Is the WWE roster as "weak" as people claim?

[rge2010]

I see lots of threads on here about the WWE being weak on current talent but I really dont think it is as bad as people make out. Seems to me it has vastly improved over the last 6 months and with Wrestlemania 29 around 9 months away I can see WWE having a major conundrum in fitting their worthy talent on the card.

Look back at Wrestlemania 28. They only had around 8 matches, nobody of any worth really missed out due to the stacked card, but remember that Wade Barrett, Alberto Del Rio, Christian, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara were all injured and missed the event. If all 5 were available, we would have expected these to be on the card.

Fast forward to now. Talent like Damian Sandow, Ryback and Brodus Clay you would expect to be on the card. Their stock and popularity is growing week on week and in 9 months I anticipate they will all be fully established at least mid card, 1 or 2 possibly even higher. With Brock Lesnar also hanging around and the returning Rock and Undertaker for the event, plus the rumoured signing of Matt Morgan, call up of Dean Ambrose, Antonio Cesaro and other FCW talent, it seems WWE will have their work cut out fitting all these on the card. Then the talent like Punk, Cena, Triple H, Kane, Orton, Show, Sheamus, Bryan, Rhodes, Ziggler, etc and not forgetting Swagger, Santino, Kofi, Truth, Tensai and Ryder who could all play a part. Also the Divas.

They could be looking at 30+ talent who could all play a part. Thoughts?

 

[Defekt]

The WWE has alot of talented guys on their roster, but very few main eventers.

The focus of the promotions remains on Cena, even when his feud is lackluster. That's why we've seen Big Show, Kane, and John Laurunitis main event pay per views this year.

I think tonight was a step in the right direction. Cena is back in the title hunt, and RAW closed with a cliffhanger to the Punk/Bryan/AJ feud.

 

[Giddy]

I think the roster is looking better than a couple months ago where there was some big injuries/missing people in a row. Guys like Mysterio and Orton are suspended but returning soon, Miz should be returning soon from shooting the Marine 3, Alberto was injured but he's back, Wade is injured, hopefully he'll be back soon- what I'm saying is the roster is improving. Plus older guys making their returns for big matches like Lesnar, Trips, and Rock help add to the card. WWE has been building some superstars up, despite criticisms that they don't. Guys like Daniel Bryan and Punk have really grown into huge superstars, and I hope they do this with more of their roster.

 

[dman1373]

i saw raw tonight and i saw all the established main eventers in 1 segment. Their was punk, cena, big show, kane, jericho, and daniel Bryan. These are the only guys that are legitly over. If you look back 2 years ago there was like 12 that were really over as main eventers. I mean look at smackdown right now. I mean just look over at smackdown. Its a ghost town. And thats just the main event, the mid card is terrible. No one is over in the mid card. Again look back 2 years ago. And I understand what your saying about wrestlers are starting to get over and all the guys down at fcw and the ones that just join smackdown are going to be great. I agree. Kings of wrestling, dean ambrose, sandow, and seth rollins will be great, but there either getting established or haven't gotten there yet.

 

[Tired0FthePeople]

The WWE is lacking star power right now. I dont see any way anyone could possibly argue that. We can be selective with the terms by using 'talent', but the fact is they are lacking in 'star power.' Hell, Tyson Kidd has talent. David Otunga has some 'talent.' But there is no way anyone can argue that star power is lacking. There was once a time when the roster had a full-time relevent Jericho, Angle, HHH, Taker, Orton, Rock, Edge, HBK, Lesnar, Batista and JBL. There are about four superstars right now that have that level of star power or even that level of talent. (and one of those guys is booked only to put the other three over because he's only there part time.) These are the people who are NOT on the level of those I just named: Sandow, Ziggler, Kofi, Sin Cara, Swagger, Prime Time Playaz, Epico and Primo, The Usos, Santino, Cody, Brodus, Big Show, Kane, Del Rio (face it, even if you love Del Rio just as much as I do you have to face the fact that he hasnt gotten over as much as some of us thinks he should have) Tensai, Ryder. Thats 85-90% of the superstars who get any regular TV time. Cena, Bryan and Punk are on a teir that no one else is on right now with Shaemus floating around on a tier just a half step below. I cant predict the future of what may or may not happen when some of the FCW 'stars' come up to the main roster, all I can talk about is whats happenning now.

