What Does The Future Hold For These Guys (And More)?

[Sid Schmid]

I was scanning through the current WWE Roster and got me thinking about some of the guys who are currently out injured or just off TV. Some of them I believe don't have much of a future in the WWE, especially after the arrival of three talents from NXT and the rumoured arrival of other NXT talents to the main roster.

Alex Riley
I know a lot of the IWC rate him but I don't see much of a future for him on the main roster. I used to think that he could be a solid mid-carder in his own right when he was alligned and then broke away from The Miz but a series of injuries and jobber spots seemed to have halted his character. Unless the WWE see something in him I think he could be future endeavoured in 2013.

Evan Bourne
I'm a fan of his in ring ability although I can't remember the last time he was on WWE TV due to his injuries and suspensions. He has the potential to be a solid mid-carder but I'm not sure if the WWE has faith in his ability to stay clean. I'd love for him to make an impact again in the tag team division or go for the US title as a singles competitor but maybe he's burned most of his bridges with the company.

Ezekiel Jackson
He's currently out injured but I don't think there is much left for him in the WWE. The roster is crowded with big, powerful wrestlers so there isn't enough TV time to develop him. Also the WWE are high on Big E Langston in NXT so that would push Jackson even further down the pecking order.

Mason Ryan
Another big man who's days are unfortunately numbered in my opinion. I haven't seen too much of him as he's hardly had in-ring time on TV but on a crowded roster it would make sense for him to move on.

JTG/Yoshi Tatsu
He is another who could be in danger but I think he's worth keeping around. He is a jobber and the WWE always need good jobbers. I would also keep Yoshi Tatsu around for the same purpose. JTG helps build faces and Tatsu helps build heels.

Jack Swagger
I know Swagger has been much debated lately but unless the WWE has a clear plan for him I don't see him doing much which is a shame as he is one of the most gifted in-ring performers in the company.

There are others on the roster who I struggle to see a future for such as The Great Khali and Hornswoggle but the WWE seem to be high on those two for some reason so they aren't in any danger of being released.

What are your thoughts and are there any wrestlers not on my list who should be?

 

[fafa1021]

I think the only guys on this list that have any real long term viability are Swagger and Bourne. I thought Alex Riley would be better than he was but he fell off a cliff after his program with the Miz and we have yet to see him again.

Evan Bourne could be a great guy to fit into the tag team scene if he can still healthy and clean. I like the idea of him with Tyson Kidd or Justin Gabriel (or in a piece of dream booking, Alex Shelly if and when he arrives in WWE). He is a solid worker with a nice move set that gets the crowd going. I think a Bourne/Shelly tag team could be similar to MCMG and it would help Bourne because Shelly can do the majority of the talking to get the team over.

As for Swagger, We all know he's a good wrestler and he has potenital to be on the mic. His next run (presumably as a face) will be what's going to make or break him. If he can make good on the inevitible pop he's going to get for his comeback and have a good run as a face, I think he will stick. Miz, Swagger and Ryback are the first three that are going to get the shot as top faces in the company in the "Post-Cena" era and what they do is going to dramatically affect what they do with Punk and Ziggler who are positioned to be the guys who will be the top heels (If they don't work out, Punk could go back to being a baby face). If Swagger doesn't connect with the crowd and get over, He will be wrestling Mr. Anderson in Orlando before the end of 2013.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

To be truthful, I only see One with potential on this list. That one man being:

Alex Riley: He is a guy who has always had potential but blew his chances after an apparent backstage tussle with John Cena. After this, he seems to down hill and ever since he feuded with The Miz and beat him *twice* he still wasn't really getting over with the crowd, although to begin with, he was getting good pops.

He has been gone from tv for so long now, I just don't see him being able to recreate the success he achieved in 2011 as the Miz's apprentice. As for the rest, I just don't see them being viable options in any way, shape or form. Jack Swagger to me, has always been boring.

 

[midgensa]

I think all of these guys have shown solid potential at points, but a couple of them lack any charisma and I would be shocked to see them ever really move up the card.

