Which current wrestler would you choose to put someone over?

[Radical Canadian Goose]

The time tested and true formula is a maineventer putting over a uppermidcarder. Last year I saw several Ziggler/Orton matches on Raw which were amongst my favourite matches of the year. Personally, I believe if they had a feud that culminated at one of the big 4 PPVs then I believe that Ziggler would be over and officially a MainEventer. Last year as well , Orton had a feud with Wade Barrett, which led to Barrett getting injured but not before a couple of stellar matches. I think that if Barrett hadn't of gotten injured and this feud continued then Orton would have elevated Barrett to the point that he may be the WHC right now and not IC champ. Anyways back to my question. I obviously say Orton is the best to get one over due to the fact that he can put on great matches with many of the rising talent. Jericho, Kane and Punk are also great picks IMO

Who is the Main Eventer who can best elevate talent?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Randy Orton is someone that's put a good number of people over in the last year and a half. Orton still has a great deal of star power in WWE, but he's no longer at the peak of his career. After all, when you're a 9 time World Champion and won almost all those before you were 30, realistically, how much higher can you climb.

Orton has put over guys like Ziggler, Barrett, Mark Henry and a few others. A few years ago, Orton was someone who pretty much never lost a match no matter what, sort of like Cena, although even Cena is no longer the same juggernaut he once was. Since the summer of 2011, Orton's put a surprising number of people over, though I admit that they're not truly solidified main eventers. Orton has also been in trouble due to failing his second Wellness Policy drug test in WWE. That pissed some key WWE officials off to such a degree that many were advocating that he be fired.

Orton still gets a helluva response. Like almost every wrestler whose a main eventer in WWE, Orton has gotten a lot of hate from internet fans for one thing or another. Some of it justified, some of it just because of the fact that he's a main eventer in WWE and some of it because they want to see their favorite wrestler in Orton's spot. Orton has people eating out of the palm of his hand during promos and in matches. A simple stare from Orton out in a crowd gets them cheering, a twitch of his muscles has grown women screaming like a 12 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. That enthusiasm towards Orton hasn't cooled even though his career is no longer at the same lofty heights it was not long ago. Even when he loses, fans still rally around him and want to see him do his thing.

Another guy whose great at putting people over, and who is a major name, is Chris Jericho. Jericho's one of the overall best in the world. He's shown that. Now while he might not be someone that's on the same level as Cena or Orton used to be, very few ever are. Jericho is someone that can lose, yet still look like a major star no matter what. For instance, he lost clean to Jack Swagger this past Friday on SmackDown! in a great match. Tomorrow on Raw, he's in a triple threat match for the IC title and fans will be every bit as behind him tomorrow night on Raw as they ever are. Win or lose, they'll still be behind him.

It's rare to have someone that does lose as often as Jericho still maintain his status. It's a testament to his abilities.

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

Kane. All i've ever heard about him is that he Enjoys putting over talent. And he's done it for quite sometime and still had success, still over with fans and is still in the business. Hell, before he won the WHC back a few years ago (2010?) he was satisfied with never having another World title reign rather than the 24 hours he was WWF Champion. I doubt anybody else who is main event status would be satisfied with their only World Title win being 24 hours long in that long of a time span.

You can't go wrong with an Orton, Jericho, Punk or Cena. But IMO Kane is the best at putting talent over. Jericho is a close 2nd.

 

[Dirk]

You can't go wrong with an Orton, Jericho, Punk or Cena. But IMO Kane is the best at putting talent over. Jericho is a close 2nd.

While I agree with you for the most part, I just LOVE how Punk got snuck in your list. Punk has to stop calling himself God if he wants to put somebody other other than himself. You could argue that he put over Bryan last year and Ryback this year and that it wasn't AJ or the Shield, so I'll let it go.

The problem with having a big star putting over a midcarder, is that first you need a guy who's over and already a main-event stalwart. And the return of the part-timers is indicative of the lack of new stars on the roster. I mean, I don't know Kofi, but from what I've read, he wouldn't mind putting somebody over, yet a rub from another midcarder wouldn't help much (compared to a rub from a main-eventer).

I'm going to add my two cents. If you have a heel and you need somebody to put him over, there's always Rey Mysterio - if he's not injured.

