The Main Event

[TheICChampion]

I wasn't sure where to put this, so feel free to move it if necessary.

Now, we are all aware of the considerable lack of talent in the main event scene in WWE. So, what I want you guys to think of is 10-20 superstars on the current roster (part-timers and guys who are currently on the shelf count, but obviously those who are in NXT do not) who you would have as main-event/upper card level talent if you were running things. My example would be:

Randy Orton
Bad News Barrett
Dolph Ziggler
Chris Jericho
Christian
Bray Wyatt
Ryback
Dean Ambrose
Sheamus
Cesaro
Kofi Kingston
Roman Reigns
Daniel Bryan
Seth Rollins
Brock Lesnar
John Cena (But if I had my way he's never getting the title again)


So who would you guys pick to be at the main-event/upper card level? As you can see, I balanced my list with a decent mix of superstars with different skills (those who are powerhouses, some can be brawlers, and others are high-fliers, while a few can be technical). Now, that is not a rule, but see if you can have at least a few from each category. Have fun, guys!

 

[blueskyy]

If it were up to me, there's no need for 20 main eventers. 5 or 6 should be enough. In no order of merit:

1. Brock Lesnar
2. Seth Rollins
3. Sheamus
4. John Cena
5. Randy Orton
6. Daniel Bryan

I did not include the semi-retirees and those that I think are not ready for the main event pictures. Even for Seth Rollins, I'm tilting my opinion based on his earlier matches, since he rarely faces the prominent in-ring guys nowadays -- to be able to see him in one-on-one matches against John Cena, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Rusev, and Luke Harper would've been a better gauge.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

You've listed about 20 guys, so it's unclear if you mean all of these to be Main Eventers etc.

Main Eventers are the top 8 guys with 2 slots for part timers like The Rock. That allows upto and including an MITB match to be covered.

Then you have around 14 Upper Midcard guys, 2 champs for the IC and US, a pair of Tag Champions, a contender for each belt and some former main eventers there to bring talent on. Should be no more than 16 which is double your main event pool.

Then your mid card which are up to 25 including tag teams allowing for "jobbers to the stars", new talents to the roster and attractions such as Los Matadores/El Torito or Rose and The Bunny.

The rest of your roster are the Openers/jobbers and the ideal amount would be another 50 including developmental. So all told the roster is probably close to 100 people in total for active participants including your Divas.

Those kind of numbers allow shows to be put together with an element of variety and for house show business to be conducted on a basis of not seeing the same "big" match more than three times in a 9 month period. It also allows for 2 shows at a time on the circuit, and it minimises talent not being used but being paid as those in that situation are sent to NXT like Kidd and Titus.

For a company like WWE you really can't have "too much" talent in the way of numbers as injuries can happen at any time along with other vagaries of life such as Wellness, suspensions, labour disputes and even death. Right now you have several guys you could put in your 8 as main event calibre either on hiatus, injured or in Rey's case in open dispute over their contract but contracts do cost a lot of money in terms of downside guarantees... if an average NXT starter is on $40k, a top guy in NXT nearer to $75 and an entry level WWE talent $100k then 50 of those deals is quite an outlay, so you do see a lot of harshness in terms of people being cut if they don't perform. For a company like WWE which is "cost cutting" you can probably trim each of these lower levels down by 20%, over time this works because as big earners like Brock leave next year then the newer talents replacing him will likely be doing the same/more work for less.

If you're interested in this kind if thing I recommend Total Extreme Warfare 2013, it's a pretty accurate sim of how a company of relevant sizes grow and contract and the roster sizes etc you need.

 

[WarroBODFan]

Randy Orton
John Cena
Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns
Bray Wyatt
Cesaro
Dolph Ziggler
Daniel Bryan
Luke Harper

Part-timers
Triple-H (Talking purely about in the ring)
The Rock
Brock Lesnar
Kurt Angle (Because whether it's realistic or not, I'd mark out big time for a face Kurt Angle to return)

I think there is a decent mix of characters, guys who can change between face/heel to make new storylines, all capable of putting on good to excellent matches (yes, even John boy on his day, and believe me I'm not a fan of his). Might raise some eyebrows with adding Harper to the list, but I think he's got that something that could see him rise up the card.

Plenty of guys in NXT who I'm sure we could add to the list in due time.

 

[Navi]

Well here's my list in no particular order, just as I think of them.

1. Dean Ambrose
2. John Cena
3. Randy Orton
4. Seth Rollins
5. Cesaro
6. Roman Reigns
7. Dolph Ziggler - if he can stay injury free
8. Bad News Barrett

I didn't include any part timers mainly because look what's happened to the title since Lesnar won it. ie - we haven't seen much of it. Daniel Bryan would have been on the list, but Meltzer reported on his podcast last week that Bryan might require Tommy John surgery, which will put him out somewhere into next year. If he does come back healthy though, he would definitely be put back on there.