Ezekiel and Mason Ryan both have the size and the look, but for seem reason are terrible on camera and just do not have what it takes to really get over.

JTG and Yoshi are gimmick guys that don't have the look, but have a little charisma. In the end, they are just jobbers at best, but could stick around in those roles for a while.

The intriguing ones are Alex Riley, Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger.

All three of these guys have shown serious flashes of potential and Swagger was legitimately a top tier guy for a bit before a terrible world championship run. I think Swagger's in-ring ability and look could make him the most suited for another serious push out of these guys, but Bourne is close because the fans simply love the guy.

A-Ry is the most difficult to peg. Sometimes I think he has it and just needs a break, but in the end, if you have it you force your way on to the card eventually and he just has not done that. It makes me think that his days may be numbered.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I was scanning through the current WWE Roster and got me thinking about some of the guys who are currently out injured or just off TV. Some of them I believe don't have much of a future in the WWE, especially after the arrival of three talents from NXT and the rumoured arrival of other NXT talents to the main roster.

Alex Riley
I know a lot of the IWC rate him but I don't see much of a future for him on the main roster. I used to think that he could be a solid mid-carder in his own right when he was alligned and then broke away from The Miz but a series of injuries and jobber spots seemed to have halted his character. Unless the WWE see something in him I think he could be future endeavoured in 2013.

I'm not particularly crazy about Riley. He's solid in the ring and he has a good presence but I just don't see a big future for him. I too saw him once as a potential mid-card guy but whatever momentum he had is long gone. I think he'll be released some time next year.

Evan Bourne
I'm a fan of his in ring ability although I can't remember the last time he was on WWE TV due to his injuries and suspensions. He has the potential to be a solid mid-carder but I'm not sure if the WWE has faith in his ability to stay clean. I'd love for him to make an impact again in the tag team division or go for the US title as a singles competitor but maybe he's burned most of his bridges with the company.

Like a lot of others, I'm surprised that Bourne wasn't released after flunking his second drug test in a span of three months. That had never happened to anybody before. Just when Bourne was in the midst of doing something meaningful in helping to kick start the tag team scene back into life, he fails a drug test, his push is derailed and a decent amount of momentum was lost. Couple that with breaking his foot in several places, 2012 has not been a good year for Bourne. There was talk backstage, allegedly, of pairing him with Tyson Kidd in a tag team. I think Bourne will stick around for a while but I don't think WWE will ever really trust him with a high profile spot. It might be better for him to just be future endeavored so he can head back to ROH or to TNA for a fresh start.

Ezekiel Jackson
He's currently out injured but I don't think there is much left for him in the WWE. The roster is crowded with big, powerful wrestlers so there isn't enough TV time to develop him. Also the WWE are high on Big E Langston in NXT so that would push Jackson even further down the pecking order.

Agreed. Jackson has gone as far as he's going. He's very strong and has a great look but, in all honesty, he looks like he's standing still next to Ryback right now. Ryback, I think, is sort of everything WWE was hoping for with Big Zeke. With Ryback, they certainly don't need Big Zeke anymore.

Mason Ryan
Another big man who's days are unfortunately numbered in my opinion. I haven't seen too much of him as he's hardly had in-ring time on TV but on a crowded roster it would make sense for him to move on.

Same as with Ezekiel Jackson.

JTG/Yoshi Tatsu
He is another who could be in danger but I think he's worth keeping around. He is a jobber and the WWE always need good jobbers. I would also keep Yoshi Tatsu around for the same purpose. JTG helps build faces and Tatsu helps build heels.

These two, especially JTG, are just dead weight on the WWE roster. With guys from NXT coming up, it only makes keeping JTG & Yoshi around even more of a waste of money. They're never going to be stars in WWE, so I think they're two of the likeliest to go sometime next year.

Jack Swagger
I know Swagger has been much debated lately but unless the WWE has a clear plan for him I don't see him doing much which is a shame as he is one of the most gifted in-ring performers in the company.

