WWE, whether it has all gone smoothly or not, has been placing a heavy emphasis on the future of their company. Seth Rollins is in the midst of a pretty lengthy WWE Title run, Kevin Owens had a highly acclaimed midcard feud with John Cena, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt have been given plenty of time for their feud to develop, the pieces are being set in place. It seems a lot of key stars are in an upswing and the addition of a competitive women's division only makes the overall show that much stronger.
Has WWE prepared itself for a new boom period? Let's take a quick look at the evidence:
Roman Reigns ~ Pushed to the moon, brought back to Earth, and is really starting to find his niche inside the squared circle. This extra year of build has done him a world of good, despite the seemingly endless backlash he faces. One thing is for certain, he gets a reaction and that is the primary goal of a WWE superstar.
Seth Rollins ~ While many have been annoyed by the Authority, because they have been beating the dead horse of that storyline for a decade now, there is no denying that it allowed Rollins to quietly establish himself at the top of the totem pole. It is difficult to establish a star like Rollins, who is quote/unquote "unproven", by simply sticking the strap on them and hoping for the best. They have gone to great lengths to protect his character and make him a commodity.
Kevin Owens ~ An old school heel with a new school flavor, Owens has been a huge deal since hitting the main roster. His feud with Cesaro is likely to send both men higher and the sky is the limit from there.
Cesaro ~ A modern day William Regal...no, perhaps he is even more impressive than that. Mixing strength with technique, there isn't a single wrestler in the WWE today that can lay claim to the huge amount of stellar matches that Cesaro has been in. Wrestling Cesaro is a right of passage, if you can't look good with him then you can't look good with anyone, and his drive to be the best makes up for any verbal shortcomings he may have.
Bray Wyatt ~ While he has been used a bit unevenly throughout his career, there is no denying that he has worked with a lot of top level talents and held his own. Working with Roman Reigns where he has to carry a lot of the load is helping bring him to the next level and giving Reigns a big rub in the process.
Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Dean Ambrose ~ While Bryan may be the top star of these three men, his future in uncertain, and it would be safe to say that if he does return then he will be used in a similar fashion to these other men. Ziggler and Ambrose are both upper midcarders who can be called on for main event level matches at any time, they strengthen the rest of the roster by offering talent that people want to see on any part of the card.
Rusev ~ I am honestly surprised at how well Rusev is doing without Lana as his valet. The delivery in his promos are excellent, with just the right amount of uncomfortable smarm and menace. Rusev has broken out of the stereotypical "big guy who fades into obscurity once he loses" role and is developing into a character that could be huge in the future.
Neville ~ Neville is a man without a home. Back in the day he could have easily been an all-star quality cruiserweight but without such a weight class to participate in he is left to put on great matches with other, bigger stars. Neville can hold his own and has done well since being called up to the main roster, but will he ever be anything better than what he already is?
NXT Women ~ The quality difference between the WWE Divas and the NXT Women is stark. The Bellas and Alicia Fox are incredibly limited in the ring yet they are the current flag bearers of the division. The NXT Women are already outclassing them in every other respect, it is just a matter of putting the final nail in the coffin and taking the Divas title too.
For all of the complaining that has been done, where we have all assumed that WWE had no idea what they were doing, they have slowly transitioned their product into the modern age. Nostalgia is big these days, comic books are big, hard workers getting their due is big, and WWE is tapping into each of these avenues. And the only reason they are able to tap into these avenues is because they have painstakingly set-up their roster to be able to.
For years we have complained about the misuse and poor treatment of some of our favorite stars, now it is all starting to come together. It is all starting to make sense. When the mass exodus of top Attitude era stars happened, there were few legit top stars left. Actually, there was only one. John Cena has been single handedly carrying the show for a long time and he has single handedly been giving rubs to nearly all of the stars who are currently on a rocketship to stardom. As much as people may dislike Cena, at this point it is impossible to deny the huge impact he has had on the current roster in terms of helping them look like stars. WWE has carefully and deliberately utilized Cena to help build the future of the organization.
