The FACE of the WWE.

[L@RISANO]

In the other thread, I talked about Daniel Bryan's MIC skills being an obstacle in his elevation to being the Face of the WWE,especially in the absence of John Cena.

In this thread, since one of the themes currently is always "the FACE of the Company"...I think we should discuss what is looked for in a FACE of the WWE.

What is it that made Hulk Hogan,Stone Cold Steve Austin,the Rock and John Cena stand out from the others and made them the 'Marquee' names of the WWE?

Out of the Current Crop, is there anyone who has enough potential to take over if John Cena was to move on at WM30? Would they be able to carry the company like the others did?

In Edge's short comments in Stone Cold's HOF promo,I believe. He said Stone Cold was a Superstar who made it to a "Count on One-Hand List" as a guy Synonymous with the Company. From that, I would assume that the four guys I have mentioned above are on that list as the Faces of the Company in its different eras.
Then, beyond those guys there have been transitional Faces of the Company such as Bret Hart,the Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels and HHH.
I personally think Daniel Bryan could be part of this latter list, whilst WWE tries to groom Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose to jump to the other "Count on One-Hand List".

Your thoughts?

 

[Rvdrvd]

I think Brett Hart definitely belongs on the list of "count on one hand" guys. He had a prolonged run as the face of the WWF from about 93 through the time he left in 97. With out question he is above Warrior and HHH in terms of all time lists, and he MADE Steve Austin the superstar that he is with their work in Survivor Series 96 and Wrestlemania 13.

He often dosen't get the respect he deserves, especially with the younger crowd who didn't see him in his prime. Vince gave him a huge long term contract to carry the company and he doesn't do that with just "transitional" talent.

To answer your question C.M. Punk is the closest thing the WWE has to a major star capable of carrying the company, if no Cena. He has all the necessary tools, except maybe in Vinces eye's size.

 

[DietPepsiRocks]

the thing i hate is that the people chose Punk and Bryan as the replacements for Cena..yet Vince is going to try to make his own face that the people wont' dictate. Roman Reigns they say is going to be the new face, really? that guy has spent his whole career as a heel so far and he beats up our favorites every show, so why would we want to cheer him as opposed to cheer the people that beat him up? Do you really see Reigns getting over and becoming the next guy? he can't be all goofy with kids and be all outgoing like that....He's not what the people want and I fear this is how the WWE will suffer long term because they choose who they choose as opposed to what the people choose. They're grooming Reigns, yet no one really cares about him. SO what's the point? We're supposed to cheer him because THEY say we should? it'll backfire...can't wait to see the reaction once Batista wins the belt.....tons of people will stop watching, they keep messing up big time! The company only does what it wants.... We wanted Bryan, so they give us Bryan, yet they bury him on air every week to make us not want him anymore....see, they don't care what we want.

 

[Kidpolean]

I think Brett Hart definitely belongs on the list of "count on one hand" guys. He had a prolonged run as the face of the WWF from about 93 through the time he left in 97. With out question he is above Warrior and HHH in terms of all time lists, and he MADE Steve Austin the superstar that he is with their work in Survivor Series 96 and Wrestlemania 13.

He often dosen't get the respect he deserves, especially with the younger crowd who didn't see him in his prime. Vince gave him a huge long term contract to carry the company and he doesn't do that with just "transitional" talent.

To answer your question C.M. Punk is the closest thing the WWE has to a major star capable of carrying the company, if no Cena. He has all the necessary tools, except maybe in Vinces eye's size.

I disagree with Bret being on the list. Also if you do include Bret than you would have to also include HBK. IMO HBK carried the company much better than Bret but thats just an opinion and not a fact. Im not talking in terms of making money but about how much I enjoyed the product. I agree that Punk is the only guy besides Cena that could potentially carry the company. However, Punk couldnt make it on this list. Not because he isnt good but because he is a better heel. Punk as a face SUCKS. He comes off as more of an underdog instead of being larger than life and I dont think this can be changed at this point in his career.

What makes Austin, Rock, and Hogan different from everybody else is there mic/acting skills and their larger than life personalities. Cena doesnt have what these three had but his longevity on top gets him on the list. Rock and Austin are arguably the greatest talkers the business has ever seen. Hogan and Cena attracted young audiences and became role models for kids. As much as people hate Cena, you have to admit that he is a very special kind of wrestler that doesn't come around very often.

 

[jimmyrave]

Ryback was rumored to be the next face of WWE at one point, that obviously didn't happen.

Yea, Cena is probably just behind Hogan/Austin, but he's been a top draw and carried the company for many years.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Ryback was rumored to be the next face of WWE at one point, that obviously didn't happen.

Anyone who understands the slightest thing about wrestling knew Ryback wasn't going to be the top draw of the company. WWE should thank their lucky stars they weren't dumb enough to make that mistake. Now they're currently making the same mistake with Big E Langston, another completely talentless wrestler that they feel is THE next big megastar, but who isn't worth the paper his contract is printed on. Hopefully they'll realize their mistake again before it's too late.