 

[Giddy]

The WWE is lacking star power right now. I dont see any way anyone could possibly argue that. We can be selective with the terms by using 'talent', but the fact is they are lacking in 'star power.' Hell, Tyson Kidd has talent. David Otunga has some 'talent.' But there is no way anyone can argue that star power is lacking. There was once a time when the roster had a full-time relevent Jericho, Angle, HHH, Taker, Orton, Rock, Edge, HBK, Lesnar, Batista and JBL. There are about four superstars right now that have that level of star power or even that level of talent. (and one of those guys is booked only to put the other three over because he's only there part time.) These are the people who are NOT on the level of those I just named: Sandow, Ziggler, Kofi, Sin Cara, Swagger, Prime Time Playaz, Epico and Primo, The Usos, Santino, Cody, Brodus, Big Show, Kane, Del Rio (face it, even if you love Del Rio just as much as I do you have to face the fact that he hasnt gotten over as much as some of us thinks he should have) Tensai, Ryder. Thats 85-90% of the superstars who get any regular TV time. Cena, Bryan and Punk are on a teir that no one else is on right now with Shaemus floating around on a tier just a half step below. I cant predict the future of what may or may not happen when some of the FCW 'stars' come up to the main roster, all I can talk about is whats happenning now.

I agree, but I'd say WWE is in a big transition period at the moment. WWE doesn't have much star power, but I think they're building some superstars up to it. I think The Miz could be huge, as he is charismatic and does tons of talk shows and the like. Dolph Ziggler could be a good one also. Cody, Ryder (if he isn't released and WWE decides whether to push him or keep him down), maybe Sandow, and FCW wrestlers such as Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt could be big superstars. We'll see where it goes in a couple years, but I think they're grooming them to be big players in the future.

 

[OG Mark]

i saw raw tonight and i saw all the established main eventers in 1 segment. Their was punk, cena, big show, kane, jericho, and daniel Bryan. These are the only guys that are legitly over. If you look back 2 years ago there was like 12 that were really over as main eventers. I mean look at smackdown right now. I mean just look over at smackdown. Its a ghost town. And thats just the main event, the mid card is terrible. No one is over in the mid card. Again look back 2 years ago. And I understand what your saying about wrestlers are starting to get over and all the guys down at fcw and the ones that just join smackdown are going to be great. I agree. Kings of wrestling, dean ambrose, sandow, and seth rollins will be great, but there either getting established or haven't gotten there yet.

Read the previous posts. Lots of missing slots right now... and your abortion of grammar is disturbing.

Edge retired. Undertaker only works about two months a year, if that. Orton is suspended. Mysterio is injured/suspended. Barrett is injured. There are five of your 12 right there. Couple that with those you mentioned (Punk, Cena, Kane, Show, Jericho, Bryan) and you have 11. Granted, I wouldn't have considered Bryan or Barrett "main eventers" two years ago. The roster suffered a lot of injuries and is slowly rebuilding.

The stars are there, they're just not *there* there right now.

 

[bittermang]

The WWE has alot of talented guys on their roster, but very few main eventers.

That's actually OK. The whole show can't be the main event. Then it wouldn't be, you know, the main event.

The problem isn't a lack of man power, or talent. It's credibility and consistency. People have to ask themselves who Jindar Mahal is because he shows up so infrequently, and gets used for fodder when he does appear. Hunico and Camacho have gained exactly zero momentum as a team, stable, unit, or wrestler and weird best friend manager, because they haven't been involved in literally anything.

