In Response To Chris Cash's "Top 5 WWE Stars Most Likely To Succeed" Column.

[HBKistheHOF]

In response to those who, WOULD succeed i mostly agree. Sheamus and Barrett have alot of potential to be some of the top heels in the company(Barrett face, MAYBE). I dont care for Del Rio and he doesnt interest me one bit, but he will prob go far. and ive been a Ziggler fan since day one and think he has AMAZING potential. as far as Dibiase...HAHAHAHAHAHA. Ill admit i thought he might go farther then rhodes a year ago but especially with am little brother entering WWE soon and being stuck for so long, i dont see him going much of anywhere.


As for who he he said WOULD'NT succed, i disagree! I do have to say i do think Mason Ryan is a wildcard and while the Miz does have good mic skills and is alright in the ring, i gotta agree he isnt very intimiadting. On the other hand though a guy like John Morrison who is AMAZING in the ring and also has good mic skills can excell, and i know he isnt very intimidating either, but he has that in-ring skill?style like rey mysterio. or jeff hardy. Not big and mean but quick, athletic and agile. While i dont see miz possesing as many of those qualities in the ring. Daniel Bryan, while i can see that his ROH backround can hold him back but with his current crowd reactions, i dont see him going anywhere in the wrestling world for awhile. Now i kinda agree with cody rhodes, i didnt pick him, but right now he is doing better than dibiase and id like to see how good he can hold a singles mania match with rey.

 

[JGlass]

Tons of people have been in the main event and even won titles that ended up flickering out and falling on their faces. Just because Dolph Ziggler and Alberto del Rio are hot right now, doesn't automatically mean they're going to be hot in 3 to 4 years.

True, but he didn't exactly use his "journalistic abilities" to make any tough choices. If he picked a Superstars regular or even a midcard mainstay, that would be harder to criticize. Instead he picked 4 guys who are on the road to glory, and... Ted DiBiase.

Success is all about longevity and building a good career, not just a one-off title run. If I were to make a most likely to succeed list, they'd be on it.

Success in professional wrestling is relative. Some people think one title run is success, some people think a long career jobbing is okay because at least you're getting paid to wrestle.

Just because it's obvious or likely doesn't mean it shouldn't be on a list. You don't make a "Best movies ever" list and not put all shitty movies on it because the good ones are too damn obvious. Some of his picks may be obvious, but it doesn't make them WRONG.

You might want to take a look at this again before you put it in one of your articles.

That being said... I don't know if I agree with his choice in the Miz. I agree with his analysis of the Miz. I don't think he's main event material, and he really doesn't intrigue me into buying PPVs or keeping on top of his angles. Everyone is definitely entitled to their own opinions, but I don't see it in the Miz. I'm glad he got a push, he's doing DECENT as champion, but I'm not excited for a long, lengthy main event career from the man.

You're (collective you) not supposed to be excited, you're supposed to be annoyed, mad, upset, he's the bad guy, you're not supposed to be happy he's the champion. You want to see him lose, and that's why you buy the PPV.

Ted DiBiase was Chris' LONG SHOT. Stop your bitching and complaining. He's a journalist with an opinion. It's not like he said "DiBiase is so awesome! He's the greatest thing ever! He's going to be a god!"

Thanks for that, Mike. Please, continue to baby us by telling us what Chris did and did not say. I understand readers LOVE that. And if by long shot you mean a toddler taking a shot from half court while blindfolded... then yes, DiBiase is a long shot.

DiBiase is his surprise pick that rise up and do really well for himself. He's got a perfect build, and I think it's buried down deep somewhere... But I agree. Nobody's a fan of DiBiase, but I think he's got potential.

I don't understand where people see potential in DiBiase. Even in Legacy, I always thought he was the least talented of the three. He sounds slow and sluggish on the mic, almost as if he has to think about every word he says. Good mic work comes naturally, it just flows. Even guys like Kofi Kingston who aren't that good on the mic sound natural on the mic. DiBiase sounds like he thinks to hard. Cody Rhodes used to suffer from the same thing, but he has improved radically. Furthermore, I can't think of one thing DiBiase has ever done in the ring that has impressed me. Even before Legacy was through, I was a fan of Cody Rhodes' finisher and he had a fantastic moonsault. Dreamstreet is a dull move that doesn't stand out from other finishers at all.