Wrestlers like Sheamus and Rusev didn't make it because of the fan reaction to them. While they are good in the ring, they can't get over with fans at all, no matter what the WWE does with them. Bray Wyatt well it all depends on how he comes back, and whether he stays as a full time active wrestler or manager type, which I think he's better at. A Wyatt/Heyman promo war would be epic.

Luke Harper is getting a singles push, so let's see how that pans out, but I wouldn't mind seeing him up there in the top tier. For a guy his size he can really move. Rowan, the poor bastard, who is he again. He's been totally overshadowed by Wyatt and Harper.

Everyone else is either mid card or upper mid card. I'm assuming that in a few years Orton and Cena will start to peel off more and more, and others will be crawling they're way up. But none of the rest of the card right now has a shot at it, as they will be aging as well. I'm expecting Zayn, Neville, Devitt and Kenta to make quite the splash. We'll have to wait and see though how they will fair on the main roster. They are doing great now, but with the increased travel schedule, public appearances, it remains to be seen how they will handle the pressure.

 

[Mudlup50]

Okay I'm gonna be biased here xD so bare with me

1. Randy Orton: He's great at what he does and still deserves 1-2 more runs
2. John Cena: Let's be real he ain't going nowhere, even if he doesn't win it again
3. The Miz: I'm biased but he does deserve an occasional shot, maybe 1 run but doubt it
4. Daniel Bryan: His spot was robbed by injury, maybe 2-3 more runs
5. Seth Rollins: He definitely deserves this spot, he's been a great heel for months, 4-5 runs with it
6. Dean Ambrose: Probably will turn heel when Seth turns face, he'll get 5-6 runs
7. Bray Wyatt: I picture him like Taker, faction at his back, maybe 2-3 runs
8. CM Punk: Because yes I'll be this guy to say Punk

These guys are all good talkers, they have different styles but more importantly they're all good on the mic. I think main eventers need to be good on the mic. Now that being said there are a few guys who will dance in and out of the main event

9. Dolph Ziggler: He's just not good on the mic imo, great worker, deserves 1 run
10. Roman Reigns: I just don't like his promos, and he's not great in ring, he'll get a run sooner or later
11. Cesaro: He's good in ring but I'm not too impressed..maybe 1 run
12. Kofi Kingston: Won't get a run but will make people look good

Maybe a few other stragglers find their way in but this is good to me.

 

[GeminiGarlord]

Dean Ambrose: He's quite over and is probably the most charismatic wrestler right now in the company
Seth Rollins: He's sooooo good in the ring
Sami Zayn: Naturally he'd need a couple of months in the midcard, but he has all the potential to be a huge face
Bray Wyatt: Should be pushed again as a monster heel though, an undertaker style menace. He has the charisma and the persona to succeed at a main event.
Kevin Steen: Just debut him beating up Rollins after he wins the title to get him lots of face heat. Steen mic skill and in ring ability will do the rest.
Bad News Barret: Just change back his name to Wade Barrett. He's over, he's good, his only problem is that Bad News Barrett is just a stupid name. He can be announced as Wade "Bad News" Barrett sure, but Bad News is a nickname not a damn name.
John Cena: He has to be there doesn't he? Although a storyline with flair managing the champion trying to avoid Cena to reach his record would actually have potential.

I would add Cesaro, but honestly i'm still not convinced by his mic skills and I think he should at least have more time to speak in the midcards before jumping up. Mostly because I actually really like his overthetoppishness when portraying a heel and If he actually worked on establishing that he would be great as a main eventer. In the meantime the "strong guy" role in the main event could be taken by someone like Shamus.

Also Stardust, but just after a lenghty run as tag team champion and a nice farewell feud with Goldust.

As a part timer honestly the only one that I'd like would be Chris Jericho, despite his age he can still work really really good matches.

 

[L@RISANO]

My List would be:

John Cena
Randy Orton
Daniel Bryan
Roman Reigns
Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins
Sheamus(Heel)
Cesaro
Bad News Barrett

Bray Wyatt would be a Semi-Active Wrestler/Manager type who could be used much like the Undertaker was(given his gimmick and its possibilities if explored) and I feel he'd be much more suitable for the more important matches, whilst his "minions/follower(s)" do the regular show matches.

Sheamus and Bad News Barrett are in the list, but Sheamus as a Heel would get in as I feel he'd be much more well-received in such a role. BNB is based on him being safe from injuries which have hurt him quite a bit as I feel he'd be perfect in the Authority in place of Kane as DoO who wrestles.


