2nd Generation Stars: Attempted carbon copies or just bland?

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I have been pondering about this myself. Ted jr. is a complete and utter failure(Shame, I liked him.). He can't buy heat and that is because he was made into a generic Orton clone. His father was a larger than life evil genius with loads of charisma. Orton couldn't get the guy over, The million dollar title couldn't get the guy over and his new beard won't get him over. Hell when the guy first began and didn't relate himself to his farther(Saying he was better than his dad and beating up Lawler and other legends which got him heat.). Really what is there to save Ted?

Joe Hennig is a guy I really wanna root for. I remember seeing him wrestle a tag match with his dad and thinking how great it would be if some day he was in WWE. Now he is and he is a bland generic randy Orton Clone. No personality whatsoever and I think very boring in the ring. He is differant to his dad con. Now what does he have? Nexus? He is nothing more than a crappy Michael Tarver replacement.

Also look at DH Smith; No personality, Bland as can be and restricted to superstars.

These guys can't get over because they are bland. Nothing can change it.

Husky Harris is teetering, he has not shown me much of anything. he has gimmick potential that is hindered by the current nexus angle. I think he can play a dirty sleez role(Which we saw some of on NXT with his behaviour towards Lay-Cool). His dad being IRS(An up-tight accountant.) would also benefit that gimmick as well.

Some people complain that they are given new names and aren't presented the same way as their fathers but most of those guys were the kids of wrestlers themselves. Mr. Perfects gimmick was very different than his father. Jake the Snake was loads different than his father.

The reason Cody Rhodes works so well is because he got away from the bland Legacy stigma and became dashing and he is so charismatic and fluid in the ring that it works. Same with Goldust. The guy had a very strange gimmick to separate himself from the rest of the roster but also carried himself differently cause he is a wrestler/in ring performer. Randy Orton is another example of stnading out of your family's legacy and creating your very own Legacy. What was Orton seniors legacy? A cast and main eventing Wrestlemania I. What's Ortons? Youngest world heavyweight champion ever.

WWE needs to realise these guys getting their names changed won't instantaniously give them personality and something watchable. They need to develop personality and NXT doesn't create personality.

 

[JGlass]

I agree and disagree with many parts of your post. Most of these second and third generation superstars need to blaze their own trails. Just because their dad was in the business doesn't make them guaranteed successes, nor does it mean they need the aid of their father's gimmick/legacy.

Some stars have what it takes in the ring but need to develop outside the ring. Joe Hennig is a perfect (get it?) example of that. He's a solid wrestler but totally boring outside the ring. Thankfully, the WWE hasn't given him the Mr. Perfect Jr. gimmick yet, and hopefully he will find his own place. Remember, John Morrison started out rather blandly, and so did Miz, and now they are two of the company's top stars.

Others have the gimmick but haven't come into their own in the ring. Husky Harris fits into Nexus simply because of his ruthlessness and anger. However, that attitude is being somewhat suppressed by the rigidness of Nexus right now. Furthermore, he really hasn't found himself in the ring, and not through lack of trying, but through lack of opportunity. Besides running into people, his in-ring game seems very bland, and hopefully when he gets the chance to wrestle more he'll become more interesting.

Then there's Ted DiBiase, who I think is special. The WWE pushed him as member of legacy, and that angle never rose above mediocrity. Then they pushed him as a solo competitor, and he couldn't get over, so they pushed him as the next coming of the Million Dollar Man, and that barely worked. They're pushing him as a singles competitor again, but he lacks anything unique that makes him stand out. I think he would benefit from becoming the REAL next coming of the Million Dollar Man. Stop making him wrestle, because he can't, he can't carry a match to save his life, and basically all he's doing now is jobbing. Have him hire people to do his wrestling for him, and let him reap all the benefits. The only time he should put on a pair of wrestling boots is when he wants to prove that he's better than someone, and even then he should hire someone to help him cheat to win. Don't make him do the fighting, make his MONEY do the fighting and then let Ted take all the credit. The heat would be phenomenal and he wouldn't have to do anything more than talk. Then again, Ted isn't exactly a great guy on the stick. He seems to lack passion, and without passion you will never be interesting.

