Are We Witnessing a Changing Of The Guard?

[BillAlfonso]

First, let me lay this on you.

HBK may or may not be actually retired but he and Taker are going to be on the bench for a while and their actual departure from the business is coming sooner rather than later. Also, two of the top 3 heels in the last 2 or 3 years, RKO and Edge, are no longer 100% heels with Edge turning face and RKO's situation. Now we have Sheamus who's been WWE champion and is involved with HHH, which will no doubt be a high profile feud, and Jack Swagger is now the WHC. Add them to Legacy and you've had four heels, which is how most guys initially get over, taking big steps. In addition to them, you have CM Punk, Morrison, Miz, and Kofi so are we seeing the future right now?

 

[TokiRKO]

It seems that finally...FINALLY the WWE is giving the newer talent the spotlight and letting the older guys take a step back. I say this is a step in the right direction for WWE, but so far this is one of the very few steps forward (along with killing the new DX). The guest host thing is not going any where even though they are obviously running out of people. And let's not forget Cena is champion.....again. I guess one step at a time, right?

 

[FromTheSouth]

I hate how you say finally like it's been so long with Cena and Batista on top. Hogan was on top of the company from '83-'92. Bret Hart and HBK were on top of the company from '92-'97. Austin and The Rock led the company from '98-'02. HHH and The Undertaker, while relevant for many of these periods, really were the bread and butter of the company from '02 until about '06. And Cena, Edge, Orton, and Batista have been on top since. If you notice something, the reigns of the top guys get shorter and shorter, and more people are involved.

Now, right on time, is the time for Swagger, Sheamus, Punk, and The Miz to play along side Randy Orton. Everyone acts like it's been the same champion for so long that the titles have gotten stale. That's stupid. Hogan would hold the belt for well over a year consistently, but Cena has it for fifteen minutes and people complain that it's stale? That's fucking stupid. The Attitude Era, for all its excitement made wrestling fans the stupidest bunch of petulant children ever. People expect a shocking turn every week. Well, for one, there are only so many shocks that can happen. Two, shocking isn't always good. Putting Hornswoggle in the EC would be shocking, but it would be stupid. Evan Bourne winning a match would be shocking, but it would be stupid.

It takes time to get people to a point where they can readily accept new champions. Just because someone gets a huge pop, that doesn't mean they are a credible champion. None of you understand this either. "He getz teh cheerz so he shood b teh champz!!!" I just don't get the impatience and idiocy of wrestling fans.

 

[The Idiot]

First, let me lay this on you.

HBK may or may not be actually retired but he and Taker are going to be on the bench for a while and their actual departure from the business is coming sooner rather than later. Also, two of the top 3 heels in the last 2 or 3 years, RKO and Edge, are no longer 100% heels with Edge turning face and RKO's situation. Now we have Sheamus who's been WWE champion and is involved with HHH, which will no doubt be a high profile feud, and Jack Swagger is now the WHC. Add them to Legacy and you've had four heels, which is how most guys initially get over, taking big steps. In addition to them, you have CM Punk, Morrison, Miz, and Kofi so are we seeing the future right now?

The Miz has great ring skills and excellent mic skills. I think he COULD be the future if he revamps his gimmick. There's something about him right now that doesn't impress me. He needs to change something but I'm not sure what it is. Definitely stay heel but his look and gimmick need to change. He could definitely be a big star in the future.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

I hate how you say finally like it's been so long with Cena and Batista on top. Hogan was on top of the company from '83-'92. Bret Hart and HBK were on top of the company from '92-'97. Austin and The Rock led the company from '98-'02. HHH and The Undertaker, while relevant for many of these periods, really were the bread and butter of the company from '02 until about '06. And Cena, Edge, Orton, and Batista have been on top since. If you notice something, the reigns of the top guys get shorter and shorter, and more people are involved.

Now, right on time, is the time for Swagger, Sheamus, Punk, and The Miz to play along side Randy Orton. Everyone acts like it's been the same champion for so long that the titles have gotten stale. That's stupid. Hogan would hold the belt for well over a year consistently, but Cena has it for fifteen minutes and people complain that it's stale? That's fucking stupid. The Attitude Era, for all its excitement made wrestling fans the stupidest bunch of petulant children ever. People expect a shocking turn every week. Well, for one, there are only so many shocks that can happen. Two, shocking isn't always good. Putting Hornswoggle in the EC would be shocking, but it would be stupid. Evan Bourne winning a match would be shocking, but it would be stupid.