There are others on the roster who I struggle to see a future for such as The Great Khali and Hornswoggle but the WWE seem to be high on those two for some reason so they aren't in any danger of being released.

What are your thoughts and are there any wrestlers not on my list who should be?

I honestly have no idea about Jack Swagger. Swagger is a talented guy so maybe repackaging him will do some good. Khali & Hornswoggle are easily the two most useless wrestlers on the roster. I expect Hornswoggle to stay around because, frankly, Vince thinks he's funny.

I expect many of these guys to be gone as they're remnants of WWE's developmental program before Triple H came in to overhaul everything. Under Triple H, guys aren't brought up from NXT without a purpose or storyline planned. For most of the guys mentioned in this post, they were brought up and just left to float around in the doldrums ultimately. Many of them became nothing more than jobbers used to fill up some air time and some just flat out don't have that much ability.

 

[Pedigree1]

Alex Riley
Alex Riley had had momentum going for him! Whatever happened to him i really dont think anyone knows but he has gone as far as hes going to go. His only memory is a tagalong with the Miz! Other than that really nothing noteworthy
Evan Bourne

I am flabbergasted that this waste of a talent still has a job. Flunking two drug tests is just inexcusable. He cant help being injury prone but he can help the latter. I hope he gets released soon and goes to TNA for a fresh start. Hes got talent just demons hes dealing with.

Ezekiel Jackson

There are plenty of big men on the roster that Big Zeke wont be missed. He really isnt that athletic in the ring slow and just god awful on the mic. He is as good as gone IMO!

Mason Ryan

Same thing as Zeke. Its really hard to understand him with his thick accent. He is definitely a poor version of Batista but not even close to entertaining as him. Bye Bye Mason see you in TNA
JTG/Yoshi Tatsu

Dead weight on the roster! These two have done nothing in their careers for me to remember them. As to my knowledge Yoshi cant even speak english and JTG should have been cut along with Shad!

Jack Swagger

He is the wild card of the bunch you mentioned. A truly gifted athlete,very freakish strong and agile as you can get. He has a speech impenitent but so what. I think jack will be back next year he is a MITB winner and a former champion. Yah his run sucked but that wasnt his fault. I am looking forward to a darker version of jack someone who just destroys his opponents. He has better mic skills than Ryback thats for sure

 

[xavyer]

I agree with the fact that most of the guys mentioned in this thread are on the cusp of being future endeavoured, except for Swagger and Evan Bourne, in Swagger's case, i agree with an earlier poster, his return will make him or break him, but he will definitly get another shot, or run, i sure hope he makes it, because like a lot of you said, he's too talented to go to waste, as for Evan Bourne, i don't think he will get released due to the fact that the WWE needs a jobber that can put on a quality match, and that's Bourne, because, let's be honest here, he can really put on a show, and he's loved by a lot of fans, i really had hopes for Ezakiel Jackson when he became the IC champion, but he lost cleanly to Cody Rhodes, that right there tells you something, after that, he only went south, as for the rest of the guys mentioned, i think they will be gone some time between early and mid 2013......

 

[Dagger Dias]

Alex Riley
He only got over for beating up The Miz during a time when Miz was so hated that anyone standing up to him immediately would turn face in the fans' eyes. His push just randomly ended after the Miz feud. Had they done SOMETHING with him then he would be in better shape. So what if he wasn't that great as a face? They could have tried a heel run. His jock character in NXT would have worked fine on Raw/Smackdown. I do not see him lasting past the next cut which is a shame. What a waste of such an amazing entrance theme.


Evan Bourne
Bourne will either return to the tag team division (hopefully he will reunite with Kofi to bring back Air Boom) or he will job until he gets future endeavoured. He is exciting to watch in the ring but his lack of promo skills holds him back, as does his injury risk and his suspensions. He will never make it past being in high flying tag teams unless they bring back the Cruiserweight Championship. MAYBE a United States Championship run but even with that it would take luck. If anyone else ever shows up who can do a Shooting Star Press, he's history.


