The Top Guy and the One Waiting in the Wings

[The Scarred One]

For as long as I've been watching WWE more than 20 years ago, I've noticed there's always been one guy who was the face of the company. At the same time, there's always been one particular guy waiting on the sidelines, ready to step up and take over if necessary. In some cases, they even switched places with one replacing the other as the company's top guy. Sometimes it was only temporary, while other times not. But whatever roles they played, these men represented the WWE to the fullest extent.

When the WWE experienced it's boom back in 1980s, Hulk Hogan was the company's top guy. At the same time, the guy waiting in the wings while Hulkamania ran wild? The Ultimate Warrior. Throughout the late 80s/early 90s, these two men were without a doubt the WWE's two most popular wrestlers. Now Hogan was easily the WWE's biggest star at the time but, whenever the WWE needed to take Hogan out of the spotlight, the Warrior stepped in and became the top guy in need be. Now the switch didn't last long because of the Warrior's attitude and his constant disappearing/reappearing act. Eventually, Hogan stayed on as the company's face until he left a couple of year's later.

The next top guy for the WWE that comes to my mind would be Bret Hart. When Hogan retired and eventually went to WCW, the WWE was in dire need of a new company guy. They tried and failed with Lex Luger, so they went with Hart. But while he was the top guy, the obvious person waiting in the wings was Shawn Michaels. Eventually, these two would face each other at WrestleMania, in which Michaels would come out victorious. At the same time, it can be argued that by beating Hart, Michaels replaced him as the company's top guy while Hart would play second fiddle until he left some time later.

After both Hart and Michaels left, the next top guy was obviously Steve Austin. But while he was dominating the WWE Championship scene, the guy waiting in the wings was slowly but surely cementing himself as "the most electrifying man in sports entertainment." Of course, I'm talking about the Rock. The tandem worked perfectly as when the WWE needed to take Austin out of the spotlight for the moment, the Rock stepped right in and filled the role perfectly. When Austin was out of action for a year due to injury, the Rock stepped up and became the company's go-to guy. Up until they both left for their own reasons, it could be said that they were neck-and-neck when it came to who was the most popular at the time.

With a new era comes another top guy and another waiting in the wings. For this, it was John Cena and Batista respectively. From the moment they both debuted back in 2002, these two men's careers ran almost parallel to each other. Both started off with go-nowhere gimmicks before they found their niche. Eventually, both men would go to win championship gold at WrestleMania 21, cementing themselves as the company's top guys. Cena's status as a company guy remained, while age and injuries played a factor against Batista. With Batista now gone from the WWE, the guy now waiting in the wings is obviously Randy Orton. Much like it was with Hogan/Warrior, Hart/HBK and Austin/Rock, these two are right now the most popular guys in the company.

So now we've talked about the past, who is there for the future? Once Cena and Orton decide to hang up their wrestling boots, who will be there to take their spots? Some are already proclaiming the Miz as the next top guy and perhaps they are correct in doing so. But if the Miz is indeed the future face of the WWE, who would be the one waiting in the wings? And if the Miz is not the future top guy, than who is?

 

[dirtsheetplayaz20091996]

I think you are right about the miz for monday night raw, but who will be waiting in the sidelines? Possibly when/if nexus break up, maybe Skip Sheffield or someone like that. If this is the case, then what is Sheamus? Personally i think with this nexus angle going the way it is, it is a good chance to push people like morrison and R-Truth into bigger roles. I think R-Truth could be the next "ROCK" as he has the ability to get the crowd involved and cause a reaction, he also has some early Cena characteristics, and allmost certainly Ted Dibiase jr. As for SMACKDOWN! i think Dolph Ziggler will be the next big thing, with maybe someone like "DASHING" Cody Rhodes along side him.

 

[CyDeez]

It's funny, each tandom you named up there, I preferred the 2nd guy, or guy waiting in the wings, over the top guy...