Rey is extremely over (although not really a full-fledged main-eventer) and his ultra-face style paired with his small stature can make anybody look like an evil bully. His feuds with ADR and Cody made the two of them look fantastic. Cody had a ton of steam during that feud, it's not Rey's fault he fell off the face of the earth after Rhodes scholars.

So, yeah, Kane and Y2J ftw, but Rey's not a bad third or fourth alternative.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

It has to be either John Cena or Randy Orton. In today's WWE, those two are like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. They've beaten countless legendary stars and top quality performers. They themselves are former multi-time World Champions and Royal Rumble winners. You haven't been to the top until you've beaten those two. Had Triple H still been an active competitor, I would have put him at #1 but Triple H only put over guys that were going to become Main Eventers with a few exceptions here and there. To me, someone like Chris Jericho just isn't someone that has the same kind of star power that he once had. It would have been a big deal to beat him back in the day, but today? He's not much of a challenge. He'll easily put over anyone, which kills the unpredictability factor and excitement. Sure, his matches are excellent as always, but we're talking about putting others over. In the end, Jericho has been beaten by practically everyone so it's not much of a big deal now in my opinion. Whenever I watch Jericho come out, I'm thinking "okay...so who's he gonna lose to tonight?" whereas if it's John Cena or Randy Orton, it's always a shock to me when they lose and the victor gets his major points on the ranking system.

 

[Alucard316]

While I agree with you for the most part, I just LOVE how Punk got snuck in your list. Punk has to stop calling himself God if he wants to put somebody other other than himself. You could argue that he put over Bryan last year and Ryback this year and that it wasn't AJ or the Shield, so I'll let it go.

The problem with having a big star putting over a midcarder, is that first you need a guy who's over and already a main-event stalwart. And the return of the part-timers is indicative of the lack of new stars on the roster. I mean, I don't know Kofi, but from what I've read, he wouldn't mind putting somebody over, yet a rub from another midcarder wouldn't help much (compared to a rub from a main-eventer).

I'm going to add my two cents. If you have a heel and you need somebody to put him over, there's always Rey Mysterio - if he's not injured.

Rey is extremely over (although not really a full-fledged main-eventer) and his ultra-face style paired with his small stature can make anybody look like an evil bully. His feuds with ADR and Cody made the two of them look fantastic. Cody had a ton of steam during that feud, it's not Rey's fault he fell off the face of the earth after Rhodes scholars.

So, yeah, Kane and Y2J ftw, but Rey's not a bad third or fourth alternative.

Punk's an interesting case. I think that he would be incredible at getting up and coming babyfaces over, but the problem is, as you said, he doesn't put anybody over. I don't think that you could even argue that he got Ryback over last year. In fact, Ryback not going over Punk last year severely hurt Ryback. That was the perfect wrestling scenario: The top heel putting over the hot new babyface. Like Jericho said at the time, that would have made Ryback a superstar, but it ended like it did. Now, I know that wasn't his decision and the match with The Rock had a lot to do with it, but the result was the same.

Anyway, Punk would be great for putting over babyfaces. Orton, Jericho, Kane and Mysterio are great at putting over heels.

 

[Jimmy Carter]

This might be cheating a little on account of his (lack of) full time presence, but Undertaker is the superstar who makes anyone famous.

Look at his career-defining encounters with Jeff Hardy, Brock Lesnar, and heck, even his brush with Maven had crowds reacting to the Tough Enough champion in a way that suggested he had long term potential. Current legends like Austin, Foley, Kane, HHH, HBK, and even Punk himself in the past have benefitted from Taker feuds. CM Punk stands poised to ascend to a higher plane based off their upcoming match. Ten years ago who would dream he would go from wrestling Samoa Joe to facing the Deadman on the biggest stage of all?

Simply being able to withstand a fight with Undertaker is enough to elevate a wrestler's standing. Winning catapults him to a new level of superstardom.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Punk's an interesting case. I think that he would be incredible at getting up and coming babyfaces over, but the problem is, as you said, he doesn't put anybody over. I don't think that you could even argue that he got Ryback over last year. In fact, Ryback not going over Punk last year severely hurt Ryback. That was the perfect wrestling scenario: The top heel putting over the hot new babyface. Like Jericho said at the time, that would have made Ryback a superstar, but it ended like it did. Now, I know that wasn't his decision and the match with The Rock had a lot to do with it, but the result was the same.