Mason Ryan
Another boring big guy, who still needs a ton of improvement. I once thought he had potential but I no longer see it. It will take more than looking like Batista to get anywhere. Just get rid of him at the next cut, WWE. There is nothing he can do that Ryback can't do better.


JTG
He still has a job with WWE....!?


Yoshi Tatsu
They should keep him around for now. Everyone needs jobbers and it gives him something to do if he can be used as enhancement talent. I do not see him ever really accomplishing much more than winning that random pre-show match at Wrestlemania 26.


Jack Swagger
They should bring him back as a face. He had a case of bad booking for quite a while but he is still a former World Champion and has decent enough skills to keep around. He was overshadowed by Ziggler during their tag team and was already dealing with lost momentum from managing Cole (it REALLY should have been the other way around) and his world title reign. A face turn is worth a shot, especially if they build up the American persona to face Cesaro who keeps saying no american will defeat him. I just hope he does not return with that stupid looking haircut he had last year.

 

[TheBadGuy92]

I honestly dont see any of them doing anything...big MAYBE make swagger relevant again and give him the US title?? Oh and you could always throw JTG another black tag team partner and have them compete as a squash tag.

 

[Limitless]

It's Sad but if bourne gets injured again, I could see him gone. The rest is pretty much already gone except Swagger who seems to be getting a re-boot.

Swagger is pretty good in the ring, but his mic skills will keep killing his push.

 

[HBK-RVDFan92]

ALEX RILEY
I agree with Dagger Dias, Alex Riley did get over at a time where a majority of the crowd just was tired of The Miz, but nevertheless he still got over and as said before beat The Miz twice. When I first started watching NXT and was introduced to Riley's Varsity Villain character it was okay, not really a gimmick that would have taken off in this era of wrestling at least in my eyes, but by the time the gimmick burnt out I could see him getting the right amount of push he needed to place himself in mid-carder territory as his in-ring ability and mic skills were the only two things to give his character strength. After he kind of dropped the Varsity Villain gimmick and became Miz's apprentice I became a fan of his work but from what I heard about him and Cena's backstage controversy it seems that he's just found himself in a bad rut, as they have mainly used him to job out to the likes of Ryback and Antonio Cesaro; two superstars that made their debut after Riley and have both been getting main pushes (with the exception of the repackaged Skip Sheffield). Now he's hurt, I mean even if he comes back and is healthy, I really don't see WWE booking him on any other shows besides Main Event and SLAM! unless he's back to jobbing out on SD! like he was before he got injured. I wanna keep hope alive but I guess we shall see come 2013.

EVAN BOURNE
Evan Bourne I see still has potential when (if) he comes back and makes his return. To those who are ignorant and only stay loyal to the WWE product, I say to go to youtube and look up Matt Sydal. Watching that footage compared to the footage they have of him as Evan Bourne, I think its more than safe to say that WWE holds him back quite a bit as far as skill set and moveset. He was on a great program working with Kofi to reinvigorate the tag team division, and granted he was suspended during a period where his momentum was on an all time high, their goal to reestablish the strength and excitement of the tag team division was accomplished even if it was cut short. I do understand that he is a bit accident prone but I still have high hopes for Bourne, as long as they dont keep booking him as a side show just because fans wanna see him flip and do tricks in the ring!! It's smart on WWE part as they do work just like a circus (attractions a'la Hornswoggle, Khali, and Sin Cara the trapeze artist etc.), but Bourne has WAY much more to offer than just feeding him off to big guys like Tensai. I read an idea earlier about placing him with Alex Shelly, I think this could be an AMAZING idea! As long as the TNA/WWE lawsuit is finished up and considering he can still make the jump to WWE, hell we could even see him in an exciting feud with say Amazing Red!! But realistically I can see him and Kofi having an INTERESTING program as face vs face for the IC title. IMO. If they decide to toss him back into the tag team division, many said Tyson Kidd (which I would be a fan of seeing), but maybe a team up with say even a Trent Barretta would be good too. Maybe a few potential matches with Sin Cara or a high profile match with Rey could do wonders for his career.

