HBK VS Hart, Austin VS Rock, Cena VS Punk.... What's Next?

[Ross421]

It seems as if every era in the WWE has been known by a major feud with the top 2 guys in the company. In the "New Generation" it was Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart. In the Attitude Era, it was Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock, and now in the PG Era, its John Cena vs CM Punk.

While I don't think the PG aspect will ever end, I feel as if the current rankings with John Cena & CM Punk on top will most likely end around 2014-2015.

So what do you think will be THE rivalry for the future? I'll take the easy route. I say it will be Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose. I feel like their current alliance within The Shield will be fodder for rivalries in the future.

 

[Da Solo]

Yeah, I'd probably call it as Cena/Punk or Cena/Edge, but kudos for not going with Cena/Orton like everyone is tempted to do.

I feel like the next legendary pairing will be Kofi/Dolph, which we've already seen more than shades of. It'll be kind of like Rock/Austin, where no matter what stage of their career they fins themselves in, they'll always cross paths once in a while. They've traded midcard titles more times than I can count, Kofi and Truth brick-walled the Dolph/Swagger team and most recently they put on a real clinic last year on a later edition of RAW that was "midcard of WM" worthy. Once they're main eventers, I bet the cycle continues, kind of like how Cena/Orton was planted as soon as SD!vs.RAW came out and the intro video showed those two even though they hadn't met as of yet, which led to WWE inadvertently ruining the pairing altogether via overexposure, but I'm sure this will be booked better.

 

[DylanSnapp]

HBK vs Hart, Austin vs Rock, and Cena vs Punk were all amazing feuds with great stories!

Ziggler vs Rhodes

For the future I'm going to go back to a year or so ago to a tweet ( I know, I know -_- ) that Dolph Ziggler posted stating he wanted to be in an Iron Man match and was looking for a worthy opponent. The reply he got was from Cody Rhodes. Now I can't quote these tweets and am too lazy to find them, but I can just see these guys (not necessarily in an Iron Man match though that'd be great) main eventing 'Mania for many years to come.

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

I like the idea of Daniel Bryan VS Dolph Ziggler as an era defining feud. Don't need to sell you on their talents. DB has proven his ability to be successful as a face or heel, and I believe Ziggler could be just as successful. With enough time they could both be heel and face while feuding throughout the years, but I see Bryan being more of the thorn in Ziggler's behind. If only they had something that could make the feud personal. Oh, hi AJ.

I also see potential in Ryback VS Antonio Cesaro. I have no problems with Cesaro's anti-American gig, but he would have to drop it before going to the main event. He can match Ryback in strenghth and if given real opportunity, these two could have some hard hitting slug fests.

Don't sleep on Big E Langston or Seth Rollins. I don't have opponents for them, but they could very well be the faces of the next generation.

 

[phoenixphreek]

I think Cody and Dolph as well. These two are the future, more so than anyone else going right now. One of them will turn face eventually, and this match would be fantastic.

 

[thegoldensheath88]

DANIEL BRYAN AND DOLPH ZIGGLER! 2010 bragging rights match was match of the year (idc, i said it. it actually tied with taker and michaels on wwe.com). Daniel Bryan is amazing. Dubbed a internet darling for outstanding in ring skills, he came to wwe, made an impact on the nexus invasion, came back at summerslam and made an impact, beat miz for us title and brought legitimacy back to the title, put on 5 star matches with punk and sheamus and boosted his charisma more in 1 year then most pro wrestlers do in a lifetime. Dolph Ziggler is the closest thing to perfect since Curt Henning died (sorry Michael). His spots and bumps are better than anyones, his dropkick is better than Orton, he got the look, the charisma (hes working on it) and the company behind him. This is the next great feud.

 

[kcoe24]

Can't really tell until someone replaces John atop the WWE. The reason all the matches that are listed in the title were so big is because it was number 1 vs number 2. And as good as guys like Kofi and Cody are they will never be the top guy or even number 2. So until wwe gets two new top guys the next pairing won't happen.

If i were to guess who on the roster who it could be i would go Ambrose as one i do see him as a top heel and top guy in the company for many years and either Rollins or maybe a face Ziggler both have a like ability to them some what like Jeff Hardy. But to be honest i don't see the next top face in the company right now.

