The former future of the WWE

[z99zazn]

Well I've stated this an other threads before, but I've been watching a lot of Royal Rumbles lately off of Netflix. Well the last Royal Rumble I've watched was the 2007 version when Taker beat HBK at the end. Great Rumble, but my question pertains to something else off the PPV. The ECW title was up for grabs between Lashley and Test. Lashley had the title and beat Test in a very boring match. The World Heavyweight Championship was between Batista, and Kennedy in his first time going for the title. Batista barely held on for the win. The WWE title was between the champion, John Cena, and the monster, Umaga.

I was a huge wrestling fan when I was younger, but my love for wrestling would come and go in different times. I was out of watching wrestling from probably 2002 until this year, but knew some from people I know.

My question to everyone was how legitimate did all of these guys look around this time? I mean, I know Lashely was going to be a star from what I've heard, and Kennedy had a pretty big following too. I've heard Umaga was going against some Main Event talent too, somewhat often.

Now as a fan during this time, did these guys look like the future of the WWE? Did they look like they would potentially be WWE champions in the future? I really liked Kennedy and Umaga from what I saw of them in the research of done on the internet. Lashley looked like a legit power guy. Where these guys looked at as sure things, or were they kinda thrown in the main event with no expectations, sorta like Mark Henry was in the 2006 Rumble?

I just wanted to guage their pushes and popularity to people that know what they're talking about. It is really amazing to me that these guys were in the Main Events about 2 and a half years ago and now they're all gone from the company. Thoughts?

 

[skeelo58]

I believed that Kennedy and Lashley had serious futures in the WWE. Kennedy was amazing on the mic, and had some decent in-ring talent too. Lashley wasn't quite as good on the mic, but he had the body, and skill set that a future star would need.

I never considered Umaga to be a future star. Cuz after all, he's really just Jamal, repackaged as Umaga. History shows that there are few, if any, stars who DON'T SPEAK. The only one I can think of is Kane, back when he had his mask on. But then again, he only held the WWF title for 1 day.

 

[Tenta]

I never particularly saw Umaga or Kennedy as championship material, per se. I liked them, and thought that perhaps they could take up a main event spot or two while with the WWE, but by no means did I consider these men champions, and I'll explain why:

Umaga- It's the Kamala effect. Would you have given the belt to Kamala, and had him go over Hulk Hogan? I hate to compare the two, but honestly, what else can I really do? Both are savages, and savages don't exactly make for great champions, as they rarely cut good promos, and don't really make for compelling characters, unless by some chance they were given the ability to speak English. Unless Umaga "learned" English, I couldn't see him really holding either belts.

Kennedy- I was never that huge a fan of Kennedy. I felt his talent was vastly overrated, and his main way of getting over was being cocky, and saying his name. Dolph Ziggler does that better than Mr. Kennedy right now. Don't believe me? Go watch an episode of Smackdown. Then, once the injuries started to pile up, all the pieces to the puzzle started to add up, and it became evident that the WWE couldn't trust him with an extended, let alone any, run with either world title. Might have challenged from time to time, but never would have won it.

Now, Lashley is a completely different case, as it was obvious WWE was grooming him for success. The only difference between Kennedy and (to a lesser extent) Umaga, was that Lashley left on his own terms. He got pissed, and he walked away. Some will say Umaga walked away, but do you think he would have if he didn't fail his drug test, and wasn't relegated to rehab? No, the simple fact was that Lashley was groomed to be the next major champion, but ultimately walked away before ever giving himself the chance.

 

[DaveBalls]

The funny thing about Umaga not speaking is that weeks before he got released he started speaking during his feud with CM Punk. He was shaping up to be put into a top position but as we all know, shit happens, and now TNA will benefit

 

[CuddleBuns84]

The future is that the WWE is in a slump right now with things. It is going to take some new stars and some returning stars to create new feuds on film. Plus, the angles aren't too creative anymore. A new angle that would be fun to see would be fun to see, would be a union angle. Vince is going crazy on air, and the superstars would feel safer would a union. Then it would be a scary version of the NWO vs. WCW days.

 

[Slyfox696]

Umaga - He was never going to be a superstar in the WWE. His job was to come in, look great, and be fed to the top main-event talent to put them over more. With a gimmick like he had, that's all you can really get out of it. He's not going to draw money, so you need to have your moneymakers benefit from going over him when he's hot. Once enough people have gone over to make him no longer look credible, you dump him. Just the way business goes.