It takes time to get people to a point where they can readily accept new champions. Just because someone gets a huge pop, that doesn't mean they are a credible champion. None of you understand this either. "He getz teh cheerz so he shood b teh champz!!!" I just don't get the impatience and idiocy of wrestling fans.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Now there IS one point I have to disagree with: saying that Evan Bourne winning a match would be stupid. That's like saying Yoshi Tatsu winning a match is stupid or saying that Cena losing a match would be stupid. Kudos to Regal (who I've always felt should be champ!) for giving Evan the "established WWE star" rub. Evan may never become a world champ but I wouldn't mind seeing Evan getting in a feud for a midcard title. It'd make sense seeing the number of midcarders moving up to the main event scene.

 

[HeartBreakerx]

WWE still needs some of the more older guys in the ring, but they don't need HBK and Taker anymore. Of course everybody loves HBK and Taker, but they are old and they need to rest more. That's when Vince shows some more young talent.

I like the "vintage" wrestling. (Sorry to go all Michael Cole) I liked the 90's wrestling alot more than now, my favourite wrestler, as you can see is HBK, for me, it's like all the good guys are gone, HBK, Stone Cold, The Rock, Bret Hart, and even Taker is taking some time off soon. I'm not going to watch wrestling as much, but I will still stay tuned to see if there are some feuds that I like.

I think they should push Kane and Christian. Kane should be in the main event situation right now, as well as Christian. Christian and Kane are two of the older guys that need a push before they retire.

The young talent is amazing too, they are going to be great stars some day, but I don't see ALL the stars becoming main eventers. I don't know why, but I just don't.

 

[Taker123]

I think we are slowly but surley seeing a changing of the gaurd. However my gripe is they don't make them like they used to. I don't believe in Swagger, Shemus as the champ, nor do i believe in Kofi. I do however see a big future for McIntyre and I think HE is the future. Lets no be naiive Orton is going to be around for another 10 years as is Cena (possibly Edge too). They will be the TOP guys for at least another 5 years with other guys thrown in the mix now and then.

I think if they let the shackles of Tag wrestling released from Miz and Morrisonthese guys they could be credible contenders right now. However for the next 3-5 years Jericho, Edge (possibly Christian will be in the scene), for the next 10 years we will have Orton and Cena. Until then we will not see a complete changing of the gaurd- I'd like to think in 10 years from now we will see the domination of McIntyre, MVP, Miz, Morrison, DiBiase, and if they raise their game Swagger, Kofi, Sheamus, R-Truth (Cryme Tyme Guys maybe).

I almost forgot CMPUNK..I believe he wil be once again pushed to the moon within the next year and stay there for the next 5 years.

And in that time we will see McMahon, Taker, HHH, Kane, Bigshow etc completely phased out and that will be the Attitude era of the WWE eclipsed 100%. Lets just hope they get more believable big guys such as Show, Taker, Kane becuase they are big attractions for the WWE.

I would like to see WWE return to basics i.e. late 80s early 90s (with less of the cartoon style) ..solid wrestling, less flash good solid traditional wrestling with traditional feuds- with WM 26 I think we seen that with the show complete wrestling from start to finish.

However yes, there is a changing of the gaurd but like Karl Marx stated, its an evolution (historical materialism) which is a gradual process do not expect it to happen over night.

 

[Marko Markovic]

Change of guards?

You do watch the show regularry do you?Aside of Swagger who else that was young and prosperous won at wrestlemania 26?Was it Sheamus,Legacy maybe?No,it was HHH,Cena,Jericho,Undertaker,Mysterio,ShoMiz and Orton(OK and Hart but hi is retired anyway). Aside from Orton and Miz all the others are in their prime and will be retired in a few years.

Few years could be in Undertaker and Mysterio(from latest news) case 2 or 3 but in the others I could see them doing at least 5 years and maineventing(In Cenas case perhaps even 10 years).Hell i could see HHH in 15 years still maineventing in some way as perhaps GM or chairman.

My point is that WWE is building the new stars but graduattly and you can not expect that from tommorow Sheamus,Mcintyre,Swagger,Legacy and the other up and risers take over.It will simplly not happen in the near future.In 4-5 years we will see change of guards because it is simplly time for that but now we are not witnessing it because there are still the same guys at top of the company and they deserve to be there based on their effort and work they did in past and I dont see the point where in the near future will be some drastic change in there

With all the respect to up and coming stars,their time is coming but not in the near future and it will happen graduattly when the time is right.Perhaps this year it will be year of Sheamus,next one will be Swaggers years,next one Mcintyres...

We will see that for sure one day but in my opinion not in the near future

 

[3,000 Pound Gorrilla]

Not necessarily a changing of the guard... more like a dabbling in the future. I have been watching wrestling for a long time. They are giving the young guys the rubs they need to establish them for when the top guys ('Taker, Trips, etc.) are done. You will have Cena around for a while, but one day someone else will have to carry the company and WWE is making smart business moves to see who. Punk is a possibility, as is Miz, but the WWE is testing out all the up and comers. We all know RKO will be one of the top guys for a while, but VKM likes to ride multiple horses and he is putting the carrot out to see who we as viewers like the best. That's all. And there you have it.

