SES needs a REALLY big name member.

[King Blitzkonic]

Think about it here. Yes, you have CM Punk, Mr. Straightedge himself. He's risen to the top and gets heel heat just behind Vickie Guerrero and Chris Jericho. But let's take a look at his "Straight Edge Society":

Luke Gallows: Known to most of us as Festus, the Cornfed Colossus who was in a catatonic state except when the bell rang. Interesting backstory construed to explain it but the fact remains: His only real feat (besides pissing Kane off as imposter Kane) is lasting as long as he did in the Hell's Gate.

Serena: Sorta reminds me of Molly Holly....Only Serena's proud to have a shaved head because she's almost worshipping Punk. Until she was brought in, I doubt anyone outside of the FCW fanbase had heard of her. Loads of potential if she's allowed to enter the women's division.

Darren Young: Can we REALLY consider him a member? I think not. NXT rookie and probably just back of Bryan, Gabriel, and Slater IMO.

Mystery person: I couldn't tell who it was. Could that possibly have been Joey Mercury? Hmmm...interesting.

Any case, we have a former zombie, a disciple/love interest, a rookie that seems to be outside of the SES mold, and this new person (who if it's Mercury, was only good in WWE as a tag-team specialist). SES needs a big name to join them but do it WILLINGLY, not as part of a stipulation.

Here are my top three picks for the spot:
1. Chris Jericho: A co-leader of sorts with CM Punk. Imagine the huge load of heat these two can generate together!
2. Jack Swagger: The all-American American. Sounds like a straightedge persona don't you think? Plus the association with Punk will do wonders for his mic work (look at Gallows!)
3. JOHN CENA: Rumblings of a Cena heel turn have been coming for a couple of years now. Cena's heel turn would fit perfectly in the SES given his attitudes.

Who do YOU think would make a good SES member (Mysterio doesn't count here seeing as him joining willingly would be very unlikely)

 

[Dagger Dias]

Think about it here. Yes, you have CM Punk, Mr. Straightedge himself. He's risen to the top and gets heel heat just behind Vickie Guerrero and Chris Jericho. But let's take a look at his "Straight Edge Society":

Fair enough, but your thread title says that the SES needs a "big name". CM Punk is a former 3 time world champion. How exactly is he not a "big name"?

Luke Gallows: Known to most of us as Festus, the Cornfed Colossus who was in a catatonic state except when the bell rang. Interesting backstory construed to explain it but the fact remains: His only real feat (besides pissing Kane off as imposter Kane) is lasting as long as he did in the Hell's Gate.

Maybe for those of us who watch every single week.... but I think most of the casual fans have forgotten about both Festus and Fake Kane by now. This will end up being the angle that Gallows is most likely to be remembered for.

Serena: Sorta reminds me of Molly Holly....Only Serena's proud to have a shaved head because she's almost worshipping Punk. Until she was brought in, I doubt anyone outside of the FCW fanbase had heard of her. Loads of potential if she's allowed to enter the women's division.

Agreed, Serena could be good in the women's division after the SES angle ends. She's good where she is right now though.

Darren Young: Can we REALLY consider him a member? I think not. NXT rookie and probably just back of Bryan, Gabriel, and Slater IMO.

Young is not a member of the SES, he is just Punk's rookie for NXT.

Here are my top three picks for the spot:
1. Chris Jericho: A co-leader of sorts with CM Punk. Imagine the huge load of heat these two can generate together!

Wouldn't it be better to keep it the way it is now? Punk is doing very well as the leader of the SES. Jericho does not need to be a part of the stable, he is way past that.

2. Jack Swagger: The all-American American. Sounds like a straightedge persona don't you think? Plus the association with Punk will do wonders for his mic work (look at Gallows!)

NO WAY. Swagger needs to keep the character he has now, which doesn't have anything that would be an asset to the SES anyway.

3. JOHN CENA: Rumblings of a Cena heel turn have been coming for a couple of years now. Cena's heel turn would fit perfectly in the SES given his attitudes.

Look at the part that I bolded. Those rumors have been flying around for years. It's not happening anytime soon. Plus.... like Jericho and Swagger, Cena is WAY better off not being part of this angle. He doesn't need it. Punk should remain the leader.

Who do YOU think would make a good SES member (Mysterio doesn't count here seeing as him joining willingly would be very unlikely)

Honestly I don't think that anybody should join it, at least not anyone in the upper card. The only people that should be joining the SES are guys who have nothing else to do angle-wise or anyone who badly needs a character change like Gallows did. Perhaps have someone like Hawkins get called up to join it with a character change because a character change helped his partner Ryder out a lot and it could help him too.