Lashley - He was a superstar, and was improving daily. His mic work was very weak, but the man had a great presence in the ring, and his skills were coming around very nicely. He was still raw and green, but if put together with the right people, who cared about making a good match for everyone (like Umaga or Cena), the Lashley could put on some good matches. And the guy was getting better. I believe that if Lashley had never left, Punk and Jeff Hardy would not be in main-event positions.

Kennedy - The guy was a tool, and always has been. For whatever reason he gained favor with internet fans (I guess they were so impressed that he could say his own name over and over), but the guy was a hack. He was horrible in promos, was a horrible actor, and an even worse wrestler. The IWC thought he was going to be great...I thought he was going to be fired. Looks like I was right. Again.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Wow, Slyfox impressed with himself for being right? Amazing. I kid. Sly usually is right, and this is no exception. I agree with most of what you said.

I disagree with the point that if Lashley had stuck around, Jeff Hardy wouldn't be in the main event. I think that Jeff's push to the top came from the fans. I think after years of Jeff's pop dwarfing the main eventers, Vince had to pull the trigger or face a revolt from the kids, who he is pushing his product toward. Other than that, I agree with you.

I think the loss of these three is a good thing overall. Instead of getting boring ass Kennedy and nothing on the mic from Umaga, we get pure gold in the ring and on the mic from Morrison, Swagger, and Dolph. I think the future of the WWE is in good hands, and if their pushes and feuds are handled correctly, these guys will be on top for 15+ years.

 

[jrocc4dub]

The future is that the WWE is in a slump right now with things. It is going to take some new stars and some returning stars to create new feuds on film. Plus, the angles aren't too creative anymore. A new angle that would be fun to see would be fun to see, would be a union angle. Vince is going crazy on air, and the superstars would feel safer would a union. Then it would be a scary version of the NWO vs. WCW days.

There was an union angle already. It actually sucked. I believe it was foley, show. test, shamrock. They were sick of the corporation and formed together to battle them. It was lame.

 

[tLight]

Umaga - He was never going to be a superstar in the WWE. His job was to come in, look great, and be fed to the top main-event talent to put them over more. With a gimmick like he had, that's all you can really get out of it. He's not going to draw money, so you need to have your moneymakers benefit from going over him when he's hot. Once enough people have gone over to make him no longer look credible, you dump him. Just the way business goes.

Lashley - He was a superstar, and was improving daily. His mic work was very weak, but the man had a great presence in the ring, and his skills were coming around very nicely. He was still raw and green, but if put together with the right people, who cared about making a good match for everyone (like Umaga or Cena), the Lashley could put on some good matches. And the guy was getting better. I believe that if Lashley had never left, Punk and Jeff Hardy would not be in main-event positions.

Kennedy - The guy was a tool, and always has been. For whatever reason he gained favor with internet fans (I guess they were so impressed that he could say his own name over and over), but the guy was a hack. He was horrible in promos, was a horrible actor, and an even worse wrestler. The IWC thought he was going to be great...I thought he was going to be fired. Looks like I was right. Again.

Umaga was a major heel for a while. He made his way into some big matches on PPV vs Triple H and John Cena. I think he could of held the title (simular to Khali) for a month or so while they built up a program for someone to take it off of him. He wasn't that bad, and he was a believable monster. It worked for Mark Henry, and it could of just as well worked for Umaga. Also Big Show jobs to everyone, but he's still viewed as a monsters, when he comes out and beats up Kingston and Bourne.

Lashley had the look and the talent and probably could of been the most recent popular African American superstar in the WWE, and probably would of went on to capture real WWE Gold (sorry kids the ECW Title no longer counts as a major title). If he wouldn't of gotten greedy after the Lashley/Trump vs. Umaga/Vince match at WM he would probably still be around.

Kennedy- I agree completely, theres only so many chances you get to get over, and he blew everyone of them. So go down to TNA, and bore them.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

There was an union angle already. It actually sucked. I believe it was foley, show. test, shamrock. They were sick of the corporation and formed together to battle them. It was lame.

It was a lame angle, because it was four people. I'm talking about Bringing in Shawn Michaels going to each brand and getting people to join the union, and a gang mentality type of show. Battling Stables always win crowds over. It would go from having weird storylines, to having a huge battle. Plus yes, that Union did suck with foley, show, test, and shamrock. Not very well written.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Bobby Lashley was a guy that I thought was going to be the next Brock Lesnar, though I expected his career to be much longer. Lashley had a great look, was extremely powerful, a good all around athlete and got over with the fans. He was a little weak on the mic, but he could definitely improve. Overall, Lashley had it I believe.