Quick, name the current and past five US Title champions. No using wiki. Then name the past five tag champs. I bet you can't, because the middle belts fell right off the radar with the people who are supposed to contest for them.

The problem isn't the lack of a main event. The problem is the lack of a mid card. Because that's where your future main event players come from. Right now they've got a roster full of show openers, and five star players. Nothing in the middle.

 

[dman1373]

Read the previous posts. Lots of missing slots right now... and your abortion of grammar is disturbing.

Edge retired. Undertaker only works about two months a year, if that. Orton is suspended. Mysterio is injured/suspended. Barrett is injured. There are five of your 12 right there. Couple that with those you mentioned (Punk, Cena, Kane, Show, Jericho, Bryan) and you have 11. Granted, I wouldn't have considered Bryan or Barrett "main eventers" two years ago. The roster suffered a lot of injuries and is slowly rebuilding.

The stars are there, they're just not *there* there right now.

your logic is disturbing. How will edge count as one of the 11 when he is retired. And i was talking about now, not the future. I am saying right now the main event is lacking. Its a fact. Their needs to be more than 6 over guys in the me.

 

[bringbackblood76]

I think you're definitely right in the case of making the roster look weaker than it really is. Do I think the roster is strong?? No! Is it weak and unmanageable ? No. I believe the biggest reason why the WWE roster looks weak to many people is the fact that Vince and creative have no idea how to use any of these guys. WWE creative and booking have been horrible. When it seems they are getting it together , it just crashes and burns. It's quite sad really. I believe there are some great talents that aren't being used correctly or have been put on the back burner for other talents . I think that because the storylines haven't been the greatest and creative is having troubles, it makes great talent look weaker than they actually are. Just my opinion

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In terms of "star power" as far as main eventers goes or guys that frequent the main event scene, the WWE isn't the strongest that it's ever been. However, I wouldn't say it's weak either. Punk, Bryan, Cena, Jericho, Sheamus, Del Rio, Ziggler, Big Show are all over at this point and doing well.

However, I think it's really inaccurate to say a roster is weak just because everybody isn't/can't be/won't be a main eventer. WWE has lots of strong mid-card and upper mid-card wrestlers. In the grand scheme of things, there are always going to be more mid-carders than strong main eventers. To suggest that someone isn't over just because they're not main eventing is nonsense. As of right now you've got Christian, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Santino Marella, Cody Rhodes, Ryback, Damien Sandow and many other mid-carders that aren't main eventers, some aren't even potential main eventers. But can you really say that they're not over? If so, they you obviously haven't been paying attention to the pops & heat they get from the crowds whenever they come out.

Is it as weak as some try to make it out to be? No, not even close. If the WWE roster was anywhere in the region of weakness some try to claim, then why do people keep tuning in Monday & Friday nights? Why do thousands of people show up in the arenas? Why do hundreds of thousands of people order & watch the ppvs every month? Just because a roster might not have a lot of guys that some just aren't into or WWE isn't using said guys in ways that some fans feel they should be doesn't realistically make the roster weak. There are a whole world of other options that people can devote their time and money to if they're not into the wrestlers on the WWE roster.

 

[TheChosenOne10]

The roster isn't weak, its the creative thats weak. They haven't built guys like Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes to be in the main event spot. They give them brief runs to the top but then they just lose, they haven't gotten that big win yet. Rhodes was looking good until his Big Show feud which pretty much halted any momentum he had and now he loses weekly. Ziggler could be built up to be a top guy but they push him to fast and haven't given him a good feud with a main event guy like Sheamus or Orton or Cena to have him go over them. He gets quick feuds with those guys but when it comes to the match he loses and then has no more momentum and then jobs to Brodus Clay or Santino. They push the wrong guys who won't ever look strong like the two i just mentioned. It just seems like creative has forgotten how to build a star and are just looking for that quick payoff to make the crowd happy which eventually will backfire because they'll have no main event guys.

