Can You Tell, By Looking, Who Will and Will Not Be A Star?

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think that it is almost impossible to rule out a wrestler as someone who is never going to be a star. Bischoff ruled out Austin as someone who would never sell a dime in the mid 90's and we all know what became of him. The Miz was someone whom the IWC has never rated very highly and the reactions that he initially got both backstage and from the live audience suggested that he would be future endeavored inside a year. CM Punk was another guy with whom the higher-ups in the WWE were not too impressed with till Shawn Michaels spoke up about him. R-Truth was another guy who seemed to be destined for a midcard career but his heel turn has done wonders for him. So, as they say, you can never say never in wrestling.

I do, however think that you can say by looking at someone if he is going to be a star. You could see that in the case of both Cena and Randy Orton. The Undertaker and Brocklesnar are examples if of a slightly different kind. There are obviously going to be exceptions like Ted Dibiase Jr but on the whole I think that you have higher odds of who is going to make it big than you have of predicting who isn't.

 

[RoughKut]

Well, my memory is pretty terrible but as far back as I can remember The Miz being repackaged as "The Chick Magnet" and teaming with Morrison, I saw him being the HBK to Morrison's Jannety. BTW, Morrison bejewling his abs was hilarious to me.

I talked about this on my own website if anyone cares. (shameless bragging)

http://roughkut.com/kamp_v3/index.php?topic=19658.msg195131#msg195131

Morrison has a great look and tons of potential, needs to rid himself of Melina and already seems to have a great attitude towards improving himself by taking comedy classes and what-not. I think with the right guidance and some support, Morrison can be a Cm Punk Caliber star.

Cm Punk, I didn't get into him really for a long, long time. I knew he'd be a cool star, because he has the whole "MMA" aura about him, but until that famous "promo" I didn't see him being a show carrying star.

R-Truth, they are dropping the ball with Truth big time. Turning him into another Santino. Truth got over, big time and they almost immediately turned him into a joke. He's getting up there in age, I think he could have a good title run if they let him go.

 

[Allstar]

Oooh good thread!

I'll start with the ones who I had no faith in the beginning but now have me eating my words

The Miz - does anyone remember his first raw appearance as the host of the diva search? He completely fucked up and stumbled his lines. After that I was sure he was gonna get fired! I can remember Smackdown/ECW came to my home country of New Zealand a few years ago for a tour and The Miz & MVP were at a club - absolutely marked out when I saw MVP and didn't give Miz the time of day lol now I'm a total Mizfit.

Dolf Ziggler - I thought they repackaged him well after the spirit squad but I found the whole "my name is Dolf Ziggler" thing was boring and he would never get over...now he's taken the perfection gimmick and running great with it! Can't wait to see what the future holds for this superstar.

Kane - honestly thought he was just a character WWE brought in for an Undertaker storyline! He's now been raising hell for over 10 years and won multiple titles.

Jeff Hardy - always thought he was far too sloppy in the ring and would only be good at throwing himself off ladders etc but come 2009 he was one of the most popular stars in the biz.

Those are the first ones that come to mind as guys who I thought would never make it.
As for guys who I thought WOULD of made it..

John Morrison - 100% thought he was going to the top sooner than later, I just wish they would give him more promo time and bring out the sharmen of sexy and let him be his cocky self.

MVP - IMO he had it all. He had a good look and a great gimmick, his in ring work was decent and he had great mic work. Was the longest U.S champ in history so was only fitting that world/WWE champ was next. Oh well..

Drew McIntyre - not only did WWE drop the ball with this guy - they kicked it outa the football field! Now this maybe because I'm part Scottish lol. I thought his debut was awsome and the "chosen one" gimmick had future champ written all over it IMO. I'm not over with his ability on the mic but everything else I like.

I gues we never really know who is and who isn't going to be the next "big" superstar but hey if we did then WWE would be a very boring product wouldn't it ;-)

 

[#hamler]

I'll go with MVP. MVP was at one time my favorite wrestlers in the WWE. MVP was certainly entertaining and had everything it took to be a World Champion on Smackdown. He was a great heel. He had it all. An interesting look, phenomenal gimmick, great look, talking ability, selling ability, charisma, and a good amount of in ring talent to pass as someone good in the ring. MVP's matches with Kane proved he could hang with the big boys on Smackdown. I don't think he should've turned face so damn soon. He's an MVP - the highest paid talent in Smackdown's history, shouldn't he remain a heel? MVP had the look of someone who could run Smackdown as a top heel. All he needed was a push. Perhaps the push Mr. Kennedy received only to leave the company about a year later. I garentee you, had MVP won a World Championship, he'd still be in the WWE - maybe even one of the top guys on RAW.

As for someone I knew would make it, Jeff Hardy. I've always liked Jeff Hardy. I would always mark when he actally got a chance to wrestle a singles match. I pretty much gained even more respect when he beat Triple H for the number one contendership a few years back. I didn't expect Jeff Hardy to leave the WWE right in the middle of a huge push but I knew how big and popular he would become ever since his days in the Hardy Boyz tag team. Now Jeff Hardy's one of the most over, charasmatic, popular wrestlers in both the WWE and TNA.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

It's kind of an unfair question.

Veteran guys are super comfortable in the ring, so they don't have that "what was I supposed to do next" face and instead are doing character work.

Look at Otunga. He has a great look but is green as shit so he always has that look on his face. If he were a vet and carried himself constantly as his character, people would believe him more and you'd think he could be a star.

That's why Cena was so good early. He had confidence and believed he was his character for however long he was out there. People bought into it. That's really how you can tell.

It's not just in the ring, it's on the mic too. Kofi Kingston for 90% of his matches, looks comfortable. On the mic, he looks nervous. People see that and it makes you believe in him less.

I see Riley as a guy who carries himself well. Even though he's pretty green and looks like a standard babyface at times, he pretty much always looks like he's in character and not just a guy playing a character. He has the athleticism, looks, and confidence to be a star.

If you think about Jack Swagger, why he isn't as over, it's a lack of confidence on the mic. He looks like he's thinking about his lines instead of BEING a character. It's not that he "suddenly lost steam" or whatever crap, it's that he's just not that good at being believable.

Morrison is AWFUL at staying in character and looing confident. I don't care how many cool spots he does, he looks lost at times in the ring and REALLY looks lost on the mic. It's why he's not that over. It's not "vince doesn't like him" because if he could draw a lot of money, Vince would like him.

Cody Rhodes is another guy who looks like a character and not like a guy playing a character. It's why even though Ted has the looks and athleticism, Cody is more over. Even on the WWE.com exclusive interview it looked like Ted was thinking about what his character should say and not just BEING his character.

I'm on the fence about Gabriel. The whole "international fans" thing is bullshit. If you have an intriguing character, international people will care too. Just because someone is foreign doesn't mean ALL international people like him. Not like South Africa is a huge market that will bring the WWE tons of money either. He seems to stay in character and looks confident (comes from growing up in the business) but iunno, he doesn't have that much charisma.