MASON RYAN
This guy has the look, but I feel like Ryback established what they wanted for Ryan in the long run at a much earlier rate. He made a rare appearance during that lumberjack match but then disappeared again. I havent seen or heard him too much on the mic so I dont really know how his promo skills are, but he's the standard tall, built, powerhouse that WWE loves!! As a powerhouse his in ring moveset and abilities are obviously limited (think Kane) but with the right opponents and bulid up WWE can shape him to be a demolishing monster (maybe what Brodus was originally hyped to be) that may need someone to be the mouthpiece for him (maybe a'la Umaga/Estrada). I can even see maybe Barrett after a well established singles run being his mouthpiece, or their mouthpiece and dominate the tag division. Put Mason up against guys like Tensai, Kane, even Sheamus to help build his character's strength and make it convincing. I would say even against Mark Henry or Ryback but his mic skills may not be good enough to carry the feud or program. Though I cant see him as an IC or US title holder (maybe European if Cesaro brings it back), he definitely has potential if used the right way.

EZEKIEL JACKSON
I'm with everyone else when they say that he's gone as far as he's gonna be able to go as far as getting over goes. I mean even as an IC champ he barely got the crowd behind him unless he was bodyslamming Big Show. Him I'm not so sure, he kind of has the same stigma as Mason, but I dont think he can pull of the monster type of gimmick anymore since he turned face and started smiling all of the time. My only guess for him, is if (and me and my brother has been talkin about this for awhile) maybe Mark Henry came back and started a new 2013 version of an N.O.D. type of stable (less about race and more about power), with himself Big Zeke and maybe the Prime Time Players (please give them something else to do than them winning #1 contender matches only not to get them, and repeatedly going against the same teams). In that setting, Zeke doesnt have to do much on the mic but just exhibit his physique in the ring. Other than that, unless he has a tag team or a US title run, I dont really see him accomplishing too much of anything when he comes back nor can I see creative having anything for him.

JTG/YOSHI
Its still a mystery to me why they released Shad but kept JTG, or why they broke up Cryme Tyme. Everyone knew that solo they wouldnt get over, but the crowd loved them and their antics when they were a tag team. I'm still surprised that JTG has managed to still be apart of the active WWE roster this long. Why not team him up with Brodus or R-Truth to make a tag team? It's been proven that he works best within a tag team, or hell maybe he could become a third member of PTP?? If WWE ever decided to bring back or create a new lightweight/cruiserweight championship I could see him getting into a program with say a Tyson Kidd or a Justin Gabriel over it. Hell maybe he could create a stable with R-Truth and Brodus and feud with 3MB!! (potential to be the new 2 Cool). Yoshi??? RELEASE. I dont think I've ever seen him win a match, I dont even know what his finisher is, I mean unless he feuded with say Sakamoto (Tensai's manager) or maybe even bring in the likes of Richie Steamboat to team or feud with, there's nothing more you can do with him besides comedy bits with Santino/Khali/Hornswoggle. RELEASE him.