 

[MisterRob]

Get over it. I am so entirely sick and tired of threads like this. Especially ones where they exaggerate and go to extremes like these 2nd and 3rd generation stars are complete failures and won't become anything. Get over yourself. Allow them to have some TIME to have careers before you devalue everything about them, at least. Most of these wrestlers are still in their mid to later-TWENTIES. They've been in the business less then five years. Ted Dibiase Jr. is 28 and he's only been in the business for FOUR full years. Cody Rhodes is oly 25, and he's been in the business for FOUR years. DH Smith is only 25 years old and he may have more experience in the business but he's only been in the WWE for a few years now on that kind of stage. The list goes on and on.

Ted Dibiase Sr. was in the business for THIRTEEN years before he came into the WWE as the Million Dollar Man and became the star and legend he did. Curt Hennig was in the business for EIGHT years before he came into the WWE as Mr. Perfect and got over and became the star we love him for. And the same goes on and on for all these fathers and legends. These guys had years and years of development in the territories and in Japan long before they came into the WWE and became the stars they finally did.

In fact, Ted Dibiase Sr. was in the WWE as a young rookie, for several years, before he left and went through the territories. He never made it in the WWE straight out of the boat. The same happened with Curt Hennig who was in the WWE for two years when he first started, made an impression as a young talent, but wasn't at the level yet and went through the territories, etc, before coming back to make it.

People need to stop having such crazy high expectations (and irrational expectations) for these 2nd and 3rd Generation wrestlers. Like any other wrestler they need to develop their skills on all levels before they can really reach their true potentials and that takes years of experience and years in the business. Triple H wasn't an overnight success. Randy Orton wasn't a star right away. They need to have time in the ring, time on the mic, and time in general to find their place and get to where they need to be. And seeing as all of them pretty much are still in their twenties, and some in their MID twenties, I think they have LOTS of time. They haven't even gotten near their primes yet for God's sake.

I personally think Ted Dibiase Jr., Joe Hennig, Cody Rhodes, DH Smith, Husky Harris, among others all have lots of potential. They're all pretty good in the ring, none of them are completely horrible on the mic, and with more time developing those skills they have a lots of potential to be stars down the road. It doesn't mean they're going to magically be stars right now. And it also takes the WWE giving them opportunities, and really giving them the chance to develop a character, have time to cut promos and things, to really break out and find themselves as wrestlers. If expecting the world in a few years, let alone a few months, is really ridiculous.

 

[MinistryDeadman95]

Woah, woah, wait, wait, wait just a second. You just reminded me of something. Husky Harris is IRS' son, and Ted Dibiase Jr is Dibiase Sr's son, and Dibiase Sr and IRS worked together for a long time and had good chemistry from what I have seen. Dibiase Jr is long lost at this moment, and like others said, what can really save him?? Ted Dibiase, believe it or not, has it pretty easy. Before you say what the hell is this douche talking about, just keep reading. Now, Dibiase Sr, had one of the greatest gimmicks ever, being the evil millionaire that he was. Why can't Dibiase Jr be the same way? Of course he won't be able to portray it as good as his dad did, but that is probably the only way he can save himself. He should say "Screw you Maryse". You are wasting all my money and doing nothing for my career. I have moneyyyyy. He should get Husky Harris, once The Nexus is done of course, to manage Dibiase and do kind of what IRS did to Dibiase Sr, and of course Dibiase Jr pays him. He should get his own Million Dollar Corporation, first adding Harris, later maybe Brodus Clay who is also his NxT Rookie, and just hope that will save Dibiase.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

The mistake WWE tend to do is that they initially push a second or third generation star as just that...a second or third generation star. Look at the way Rock was pushed or the way Orton was pushed initially. It seems to the WWE that merely having the tag of a second generation wrestler will make them likable or get them to generate enormous heat. However proof suggests that this concept has never ever worked. Rock and Randy both got enormous heat from the crowd when they were supposed to be extremely likable third generation faces who were supposed to be the future of the company.

I think that the reason behind disliking them is related to the fact that entitlement to something is practically treated as a sin by the wrestling fans. If they have not proven themselves then why should the crowd buy them as the future of the company. Now from this logic, I guess it would make sense to push them as heels. So now I think that you will ask why Legacy did not work. Simply put I think Legacy could have been booked better. Cody and Ted should have held on to midcard belts by cheating and with the help of evil officials. Their cheating should have gone unnoticed only due to the fact that they are 2nd or 3rd generation superstars. Legacy was a great concept but the execution was far from perfect. At the end of it, it merely served as a vehicle for Randy's face turn.