Skipping ahead, I definetly see The Miz in the top guy role... There could be numerous guys close to him when his time comes... Maybe Morrison, maybe Mcgillicutty, maybe Barret... Sheamus is a possiblity... Could be someone that is in another company right now... What if it is A.J. Styles or something??

 

[baldjedi]

Miz is a likely choice for sure. I would love for Morrison to be groomed also because he has so much talent in the ring and has good mic skills, but I do believe they are grooming Barrett for stardom. Dolph Ziggler has a long way to go before he can be a top guy. I also think Kofi Kingston should be a main eventer because he has all the tools and gets a crowd reaction. The possibilities for the future are many if the WWE does it right.

 

[ramblinroy682]

Right now, I would say the Miz has the most charisma of anyone waiting. I think Jack Swagger is another guy who can be destined for greatness. I really, really like him. I thought he did a phenomenal job as the ECW champ and his latest run as the WWE champ developed his character somewhat. I think Sheamus will be a player, FELLA. I also like Barrett.

Down the line I like Michael Migillicuty. I wish he just had the Hennig Name.

On a side note, I think that Rhodes and MiGillicuty could be a great tag team.

Alex Riley is showing a lot of potential.

It really is too bad Morrison doesn't have the charisma of the Miz. He has HBK like talent in the ring, but just can't cut a promo to save his life. If only there was a Bobby the Brain Heenan to manage him. I would love to see Matt Stryker take on that role. I am going off on a tangent here, but if Stryker was talking for Morrison, he could be a lot better.

 

[RickRaspberry]

I see the Miz being a champion for sure, but do you truely think he could draw Cena/Orton money?

Sheamus will be a big time player for a long time...Drew McIntyre as well. But in history, foreigners don't draw the big bucks. That's where the problem is... The three guys who seem like naturals on the mic besides The Miz, are foreign.

John Morrison is pretty talented. Not a natural speaker. He will probably have a title run. His in ring style isn't WWE main event.

I honostly see Jack Swagger and CM Punk becoming pretty big draws. Punk has enough character to go around, but I still don't see him as the next big time draw. I think when he is all said and done his career will be that of Jericho's. Few more world titles, few more tag titles as well. Up and down kind of guy.

Basically what I'm saying is, unless wrestlers start going out and trying to create something natural and on their own...There really is no one on the radar to pass the throne to.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

It's funny, because it could be The Miz, Wade Barrett, or even Skip Sheffield. Who really knows for sure though? It could be someone we haven't even seen yet, someone that will just take us by storm. The one that sticks out with as much faith the WWE has put behind the guy is The Miz. You really can't tell though. It could even be Tyler Black. You just don't know, like they always say in the wrestling business. Anything is possible.

 

[The People's Peep]

Monkey is right. Cena and Orton still have plenty of wrestling to do. That leaves plenty of time for another guy to come in and just blow people away. Sure, the future as we see it right now is The Miz, Kofi, McIntyre, and Sheamus, but someone could definitely come in and just have it and jump over all of those guys.

Anyway, I think its tough right now to try and look at this. Maybe its just me, but I feel that the company's top guy has to be a face. A golden boy of sorts. Many of the people we look at now and say they are the next face of the company, are heels. In my opinion, we need to see some face work before we can really give them the title as the next face of the company.

For example, The Miz. Everyone and their mother projects him to be the next face of the company. Even WWE management does. He is great as a heel, but how do we know he can do the same as a face. I'm sure he could, but its not definite. He could be terrible as a face. I would think that would hold him back from becoming the face of the company. Same with Sheamus.

So really, only time will tell. Certain thing need to play out. And again, like Monkey said, the next face of the company might not even be with the company right now.

 

[Vanderhook]

Hm, it's hard to say as things could change very quickly. Someone could get injured, someone could break out out of nowhere etc. I mean who would have said the Miz would be the face a year ago?