As for the original topic of the thread, I only see two current Superstars on the roster capable of being the face of the WWE if Cena was gone, CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler. Punk has the talent, the charisma, and the connection with the fans. The only thing he's missing is size. Ziggler has the all the tools Punk has, but not quite at the same level Punk does, but has a little more size and has more of the "look" that WWE wants in their top guys. Those are the only two guys on the roster I could see carrying the ball.

 

[SmattyG]

I think it's getting too late for CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, even though they are the obvious choices. I agree with Aquaman that Ziggler, given the right storylines, could step up. They've held back on him for so long now I'm not sure if it's not too late for him too.

I'll throw a swerve and say Antonio Cesaro. His move set is great for a face; he is really good on the mic; is in the top 3 best in ring performers they have; and has the look. The accent may hold him back from being THE guy; but let's see in the next couple of years where he is.

In saying that, I don't really think anyone on the current roster will get close to Hogan, Austin, Rock, Cena....but as the OP says - they're count on one hand guys. Let's settle for another Savage, Bret, HBK, Triple H, Jericho equivalent and then we won't be disappointed.

 

[kumarjtk]

first of all the face of wwe means the wrestlers who carry the company. I mention wrestlers which means not one but many. On attitude era we have top two scsa and rock with hhh, taker, hbk, foley. But scsa is the face of the attitude era. It doesnt means he is only great wrestler others are also great. Similarly in pg cena is face of company with the greats of hhh, randy, punk,batista, lesnar but standout wrestlers is cena and orton. Now we have punk with record champion of modern era. Bryan is younger wrestler compared with others. He defnitely became wwe champion in 2014. But john cena punk will fill the spot until a new one come. Bryan is great wrestler like hbk, bret, savage.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

Yet again I think what's being overlooked is the importance of a gimmick. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk do not have gimmicks. They have in-ring skills and DB has mannerisms. That's not the same thing. You have to ask "who is their character?". And the answer is too inconsistent for each.

Stone Cold was a untrusting, lone-wolf, gritty, hard-nosed man. THAT was his gimmick. The Rock was an arrogant, stone-faced, badass, with bizarre sayings. THAT was his gimmick. Hulk Hogan and John Cena were/are high-octane, role model, superhero-esque saviors. THAT was/is their gimmick.

CM Punk is an outspoken guy whose name has the word "punk" in it and has a lot of tattoos (which is sometimes a stereotype for people who are classified as punks). The fact that his name and tattoos can be associated with the classification of a punk, has no bearing on his personality. A personality, mind you, that is not consistent at all. He has no distinct characteristics and because of these things, he really doesn't have a gimmick at all.

Daniel Bryan has a long beard, he likes to chant "YES!" which only made sense when he was an unclassy heel. His personality is inconsistent and much of his characteristics are unknown even after 2 years. Because of these things, he really doesn't have a gimmick at all.

These are some of the reasons why CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are not (and probably will never be) accepted on a large scale as the face of the WWE. John Cena still holds that crown with a solid gimmick that includes a consistent superhero personality and characteristics of a stereotypical Saturday morning cartoon role model of the 60s-90s.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Punk does have a character and a personality... a snarky one... That more than anything has stopped him from taking the next step as what you see onscreen is probably far worse backstage. Punk is also a bit of a magpie, borrowing mannerisms and tropes from pop culture. It's no coincidence his song name drops Ghandi and JFK, that he uses The Thing's "Clobberin' Time" line and crafted his look for the last 6 months as an audition to be Jackman's replacement as Wolverine (at least he'd be the right height). But fans like him, react to him and he has the charisma to get away with it. That doesn't really sell in the mainstream however.

Neither does Bryan at the moment, from Vince's eyes he has built his company on Larger than Life - Andre, Hogan, Warrior, Bret, Austin, Taker, Cena and Shawn. Even the smaller of those guys had personality and a chiselled look that was mainstream friendly. Bryan is a scrawny vegan with a beard in Vince's eyes, he's not worried he's the best wrestler or that the fans love him cos he want's a Dwayne/Cena style adonis to be his standard bearer, not a "vanilla midget". He'd be wrong of course. Bryan COULD very easily be that cross-over guy because he is the first one who is larger than life by being an everyman, since Bruno anyway.

Bret is absolutely on the list - he was the face of the company in those mid 90's along with Taker. Vince didn't want him to be, but he was by default cos Luger, Yoko, Diesel all bombed.

The problem they have is that in the past there was never another of anyone, Andre got replaced by Hogan, Hogan by Bret, Bret by Austin, Austin by Rock... any time they tried for a "new" anyone it went wrong. Warrior was to be the new Hogan, then Luger, then Diesel, Shawn the new Bret, Orton the new Austin and so on...

Where the E has been successful is letting someone new rise up, Cena was the last one to truly manage it. As for his replacement, it could well be Bryan. They have never had someone as over, skilled and against their "type" before, nor will again. I don't for a minute believe it's a long term solution - but while Punk will be gone by August (probably buying into TNA or ROH), D-Bry has 2 years of being "the guy" in him...then it'll be time for someone else new.