Five Guys With Huge Potential... If Booked Properly

[Nada]

I cannot name 5, because there arent 5 guys on the roster for real, big star potential.

Only 3:

Sin Cara: He was/is a mega star in Mexico, he has the moves to become as big if not a bigger draw than Rey (and merch seller), he is the kind of star that comes once a decade. Too bad that they havent done much with him, not that his botches have helped.

ADR: For obvious reasons, he has the look and personality, but why then do they not allow him to show his real personality? Instead he is doing a inane JBL esque gimmick?

Ziggler: The biggest prospect WWE has had since Brock Lesnar. To me this guy is the essential mega star in the waiting. It is a crime that he isent main eventing right now.


All 3 of these guys have something in common in that they arent allowed to be themselves, this is especially problematic for ADR and Sin Cara who have huge personalites yet are portrayed as these boring simple characters.

 

[Keyote]

I love how people say "it isn't about the booking". We wouldn't have Alberto Del Rio shoved down our throats, and "The Great Khali" wasting air time if it weren't about booking. That being said, since I've already done this once (the forum apparently got hungry), I'll try to make this one a bit shorter and more to the point.

Current wasted potential:

Justin Gabriel: This guy has had something about him since NXT, and hasn't been used properly since NXT. He needs some mic work, but there is a lot of potential waiting to be used. I don't see him as a top star in the next few years, but he should be on par with Cody Rhodes and a few others, and could work excellent matches with them, especially with the "Good Guy" image that seems to be written all over him.

Dolph Ziggler: He's been in main event matches, he's been on the mic. So the question is: what's missing? 1: Drop the "show off" gimmick, let him be what he is, #HEEL, a major heel. Let him drop Vicki, work on the mic skills a bit; he might not be a top guy just yet, but again, he has major potential.

Alex Riley: Give him a US title run first. But there was a response to this guy vs the Miz, it could be that everyone hated the Miz that badly for that angle, but he definitely had a reaction. Let him back in to a few major angles after WM. Against Wade Barrett when he returns, against Punk, let him and Ryder build off of one another. These guys need stories, angles to be built to reach the next level. To at least have that opportunity.

Michael McGillicutty. Let's see, so far: thrown into the dump of a tag team division, jobbed out, and overall, not used (someone tell me how that isn't about booking again? I'm not quite sure I heard it right.) I'd like to see this guy at least have a shot.

Tyson Kidd: See McGillicutty. This guy could be "the lance storm" of this current era (not big on comparisons, but hell), "The wrestlers wrestler", he trained with the hart's, has the chops, but it isn't being used. He's engaged to Natalya, again, isn't being used. Can wrestle more than he's being allowed to (look up older videos), but nope, he's small, so he has to be jobbed out, right? Because he's not Santino, I suppose.


One's I partially agree with:

Kofi Kingston: He needs to be elevated with a few story lines. Austin was elevated with Bret Hart. Michaels was elevated through stories with Marty Jannetty/The Rockers. Triple H was elevated through HBK. Randy Orton? Through Triple H. John Cena was brought up into his status by initial matches with Kurt Angle. To get to "the next level", Kofi needs one on one matches with someone; interview time, microphone time, he needs "to be built" beyond where he is. Absent of that, he just - isn't - ready. Until then, he just isn't ready. He can say it in a match with six guys, but one on one is the way it is most often done outside of stables (DX, Evolution, The Four Horsemen).

R-Truth: I've never been the biggest fan of killings, but he is making a lot of what he is doing right now. I expect that it will be turned up even further as time goes on, over the next few months.

One's I disagree with:

Alberto Del Rio: Absent of an image overhaul, this has been something rushed from the beginning and never built properly. More or less, he's been another character "shoved down our throats" right off the bat while others have been told to wait in line for their opportunity.

The Great Khali: Why is he still wasting main event spots? Because he's big? People complain about Cena having "5 moves of doom" and a slew of other things, but Khali wasting top spots just to be there is okay? Makes perfect sense. Really, it does.

David Otunga: Second in command of Nexus, on TV every week, paired up with Laurenitis to keep his face "on screen", and we're still, what? Waiting for him to make an impact? Letting him "gradually improve?" Really? He "hasn't been given his shot?" He's "going to be a top superstar?" The whole thought of this just, well, it's somewhere between being worried and feeling very ill. I'll have to invent a new word for it.