Last year, Peter King made his yearly ESPN NFL picks before the season even began. Do you know who he picked? The Steelers vs. The Packers! BEFORE THE SEASON BEGAN!

Yes, but he's reporting on a sport where you can do research and check stats and what not. Picking the Steelers or the Packers to go to the Superbowl isn't exactly the longest of shots either.

Journalists have hunches, and they can track the past and predict the future based on that information.

Okay, let's look at DiBiase's past. He got a great rub when he started out winning the tag titles with Cody Rhodes and then joining forces with Randy Orton in Legacy. After Legacy broke up, he slowly declined until he was put into a feud with an over the hill Goldust... and lost. Find me one wrestler who has succeeded after jobbing to a wrestler over a fake belt, and I'll already start to eat my words.

I'm not saying Chris Cash is as reputable as Peter King,

Good, because he's not. Peter King works for paid publications, and Chris Cash works for Wrestlezone.com, a site that primarily reports info that is originally from more prestigious wrestling dirt sheets (as prestigious as dirt sheets get anyway).

but in 4 years if DiBiase is a god in the ring, you're all going to be eating your words.

If DiBiase is anywhere close to the main event in 4 years, I will gladly eat my words. Too bad he's easily the worst thing the WWE has on television these days.

 

[jellmoo]

Meh, I agree and disagree with Mr. Cash.

It seems a little pointless to point our that Barrett and Sheamus will be impact players. They already are. Sheamus is a 2 time champion, and Barrett has firmly established himself as the cream of the NXT crop (not that that's saying much, but I digress...)

I disagree about DiBiase. I'm willing to be pleasantly surprised by the guy, but he just doesn't seem to have "it". I'm not sure how much of the fault belongs to booking, or his inability to rise to the occasion. Remember when his father hosted RAW and pretty much owned every segment he was in? That's what Ted Jr. needs to do.

I agree with his assessment of the Miz. I do think that there's a place for a beatable chicken shit heel. The problem is that they need to do a lot of work with Miz to make him a believable champion. People point out Ric Flair. But Flair in his prime looked like a million bucks. The Miz looks like a slightly doughy dude off the street. Flair had the Horsemen to watch his back. The Mix has A-Ri. Flair is one of the greatest wrestlers ever, with a tremendous ability to sell, tell a story, and work. The Miz is a mediocre at best wrestler, that doesn't do any one thing in the ring particularly well. The big difference was that sure, Flair would cheat to win. But he was believable. Even if he didn't cheat, you could believe that he could win the match. Put the Miz in the ring with the likes of Cena, and you'll scratch your head wondering how on earth he should be a threat to the man. There's definitely a place for The Miz in WWE. It's just not at the main event level, and certainly isn't at the main event of Mania.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I didn't realize this post was made until I saw it on the main page. Glad my article got some people talking (even if a lot of it was insulting me rather than the actual column).

No offense dude, but you kind of carry yourself as a douchebag. You're bound to be insulted.

To clarify a few things:

1) This list was MY opinion, so to all of you who are saying that I'm "wrong", that would actually make "you" wrong. They are an opinion on who I believe has the ability to make it long term and who doesn't, based on my personal analysis of things.

Well I'm glad we cleared that up. I'm not among those who said you were wrong as I was aware that it was just an opinion. But in my opinion, you analysis of things didn't seem to have legs to stand on. Using your "gut" as a tool of analysis isn't a legitimate tool for journalism.

2) I am not catering my list JUST to the IWC. If I tried to please and appease you guys all the time, my columns would never be a topic of conversation. Most of you (as clearly shown in this thread) think way too much alike when it comes to who has talent, who doesn't, who will succeed and who doesn't.

So you're not catering your list to the IWC, I can respect that. The problem is that the only place I hear opinions like yours are amongst the IWC. I don't hear the casual fans(who make up the majority of the fanbase) with these same opinions. My little brothers love John Morrison and DB. My dad hates The Miz, but he also hates Wade Barrett, Sheamus, and most of the heels on top of this. Most casual fans don't analyze the business the way we do. Hell, I know a guy who would mute the tv whenever Chris Jericho was on the tv. Not a whole lot of people here that would make that choice. As for your assessment that we all think too much alike, well that's just not true. Now I'm not bashing your opinion, I actually can look down and see that there are upward of 19,000 people with memberships to this forum. Now the 20 or so people who have responded to this and, yes, most of them disagree with you, don't make up a very large percentage of this forum. I'd say there are probably a lot more people that agree with you rather than me.

