The next iconic rivalry.

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Following up a thread I created about what Cm Punk's last match should be, one of the option on that poll was against Cena. In the comments below, someone made a reference which I already had in my mind anyway.

"Cena vs Punk is always gold and it is the Rock vs Stone Cold of this era."

As I said, I agree with this. It is the new Stone Cold vs the Rock. They are the two biggest guys in the WWE at the moment. The two biggest faces, same as Rock and Stone Cold were back in the Attitude Era. Both sets of names have competed against each other multiple times, and have put on classics, either on Wrestlemania or in any other PPV or weekly episode. I don't know what another iconic rivalry we had prior to Stone Cold vs the Rock, as I haven't consistently watched the product of that year to be able to know, so I will just stay on these two rivalries.

Since I bet that most of you guys will agree with what is said above, I want your opinions on what the next iconic rivalry will be. I know it is really hard to predict, because we can never know which guy will become the absolute #1 in a certain era. Comment on which one you think is gonna be and which one you want it to be.

Since we are at it, I'll go ahead and say:
-I predict that it will be Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes. They already show trust in Reigns by making him the stand out guy from the Shield. He has the muscle, the look, the charisma and only has enough time to improve on the mic and in the ring. On the other hand, Cody Rhodes is the typical babyface. Amazing in-ring talent, excellent mic work and it seems like WWE will give him a run and Cody will produce, thus become the second face.

-I want the rivalry to be Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns. As stated above, Reigns seems to be one of those guys who can just become the face of the company. Ambrose though it already showing characteristics like Cm Punk. He is amazing on the mic, really captivating, smooth in the ring and can definitely put on great matches, if given enough time.

I would like to think that Bryan should be inserted somewhere in there, along with Ziggler, but looks DO matter when we consider these kind of things and, no offense to Bryan, he is my #2 most favorite guy at the moment, but he needs to get rid of the beard and hair to be considered in one of those options. Ziggler seems to have been buried in the mid card, sadly.

 

[JBK2008]

Reignsvs ambrose would be a great future rivalry. They came in together they know eachother and both are able to draw the fans into their matches. I a years time these two rookies have grown beyond all expectations. When the shield splits these two will have the first of many feuds.

 

[A11oftheLights]

I'd rather reigns and bray wyatt maybe, i really couldn't care who it is exactly but I want it to come from reigns, rollins, ambrose, wyatt, rhodes(maybe), ziggler(if he can ever pull himself out of the doghouse) and maybe Conor O'Brian(Left field I know but if booked as Undertaker's student I really believe he could be a star like Undertaker

 

[Blade222]

I would compare Cena/Punk more to Hogan/Savage. And they've never met on the grandest stage of them all, WMXXX seems like it would be the best place for that.

I agree Roman Reigns would be half of the next great feud, but I think he would work better against someone like Sheamus or Ceasaro who could match his intensity.

 

[MrGameTime]

since the title was next iconic rivalry... How about we forget about cena orton and Bryan and think about Sting vs Undertaker as the next iconic rivalry building upto their match at WM30.

Stings TNA contract runs out in 24 days. And he has just been removed of the TNA Roster website.... and has stopped tweeting all of a sudden.

Royal rumble appearance maybe? Hunter has talked him around I assume.... with the help of an outrageous money offer he couldn't refuse.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

since the title was next iconic rivalry... How about we forget about cena orton and Bryan and think about Sting vs Undertaker as the next iconic rivalry building upto their match at WM30.

Stings TNA contract runs out in 24 days. And he has just been removed of the TNA Roster website.... and has stopped tweeting all of a sudden.

Royal rumble appearance maybe? Hunter has talked him around I assume.... with the help of an outrageous money offer he couldn't refuse.

Nah, I'm not referring to that. I'm referring to the rivalry that will carry us through the next 5 years or so. Rock and Austin carried us from 1999 till 2003. Punk and Cena seemingly started in 2011 and can happen again in 2014. What is the big rivalry in let's say the years 2017-2020?