Jinder Mahal: ANOTHER foreign, rich gimmick? Awesome. But even with another Gimmick, I don't see Jinder ever doing much.

I could list everyone else one by one, but, nobody wants to do that much reading, maybe in another post down the road.

 

[CyberPunk]

Jinder Mahal will not get over, not with this gimick. There is nothing special about this character, plus Del Rio is already playing this character (not that he is succeeding much). He is not relatable, even for an Indian (me being one) and downright boring.

As for others, I haven't really seen Reks much. Otunga is getting over, though a lot of improvement is still needed. Good thing is he actually looks the part and is mildly entertaining.

Truth is the best he can be. He doesn't need to be a heel. He is over with the crowd and entertains well. I don't think he'll win many championships but seems like he'll float in the upper midcard for the time being.

Kofi is a career midcard and I have no problem with that. He is over enough and glorifies the midcard. May be another IC or US run but not in the ME. He is good at what he is doing unless they tweak his gimick a bit.

I'd rather have Curt Hawkins on TV. Seems unique and well, he can have a good rivalry with Zack. He can be a solid midcard and can go inside the ring. Neither is he worst on the mic. Even Drew McIntyre can make it. It looks like he is getting there, specially now that SD needs somrone to step up.

 

[SPR*VLN]

Ted DiBiase Jr.
I've been an advocate for this guy ever since they decided to make him a jobber. Dude is a good face, and an excellent heel. Theres no reason why he should'nt be a upper midcarder right now.

Joe Henning
Lets cut the bullcrap, this guy needs to adpot his Henning name and show homage to the late great Curt Henning. Plus McGillicutty sounds ridiculous, I didnt think it was a real last name til I caught the credits to "I Love Lucy". Have him become a nice technical wrestler like his dad and he can definately go places.

Kofi Kingston
Happy that Air Boom tag team ended, but too bad it ended the way it did. But luckily for Kingston he's solo again. Now he can hopefully build enough steam to get hot like he was back in 2010.

 

[badnewzxl]

I just wanna say this: Jinder Mahal is not Arab; he's Indian. Think about it; he speaks Punjab and is related to the Great Khali. Furthermore, he sucks; even with the Mohammed Hassan gimmick he's only as good Hassan (i.e. NOT GOOD ENOUGH).

Tyler Reks is just plain weak; there are soooo many ppl who could capitalize on a push more than him (SEVERAL FCW guys included)

Otunga has worked on his in ring stuff, but he's right where he needs to be. He just beat Zeke clean two nights in a row.

Kofi (I agree) is on the cusp much like Morrison and Benjamin were for too long. Only time will tell if he sees the same fate.

Truth is exactly where he needs to be now; he'll never hold the top titles but he's on his way to being a classic character.

If anyone is being held back, it's Alex Riley. He gets HUGE pops on Superstars (same crowds that see RAW and SD!) and there's absolutely no reason not to use him, esp when they're lacking on babyfaces right now (they've decided to halt Clay despite him getting MEGA over, Orton has been injured for a while, Rey's been injured for a LONG while, Sin Cara has been the biggest letdown in WWE since Lesnar v. Goldberg, ppl are tired of Cena, Show isn't a viable champ,Ryder is "injured," and Bourne will prolly never get back where he was.) The only truly hot faces right now are Sheamus, Santino, Kofi, and Truth. That sucks, esp considering Barrett (though he's injured now), Rhodes, Henry, Miz, Jericho, Bryan, and Ziggler are strong and Otunga, Mahal, and Hunico have been basically crushing all the other faces that are left. Push Riley and Gabriel; there's no reason not to. Ryan and Jackson can sit it all out.

Btw; Khali will NOT suffice!

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I don't get why everyone is on Justin Gabriel's nuts. Awesome, he's fit and does flips. He doesn't do much else besides smile and look like a fruit. The doofy haircut and way too low tights probably piss some people off given how rednecky the WWE audience can be. He doesn't do much in the way of character work either.

Alex Riley I really like. He can talk, is smart about how he does stuff, and actually got over fairly well.

