Which WWE mid-card talent is the next star?

[IrishCanadian25]

Somebody posted an interesting question about whether or not Carlito will ever be a WWE-Championship caliber talent. I am not sold on the guy, and I started thinking of a mess of others I would sooner see in that role. Rather than change the question there, I figured I'd pose it here. Which current WWE mid-card talent do you feel will / should be the next breakthrough, WWE or World CHampionship caliber talent. (THE ECW CHAMP STILL COUNTS AS UPPER-LEVEL MID-CARD.)

 

[mr_shwiggy]

CM Punk already has the tools to be a great world champion. I mean he's been wrestling for 8 years, he can wrestle like crazy, I've heard him cut some amazing promos, and his drug-free straight edge lifestyle actually makes him a good role model for little kids. I have an 8 year old brother and i would rather him emulate a punk rock kid who steers away from ugly vices than a white rapper (that doesn't even rap anymore) who looks like he's roided out of his gourd.

In my opinion, the only things holding punk back in WWE are 1. his size/ unwillingness to take anything to beef him up 2. his lack of a consistantly effective finisher, just too many people don't sell the GTS right and it looks sloppy. He should go back to using the Shining Wizard and the Anaconda vice (sans Uranage) because the Shining Wizard is kind of like the Sweet Chin Music in that it can kind of come out of nowhere and he could pull the old HBK "Well you know what I think of that? *BAM*"

 

[Mexican Geek]

Somebody posted an interesting question about whether or not Carlito will ever be a WWE-Championship caliber talent. I am not sold on the guy, and I started thinking of a mess of others I would sooner see in that role. Rather than change the question there, I figured I'd pose it here. Which current WWE mid-card talent do you feel will / should be the next breakthrough, WWE or World CHampionship caliber talent. (THE ECW CHAMP STILL COUNTS AS UPPER-LEVEL MID-CARD.)

Well, i have to disagree a little bit on some points my friend, first if you considered Johnny Nitro in the poll, then is pointless to have him as the ECW champion because i dont see Nitro switching brands anytime soon, so I think Nitro should be taken off the equation.

Second, the ECW title per se, is a Major championship belt, you cant deny the legacy of all the grand ECW champions, even if the actual show is kind of horse shit. I agree on the idea of ECW being the developmental territory for SD and RAW, but being the brand champ is something that gives you respect and status backstage and with the fans, just ask bobby Lashley, he is now one of the most over wrestlers with the crowd, and maybe he is going to be the one who'll defeat Cena for the WWE belt.
I'm going to held back CM Punk a little bit, i think the guy besides of being super-over is a great athlete, but as Shwiggy said, his unwillingness to beef up a little could delay his path to the super stardom, i think he is a future ECW/WHC champ though, and his feud with Nitro is going to be the feud of the summer for ECW.
and for my vote, i think Matt hardy is the next contender for the WHC Title, keep in mind that you asked for a Contender, because i don't really see Matt hardy winning that belt any time soon, neither Carlito or Masters(??).

just my thoughts man, but who knows, even Masters could champion tomorrow night, this is a crazy Fed and everything could happen! LOL!

 

[ACTAFOOL]

im going with CM punk on this one, thoug MVP or Matt are also growing a lot, but cm punk is very talented and it looks like vince likes him, its rare for vince to actually use some with talent, for sure hes the next ECW champ and soon will be going for WHC or WWE title...

and i disagree about his size, just because hes not taking steroids is gonna hold him back? umm lets look at HBK for a sec, hes never been big, compare him to tiple H, batista, cena, lashley, the rock, stone cold, hes not big, but is still a hall of famer no doubt, rey is another example..

if the guy actually has a lot of talent, and is good on the mic, he will be big, and cm punk has those 2 most important things.. though so does MPV.. matt still lacks mic skills...also, cm punk is very over with the crowd right now, and if the crowd wants more and more of cm punk, he will go to the top soon...