 

[MCMG]

It is very difficult to predict this. After The Rock and Austin left no-one would have been able to predict Cena/Orton never-mind Cena/Punk. I would say that Cena/Orton is an equally iconic feud and I'm quite excited to see them face off once more.

It is very obvious but I think a feud between Roman Reigns and Big E Langston is a possibility. It would mean McMahon going back to basics with a super-hero type element to wrestling. Two massive guys fighting to be the best which was the theme for the first few Mania's. Hogan/Bundy, Hogan/Andre and even Hogan/Warrior all meet the "the irresistible force meeting the immovable object" saying and way of thought.

It's a cliche but I think there are elements of wanting guys with "the look" to be at the very top and Lagnston and Reigns are two massive wrestlers. Now, we haven't seen much of them wrestling each other and there is no guarantee they will have great chemistry but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the next big stare-down we see at a Wrestlemania.

The thing about Austin/The Rock and Cena/Punk is that all four are brilliant on the mic. They truly are in an elite class and I'm not sure that anyone on the current roster gets near.

Ambrose has a lot of potential. Once The Shield split we will see him on the mic a lot more and I think he can shine. He is unique and that helps. I suppose him vs Reigns will have a fantastic story which will help to make it feel more epic.

So my two choices are Reigns/Big E and Reigns/Ambrose. There are other guys such as Rollins and Rhodes who have great potential and but I'm not sure they fit the bill for an "iconic" rivalry. That being said, the next Rock, Austin, Cena may have not even made their debut yet.

 

[GeneralKarim]

Well, the way they are pushing talent right now, I dont think we will have big enough wrestlers that can carry us through 2017-2020.In 2017 Cena will be what 40?So that means he will still be in the main event so, the actual question is, who will fued with Cena in 2017?

Dunno I guess if they treat him right, Reigns most probably.I dont see anyone else.I mean besides DB, i dont mention him cause I have no clue what's their plans for him.

Sandow can be a big player but before his match with Cena, he lost like 100 matches in a row agaisnt jobbesr basically and now is in a thrown together, completely meaningless feud with Job Ziggler.So , here's to hoping Sandow makes it out alive.

 

[Limitless]

Roman Reigns /vs/ Dean Ambrose

I personally think this would be outstanding. First you could have Roman play the face and have Dean play the uncontrollable "Joker" gimmick. However I could see Dean turn Face and play more of a Stone Cold Character too. He seems very versatile and could very well be the biggest face or heel. I think WWE needs to find a Future Face soon, so I would prefer that. Roman can play off the silent tough character like Taker did in 98.

I personally see Bray Wyatt somewhere in the main event picture, but there are too many unknown questions as to who the top faces could be. I would say Cody Rhodes, but I am not sure if WWE will pull that trigger or not.

 

[L@RISANO]

At the moment, Cody Rhodes is in tag team wrestling. But if pushed right, I believe the top 5 of the company in the next era of wrestling will probably be Cody Rhodes, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Big E Langston. They are all under 30 at this time(so is Seth Rollins). The fifth guy, as long as he can keep his character interesting is Bray Wyatt.

I can see Reigns and Ambrose spin off having a similarity to HHH and HBK. Team mates at the start and slowly evolve into a rivalry...then at times get back together and such.

Cody Rhodes will probably follow an Orton rise and be recognised as one from a wrestling family...
Big E will have to carry the strongman role of the Big Show and Mark Henry ilk...
Whilst Bray Wyatt's longevity will ultimately depend on how his gimmick evolves over the years...hopefully it is can last till 2020..

In the Long Run out of the Current roster, the above 5 will surely have the Major rivalries with each other... My pick for main rivalry is Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose since they have a close connection and starting point from presently to run with.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Probably 2 guys not even on the roster or prevalent at the moment. Cena/Punk is hogan/Piper, Cena/Orton is Austin/rock without the match quality. That's not a knock on anyone and I'm not a 'Tuder at all (overrated era) but Orton/Cena just don't have a ton of chemistry and rock/Austin was always top notch.