 

[Gentleman Ed Joseph]

The roster has more than enough 'talent' to be doing multiple times better than it currently is. The biggest problem is the failure to shape, build and nurture new Main Event options. The WWE really needs to start shaping the next wave of 5-8 talents, who are positioned to look like 'Superstars' week in and week out. And then wait for that lightning strike to hit.

 

[JaylisJayP]

Creative is the worst it's been in 15 years, and therefore the talent suffers. Are these guys capable of being top talent? Yeah, there's at least a half dozen guys beyond Cena and Punk who should be drawing but aren't.

That's the problem. These guys don't draw. Bryan doesn't draw...I don't even think Punk draws as much as his fans think. Cena draws the kids but the rest of the wrestling world seems incredibly disinterested in the product these days, and for good reason.

HHH, Lesnar, Taker, Rock, Jericho all draw...and they're all extremely part time. They literally have 1 guy in the entire company who's there every week that they can count on to draw ratings and PPV buy rates.

 

[ABMorales787]

No, the roster is pretty pathetic. Note the constant scratching for new talent to be inserted into the main event while the old falls into the midcard for near total obscurity. Dolph Ziggler easily comes to mind. He's pushed to the main event and then ends up as midcard champion. John Morrison was treated similarly as was Wade Barrett and The Miz. I can understand trying to keep the scene fresh, but when you rotate talent to the point that you stop caring about the guy headlining yesterday, you start to lose care permanently. There's barely development or consistency for these people. Wasn't Cody Rhodes feuding with The Big Show and winning? Why is Show in main events? Oh, right. Shock value out of his heel turn. Cena vs Show #19582 over Cena vs someone who could use a rub. We need a guy who can match Cena. Oh way, we ran out of those.

It's both creative's fault as it is for talent for not daring to step up. In-ring performance can only get you so far as can media work. The talent in the WWE is incapable of following the examples guys like John Cena or CM Punk have set and suffer the consequences for it as does the viewers that can see the gap between Cena and the rest of the roster.

 

[whoopin' ass]

wwe actually has a decent roster, just weak creative. they can't seem to get/want to put guys over no matter how good they are. this is the result of poor competition. if this was 15-20 years ago, chances are Orton, Christian, Edge, Punk, etc would have left for WCW which would have meant WWE needed new stars and guys would have moved up. but without someplace else to go, that doesn`t happen. If HBK and Bret didn`t leave WWE, would Triple H and Mick Foley been given a chance? would The Rock? when you have top talent already, you don`t always look for someone new no matter the potential. Austin would have done better in WCW but they didn`t need a new guy so they didn`t give him a decent chance. same thing is happening today in WWE. with guys like Punk, Cena and Orton being so big, how does a guy like Ziggler get over? and not to say it can`t happen - Punk and Bryan are examples of that but they were established before they came to wwe so they have a fan base. are you going to look at Ziggler and fondly remember his days in the Spirit Squad? who in Canada and the States knows Del Rio already? wwe is happy with the guys they have, fans don`t really matter.

 

[BNXCOW02IWK]

The problem that WWE has is not with its individual roster members not being pushed or used correctly. Rather, it keeps trying to sell itself as above one roster but above two rosters. When that happens, you start to see the muddled mess we have today. For example, if only Raw is supposed to be a supershow, then why do Raw susperstars routinely compete on smackdown. WWE now has two ways to go, they could entirley abolish the roster system and have smackdown be like a classier version of WWE superstars, where the emphasis is placed more on wrestling. Or, they could try to procure main event talent that they have already deveoped, like the people now in TNA, and try to reform the two brands. This 1.5 roster thing that it has going on, with far to many heels is not going to be very entertaining after a while.

 

[rokuma]

I think fans also get sick of the "cookie cutter matches." Virtually every Cena match has the same formula. Even Punk's style has been watered down to accommodate the "WWE" style. That didn't happen in the Attitude Era or the New Generation era. Promotions like TNA and ROH give their guys a wide latitude of what they can do in the ring and therefore the matches are in general, far more entertaining. I think it's more of management/creative's fault for not letting the guys shine.