 

[Kelso1ftw]

Honestly its hard to tell right now, especially since we haven't seen much of the shield and what they possibly could be capable of. There are probably 4 or 5 candidates that I would have to guess would be in the contention of being in the top feud of the next era. Ziggler is an easy choice, he is on the verge of super stardom and also is within a few months of his first major title reign. I want to say Daniel Bryan, but idk if he will ever be on the level of Punk, Cena, or The Rock. I would say he will more or less turn into a fan favorite like Orton or even a character like Jericho who is always in the title picture, he just would happen to stick around a lot more often! Rollins is the next obvious choice, he is hands down the future of this company and I can't wait to see what he will fully accomplish in WWE. Ambrose is also another one and him and Rollins could get their feud started early since they are already in alliance with one another. He is such a good actor and wrestler that its hard not to believe he will be a major player. Lastly, I might be going on a stretch with this but I think Damien Sandow could possibly be a great talent, I love his character right now, and he plays it so well! I want to see more if he can learn to adjust his character and how he can handle higher profile feuds.

Would like to throw some honorable mentions out there to people like Cody Rhodes, Ryback, Wade Barrett, and Antonio Cesaro. I feel they will all be future champions, just won't quite get to the level as the others I just listed.

Can't wait to see where the WWE will be in the next 3-5 years! Cena will be an old fart by then and it will be interesting to see what they do with him once he gets older, people like Kane, Christian, Mark Henry, Chris Jericho, and HHH will most likely be retired (but with the way Kane has been who knows!). Orton and Punk will be reaching the last bits of their prime as they will be reaching their 40s like Cena. It honestly seems like WWE has a great crop of up and comers and who knows who will be the feud of the era when that time comes.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I don't know, and that's the best answer you can give right now

WWE doesn't have its next "top guy" out there right now. The current guys don't have it, that's just a fact. Not Dolph, not Cody, not Barrett, not even Ryback (unfortunately).

I don't think we've laid eyes on WWE's next top guy yet. If we have, that's unfortunate, because whoever he is, he's not all that great.

 

[mikeyado]

Nice thread, Kudos.

My heart and the wrestling purist in me wants to say Ziggler vs Bryan. Those two could have any kind of match, with whatever motivation as many times as they liked and it would still be awesome. The amateur wrestling background both possess means that matches between these two would never get old because they could constantly vary it. That's the difference between these two and, say, Cena v Orton. Cena v Orton got predictable very quickly because of the lack of variation and depth in each guy's arsenal.

So the headline feud to carry the company forward that I WANT to see is Bryan vs Ziggler, with a little Seth Rollins and The Miz thrown in for good measure.

HOWEVER, my head tells me that VKM would never let two sub 6 foot, 230lb guys be numbers one and two in his company. It just flies in the face of all logic as far as he is concerned. Therefore, enter Ryback and Sheamus. I hope like hell that these guys are never one and two, but once Cena and Punk are done, I don't see a time where at least one of these guys won't be in the main event scene constantly. Personally, I hope it's Sheamus and I hope it's Sheamus as a heel.

Therefore, the HEAD choice is heel Sheamus vs face Ziggler. Their styles would complement each other perfectly and pushing the button on a Ziggler heel turn could catapult him into the stratosphere. The guy can do it all in the ring and a big, brutish bully like Sheamus could be what is needed to get him over as the company's number one face. That would be fine by me.

 

[Wald]

Do you know who it actually could have been? Jeff Hardy vs CM Punk.

It seems like there is a constant thread running through era defining feuds and that is a massive difference in character.

For Hart vs HBK it was the hard workin Canadian vs the flashy over the top Texan

For Rock vs Austin it was the bling wearing cocky guy vs the hard drinking red neck

For Hardy vs Punk the differences were massive and there for all to see, we even had the real life animosity that, though not on the same scale, Hart and Michaels had.

Could have been great had Jeff stuck around, and with the popularity of Hardy the WWE wouldn't have needed to rely on John Cena as their only merch seller to the kids

 

[SacredMesa]

Right now the only guy in the company that has any chance of replacing either Punk or Cena some day would be Ziggler. His show off gimik lends him well to an HBK/Jericho style face run that could really elevate him, hell he already gets more cheers than Cena turning him face would only increase that.

If I had to pick from the main roster who I think it could be there are a couple of potentials I see if they are booked correctly.

Daniel Bryan immediately comes to mind. He's over, "YES, YES, YES" and "NO, NO, NO" are still pretty huge and he has great in ring talent. If WWE gives him the proper shot I could see him really becoming a star.

Damien Sandow, it doesn't take a genius to realize this guy is one hell of a good heel and can get people pissed very easily. Book him right and it would be so simple to have a guy like him playing the heel to a face Ziggler. It would be the "intellectually supperior" heel against the athleticly talented face and a story like that writes itself with ease.