The best way to push 2nd and 3rd generation superstars is for WWE to not make a huge deal of the fact that they are second or third generation superstars. I think that if they get over once in a different gimmick and then if you start referencing them as a third generation superstar who is destined for greatness, the crowd would not mind so much.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I agree that TDJ hasn't exactly been all that spectacular. He has a good look about him and he's solid inside the ring but yeah, the guy's as bland as mashed potatos without butter & salt. One possibility is that TDJ simply doesn't have "it". Just because his father is a wrestling legend and, arguably, the greatest pro wrestler of the past 40 years to have never been a World Heavyweight Champion doesn't mean that he's going to be cut from the same cloth. Talent isn't automatically some genetically inherited trait.

As for Joe Hennig & Husky Harris, it's FAR too soon to be even be considering throwing in the towel on them. If you discount their time on NXT, they've only bee on Raw for a couple of months. They might turn out to be duds as well but they haven't spent the past few years wallowing in mediocrity as TDJ has. Both of them have barely wrestled on Raw, so I'm going to give them some time to show us something.

 

[spinningtorturerack]

Get over it. I am so entirely sick and tired of threads like this. Especially ones where they exaggerate and go to extremes like these 2nd and 3rd generation stars are complete failures and won't become anything. Get over yourself. Allow them to have some TIME to have careers before you devalue everything about them, at least. Most of these wrestlers are still in their mid to later-TWENTIES. They've been in the business less then five years. Ted Dibiase Jr. is 28 and he's only been in the business for FOUR full years. Cody Rhodes is oly 25, and he's been in the business for FOUR years. DH Smith is only 25 years old and he may have more experience in the business but he's only been in the WWE for a few years now on that kind of stage. The list goes on and on.

Ted Dibiase Sr. was in the business for THIRTEEN years before he came into the WWE as the Million Dollar Man and became the star and legend he did. Curt Hennig was in the business for EIGHT years before he came into the WWE as Mr. Perfect and got over and became the star we love him for. And the same goes on and on for all these fathers and legends. These guys had years and years of development in the territories and in Japan long before they came into the WWE and became the stars they finally did.

In fact, Ted Dibiase Sr. was in the WWE as a young rookie, for several years, before he left and went through the territories. He never made it in the WWE straight out of the boat. The same happened with Curt Hennig who was in the WWE for two years when he first started, made an impression as a young talent, but wasn't at the level yet and went through the territories, etc, before coming back to make it.

People need to stop having such crazy high expectations (and irrational expectations) for these 2nd and 3rd Generation wrestlers. Like any other wrestler they need to develop their skills on all levels before they can really reach their true potentials and that takes years of experience and years in the business. Triple H wasn't an overnight success. Randy Orton wasn't a star right away. They need to have time in the ring, time on the mic, and time in general to find their place and get to where they need to be. And seeing as all of them pretty much are still in their twenties, and some in their MID twenties, I think they have LOTS of time. They haven't even gotten near their primes yet for God's sake.

I personally think Ted Dibiase Jr., Joe Hennig, Cody Rhodes, DH Smith, Husky Harris, among others all have lots of potential. They're all pretty good in the ring, none of them are completely horrible on the mic, and with more time developing those skills they have a lots of potential to be stars down the road. It doesn't mean they're going to magically be stars right now. And it also takes the WWE giving them opportunities, and really giving them the chance to develop a character, have time to cut promos and things, to really break out and find themselves as wrestlers. If expecting the world in a few years, let alone a few months, is really ridiculous.

I understand where you're coming from, however it's not the fan's who are in the wrong at expecting so much its WWE. The big guys are employing these guys on their heritage as its an instant selling point, not fully taking into account their ability (I do understand however, their wrestling ability must play an aspect in their hiring too).

These guys are also being employed too young due to their name. It's understandable from a business point of view, since a heritage name will bring old fans out the woodwork, but why not let them train more, travel etc before employing them?

I feel a WWE fan (Universonian?) should have every right to have high expectation from these guys when they appear on our screens. It's WWE's job, as the number company in the world for wrestling, to provide a first class product. As fans, when we turn on the box, want to see the top wrestlers creating classic entertainment. So its down to WWE to employ class wrestlers based on ability not heritage.