 

[Attitude Era Junkie]

I don't think the WWE roster is weak. Of course they aren't stacked with future hall of famers but you got Cena who is the biggest draw and face of the company then you got Punk, Orton, Sheamus, Kane, Del Rio, Bryan, Rhodes, Big Show and Ziggler who all get reactions from the crowd and can put on great matches. I think Damien Sandow can maybe be a big star in the WWE. Some fans just need to be a little patient and let some of these new guys grow on you.

I know it sucks seeing the wrestlers you grew up watching start to retire one by one but finally we have some great entertaining guys to take their place and enjoy for the next 10 years. Right now Punk, Ziggler and Rhodes are my favorite ones. Hopefully Dean Ambrose will be a success then we will have him to add to the list of great talent on the roster along with some new promising tag teams. As for the diva's we got Beth and Natalya who are both great along with a now beloved AJ and a soon to be returning Kharma. I do think the roster is pretty strong right now.

 

[Tired0FthePeople]

In terms of "star power" as far as main eventers goes or guys that frequent the main event scene, the WWE isn't the strongest that it's ever been. However, I wouldn't say it's weak either. Punk, Bryan, Cena, Jericho, Sheamus, Del Rio, Ziggler, Big Show are all over at this point and doing well.

This is probably a matter of perception and semantics. The OP asked if the roster is 'weak.' You could messure the weakness of the roster by comparing it to itself in the past or by merely looking at how many guys are 'over.' A lot of guys are generickly(sp) 'over.' Zack Ryder is 'over.' The roster has always had a ton of guys who are as 'over' and doing as well as Ziggler, Big Show, Del Rio and Shaemus are doing right now.

Maybe the entire roster cant be main eventers but Ive never seen a time where the roster had a ton of Big Show/Zigger over type players and only three Punk/Bryan over type players. But this still doesnt mean its 'weak.' Its all in how you look at it. I think the roster is clearly 'weaker' than its been the last 5 or 6 years.

Not that the roster is 'weak'...just weak in comparison to itself. Again, I dont reall see how that can be argued. But as far as why do thousands of people show up lol I mean I dont know if you are a baseball fan but the Chicago Cubs sell out every single game. It doesnt change the undisputable fact that they suck.

[/QUOTE]

 

[i'm a cm punk girl]

Yes it is and its not just weak its very weak. Here is wwe roster:

Main Eventers:

Cena
Punk
Orton
Jericho

Uppercard:

Sheamus
Bryan
Kane
Big Show
Alberto Del Rio
Rey Mysterio (when healthy)

Midcard:

Ziggler
Tensai
Rhodes
Christian (unfortunately)
Swagger
Barrett (when healthy)
Kingston
R-Truth
Tyson Kidd (just graduated to here)
Sandow
Brodus Clay
Mark Henry
The Miz (who I almost forgot)

Lowcard:

Santino
Dibiase jr.
Bourne (when healthy)
Ryback (sorry he isnt midcard yet)
Cesaro
Ryder
Zeke Jackson
Great Khali
The Tag teams of wwe

Whoever else I forgot, it clearly shows they arent important. Im sorry but this doesnt scream like an impressive lineup of wrestlers. Its razor thin because there arent many guys who can go in the ring and talk on the mic. Hence wwe is paying a kings ransom to bring back guys from wwe's past in order to gain any sort of momentum these days when it comes to buyrates and ratings and whatnot.

 

[Nada]

Its not weak because they lack guys or talent

Its weak because they havent built any of them up, but even worse, they have actually made them look significantly worse.

They have done the WCW "eternal midcarder" thing where they put guys in the midcard for so long that fans now identify them as nobodies. Guys like Swagger, Ziggler, Miz, Morrison (When he was there), Kofi etc that fans will never accept them as true stars, they are just "guys".