 

[The HEEL JuiceLee]

Here are a few rivalries that I think can have iconic feuds

Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose
They have there nXt background, the SHIELD background, I just know they can have some great
chemistry. I can see a Jeff Hardy vs Punk type of rivalry.

It's becoming quite obvious that Roman is on his way to the top. So I see him as the next CeNa. I don't
Know who could play his Orton but I think BiG-E could play Batista to Roman's CeNa.
Maybe Roman's Orton can be Cesaro or Titus O'Neill.

Another iconic feud with $ written all over it is Punk VS Ambrose. Just imagine
the promos & matches in that feud!!

 

[NxtBigThing]

A rivalry I'd love to see is Punk and Daniel Bryan. I feel they can have a terrific rivalry with pure wrestling matches alone. With Punk talking about retiring in the next 2 to 3 years I feel him and Bryan could go back and forth debating who the true best wrestler is. No need to have either heel either since I don't think it would matter if either was a heel because in the end the fans are going to cheer both during their matches. They could even still be allies looking out for one another due to the fact neither wants the other to have an excuse why they lost. Hell even have them team to out do the other. It be a very unique rivalry that would be a great way for Punk to end his career. DB has been getting better on the mic but with Punk's help it can elevate DB even higher down the road. I know the WWE isn't always high on face vs face matches let alone a rivalry but if you want to have a more real feel you got to realize that in Pro Sports not all rivalries the opponents hate each other. Jordan/Magic/Bird might have went head to head but off the court were friends. In MMA or even boxing you do have guys that may beat each other but like and respect the other. What do you guys think?

 

[Duderino]

Reigns and Cesaro would have to be it for me. If you ask me, either of those guys paired with anyone halfway decent (Ziggler, Ambrose, Bryan, Langston, Wyatt, Sandow, whoever else I'm overlooking) would make for a fine rivalry going forward. The match quality would be spectacular, but not all of those guys can pull the kind of weight that Rock/Austin did promo-wise.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Probably 2 guys not even on the roster or prevalent at the moment. Cena/Punk is hogan/Piper, Cena/Orton is Austin/rock without the match quality. That's not a knock on anyone and I'm not a 'Tuder at all (overrated era) but Orton/Cena just don't have a ton of chemistry and rock/Austin was always top notch.

To your point, I can't see Orton being that top guy a la Austin or Rock and it doesn't have anything to do with mic skills or in ring ability. The Rock and Austin were on the top for like 4 years, right? They weren't moved to the mid card for a long time like Orton was. The longevity or your stay on the top plays an important role. I can't see Orton being that number 1 guy when he was in the mid card for 2 years, also he has been in the WWE for 11 years and still hasn't been the #1 guy. On the other hand, Austin and Rock became the top guys organically and in a short time and stayed there for a short time (3-4 years).

That being said, I consider Punk vs Cena a bigger thing. Cena is the Mr.never give up, the face of the company, shoved down our throats for 8 years etc etc etc, but this doesn't matter because, love him or hate him, he is the most proven guy. On the other side, ever since Punk did his pipebomb, he has constantly got main event attention ( although he didn't headline any main events). He has been on top for 2 years now and probably seems to be taking the Austin and the Rock's road as in not staying on top for much loner, since he is retiring.

A general notice to all the above posts too, I think looks have a great deal to do with this. As I said, that's why I can't see Bryan being that guy, because simply he doesn't have the look. I can be proven wrong, and I hope I am, but as someone pointed out, the next two guys of the iconic feud might not even be signed right now, which is sad seeing as they force feed us 4 guys and part timers all the time without developing others.

 

[Kidpolean]

How are you guys calling Cena vs Punk an iconic feud? They have literally never had a TRUE feud. The first one at money in the bank was Punk vs Mcmahon/wwe management and Cena just happened to be the champ at the time. There was no personal conflict between the two. Than Punk leaves comes back and still there is no personal conflict between the two, the belts just needed to be unified. That leaves us with a random #1 contender match, a feud at summerslam where Big Show was more of the focus, a money in the bank cash in that was only used to set up Punk vs Rock, and a one month feud before night of champions.