 

[Dagger Dias]

1) JINDER MAHAL----seriously underbooked. give him a MOHAMMED HASSAN-type gimmick where he insults the crowd every week and he will build massive heat. give him the US title right off the bat and have him keep it for a very long time to build his credibility. he's very solid in the ring already and he would be a very credible champion.

Jinder Mahal's problem isn't needing a new gimmick. It's that he SUCKS. He is nothing to write home about in the ring and his promos are boring. I never did like the guy and he should be jobbing. A Hassan gimmick would not help him, as he would still suck in the ring and in promos.

2) DAVID OTUNGA----otunga is also very solid in the ring. he was one of the old NXT's stable's best guys on the mic. he still is very good on the mic. he has a good, marketable look to him. he can use his association with jennifer hudson to his advantage, maybe have her valet for certain ppvs. give him more tv time, more wrestling time, and this guy will shine, no doubt about it.

This one I agree mostly with. Otunga is worthy of pushing, but he is awful in the ring. That's the main reason he has not gotten much further than he has. The lawyer gimmick and becoming JL's underling has been good for him. I hope to see more in the future, perhaps having him GM or be someone's manager. Otunga is certainly worth keeping around, but he needs to improve quite a bit in the ring before he can contend for any singles titles.

3) KOFI KINGSTON---kingston is one of the few high flyers on the roster and can have exciting matches. he just needs to stop jumping nonsensically and over-reacting too much before he does a flying closeline or whatever. first and foremost, he needs to DITCH the jamaican boom boom gimmick. DITCH IT for good. stick him with a more serious bad ass gimmick of some sort. just don't do the stereotypical jamaican guy ever again. it annoys the crap outta me. this gimmick is what is holding him back. he's pretty intelligent on the mic and give him a run as a heel, i see great potential with this character change, and it could possibly finally move him past the midcard.

This is something I have seen a lot in the WWE section and I agree. Kofi needs to get past his happy go lucky high flying "boom boom boom" persona if he ever wants to climb up the card. With Air Boom having to disband, he is left without direction for now. We saw a mere glimpse of what he could be capable of when he destroyed Orton's car in 2009. THAT Kofi could main event some day. WWE should bring that back and push him as a heel, it'd be a cool feud for CM Punk this summer. They used to be tag team partners and everything, it would elevate Kofi big time.

4) TYLER REKS----has a great, unique look. love the dreads. i see dreadlock wigs selling like hotcakes when this guy hits it big. give him mic time and more tv exposure to develop his character more. wwe should have given him the squash matches and the big push rather than fat ass 'not good enough for tv' brodus clay. reks looks pretty solid in the ring as well. sticking him with a typical monster heel persona would work wonders for this guy.

No, no, NO. Just.... No!

Tyler Reks should be thankful he is even employed at WWE anymore. He has never done anything noteworthy and the fans have a legit reason to not care about him. He sucks. Plain and simple. Give him a gimmick that stands out and let him have a chance to improve on the mic. Other than that they could have him be a jobber or just get rid of him. There's no reason to push this guy.

5) R TRUTH---he needs to go back to his great HEEL persona, where he smashed water bottles over peoples heads and smoked cigarettes inside the arenas. he needs to make kids cry in the stands, get the audience riled up, spit water in peoples faces. he was a loose cannon on the mic and this heel truth is just more congruent than babyface truth that we see now. he's watered down now, and him catering to his 'little jimmys' and smiling too much is corny, killed all his momentum, and it just doesn't fit right. truth needs to 'embrace the hate!'

Truth is a joke now, and it's all Little Jimmy's fault. Or at least that is what Truth would have you believe. His wellness policy violation ended any odds of him ever main eventing. Returning as a face instead of reuniting with The Miz under the Awesome Truth team made me doubt that Truth will ever be more than a midcard comedy face now. He is absolutely hilarious now, unlike his annoying WHAT'S UP rapper persona, but he's not worth pushing. Not as a comedy act. To move up the card the fans need to be able to take you seriously and Truth can't be taken more seriously than anyone except possibly Santino because he's too busy ranting about Little Jimmy and spiders or doing promos that make little to no sense.