 

[SuicideDive]

Thank you FTS for your post. You kept me from needing to ramble on. Your quote, classic! I get headaches from trying to decipher the cryptic spelling. And as Blitzkonic said, the only thing I disagree with is Evan Bourne.
I don't think we are seeing a changing of the guard as much as maybe a shift in power because you have a lot of the older main eventers that we are used to seeing week in and week out like (HBK, 'Taker, hell maybe even Trips) I don't think HHH or Cena will be around as long as we think. I think HHH's quads and Cena's neck will catch up to them quicker than we think. I think that's part of the reason we have the Sheamus/HHH feud right now. It may take some time which is good, but ultimately I think we will see Sheamus go over HHH and become more dominant. I think deep down HHH knows his quad injuries are going to catch up to him, and although he will no doubt still play some sort of authority figure role, He won't be on top forever and he wants to build youth the right way. I don't care if Sheamus is his workout buddy or whatever backstage politics you want to say are in play here. I don't see anyone else in the WWE who is as similar to HHH in build and gimmick than Sheamus is, so who better than to train with and learn from?

 

[epochery]

I personally think the wrestling universe is a little hard on WWE. Let us assume that WWE actually represents real sport. Is it a bad thing that the same people are successful as this happens in most sports. Look at Tennis, Golf, motor racing etc and you see people dominating for long periods of time, such as Roger Federer, Tiger Woods and Micheal Schumacher.

As we know wrestling is not a legitimate sport, although the participants are talented in their own way but I think both TNA and WWE should at least mirror legitimate sports. The champions should at least look they have some ability.

A lot of people out their don't like JOhn Cena, but I am a fan as he appears passionate about the sport and he does seem to be an improving wrestler although I think there are a number of better technical wrestlers in the WWE.

I am not sure that NXT is going to be the success they hope it would be, but maybe that is down to the personalities. It would have been better if the mentors personalities matched those of their rookies.

From the character point of view, I think something needs to be done with the MIZ. He has lots of potential but he comes off as a s******iing schoolchild.

There are some younger wrestlers that need to step up such as John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger (not a fan at all!). It may also be time to lose one or two. I don't see the point of Kane, his persona doesnt seem to match his actions anymore and perhaps he should join HBK in retirement.

I am not sure if there is a plan to switch some people around from Smackdown to Raw, with HBK gone and Ray Mysterio and the Undertaker not being around for a while, there will need to be some imagination by WWE to keep the interest going. I am hoping for a five way battle for the WHC on Smackdown between HHH, Jericho, Edge and Swagger. With Orton, Cena, Batista and maybe DiBIase fightng for the WWE title.

Obviously the WWE thinktank will need to decide where the likes of Kingston, Morrison, RTruth, McIntyre, CM Punk, MIz, Big Show, Hardy, etc go from here.

I would also like to see more specialist tag teams and womens wrestling get more serious with more singles matches happening and end the Divas psychology.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

HBK will be out for at least the rest of this year, Taker will be leaving before too long, it's being said that Batista wants some time off and Triple H will be leaving soon to rest up and prepare for the birth of his kid. So yeah, to some degree, I do see something of a changing of the guard going on.

Several key main event players are going to be out of the WWE so that means some young talent is going to be pushed to the forefront of the company. This week, I think we've seen a beginning of that happening already. Sheamus' feud with Triple H will be continued and I expect Sheamus and Trips to work an injury angle to put him out for a while, the Hart Dynasty has moved up into the tag team title scene, Jack Swagger is the new World Heavyweight Champion and they're having David Otunga host Raw this week. Maybe there'll be something of a continuation of his situation that started on NXT with Daniel Bryan on Raw this week.

At any rate, younger stars are going to be put into very high profile spots over the next couple of months. I think this could be an interesting and exciting time in the WWE.

 

[DDT]

I like the influx of young talent getting their push. Jack Swagger confuses me but I love Kofi and The Miz. What's the deal with Kofi though? I feel he will never get a full push if he doesn't have mic skills. I don't watch wrestling every week but I never see Kofi on the mic. I just started to get back into it. I know the behind the scenes guys love Kofi. But does he not speak English well or something?

 

[King Blitzkonic]

I like the influx of young talent getting their push. Jack Swagger confuses me but I love Kofi and The Miz. What's the deal with Kofi though? I feel he will never get a full push if he doesn't have mic skills. I don't watch wrestling every week but I never see Kofi on the mic. I just started to get back into it. I know the behind the scenes guys love Kofi. But does he not speak English well or something?

It's likely part of the gimmick not having Kofi speak English well... Look at wrestlers like Sabu, Abdullah the Butcher, and Yokozuna. They could actually speak English but they didn't need to. And as far as mic skills... Jack Thwagger has less mic skills (and not even half the ring skills) than Shelton Benjamin.