The real question is...have they succeeded? Is WWE entering a new golden era? What do you think?
Has WWE prepared itself for a new boom period? Let's take a quick look at the evidence:
Roman Reigns ~ Pushed to the moon, brought back to Earth, and is really starting to find his niche inside the squared circle. This extra year of build has done him a world of good, despite the seemingly endless backlash he faces. One thing is for certain, he gets a reaction and that is the primary goal of a WWE superstar.
Seth Rollins ~ While many have been annoyed by the Authority, because they have been beating the dead horse of that storyline for a decade now, there is no denying that it allowed Rollins to quietly establish himself at the top of the totem pole. It is difficult to establish a star like Rollins, who is quote/unquote "unproven", by simply sticking the strap on them and hoping for the best. They have gone to great lengths to protect his character and make him a commodity.
Kevin Owens ~ An old school heel with a new school flavor, Owens has been a huge deal since hitting the main roster. His feud with Cesaro is likely to send both men higher and the sky is the limit from there.
Cesaro ~ A modern day William Regal...no, perhaps he is even more impressive than that. Mixing strength with technique, there isn't a single wrestler in the WWE today that can lay claim to the huge amount of stellar matches that Cesaro has been in. Wrestling Cesaro is a right of passage, if you can't look good with him then you can't look good with anyone, and his drive to be the best makes up for any verbal shortcomings he may have.
Bray Wyatt ~ While he has been used a bit unevenly throughout his career, there is no denying that he has worked with a lot of top level talents and held his own. Working with Roman Reigns where he has to carry a lot of the load is helping bring him to the next level and giving Reigns a big rub in the process.
Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Dean Ambrose ~ While Bryan may be the top star of these three men, his future in uncertain, and it would be safe to say that if he does return then he will be used in a similar fashion to these other men. Ziggler and Ambrose are both upper midcarders who can be called on for main event level matches at any time, they strengthen the rest of the roster by offering talent that people want to see on any part of the card.
Rusev ~ I am honestly surprised at how well Rusev is doing without Lana as his valet. The delivery in his promos are excellent, with just the right amount of uncomfortable smarm and menace. Rusev has broken out of the stereotypical "big guy who fades into obscurity once he loses" role and is developing into a character that could be huge in the future.
Neville ~ Neville is a man without a home. Back in the day he could have easily been an all-star quality cruiserweight but without such a weight class to participate in he is left to put on great matches with other, bigger stars. Neville can hold his own and has done well since being called up to the main roster, but will he ever be anything better than what he already is?
NXT Women ~ The quality difference between the WWE Divas and the NXT Women is stark. The Bellas and Alicia Fox are incredibly limited in the ring yet they are the current flag bearers of the division. The NXT Women are already outclassing them in every other respect, it is just a matter of putting the final nail in the coffin and taking the Divas title too.
For all of the complaining that has been done, where we have all assumed that WWE had no idea what they were doing, they have slowly transitioned their product into the modern age. Nostalgia is big these days, comic books are big, hard workers getting their due is big, and WWE is tapping into each of these avenues. And the only reason they are able to tap into these avenues is because they have painstakingly set-up their roster to be able to.
For years we have complained about the misuse and poor treatment of some of our favorite stars, now it is all starting to come together. It is all starting to make sense. When the mass exodus of top Attitude era stars happened, there were few legit top stars left. Actually, there was only one. John Cena has been single handedly carrying the show for a long time and he has single handedly been giving rubs to nearly all of the stars who are currently on a rocketship to stardom. As much as people may dislike Cena, at this point it is impossible to deny the huge impact he has had on the current roster in terms of helping them look like stars. WWE has carefully and deliberately utilized Cena to help build the future of the organization.
The real question is...have they succeeded? Is WWE entering a new golden era? What do you think?