So I ask this question again, What the hell makes Cena vs Punk and iconic feud? They have barely wrestled each other and they have never had a personal conflict with each other. They havent even had any one on one gimmick matches against each other, such as LMS, or HIAC, or I quit. They have never wrestled each other at Mania. Ive seen someone compare this to Hogan vs Savage which is completely ridiculous. Hogan and Savage had a two year history together and were the mega powers for over a year, split up than had like a 5 month build that culminated with a wwf title match in the main event of wrestlemania. How on earth is Cena vs Punk even close to that?

Rock and Austin was a TRUE feud. 3 wrestlemania with classic matches. A very personal feud where it was known that they hated each other.

Cena vs Orton was the last iconic feud wwe has had. I cant even call Punk vs Cena a feud. Hell Cena has faced off with Del Rio more times than Punk.

This seems like another Punk Lovefest!!!

 

[THE Great GAMMA]

The next top fued?? This is hard because the booking of the WWE now is different than in the past. The longest fued this year so far has been punk v heyman and that wasn't even in a wrestling capacity. I don't think that the target demographic of the WWE can pay attention for the type of build that will be required for an Iconic fued. But if I had to pick on from a "wrestling" stand point I would want Cesaro/Rollins v Bryan/Punk and from a sports entertainment side Ziggler/Rhodes v Ambrose/Bray Wyatt

Of the guys from Nxt that could get called up Sami Zayn v Bryan/Rollins/Cesaro

 

[TheMainEvent]

Looking at today's roster it is hard to determine what could be the next "Iconic Rivalry" that would compare to the Hogan/Savage, Austin/Rock, Cena/Edge, Lesnar/Angle, Hart/HBK type of rivalries that helped define their eras. Orton/Cena was always supposed to be the next Rock/Austin but I've been disappointed with that comparison and really they haven't lived up to that moniker in my book.

There is potential with the future superstars on the roster though and one feud that I really want to see happen is CM Punk VS Dean Ambrose: If this were to become a personal feud given the mic work and in-ring skills of both it could be epic with a bloody violent match to end the feud. Ambrose has that Funk/Piper/Pillman quality about him and Punk could play off that very well. I would love to see these guys feuding over the World Title in a year from now.

Aside from that the way the current roster is setup there aren't any matchups that I think could become the feud/rivalry of an era and become "Iconic". Reigns will undoubtedbly become a huge maineventer star in the next year but I can't see him feuding with Cesaro, Rhodes, Sandow, etc and it being anything epic. Sandow is someone that I think could become a huge heel similiar to early Triple H and a feud against a face like Cody or Ziggler could gain steam but because they have exhausted those matchups so much it lacks the excitement currently.

When I think of the past great rivalries I think of moments that made them epic: the staredowns, the surprise attacks, the double crosses, etc... Rivalries have to become personal and extend over months to reach that level and currently I dont see WWE taking the time to invest into any feuds to do that, even with the amazing crop of upcoming stars that could make magic.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I think it will boil down to being Big E and someone. I think Roman Reigns is a possibility, but I honestly don't see it in the big picture. Big E is very charismatic, he can be funny, intimidating, heel, face, whatever. He is explosive in the ring, and I can see him reqally getting better. Think about Taker's in-ring skills during the begining of his gimmicks. It was mostly chokes and strikes. I can really see Big E similarly improving his ring work. The guy is very athletic. He also seems like a real humble and easy going guy that can really make a good company man. He will be the next "Cena" per say. I believe that the enxt iconic rivalry depends on who ends up having the best chemistry with Big E down the line. I think it could very well be Ziggler. Ziggler is great in the ring, and they do have some history together. One big thing for me, is that Big E would be the first Black WWE champion. In the past we've seen Booker T, Mark Henry and Bobby Lashley as either WHC or ECW Champion. And you can say The Rock, but many could argue that he can be more identified as Samoan, and the there has never been a WWE Champion that can only be identified as Black. Reminds me of Farooq promos from 1997. But anyways that's besides the point. Big E is a humble and talented young star, with a great look. I think he becomes the next big face of the company and his rival just boils down to whoever meshes best with him.