 

[PEP3]

Why on earth are you advocating for someone -- "a really big name" -- to join the Straight Edge Society and up-stage CM Punk? This is Punk's angle, his group, which follows him as its leader. The last thing he or this angle needs or should have is another big-name to join and turn the spotlight away from the person for whom it was designed -- CM Punk.

Not only has this storyline been creatively written to showcase Punk's greatest assets, it's also been very well designed to help erase from fans' memories the poorly-done gimmicks of other performers. Luke Gallows was very easily and quickly moved past the "Festus" character, which could have plagued him for years without this change. Joey Mercury could be reintroduced this way, too, in what could put him in a position for either another tag team push or perhaps begin his move into singles stardom.

Even through the successes of the many, this angle effectively accentuates one character -- Punk -- as a savior, motivator and messianic leader. Adding another big name to the group would only steal his thunder. Despite the frequently questionable decisions made by WWE creative, they have handled this angle almost perfectly so far.

Not only have they added all new dimensions to Punk's character, they've cemented him as one of the hottest commodities and most hated heels on either brand. I'm fairly certain they recognize their success here. As a result, I wouldn't hold my breath for any big name star (much less any of the three you mentioned!) to be introduced to F this story up any time soon.

 

[BWEEZY2009]

I think it's just great the way it is. CM Punk is probably the number two guy right now when it comes to Promos, right after Chris Jericho, and right before the Miz

Why would you put one of those three guys in there? Any of those three wouldn't make sense...

The whole point of the faction was the members faced addiction, and needed a higher power (CM Punk) to become sober.

This is what you do... You keep having CM Punk battling the loved baby faces and cutting promos on the town there in and right there you have enough juice to keep the group over.

You now have Mercury in the group and that allows Mercury and Gallows to team up and feud with face tag teams. This way Gallows isn't just being used as a ringside heel and we get to see him back in the ring. Both him and Mercury have tag team experience and I feel it would work well. And of course you keep having Serena managing all 3 and slowly introduce her into divas division.

If they were to introduce any of the three guys you mentioned. this angle would flop.

The only one of the three that maybe could work is Jericho with his previous Arrest you could have Punk reach out to him. but Jericho is higher than punk on the food chain in most peoples book so it wouldn't go over and no1 would know who the spot light was on. The whole point of a faction is to have a defiant Leader.. For example.. when Randy Orton won the World Title.. Why do you think they did the angle of kicking him out? It wouldn't of made any sense to have Evolution still together with Randy Orton as World Champion and the Leader HHH under him on the food chain.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Fair enough, but your thread title says that the SES needs a "big name". CM Punk is a former 3 time world champion. How exactly is he not a "big name"?

NO WAY. Swagger needs to keep the character he has now, which doesn't have anything that would be an asset to the SES anyway.

CM Punk is a big name but not currently a name that would just roll off if you asked who the top 5 biggest current-roster superstar names in WWE are, not counting Michaels. (Cena, Trips, Edge, Jericho, Taker). Forgive my being unclear on that.

Now I'm not suggesting any real change to Swagger's character. He already HAS that fresh-faced, good boy persona. Isn't that what Punk wants his "disciples" to strive for? Isn't that what Punk likes to think he is? Maybe instead of a full-out induction, how about a kind of thing where Punk has this control over Swagger but there's no formal alliance? It'd elevate Swagger higher than he is now (if Orton didn't get the job done at the PPV).

 

[Andy 2 Randy]

Im not sure about a really big name joining the SES, however the Joey Mercury addition (which we all know has happened at Extreme Rules), and his potential back-story (Released due to drug problems, found his way...) would make a great new member, and adding to a rivalry with Rey-Rey could shoot him back to the spot he deserves.

As for a 'Big' Superstar joining, it would only take away the group from the saviour, CM Punk, which just wouldn't be fair, i mean if a main-eventer joins the group, that member would be the main face of the group, and taking away the main light from the man who created it.

 

[Ferbian]

I have to say that I consider the Straight Edge Society to be just fine as it is right now, I wouldn't even need Joey to be in the team.

Adding a big name to the society would eliminate the whole "I'm CM Punk and I'm the leader" because he's not the biggest name in the faction, and yes I know you could argue "but Ric Flair was the bigger name in Evolution, but Triple H was the leader, look at their success!" sure, but Triple H was the star in WWE at that time, Ric Flair was just an old wrestler looking to remain significant in the business if you ask me.

The Straight Edge Society is on a perfect roll right now, and I love them as they are, I don't need, and I don't want another member, and especially not some big name guy.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

The point of the SES is to get Punk over further. Adding someone like Jeritron would do nothing but keep Punk from being elevated to the forefront of heels. The SES is definitely a stable that is secondary to its leader...hence its comparisons to the Flock.

