Is there a next big thing on the horizon?

[chicagokmc]

Back in the day, when WWE and WCW were really fighting it out, it was a big deal when someone jumped from one federation to the other (assuming the wrestler wasn't a jobber). Nowadays, I don't see WWE pulling talent from outside "their family" of wrestlers when they want to shake things up with something new. Lesnar - WWE guy. He left to do MMA but he never wrestled anywhere else. Batista - same thing. Hogan - he could wrestle anywhere and we'd always consider him WWE. Jericho/Van Dam they leave and come back so frequently I look at them as WWE guys. If they aren't known names coming right into WWE, they're bringing up the guys from NXT. Cesaro, Ambrose, these were indy guys but spent a bit of time in NXT getting the WWE stamp on them before being brought up.

Is there anyone out there in TNA, ROH or some other organization you think could be wrestling for WWE down the line? Even if they come in and spend time in NXT before coming up?

 

[TheICChampion]

Well, that's kind of what they're already doing, in a sense. I heard Kevin Steen and Roderick Strong were getting try-outs, and who knows where that'll end up? If a star is big enough in TNA, ROH, or the indies, sooner or later WWE will most likely take a look at them, if nothing else. The real test is getting Vince Mcmahon (and HHH, to a slightly lesser extent) to like them, otherwise no matter how over they are, they'll never truly make it and be "future endeavoured" in a few years.

 

[Limitless]

WWE has a lot of good young talent right now. However I do not watch ROH as much as I should... and I only watch TNA if I am Bored. From what I have seen, I think Magnus is young and could make his way over. Also Gunner is younger and has a unique look.

That being said, I don't know if there is a "Next Big Thing" right now. I think the next big thing is Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt... but I could be wrong.

I could also see Mike Bennett in WWE due to his girlfriend Maria, but again I do not watch ROH enough to know any more than that. Adam Cole is smaller but so is Bryan. I think WWE will start to pick up young, smaller guys because of the hype of NXT now. Only time will tell, and it's fun to think about.

 

[RawIsJericho]

When WCW and WWE were fighting it out, they were big enough to have a "big thing" to move. TNA, ROH, whatever aren't big enough for one of their top names to jump ship and have it be a big deal.

There's plenty of guys who I think could go to WWE and make some noise if the WWE got behind them. Roode I think is pretty much the best all around package in wrestling in North America, but even if he was to jump ship, it wouldn't be seen as a big deal by most because, and I say this as a guy who enjoys TNA more than WWE, TNA isn't big enough for his move to be a big deal.

Pretty much any of these guys who go to WWE now will go through NXT or whatever, be repackaged not just show up. Back in the WWF vs WCW times, a big name could jump ship almost instantly and pretty much still be that same guy, not disappear into the development system being given a new persona.

Of course, maybe if somebody was a big enough star, the WWE would just push the guy straight away, but nobody is going to reach that point because the other companies aren't big enough. Any jump to the WWE is basically a guy coming from the minors to the majors, when WCW was around, there was two major leagues.

 

[JJ15776]

TNA and ROH aren't big enough for a guy to come in and be treated like it's a big deal that they've come in, like it was when people jumped between WWE and WCW. If Samoa Joe or AJ Styles came to the WWE, there wouldn't be a "oh my god, that's Samoa Joe!" reaction from the announcers or most of the crowd.

But sure, of course they could come over and work their way up through NXT. Plenty of guys have already done that. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan were both in ROH. More recently, Seth Rollins was in ROH. You mentioned Cesaro, he was in ROH too. Several people in NXT right now were in ROH, Sami Zayne being the most prominent.

So I'm not sure what you're asking...if you're asking about a huge WWE-WCW style jump, no that's impossible, but if you're just asking about somebody from one of those companies coming to WWE, yes it's happened many times already.

 

[Blade222]

Shawn Ricker. While in the indies he was the last person Percy Pringle III managed when he passed away last year. He is currently in NXT and could very well follow the success of the careers of others managed by William Moody such as Rick Rude, Ultimate Warrior, and the Undertaker.

 

[HBK89Bill]

Shawn Ricker. While in the indies he was the last person Percy Pringle III managed when he passed away last year. He is currently in NXT and could very well follow the success of the careers of others managed by William Moody such as Rick Rude, Ultimate Warrior, and the Undertaker.

You kick ass. I've been riding on the grave train for awhile now. That guy is going to be big.