Umaga was completely unoriginal and while some of his matches were good, everything about the guy was something that I'd seen other wrestlers of Samoan descent do for decades and they did it better in my view. Umaga was strictly mid-card material after his feud with Triple H, in which he got his ass handed to him everytime. Umaga would have never been a world champion and was really just cast the same as the Big Show, which was basically to look impressive and powerful, but still put other guys over.

As for Kennedy, Kennedy is one of the most overrated neverwas guys that's come along this decade. Kennedy was pretty good on the mic, at least to me for a while, but it just got old to me. Kennedy is one of these guys that's gained a strong following on the internet and many still sing his praises. In actuality, the guy was injury prone himself and he was very careless in the ring. For nearly half of his roughly 4 year WWE career, Kennedy was on the shelf nursing one injury after the other. I wouldn't take 10 guys like Kennedy for 1 Bobby Lashley.

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

Kennedy, meh. He had great mic skills dont get me wrong but i didnt see the main event in him as much as alot of people. Hell people were going on about his main event spot being just around the corner a week before he was released.

Umaga, meh. He could challenge for the title every now and then and would believable as a threat but he never would have actually won it.

Lashley was the next Lesnar, he was going to the top but some dick called him the n word so he bailed. Pitty cause he had a huge career with WWE in the palm of his hand. At least he's doing well in UFC and possibly TNA soon.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

I'll just say off hand, that Sly pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as my opinions on said superstars, but I still have a few quips of my own.

Umaga- Umaga isn't made to be a main-event champion. Wrestlers like him don't win belts, unless they're mid-card titles. He's a monster who is built to the moon, to simply get beat by guys like Cena or HHH until the fans and management of the WWE are tired of him. And that's what happened. His welcome was worn out...again, and he served his purpose.

Lashley- This is where I have a slight discrepancy with Sly. I wasn't sold on Lashley being a major player. He had the look, but his mic work was awful and it's proven that unless you're the Undertaker, you don't have staying power without the ability to work the stick. Lashley could have been a champion by now, but he would be as big as he was during that Royal Rumble match.

Kennedy- Although I seen through Kennedy's act and didn't care for it personally, I figured he would be pushed to the moon and eventually be a champion. Turns out, he's injury prone, a mediocre worker, and someone who clashes with most backstage. Think about it. The man managed to win the US Title, the Money in the Bank, and matches against the Undertaker, and STILL blew his chance. Takes a lot of talent to do that. Or a massive tool.

 

[Slyfox696]

Lashley- This is where I have a slight discrepancy with Sly. I wasn't sold on Lashley being a major player. He had the look, but his mic work was awful and it's proven that unless you're the Undertaker, you don't have staying power without the ability to work the stick. Lashley could have been a champion by now, but he would be as big as he was during that Royal Rumble match.

How about Chris Benoit? How about Brock Lesnar? Neither one of them were good on the stick, and yet both had obvious staying power in main-event WWE. Obviously Brock left early, but I don't think anyone doubts that he was going anywhere for a while, and Benoit was scheduled to win the ECW title the night he died.

Hell, how about Shawn Michaels? He's terrible on the stick, completely bland and boring, monotone or ridiculous. HBK is a terrible mic worker. He has fantastic charisma in the ring, but his mic work is below average.

How about Batista? Talk about another below average mic worker. If anything, Lashley was like him...big, strong, charismatic, with an incredible ability for power matches. Batista has been over and in the main-event for four years now, I dare say that he's had staying power.

So, I disagree with you that Lashley's lack of mic work would have kept him from being a major player. I think all the signs are there that prove otherwise.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

How about Chris Benoit? How about Brock Lesnar? Neither one of them were good on the stick, and yet both had obvious staying power in main-event WWE. Obviously Brock left early, but I don't think anyone doubts that he was going anywhere for a while, and Benoit was scheduled to win the ECW title the night he died.

Hell, how about Shawn Michaels? He's terrible on the stick, completely bland and boring, monotone or ridiculous. HBK is a terrible mic worker. He has fantastic charisma in the ring, but his mic work is below average.

How about Batista? Talk about another below average mic worker. If anything, Lashley was like him...big, strong, charismatic, with an incredible ability for power matches. Batista has been over and in the main-event for four years now, I dare say that he's had staying power.

So, I disagree with you that Lashley's lack of mic work would have kept him from being a major player. I think all the signs are there that prove otherwise.

On the other side of the spectrum you have guys like Matt and Jeff Hardy who were never great on the mic but their style and charisma help them get over after more than ten years in the business. Mysterio has been over as long as he his without any mic skills. Bourne will suffer more because he is smaller and he is not well devloped ringwise as the others. I think Kofi will do well in his career with talking on the mic much but he may need to improve if the occasion calls for it.