If Vince McMahon listened to the IWC all the time, John Cena wouldn't be where he is today.

This is probably true.

3) My comment toward Bryan Daniels was taken out of context and I should have explained it further.

Yeah no shit.

What I meant was that Daniels is ONLY a star in Ring of Honor, not in WWE. Again, that is my opinion.

Oh ok. Well I suppose all is forgiven...... Wait, what? What exactly is any different from this statement than the other? Furthermore, wasn't this an article discussing who will be a star in the future? Surely if he were already a star he wouldn't have any place on this list.

4) The top 5 really wasn't mean to be taken in order. Ted DiBiase was my wild card for the "will make it" list, just like my wild card in Mason Ryan.

Well in fairness, you counted down from 5 to 1. It kind of signifies that you're ranking them.

So for those of you who think I am expecting DiBiase to make it over guys like Del Rio, Sheamus, hell..even the Miz - I'm not. That's what makes him a "wild card".

Well he wasn't labeled a wildcard, so forgive me for jumping to the conclusion you misled us to.

Now, to further explain some of my choices:

Oh goody.

Miz - I simply don't see it.

There's that journalistic instinct again. Please, tell me more.

By the way, someone said that I wrote he "would" be fired shortly after losing the title. I said exactly the opposite. I don't think he's going anywhere as evident by the fact that Vince loves him and he truly is a good character. I enjoy his segments. But I don't think he's Chris Jericho and you need to be "Chris Jericho good" to get over with that size and look.

I understood that you said he wouldn't be fired any time soon, I don't know where that one even came from. But since when is Chris Jericho the standard to which all small guys are compared? I'm not trying to bash Jericho, but isn't that a pretty tall order? Besides, Jeff Hardy wasn't "Jericho good." Punk, well yeah I think he's on Jericho's level. I'm getting sidetracked. In my opinion, The Miz has far exceeded expectations as WWE Champ. I don't have the numbers right now, but hasn't Miz held the title longer than Jericho has in any of his reigns? Has he not garnered more heat, success, and all around interest in the Championship scene than Jericho ever did? I love Jericho, but I think The Miz is doing quite well if we're using Jericho as a base of comparison. He doesn't have the mic skills or ability that Jericho does. But he does have the "It" factor, and that's all that really matters.

Mason Ryan - Yes, it's early. But I don't think he makes it. He's supposed to be the next Batista, but I don't remember Dave looking that lost out there. Watch Ryan next time out...he looks like a big, bad meathead when he's in the ring, out of the ring, during a backstage segment. I just don't take him seriously.

I really don't see what you're talking about. He does his job as the monster enforcer of Nexus, what else is he suppose to be doing? He's only been around for a few weeks and he has had ONE MATCH. Sorry, but I see no merit in your opinion on this one.

Cody Rhodes - Take his size out of it and the guy still doesn't make it, IN MY OPINION. Has he been dealt better cards since the break up with DiBiase, yes. He's even relatively enjoyable these days. But will he make it to the top (or even upper mid-card)? I don't believe so.

I'm more or less with you here. I want to disagree, but a lot remains to be seen. I would like to see what he can do with a mid card championship run, maybe then he'll impress me enough to change my mind.

Ted DiBiase - I think he does have the potential. You guys don't see it because Vince hasn't given him a chance to do so. I've heard from a former WWE talent that his problem is "lack of passion". That is definitely a hard one to overcome, so he could very well not make it anywhere, but I don't think it's from a lack of talent. Again, that's why he's a "wild card".

That's a pretty fair analysis, but I just don't see this talent you're talking about. He's Carlito without the drugs.

I appreciate the feedback and expected a ton of criticism (maybe not quite this much). I'm sure the reasoning above won't change any of your minds and it shouldn't. Those are my thoughts on some of the superstars currently in the fold right now and who I think or don't think have the ability or potential to go further than they are currently at right now.

You brought the criticism on yourself in all fairness. I did notice that you never addressed being called out on having 4 guys in your list of who will make it that have clearly been on the path to success for a while. Maybe you just missed those ones. Oh well, it's been fun.