Anyway, Punk would be great for putting over babyfaces. Orton, Jericho, Kane and Mysterio are great at putting over heels.

I think that time will come, 2012 was all about establishing Punk as one of the top guys in the WWE and further establishing him as the #1 heel of the company. So at this stage of where he is as a heel, it's not yet the point him putting over faces would elevate them.

The Ryback/Punk situation was really a no win situation IMO, they couldn't have Punk drop the title since he got a ton of heat holding it for so long, and Ryback needed a big win to solidify his push. But between the two choices they went with the right direction though, I admit, they could have handled Ryback after he failed to win the title. Maybe win the IC Title in Record time and hold it for awhile.

I can see Punk putting over some of the faces this year but the question is who? Ideally you would have The Miz feud over Punk but I am sure Punk will get cheered over Miz. If it's going to be anyone I would really like to see a Punk and Christian feud, not that Christian is a young and up and comer but I can really see this being a great feud both in the mic and the ring that will help make Christian relevant again.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Anybody who comes in and they need to get a rub should be put over by Ryback. Vince fed everybody in the company to him and he's completely worthless, he should return the favor a few hundred times over.

 

[akathelaw]

My criteria for being in the position to put others over is a multitude of accomplishments and a recent history of being pushed. When you begin to "job" to lesser talent with the prospect of putting them over in the eyes of the fans, the fans need to have a recent memory of that wrestler doing top level things. Things like winning a championship or starring in a WWE film. Which brings me to my first selection:

Wade Barrett - Barrett returned with a slick video package, a gimmick "refresh" of the English street brawler and a role in a cool action flick with big stars. He was also adorned with the Intercontinental Title, so there would be no doubt in the fan's eyes that this guy is a big shot. Fast forward to now, his movie flopped, the gimmick didn't stick, and the sole highlight of his IC run was putting over Bo Dallas from NXT. Barrett needs to drop the IC title, preferably before WrestleMania. I'd like him to drop it to Y2J, so he can have another run with his favorite title, and put over another star like Daniel Bryan or Kofi at WrestleMania.

The Rock - Rock should reward CM Punk after WrestleMania with either a Triple Threat where Punk goes over for the title, or a Non-Title Match where Punk goes over Rock, perhaps with a well planned dirty trick or two but essentially getting a clean pin. The Rock owes it to the company for promoting his movies to their audience of millions. Punk deserves it for dropping the title when he's still championship material.

Big Show - It's working great with The Shield. The guy's sheer presence does so much for a wrestler's career. He made John Cena a main eventer, he also helped make Daniel Bryan a main event mainstay. He's so good at losing, because he could win at any given time. Every opponent he faces is smaller in some way, height or in girth. He could do wonders for the careers of Kofi Kingston, Antonio Cesaro, Big E Langston and many more. Then, toss him a WWE Title run for the hell of it.

Brock Lesnar - He should be facing our top new guys, not just Triple H. Sheamus and Ryback want a shot at this monster. I want to see them get it. He should secure some more dates with WWE for PPV matches on the big 4. Let's see Sheamus last 40 minutes, or Ryback hit his finisher on Brock. Doesn't matter if both men lose, they'll still look so much tougher from then on.

Santino Marella - The guy is such a great talker, that I think it's time to end the schtick. Goofy, funny, imbecile Santino needs to evolve into a character closer to his heel character that he debuted with. He can break guys into the midcard or even main event if he refocuses on the story rather than jokes. Put him in another tag team with a big heel like Mark Henry or Mason Ryan.

 

[MasterDebator]

Anybody who comes in and they need to get a rub should be put over by Ryback. Vince fed everybody in the company to him and he's completely worthless, he should return the favor a few hundred times over.

I'm not entirely sure that Ryback has been proven to be worthless. I'd even argue that the months of squashes, mostly against local jobbers, helped make Ryback, at the very least, a solid mid-carder who got himself and his catchphrase (Why was it OKAY for D. Bryan to get over with the YES! chants, but Ryback's "FEED ME MORE" is somehow hackneyed and cheap?) into the consciousness of most wrestling fans. Furthermore, what truly established star has been buried by Ryback? What, he squashed Heath Slater a few times? Antonio Cesaro? A guy who gets ZERO heat? If you don't like the dude, that's cool, but Ryback is a force and will be easy to rebuild as soon as him and White Snake vanquish The Shield once and for all. Hell, he played a pivotal role in helping The Shield to get over by constantly being obliterated by them! Does anyone even remember that he beat The Miz and Dolph Ziggler way back when? And so what? Are The Miz and Ziggles the proverbial straws that stir the WWE's drink?