JACK SWAGGER
Jack Swagger. I see ALOT of the IWC gushing over this guys in-ring ability, and while I'm not a fan of his, he does have the height, the build and the athleticism needed for a perfect WWE Superstar mold. Problem is and will forever be his mic skills and inability to get over. I've been waiting for this "super face turn" of his to take place, alot of ppl seem to be excited for it to happen. I'll admit that night he took off on AJ on RAW was one of the very few times I was actually interested in the direction of his character. Maybe they can manage to repackage him as more of a threat or convincing force in the WWE (more than just 4 o'clock shadow and slicked back hair). He needs more than just a new attitude, he needs a new look. Maybe time to shed the Kurt Angle-esque singlets and try something new? I mean we ALL know that Swagger's current character is just WWE's attempt to poke a bit of fun at Angle. Same submission, gimmick and tope rope Belly to Belly etc. Even his World Title run wasn't legit. Though it definitely shocked, in which a little shock factor is always good for the product, but his matches he had after that high profile win that every champ has in order to carry, build and reinforce the initial title win were all a bust! The team of him and Zig was successful to a point but I think they should have had Vickie go with Swag which would have ultimately put Ziggy over as a singles star by being even more of a tweener now that he wouldnt have Vickie interfering and reinforcing his heelish ways. If Swagger comes back face, its obvious a potential feud and title change with Cesaro for the US Title would no doubt bounce him back as far as getting a fair pop from the crowd. But what after that? Sure building a solid program for Cesaro/Swagger for about two PPVs (with Swagger NOT winning the US title right away on say a RAW or SD!) would definitely get him over gradually again. But after that what happens? Cesaro without the belt around his waist doesnt really help him get over especially when he barely gets over wit the belt now. And Does Swagger keep goin in the "I'm Pro USA" direction and only defend against the less than stellar 'foreign' superstars with the likes of a comical/unconvincing dominant run against Santino? or a less than exciting run over Khali included with worse mic skills and promo work? a program with a less than permanent undercarder Jinder Mahal?? Personally a legitimate feud against say a Drew McIntyre may do wonders for both individuals, with Drew's new invigorated character and momentum with 3MB and Swag's new momentum coming from a return and potential title win (plus their builds are nearly identical). Another thought is having him come back and tear through the the minor heels that fans cant stand such as Otunga, Hawkins and even McGillicutty, then gradually have him go through more formidable opponents like Tensai, Wade, Sandow, or Rhodes when he comes back (those last three obviously in a way where it doesnt take credit away from their own current big pushes), until he makes his way back into the either the US/IC title picture or even qualify for next year's MITB PPV unless WM features their own MITB match again. Who knows for sure, but again coming from someone who isn't quite a Swagger fan, it will be interesting to see what happens when he comes back.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

The one with the brightest future out of this whole list if anything is Jack Swagger because he is a former World Heavyweight Champion, former Money In The Bank Ladder match winner, former United States Champion, and a former ECW Champion

Swagger has accomplished a lot especially in his young career and he has a lot of years left, 2013 will be a great year for Jack Swagger

And since Swagger has been gone off TV, they can hype his return through vignettes like how they did for Wade Barrett and then it puts Swagger back into the forefront

But definitely Swagger what would make his run even better now is if they brought him back with a manager, a mouthpiece to do his talking for him

 

[Dirk]

Jackson: Honestly, this guy is one of the biggest and baddest guys I've ever seen. I thought his feud with Barret was damn fine and I miss him on TV. Mark Henry and Big Show won't be around forever and I can really see Big Zeke doing what they're doing now, as either a terrifying heel or a badass face.

Swagger: Yes, his championship run was way too early, but I really think this guy is one of the best in-ring guys in the business. Maybe give him a mouthpiece, give him back that spikey haircut and make him a bit more ''American'' in his gimmick and enjoy the show.

Riley, Bourne and Ryan I didn't see on TV enough to have a real opinion on their current form and JTG and Yoshi seem at home as jobbers/ ''veterans'' on NXT.

 

[theBec2101]

Alex Riley
I don’t know. I did like him when he was on TV and now he is just forgotten like most of the others on this list. I think if given the chance at least good mid carder.

Evan Bourne
If they dont comeback with the cruiser weight belt then he be lost in the tag team division just like Paul London and and Brian Kendrick. He might hold the US or Int but not for too long. Sorry.

Ezekiel Jackson
Quote: White people sky's the limit, Black people the limit is the sky. Ask R-truth and Kofi. Other then that and it is a shame I would like him to be pushed. They could use him to make a dominating tag team and also he has the look to be one of the top guys. He doesn’t wrestle enough for me to judge him fairly, plus what I did see he wasn’t bad.

Mason Ryan
He and Zek would make a great team and also I think they should push him aswell. I know he is not as good as a wrestler as Zek.

JTG/Yoshi Tatsu
JTG-See above quote for Zeck....And that’s it.
Yoshi- time to go back to Japan and get yourself a career.

Jack Swagger
I think out of all of them this the guy that they should be pushing. He has the look and the ability. he didn’t have much of a chance the 1st time around.