But If I had to choose the most likely candidate is the Miz. The guy is only going up and rapidly gaining an underground fanbase (we IWC guys are considered underground, relative to the WWE universe marks), but I don't know if he'll ever be a "big two" guy. I see him as a sort of spiritual successor to Jericho: He'll be around for a long time, have a big fan base and be one of the most talented and respected guys around... but he'll never be the face of the company. Not that I'd ever have a problem with him being in the "big two", in fact I'd love to see it but I dunno.. I think Cena and Orton have that sealed for awhile and by the time they are done I don't think Miz will be able to take over.

Sheamus is the same way. I see him as a successor to HHH. It certainly seems that they are building him up that way. He'll become a big star -- he arguable already is one -- but he won't be the face of the company.

 

[Kayoh]

I would love for the WWE to groom John Morrison as their next top guy. He's already 100% over with the females because he has the look. He's mostly over with marks because he's got a flashy in-ring style. If he can hone his mic skills he'd be a perfect replacement for Shawn Michaels imo. I think a lot of people, not just me, saw Shawn in him when he came out to attack DiBiase a few weeks ago in jeans. I'm just waiting for him to give R-Truth sweet chin music, then the transformation will be complete.

Aside from that, I can honestly say that I do believe Sheamus, Wade Barrett, and Drew McIntyre are the future of the WWE. Sheamus is already HHH's workout buddy, and his endorsement is really all you need to make it in the 'E. Drew is a guy who reminds HHH of himself 10-15 years ago, which, again, is the next best thing to an actual endorsement. And Barrett has clearly gotten more over than anybody expected, and the WWE has been using him heavily in every story line. In FCW he was in a huge storyline involving the FCW Champ (Justin Gabriel) and the #1 Contender, Alex Riley. He has had the spotlight on him for quite a while, he won NXT, he's the leader and mouthpiece of the #1 heel on Raw right now, and he has a perfect ring style for the WWE.

 

[Kazz]

The miz is in there no doubt but you have many other choices I would say kofi as the number one guy on smackdown with cody as the next in line and I wouldn't be surprised to see cm punk on either show as the number one guy or next in line

 

[mrbrownstone]

That is really quite hard to say as it could be 10 years before they both retire, the next face of the company may not even be signed to a contract yet. However if I were to take a guess from the current stars it is probably between three people.

Wade Barrett - The WWE are obviously very high on this guy and they have every right to be, he is great on the mic and very good in the ring. He is definitely a future WHC but I'm not sure if he can be a face which is obviously required to be the face of the company.

Sheamus - He is already a main eventer and a two time WWE champ, we have seen hints of a face turn when he joined Cena to fight off the Nexus afew weeks back and he looked to be a believable face.

The Miz - He is being branded as the future by Michael Cole and it would be hard not to aggree, he is obviously a future champion with the briefcase, amazing on the mic, pretty good in the ring. I think he could be a face as well through the ''Randy Orton effect'' where he becomes so good as a heel that he has to be turned face.

There are other options aswell like CM Punk, JoMo etc but I think these three are the most likely choices. Anyway I think that The Miz will be the top guy while Sheamus will be number two, Wade will still be a top guy but just as a heel, but who knows the next face of the company may not even be working for them yet.

 

[The Scarred One]

That is really quite hard to say as it could be 10 years before they both retire, the next face of the company may not even be signed to a contract yet.

That's true. For all we know, the next face of the company has probably not been discovered yet. Hell, it could very well be Tyler Black and he's just recently signed.

But the tandems of the past that I've mentioned seemed to have left before their time. Hogan left on his own accord while the Warrior's attitude caused him to get fired. Hart left because of the Montreal Screwjob and Michaels retired briefly because of his back injury. Austin had to retire due to injury and the Rock left for a career in Hollywood. So it seems like these men could've been capable of much more if they stuck around longer than they did.

But in the case of Cena and Orton, I'm just wondering who could possibly step up if something similar happened to them in a couple of years, God forbid. After all, one mistake or one slip-up and their careers could come to an end.