Sigh. I don't love Ryback, but I don't get burying the dude. In my opinion, he's over and getting over isn't easy. How many guys squashed no-names for weeks before fizzling out? The sheer fact alone that he was able to transition from jobber-killer to main-eventer is enough to at least require you to take notice. Ryback is in a high-profile match at Wrestlemania with Randy Orton and Sheamus, both former champs. Give the dude a break.

Back on topic: Chris Jericho and Randy Orton are textbook examples of wins and losses not truly affecting a character's status, but the caveat is that both guys are established superstars (Hell, Jericho is one of the best ever). They both seem to win and lose at an equal rate, but like someone above me said, come tonight, the crowd will go ape shit when they hear Orton's music hit and they'll be eating out of Y2J's hand during the six-man tag.

That being said, I think Triple H doesn't get enough credit when it comes to being a guy who has been willing and able in the past in terms of solidifying a wrestler's future with the company. WM 20, 21, and 22 all featured Triple H in the role of starmaker by going down to Chris Benoit, Batista, and John Cena. To explain why those matches were important would be an exercise in futility. HHH has also contributed greatly, along with 20 others, in making The Streak seem like the only insurmountable obstacle in pro-wrestling history.

I know that Trips hasn't always been so gracious when it comes do doing jobs, but on the grandest stage of them all, he doesn't seem to take umbridge with putting guys over. I fully expect this trend to continue at WM29 when Triple H, in my opinion, will go down to Brock Lesnar in a hard-fought, overly brutal, expertly intense contest. I'd also submit that Brock won't be the last guy Triple H gives a rub to.

Looking down the road ahead? It has to be Cena. He so rarely loses clean matches, so when it finally begins to happen at even a minor rate, it should do wonders for whosoever he jobs to.

 

[Dirk]

Why was it OKAY for D. Bryan to get over with the YES! chants, but Ryback's "FEED ME MORE" is somehow hackneyed and cheap?

It's not okay, though. At the height of "Yes"-fever, Bryan was annoying as SHIT, more so than Ryback is now. I just thought he milked it so relentlessly, because of his alignment. Remember, Ryback is a face.

What makes "feed me more" worse, though, is that Ryback can't hit five moves without shamelessly trying to lead a "feed me more" chant, while Bryan does the same once or twice only in an appearance. Also, we have to listen to "feed me more" an additional time for most Shield beat-downs, as it has become their adopted unofficial chant. I would not be surprised in the least if Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose huddle together and quietly chant this before big events.

I get that catchphrases (especially audience chants) are very much the thing right now and it also happens to be the Miz's entire strategy for getting over, but it's a lot more fun for the live audience than the tv-crowd. The audience pays more than the tv-crowd, so let them have this one, regardless.

Just for the record, I'm not hating on you, I'm hating on Ryback.

Back on topic:

I know that Trips hasn't always been so gracious when it comes do doing jobs, but on the grandest stage of them all, he doesn't seem to take umbridge with putting guys over.

This. Losing to Taker twice, because it was better for the company, took character. He's not a saint (he was in the Kliq, after all), but now he's reined in his ego a little.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I'd like to see Dolph Ziggler turn face this year and wrestle John Cena. I would like to see him beat Cena at Summerslam in a great match and that should be used as a catalyst to push Ziggler as a main eventer and John Cena's begin his road to the dark side - cumilating at WM 30 - Cena V Taker.

 

[TheHorndogSays]

Cena without question. Cena really doesn't get the credit he deserves for helping elevate other talent. I think back to a Draft special where Cena put on a great match with an up and coming Jack Swagger and made Swagger look great against the then-WWE champion. Same holds true for Miz, Dolph, and Punk to some degree. Back when Punk was just starting the SES angle and starting to rise to power, it was Cena who put wrestled Punk in their first classic. Then of course there was the summer of Cena/Punk in 2011. Look at the Miz. When he split from Morrison everyone was putting him on the future endeavored list. A quick rivalry against Cena and the fans went from "Bye bye Miz" to "Put the title on Miz". With that kind of turnaround how can anyone NOT want to use Cena to help put anyone over?