Obviously there would still be Part-Timers coming in who might feature as well, so all the guys in the list, won't always feature in the Main Event at all times.

As others have mentioned, some guys from NXT might well make the jump and maybe even shake up things at the top given the kind of talent present there.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

My list
Cena
Orton
Lesnar
Sheamus
Roman Reigns
Ryback
Seth Rollins
Dean Ambrose
Kofi/Big E (upper mid-card)
Ziggler/Big Show (upper mid card)

These guys are easily the best Wwe has to offer. (This is of course my opinion) Bray Wyatt is great in promos, but besides his "theatrics" during matches, he's pretty ba in the ring. Cesaro is another guy that's great, but his issue is opposite of Bray's. Cesaro's great in the ring but bad on the mic. The only reason I choose Ziggler/Kofi over these two is because they are reliable and proven that they can get things done when needed.
I enjoy these guys in NXT, but I don't see any of them reaching the main event(maybe 1 or 2 if that).

This list is great for me and not hard to make possible at all, maybe throw in someone getting in the main event through MITB and the Royal Rumble, and you have a pretty good list of guys to carry Wwe for a while.

 

[steve115657]

My list:
Dean Ambrose- He is super over right now and has the mic skills to be at the top of the company for a long time.
Seth Rollins- Can't wait to see him as a face. I like him as a heel now but mainly because it is a brilliant way to get Ambrose over and it's hard (imo) to build a face with the money in the bank contract. I think down the road when Rollins turns face he will get a huge following.
John Cena- He still has quite a while at the top and I have been enjoying his work more recently.
Rusev- I think this monster push can keep him in the main scene for a long time. He looks legit and is getting solid heel heat.
Paul Heyman- Needs to stay involved somehow, even after Lesnar leaves Heyman is a must to be giving promos for somebody.
Daniel Bryan- Can't deny the people what they want
Randy Orton:- He can still go.
Cesaro- As a face, obviously.
Bray Wyatt- I think I'm in the minority where I think Wyatt should be a heel, I just dont see how his character portrays any other way.


Then there would be the tweeners who aren't main eventers all the time but can get a shot occasionally, Dolph Ziggler, Bad News Barrett, Sheamus, Luke Harper (down the road, and I hope I don't get flamed for saying it but I think Harper has upper midcard/lower main event ability)

 

[steve115657]

I'll throw Kofi, Big E, and Stardust in their as well. I think all 3 of them put together work of being worthy of upper midcard status.

 

[WorldChampionJustin]

REASONS AND PEOPLE:
Brock Lesnar- Come on guys, he's a freaking beast.

Bray Wyatt- One of the most popular and charismatic guys on the roster.

Cody Rhodes- I loved face Rhodes when he was somewhat against the Authority.

Daniel Bryan- I don't personally like him, but he is a good wrestler i'll give him that.

Dean Ambrose- He is the 2nd most over babyface in the company at this moment and a damn good worker.

Dolph Ziggler- A great worker and always puts on great matches, damn good on the mic as well.

Cesaro- Not so good on the mic, but he is a great wrestler and he is pretty charismatic.

Jack Swagger- Decent on the mic and somewhat charismatic, and the "American" character fits him well.

John Cena- He is a 15 time world champion, I don't like Cena in the ring, but I would still keep him relevant.

Kane- He is a monster, well he should be, I would book him strongly.

Mark Henry- He is a joke lately, but I would turn him heel again and destroy the roster.

"Hollywood" Miz- This gimmick is great, never liked the Miz, but this character is pretty good.

Randy Orton- One of the greatest workers in the company today, one of the best wrestlers and most charismatic characters there is.

Roman Reigns- I personally think he sucks on the mic, and could use his improvements in the ring as a grappler instead of punching all over the place, but he has a main-event look to him.

Seth Rollins- He is decent on the mic and really solid in the ring, and he has charisma, believe it or not.

Sheamus- He is great on the mic, kind of boring in the ring but he is supposed to be a brawler, deal with it.

Triple H- He is a legend, a future hall of famer, i'm sorry for using this line twice, but deal with it.

Bad News Barrett- He is a great wrestler, more of a part timer due to his constant injuries, but is still great in the ring, however I see if he screws up again, it's over for Barrett.

Big E- One of the best big men in the WWE today, ranking behind Lesnar, Rusev, and Henry.

Zack Ryder- He is a fan favorite who should be a world champion. He is super over whenever he is there, and he should be seen as a threat.

Kofi Kingston- He is a guy who has only got midcard pushes, and that's fine, but I believe he should be used alot more then he is, with a couple world titles onto his belt, it would be fresh.