 

[TheMainEvent]

This is such a good question and subject of discussion because you really never know what the future is going to hold in this crazy Pro Wrestling industry. Think back to 2002 when Orton, Batista, and Cena all debuted. Each guy was green, had a generic look and no one really saw them moving into the top 3 stars of the past five years initially. Throw in Edge and a few of the veterans and the main eventers were pretty solid.

Now is similar to that time with a slew of new talent coming in and making an impact. So which guys are going to become the next group of Ortons, Cenas, and Batistas? Well as stated before it looks like The Miz is in line to soon jump up to main event status to everyones surprise and CM Punk who is already a former champ with alot of time ahead of him. Then there are guys like Kofi, DiBiase, Rhodes, Ziggler, Barrett, Sheamus, and McIntrye who are all rising in the ranks pretty fast. So any of those guys could be the "next big thing" of the future. Personally I see Cody Rhodes moving up in the next few years similar to how Randy Orton got over as an arrogant 2nd Generation superstar heel who just needs that one feud (Orton vs Foley) to get him over as a credible superstar of the future. Really all of them guys are solid locks for maineventers and likely future World Champions though.

 

[Morpheus101]

These are my picks for "waiting in the wings":

Sheamus - Class act, never botches a move and has credibly risen to the top without the help of a manager or a stable. Sheamus could probably become a tweener-type face too, or potentially the next Stone Cold Steve Austin.

CM Punk - Awesome heel, who has really found his niche with the Straight Edge Society. His promos are excellent, he's good to watch in the ring and can probably play either heel or face.

The Miz - He's a "go to" guy for Vince, he cuts amazing promos and will be a dominant force for years to come.

Wade Barrett - Will most likely prove to be this generation's version of HHH back in the late 90's and early 00's. He has power, charisma, technique and awesome mic skills. Barrett is going to be a multiple time champion, trust me.

Skip Sheffield - Sheffield will most likely become WWE's next signature main even "big guy", especially as Undertaker & Kane are getting old and Batista left.

John Morrison - Has decent mic skills, is fun to watch in the ring and is also destined to become a world champion at some point (his entrance music needs changing though)

Cody Rhodes - Even early on in his solo career on Smackdown, he is exhibiting serious main event credentials, still at a very early age. Unlike other 2nd or 3rd generation superstars, he is not living off his father's name (can't stand his entrance music though).

Dolph Ziggler - Has the look and the attributes to become a main eventer in the not too distant future.

D.H. Smith - If he can become an individual in his own right, I see big things ahead of him. He has a ton of technical ability as to all of the Hart family + his father's strength, power and physique.

 

[Kayoh]

After watching tonight's episode of NXT, I can say with the utmost confidence that Alex Riley could very easily become the next huge WWE star, but as a heel. This guy is already one of the best overall superstars on the entire WWE roster and he isn't even on one of the two big brands yet. He's almost flawless on the mic, knows how to get himself over, has ridiculous charisma, and knows how to work the crowd. In the ring, he's awesome as well, with absolutely perfect heel in-ring psychology and a good enough moveset to remain over with the IWC. Alex Riley has more potential than Wade Barrett imo.

 

[Awesome]

It's really hard to tell as has been said, Orton and Cena still have legs, so that could influence what happens. But, regardless I will make a guess. First of all The Miz is a shoe in. No doubt when you look at the Miz you look at the future. That is a no brainer, who the other guy is, is where things get tricky, but I would narrow it down to two men, provided Cena has no more than 5 more years (which is admittedly an arbitrary number). In said scenario I would imagine if Orton is still around he will still be there with Miz, if his apparent attitude issues become too much the one guy I see hitting the big time is 'Dashing' Cody Rhodes. The gimmick is a breath of fresh air, he plays the role to a T and his move set is at least solid, verging on magic. He only needs one thing, which has been mentioned elsewhere and that is Knee Pads.