with that kind of RAW talent. MVP is the closest thing but I compare him more to the Rock being that he is charismatic, good on the mic and flawless in the ring and entertains while in there.

[TROY OD]

the next big thing with the roster the way it is right now is a forgone conclusion cm punk will be the next big thing he a great in ring performer juss he needs to be given the greenlight to wrestle more of his type of match as well as go to raw so he can get promo time....besides he is MITB he goin too be a world champ is juss when and where IMO it be NO MERCY or after hell hold on to it and tease it the way edge did and i know when edge had it most people didnt see him winning it like people r hatin on punk and sayin he wont win it....btw when the hell is colt cabana comin up lol he is a great performer....and give santino a belt damnit the man is one of the only reasons i watch raw

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

The way I see it, if we don't count people that are already in the main event (like Edge, Orton, Cena, etc), this is how things are going to turn out in the next few years...

MAIN EVENT
1. John Morrison - Incredibly impressive in the ring, still a little shady on the mic but he's hilarious, and the guy is improving in every aspect at an exponential rate. He's the next Shawn Michaels in my opinion.

2. MVP - Really, the only thing holding MVP down right now is that he needs to add a few more moves to his repertoire, particularly a better finisher. He's got the charisma, he's solid in the ring, and he's over.

3. Mr. Kennedy - His biggest fault is bad luck, in my opinion, but he too needs a solid finisher that fans can enjoy watching. He still needs a bit more time in the ring to work out the kinks, but if he continues an upward climb, he'll be great in a while.

MIDCARD

1. Cody Rhodes - He's still a bit green, but he's not too bad in the ring and on the mic. By next year, I think he might be a good contender for the IC title, and in enough time, a really, really good champion. We'll have to see, but he's got a lot of potential.

2. Paul Burchill - Despite how horrible he's been booked lately, having his sister need to help him to get wins over jobbers, Burchill looks like the type of guy that could be a good heel midcarder.

3. Ryder & Hawkins - Way too early to tell for these guys, but Ryder especially has me wondering if he's going to break out in 2 years or so and make a good name for himself.

4. Kenny Dykstra - Dykstra is already pretty good and he's only, what, 21 or so?

5. Kofi Kingston - I think Kofi's act is going to wear out eventually, and he won't have a jet-fast ride to the top, but if he works on learning some more moves, maybe telling a story in his matches as opposed to just flipping around really fast, then he has the potential to start rising up. Maybe he'll be the next Booker T.

6. The Miz - A year ago, I absolutely hated the Miz. I thought he was an abysmal wrestler that should be fired and a total joke. But you know what, this guy has been improving VERY quickly. I would actually consider him an IC/US title chaser already. If he continues improving, who knows where this kid can go?

UNKNOWN

1. Shelton Benjamin - Its a shame you can't merge him with the confidence of Burke, cause you'd have one hell of a superstar right there. Shelton severely needs to work on his mic skills and most importantly, developing an original personality for himself. He has all the in-ring talent to go far, but he isn't over enough to be pushed.

2. Elijah Burke - With MVP beating him out in certain categories as well as Shelton beating him out with athleticism, I don't think there's a true place for Burke to make a name for himself. He could be a good IC/US contender right now, but I can't see him breaking out and becoming huge.

3. CM Punk - Unless Punk stops being so incredibly predictable in his matches, I can't see him booming. He'll probably get a world title run or two in the future, but if things stay the way they are right now, he'll be fading into oblivion soon. He isn't nearly as popular as he was before, it seems, and there's no life being pumped into him. Personally, I don't think he's ready for the Money in the Bank. I think a good midcard title run would do wonders for Punk, but the WWE seems to think otherwise (unless he's just holding the case for when Hardy returns, as that hasn't happened yet). We'll have to see if Punk adapts or flattens out.

[ROCKETPOTATO!]

CM Punk: He became an instant fan favourite after his first match, and sells a LOT of merchandise for someone in his position. With the MITB, he is hopefully destined to make it big in WWE. If only he was a,llowed to do the Pepsi Plunge...

On RAW This week, I noticed how much Cody Rhodes has improved on the mic, and he definitely is the future. I hope he does a LOT better than this father did.