 

[scomvp316]

I think it could be Adam Cole
His new entrance in ROH is probably the coolest other than Steen's
I wouldn't mind a Cole/Steen team in WWE possibly managed by Corino
I do think out of those three Cole would be the easiest to deal with from a business standpoint seeing the other two don't need to go to WWE at this stage of their careers

 

[Mustang Sally]

Back in the day, when WWE and WCW were really fighting it out, it was a big deal when someone jumped from one federation to the other....

Those days are gone, aren't they? When TNA was trying to be outdo WWE, the big company seemed to be studiously ignoring them..... far from picking off their best performers. But even when TNA started letting high-priced talent go in their financial battle of survival, WWE picked up only a few old hands like RVD and Hogan.....and only on a part-time basis at that.

I felt the big surprise was WWEs disinterest in AJ Styles when he became available. Whether they were turned off by Styles' age, relatively small size, or the amount of money it would take to employ him, Vince McMahon didn't think it worth the time and effort to pick him up.

During his TNA tenure, Styles was claiming to be loyal to his company .....a feeling that apparently was genuine. Isn't it ironic that TNA let him go....and that when they did, he could find work only in the independents. Never mind what he said to interviewers about being absolutely thrilled with his situation; I would think he must have been pretty embarrassed by the whole thing.

Personally, I thought he could have come to WWE as a "next big thing." Yeah, he's older, but I figured he had enough of a rep to guarantee a couple years of high-level performance in the big time. I guess WWE must know something I don't.

 

[Judah's Lion]

I felt the big surprise was WWEs disinterest in AJ Styles when he became available. Whether they were turned off by Styles' age, relatively small size, or the amount of money it would take to employ him, Vince McMahon didn't think it worth the time and effort to pick him up.

During his TNA tenure, Styles was claiming to be loyal to his company .....a feeling that apparently was genuine. Isn't it ironic that TNA let him go....and that when they did, he could find work only in the independents. Never mind what he said to interviewers about being absolutely thrilled with his situation; I would think he must have been pretty embarrassed by the whole thing.

Personally, I thought he could have come to WWE as a "next big thing." Yeah, he's older, but I figured he had enough of a rep to guarantee a couple years of high-level performance in the big time. I guess WWE must know something I don't.

this is exactly what i was thinking. "next big thing" might be a bit of a stretch because of the amount of time he's already spent on the indie scene and in TNA, plus his current age. but still, i was downright shocked that WWE never looked his way, or seemingly so.

similar thing happened with Samoa Joe a few years back. his contract was coming up, TNA didn't seem to have anything for him at the time (kinda like right now i guess) and even Stone Cold was giving Samoa Joe some Twitter love. but when his contract ran out, he re-signed with TNA in the end. that was another shocker to me, if only cuz of Austin's praise for the guy.

as far as who i think the next big thing is in WWE right now: Daniel Bryan for sure, followed by Roman Reigns, Cesaro and Bray Wyatt.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Probably is but won't be someone you expect or someone like Wyatt that they are pushing. Remember that Hogan, Austin and Cena all got over by mistake - Hogan was supposed to be a heel and creative had nothing for Austin and Cena. When wwe tries to push someone, it is usually a tough sell. Look at The Rock - wwe tried to make him a star quickly and it didn't work. Even Brock - was pushed in matches against big names in his first year so he got over but look at his second year - not quite as successful. I am sure there is another big thing on the horizon but I don't think you can say who it is.

 

[samfeeley34]

Out of principal, WWE will never touch a TNA guy, I don't think theyll even touch Bobby Lashley or MVP now.

 

[L@RISANO]

I saw on a report on another site http://dailyddt.com/2014/03/30/report-prince-devitt-sign-wwe/ that Prince Devitt has been scheduled in a "Loser Leaves Town" match on NJPW on April 6th(Mania day).
Speculation is that he might be on his way to WWE after that.

Apparently, he is said to be a great talent by many, wonder how he will fare if he arrives.

 

[Eddie Menuek]

I think the snub of AJ Styles proved that there's no value in WWE picking off guys from TNA for the sake of it. Fifteen years ago, with WWF, WCW and ECW all thriving, there was that value and the 'next big thing' had leverage in those situations. There was value in WWF taking a guy from WCW solely for the sake of taking an opportunity out of the hands of the competition, or taking him from ECW to make sure that he didn't end up in WCW. In 2014 that leverage is gone and no name outside of WWE is big enough to ensure that they'll end up in the big leagues, just because they are one of the hottest things on the indies. WWE hold all of the power.