Your talent roster is only as special as you build it up to be. All wrestlers start off at 0, they are just normal guys in tights, by putting them on TV and building them up you can make them seem like major stars (The Rock) or complete and utter jokes (98% of the WWE roster today)

When judging a roster of wrestlers its not really about talent, its about perception.

Example:
Undertaker is just a guy named Mark, who likes UFC and MMA, he has ugly tats and a balding head + he is a ginger. He is a average joe in every sense of the word.

But to us he is a legend, he is a major star, iconic.

Try watching older tapes of Mark Calloway from WCW or Hunter when he was "Terra Ryzing" or whatever his goofy gimmick was, just normal guys. They became stars once they were portrayed as stars throughout several years before it was ingrained in the fans head that these guys were somebodies.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

No. I've been reading about wrestling on the internet since about 2002. Literally, not one single year did the IWC seem happy about what was going on. They bitch no matter what.

Right now the roster has a great mix of old guys and new guys coming up. You see better in ring wrestling out of Dolph Ziggler alone than probably the entire first hour of an attitude era Raw. You see more of a competitive match during a Daniel Bryan match than really any non super show before 1995.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Its not weak because they lack guys or talent

Its weak because they havent built any of them up, but even worse, they have actually made them look significantly worse.

They have done the WCW "eternal midcarder" thing where they put guys in the midcard for so long that fans now identify them as nobodies. Guys like Swagger, Ziggler, Miz, Morrison (When he was there), Kofi etc that fans will never accept them as true stars, they are just "guys".

Your talent roster is only as special as you build it up to be. All wrestlers start off at 0, they are just normal guys in tights, by putting them on TV and building them up you can make them seem like major stars (The Rock) or complete and utter jokes (98% of the WWE roster today)

When judging a roster of wrestlers its not really about talent, its about perception.

Example:
Undertaker is just a guy named Mark, who likes UFC and MMA, he has ugly tats and a balding head + he is a ginger. He is a average joe in every sense of the word.

But to us he is a legend, he is a major star, iconic.

Try watching older tapes of Mark Calloway from WCW or Hunter when he was "Terra Ryzing" or whatever his goofy gimmick was, just normal guys. They became stars once they were portrayed as stars throughout several years before it was ingrained in the fans head that these guys were somebodies.

They've pushed Ziggler and Swagger a lot. Morrison never got over. Kofi has never gotten over. I mean, REALLY over.

Here's how it works. WWE pushes you, you get over, pushed more, more over, more pushed, more over, more pushed, more over, huge star. It's organic, they dont' just say "um...you are a star.....you aren't......you aren't.....you are" WWE wants everyone to be a huge star. That makes them more money.

In the last few years, Mark Henry, Sheamus, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Ziggler, and Ryder have significantly more drawing ability than they did before. I have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe it's YOUR perception that's off.

 

[Entertain The Exodus]

The WWE roster right now has more talent than ever before with guys like Bryan, Swagger, Ziggler, Punk, etc. the problem is that getting over is a hard process. Its no longer about how YOU draw the fans in it depends entirely upon if the WWE chooses you to succeed. Ryder is the perfect example of this, he got incredibly over by himself, without the WWE's blessing and instead of capitalizing on it they buried him and took over his youtube show until the fans stopped caring about him.

Then you look at the way WWE pushes guys, when someone holds their first world Championship they become a jobber immediately after ie: Henry, Punk, Swagger, Ziggler, Sheamus, Miz etc. How is anyone supposed to really get over and get established when they are never booked consistently as stars?

Worse still Cena is booked above the World Championship, so a guy like The Miz can win the WWE Title and even beat Cena but Cena is still booked above him in the PPVs afterwards. Just look at Punk now, he hasn't headlined a single PPV during his entire title run. Apart from the Rumble and the one PPV Cena wasn't booked on he has headlined every single PPV. Even in matches with Kane and Big Johnny.

Its too hard for anyone to get really over which damages the credibility of the entire roster, when you Have Cena > Sheamus, Punk, Orton > then just a roster of bums waiting for their chance to job.