Dean Ambrose, this guy is amazing on the mic and damn good in the ring. If he went full psycho like he was in FCW it would be great to see it against Ziggler as well. So much potential if he's used right.


Those are the three potentials I see, I know some will say Seth Rolins but I'll be honest I haven't see much of his independant work to judge and while he seems like the stronger of the remaining 2 shield members I didn't mention I really can't say much for him as a singles wrestler. The three mentioned though have everything needed, aside for the muscled up look Vince likes, to become major stars given the chance. Here's hoping they get it.

 

[rge2010]

What, no mentions for McMahon vs Austin? Triple H vs Shawn Michaels? Cena vs Edge? These are all classic fueds...

I would also put Cena vs Punk neatly inside 'the reality era' which I think was born in 2011 after Punks pipebomb. WWE has left the PG era as far as I am concerned and edgier TV has come to the forte. Cant really think of any decent fueds between 2008-2011...ones that firmly stick in the mind anyway.

As for the future, well I have no idea. Maybe we will look fondly back on The Rock vs John Cena as a classic fued if it continues after WM29...some people will scoff at that but they probably said the same thing about Rock vs Austin 10 or so years back!!!!

And again, how anyone can overlook Triple H vs Shawn Michaels is beyond me. WWE need to make a DVD about these two in their greatest rivalries series!!!!

I can think of 10 PPV's they fought in, plus the Tribute to The Troops match they had.

 

[samfeeley34]

I'm sorry but forgive me not if I am wring but we're all looking at the new guys in WWE, are we forgetting Randy Orton is only 32? That's only a year older than Ryback! Not to mention he is under contract until 2019 plus he is coming from 9 world titles already! I think Randy Orton will be the one to carry WWE through the painful times when Cena and Punk decide they've earned their millions.

The only thing is, he'll need an opponent now I have several contenders:

Ryback: Ryback has promised to not just be as big as Cena but blow him out of the water, which to me seems cocky and arrogant but I also think he could be correct I mean look how over he is now and he hasn't even been around a year, plus its not about an undefeated streak anymore, its about kicking ass which correct me if I'm wrong is how The Rock came to be the biggest guy in the biz. He's got the look that's easy to market and his voice will come on over time but this guy will be up there.

Dolph Ziggler: I'm not usually a Ziggler guy but you've gotta admit he's being molded to be the next big thing, all he needs is that spot in the sun. I'all make a prediction right here, Dolph Ziggler will have been World Champ and WWE Champion by this time next year, I promise. WWE hears the cries from the IWC saying 'Ziggler is a god, give him the title' . They've heard it. They're just biding their time.

Seth Rollins: Now we've not seen a lot of Seth Rollins yet, but one thing is for sure, this guy is good. Hell WWE wouldn't put a guy they didn't believe was good in the middle of a Rock match. For the record I feel that The Shield interfering in the Royal Rumble title match and attacking Rock was a great creative decision, being involved with The Rock can make you sky rocket. You don't even have to have seen him in a match to know this guy is gonna be big. WWE's creative decisions tell you enough.

 

[Sedated]

I would say none of the feuds Cena has been in have defined anything. He hasn't done anything memorable with Orton, CM Punk.. or really anyone. I'm not saying he hasn't had good matches but no overall feud comes close to the likes of HBK/Hart or Austin/Rock.

Hell, HBK/HHH or even Batista/HHH have come closer than anything Cena has done. There really hasn't been anything though with the combination of quality/returning to the feud since Austin/Rock though.

 

[samfeeley34]

I would say none of the feuds Cena has been in have defined anything. He hasn't done anything memorable with Orton, CM Punk.. or really anyone. I'm not saying he hasn't had good matches but no overall feud comes close to the likes of HBK/Hart or Austin/Rock.

Hell, HBK/HHH or even Batista/HHH have come closer than anything Cena has done. There really hasn't been anything though with the combination of quality/returning to the feud since Austin/Rock though.

Nobody should ever doubt the Cena v Punk 2011 feud, it was the best feud we've seen in wrestling for a number of years and so many memorable moments were born because of it, we look back on things like Austins beer truck today and think that was awesome. In ten years time we will look at CM Punk's shoot and think that was awesome. Not to mention Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer giving Punk V Cena at MITB 2011five stars, the first WWE match to achieve that in almost fifteen years. Do not doubt the validity that this feud defined THIS era.