This isn't the nWo where the purpose was to create civil war.

 

[Scotty]

Think about it here. Yes, you have CM Punk, Mr. Straightedge himself. He's risen to the top and gets heel heat just behind Vickie Guerrero and Chris Jericho. But let's take a look at his "Straight Edge Society":

Yep. Mr. Straightedge. CM Punk has made his career thus far by making it a know fact that he is a devout Straightedge follower.

Luke Gallows: Known to most of us as Festus, the Cornfed Colossus who was in a catatonic state except when the bell rang. Interesting backstory construed to explain it but the fact remains: His only real feat (besides pissing Kane off as imposter Kane) is lasting as long as he did in the Hell's Gate.

True. He was the Cornfed Colossus. Now he is the "First Disciple" to CM Punk. To tell you the truth, the only reason I even remember Festus was that Jesse and Festus had some interesting matches with Miz and Morrison. If you are not a member of the IWC then you probably do not know that he is the imposter Kane. In fact, until you even mentioned it I had forgotten about Festus in the Hell's Gate. I still would argue that Festus will be remembered (if at all) as the mentally challenged wrestler who went psycho when the bell rang.

Serena: Sorta reminds me of Molly Holly....Only Serena's proud to have a shaved head because she's almost worshipping Punk. Until she was brought in, I doubt anyone outside of the FCW fanbase had heard of her. Loads of potential if she's allowed to enter the women's division.

Serena is less irritating then some of the Diva's.

Darren Young: Can we REALLY consider him a member? I think not. NXT rookie and probably just back of Bryan, Gabriel, and Slater IMO.

Darren Young had his chance to be a member of the Straight Edge Society but changed his mind. He would have made a welcomed society member IMO, but he chose not to, getting some cheers in the process.

Mystery person: I couldn't tell who it was. Could that possibly have been Joey Mercury? Hmmm...interesting.

Possibly.

Any case, we have a former zombie, a disciple/love interest, a rookie that seems to be outside of the SES mold, and this new person (who if it's Mercury, was only good in WWE as a tag-team specialist). SES needs a big name to join them but do it WILLINGLY, not as part of a stipulation.

Are you kidding me? A big name? A three time World Heavyweight Champion is not a big enough name to lead a stable?

Here are my top three picks for the spot:

OK. Here we go.

1. Chris Jericho: A co-leader of sorts with CM Punk. Imagine the huge load of heat these two can generate together!

They may generate a load of heat, but Jericho would find his way to make Punk his little bitch. He will worm his way into every promo and find a way to outshine Punk.

2. Jack Swagger: The all-American American. Sounds like a straightedge persona don't you think? Plus the association with Punk will do wonders for his mic work (look at Gallows!)

Okay. You are comparing Jack Swaggers mic work to someone who is all but comatose? It really hasn't done much work for Gallows. All he needed was a little mic time to show he isn't someone who only screams and shouts for his mic talent.

3. JOHN CENA: Rumblings of a Cena heel turn have been coming for a couple of years now. Cena's heel turn would fit perfectly in the SES given his attitudes.

See Jericho.

Who do YOU think would make a good SES member (Mysterio doesn't count here seeing as him joining willingly would be very unlikely)

I think they are fine the way they are. They have the general Stable down. A tag team or a Main Event Wrestler, a mid card wrestler, and either a manager/valet or Diva wrestler. They should stay the way they are.

 

[RKO920]

When I look at the SES I see similarities to the Right to Censor, with that being said I don't think they need a big name to join the group, just maybe someone that wouldn't be expected because of their character. Looking back at RTC, they were lead by Stevie Richards, and then had the Godfather and Val Venis join, which their characters (a pimp and a porn star) made it some what of a big deal for them to join the group.

Looking at just the current Smackdown roster, I know the draft is in less than 2 hours so things could change but for right now I'll stick to the current roster. I see 2 viable options based on characters that could fit into the group. I look first at Goldust, who could then get rid of the Goldust gimmick and just be Dustin, say he had Punk save him from some sort of dark place he was in. The other and it very well could be more of a stretch would be Kane, granted right now Kane doesn't have much going on in terms of a storyline but he could be a part of the group and have Punk save him too.

 

[MoneyMack]

I dont think a big "name" is whats needed in SES. Just like many here suggested- you dont want someone "stealing Punks thunder". Im thinking more along the lines of a big 'suprise' like RKO920 has already mentioned. Someone that made you think: why in the hell is this guy letting CM Punk tell him what to do?