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

What current wrestler would I choose to put someone over?

Cena easily. What does he have left to prove? He'll soon be a thirteen time champion come Wrestlemania. The only thing he hasn't done is win the IC title and win the King of the Ring. (If they ever bring that back. It's only been a few years.) He's also the worst person at putting people over. See last night's Raw as a good example. No one thought Darren Young would win and the PTP haven't looked credible in a long time....but Jesus F'N Christ, did that match have to be an absolute squash?! Surely Darren Young could've gotten some offense in! Great job WWE. Take one half of the most entertaining and charismatic tag teams and feed him to Cena. I guess JTG wasn't available. Yeah, Titus seems to have a bigger upside than Darren, but the match outcome would've been the same. See Cena fans? This is one reason people can't stand Cena. A guy in his position most likely has some say in how he's booked, so I wouldn't put ALL of the blame on Vince and co. (Though he is at fault as well.)

Who is the best Main Eventer at elevating talent?

Well it's kind of hard to call Jericho and Kane Main Eventers at this point, but they both go above and beyond the call of duty for that. I wish Kane wasn't quite this generous because he deserves another World Title reign. Undertaker is pretty good at helping out younger talent or up and coming talent. He's put over guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Triple H, The Big Show, Edge, Batista, Khali, Mankind, Brock Lesnar, John Cena and Randy Orton. Heck, think back to his early career when he helped put over Yokozuna and Mabel. He also made guys like Giant Gonzalez and Diesel look like they could possibly end the streak. Randy Orton has definitely gotten better at elevating talent. He's done jobs for Miz, Mark Henry, Wade Barrett, Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler. So I'll give him some props for that.

 

[tom9422]

Cliche, but Cena.

The guy just refuses to lose clean. Every time he does lose its portrayed in a way that he has an excuse, that he should have won and that even though he lost, he's better than his opponent. Even that is rare though.

When he does getting beat clean, like really clean, especially by an up and coming heel, it will be huge. It would have been great for Punk to get that clean win, but all of his victories over Cena were tainted by the style of the finish.

Best current main eventer? Maybe Orton, i guess, if you still want to consider him one. He's put over some good midcard talent...even if he did crush them multiple times after that. Daniel Bryan puts people over and he could slot into the main event quite easily too. There's always Jericho too, even if he's not near the main event now and probably loses too often.

 

[HHHsWetSpot]

How about Taker? When has he ever "created" a star? The last time he jobbed clean was in 2006 or 2007 to The Great Khali (or did he actually job clean to Kane for once too?), which is actually quite pathetic considering the people he's gone over when they needed the rub (Punk in 2009, Angle in 2000, Booker during the Invasion) At least Triple H put over Batista, Beno*t, and Jeff Hardy, but he never should have beaten Punk in 2011 and he needs to return the job and do a few more while he's at it.

The Rock's comeback needs to end with him returning the job to Punk and/or putting over guys like Kofi and Ziggler.

Beating Orton means nothing anymore. Kane beat him clean last year at Mania and Kane was still totally irrelevant until Daniel Bryan saved his career.

 

[theBec2101]

Like before I think Orton vs Rock should have somehow happened and turned Orton heel and back to "The Legend Killer". Not saying he would have to go over right away but eventually in the next PPV or so.

Kane, in general I think he should go over more over everyone. Just by work history alone. I think he should be one of the top choices to end Undertakers streak if they go that way.

In Brock Lesner there are a few way;
Storyline would be HHH "couldn’t get involved in Brocks matches" so he gets someone to do so. Something likes that. Anyway.
Batista comes back and faces Brock. If Batista is willing to stay he can go over, if not then, well he can still go over. Sorry I’m not a big Lesner fan. Not taking anything away just never had before or still don’t like him. Just don’t know why.
Orton vs Lesner, Orton goes over. I would love to see the F5 reversed with an RKO.

 

[TempestH]

Alex Riley - He's a solid ring worker with bucketloads of charisma. He's good as a jobber, but a guy of his particular talents should be jobbing to higher profile opponents. HE should be the guy that wrestles the heels in lengthy competitive matches every week, and losing spectacularly. He should be in a spot similar to where Kofi Kingston or The Miz are now.