SO-Looking at the 2 rosters- since the draft is tomorrow, Im looking at all possiblities- not just Smackdown guys. The guy popping out to me the most is: Mark Henry. Talk about a guy that needs some help getting over one way or another!! He really should have zero trouble getting over as a ferocious, heartless savage(think: Mr. Hughes) With Punk talking him up on the mic and using him like only Punk can. But you have to make Henry 100% submissive to Punk. Cuz the whole point would be to make people think: WTF is he doin?? Just like Luke & Serena- Henry wouldnt dare try standing up to Punk. He now believes Punk has "saved him" & wouldnt care about titles or anything other then protecting the man that saved him. Plus- lets be honest: Mark Henry needs to loose those damn corn-rows & braids! His forehead gets bigger on a weekly basis, as his hairline receeds. Just let Punk shave the poodle off your head Mark- he'll make you something again- Or possibly for the 1st time!

I said months ago- that SES needs more members. If its supposed to be 'cult-like' then the SES should be contantly growing. Now- you dont want like 10 people in SES. But I think adding at least 2 more guys into the mix would work well. I really am hoping the hooded man from Extreme Rules & now RAW is Joey Mercury- He fits the mold perfectly. Plus he & Gallows could pair up to make a decent tag-team.

I also really want a 2nd female added to the group sooner or later. After working together well for a while- both ladies start vying more & more for the affection on thier Messiah. Both tryin to one up the other- to prove thier worth to Punk. Not that I'd have Punk 'pick' either girl over the other. But- after trying over & over again- I guess after a fair amount of time...Punk would have to make a choice between the 2 or lose them both. SO- whos the second female added to SES? Well- I wanted it to be Katie Lee, since she already has a 'darkness' to her. But I guess thats not possible anymore. I'd LOVE for it to be a incoming Melissa Anderson. But thats unfortunately- highly doubtful So- I guess im gonna go with- wait for it: Jillian Hall- Another performer that needs a major change of direction, just like Mark Henry. No More singing please!

I think Punk helps turn Henry & Hall into actual characters

 

[teamcanada]

I really think the SES is going culminate into a nWo-type faction, in which eventually they will take over Smackdown probably ending with Taker destroying them at Summerslam.

This storyline is the only that even intrigues me on SD!

I would really like a faction vs. faction main storyline to run through Smackdown now there aren't really big name personalities on SD!.

 

[RKO920]

I'm going to look farther past Summerslam...I'd like to see it evolve into a 5 man group and then see this group go onto the Survivor Series and make a SES vs another 5 man team Survivor Series match.

Make the SES team Smackdown in a match against Raw, it doesn't matter, but if they want to get over as a lasting force, I'd have the SES grow no bigger than the 5, sure 6 if you count Serena.

 

[GetsHeat]

The problem is the SeS is people worshiping Punk.. you can't really have someone who is extremely over unless they are set up as co-leaders and that just cheapens it IMO.

Midcarders and jobbers are fine.. the biggest guy I can think of that would join the SeS might be The Big Show, Kane.. or maybe even Matt Hardy (him saying he doesn't want to make the same mistakes as his brother, etc.. good shit, won't happen)

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I don't mean to pile on here, but this is a terrible idea. Heel stables, long-lasting heel stables, have one established star leading them. And CM Punk is absolutely a solidified main eventer in the WWE. SES is not the nWo. It's a small stable, that A. Helps CM Punk stay in the main event picture. He's talented enough to do so without a stable, but it really makes him look a lot stronger leading a stable. B. It helps get other people over if they aren't doing so hot. Having more than one mega-star in a stable like this could be the worst thing you could possibly do. With that being said, I am not even going to go into how bad the examples you have given (Y2J, Cena, Swagger) would be for the SES (in the long run).

I agree they need to do something more with Gallows. Maybe the new guy, Mercury or Riley, whoever it is, can tag up with Gallows, which would be a REAL tag team to add to the growing division. And no, I do not consider Young a part of the group, at least not until Punk shaves that idiotic haircut from his head.

 

[Mr Snigglez]

I think SES needs a new member from the lower or mid cardg. . .maybe matt hardy, but he would look freaky weird with no hair, but this storyline would get some great heat seeing as what punk did to matts bro jeff.

 

[whatalife1683]

They have a big name who leads the group now. CM Punk is the most over now since joining the WWE. He does not need someone to take that spotlight away from him. It is interesting to see another member possibly coming in. I think it will be a mid carder who needs a change to his character. However, CM Punk needs to be the only big name. This is how stables always been. There is 1 big name, and you build up the other members over time. I do not think Gallows will be a big guy later, but their newest member might fit that role to make a new star.