 

[Mistaap]

I have to say either CM Punk or MVP. CM Punk got over on his Talent alone.. which is just nuts for the WWE nowdays. He is great in the ring and cuts tight ass promo' CM Punk will be the Next ECW Heavyweight Champion. But just like the Irish Canadian said earlier.... The ECW title is about as good as the US and Intercontinental titles at this point.. They were going to have Benoit win it to add some credibility to it. but that can't happen now.. I would personally like to not see CM Punk win the ECW title and have him win the Royal Rumble and take on the WWE Champion aka John Cena..(he will still have the belt people)

Now to MVP... He is very good in the ring as well.. Benoit helped get some credibility as well now he is the 2nd Heel on Smackdown.. His Mic Skills, In ring ability and Gimick are great.. The Fans Hate him, and He is going to take the title from Rey Mysterio after he wins it from Edge..

 

[Jae Trey]

Everyone's forgetting about the top draft pick for Monday night Raw, my man MISTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER
...
KENNEDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY............KENNEDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

He has the potential to be like the Rock with the way they allow him all over the mic. Not to mention he gets his very own drop down from the ceiling oldschool style microphone, hehe. Plus he just has that attitude that Orton used to have and is getting back recently...purely untouchably cool. Throw in the fact that he was supposed to have beaten the Undertaker for the belt anyway if they didn't get injured and you've got yourself the next mid carder taking their game to the main event level.
~J3

 

[Mistaap]

I think the reason that he wasn't put in the poll is because they see him as a main eventer right now. Kennedy was going to be the champion and he has the best thing going for him right now... He is the closest thing to the Rock at the moment....

He needs a new finisher... I do know about that Green Bay Plunge thing/.

 

[Aon]

Everyone's forgetting about the top draft pick for Monday night Raw, my man MISTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER
...
KENNEDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY............KENNEDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

He has the potential to be like the Rock with the way they allow him all over the mic. Not to mention he gets his very own drop down from the ceiling oldschool style microphone, hehe. Plus he just has that attitude that Orton used to have and is getting back recently...purely untouchably cool. Throw in the fact that he was supposed to have beaten the Undertaker for the belt anyway if they didn't get injured and you've got yourself the next mid carder taking their game to the main event level.
~J3

hes talking about a midcarder and kennedy isnt a midcarder anymore he is in a main event scene

but i think its gonna be CM PUNK true MVP is also good and he has deleverd ALLOT since hes feud with benoit but PUNK is so over with the crowd people want to see more and more out of him hes just great tallent, some1 said he can kickass on the mic but i never or rearly heard him say a word so i cant judge that, but the main thing is vince likes him and thats a goodthing to couse hes a gr8 gr8 tallent, so hes gonna be the next big thing IMO

 

[JoshK1985]

CM Punk is more over with the fans then a cupcake with a fat kid.. I don't really like the guy becasue the whole straight edge thing. But other then that the guy has talent, tons of ability, charisma, and if you watch any of his ROH stuff he cuts a hell of a promo. Funny thing about him being over as a face is he is better as a heel

 

[mr_shwiggy]

and i disagree about his size, just because hes not taking steroids is gonna hold him back? umm lets look at HBK for a sec, hes never been big, compare him to tiple H, batista, cena, lashley, the rock, stone cold, hes not big, but is still a hall of famer no doubt, rey is another example..

Ya but HBK and Rey are the exception, not the rule. How many big, beefy, guys who are shitty wrestlers have been pushed to the main event in WWE, and how many small, technical wrestlers has WWE pushed up to the main event?

 

[mr_shwiggy]

CM Punk is more over with the fans then a cupcake with a fat kid.. I don't really like the guy becasue the whole straight edge thing. But other then that the guy has talent, tons of ability, charisma, and if you watch any of his ROH stuff he cuts a hell of a promo. Funny thing about him being over as a face is he is better as a heel

That had actually occured to me to mention in my negatives about punk, that some people might be turned off by his Straight Edge-ness. It just gives me another reason to mark for him because I'm straight edge myself, but i could see how people who drink and/or smoke would kind of get a 'holier than thou' thing from him which is all fine and good when he's a heel, but is counter intuitive when hes a face

 

[TheLoneWolf]

I think that is definately Jeff Hardy's turn for world title run. He's been in the business for almost ten years despite being released and re-hired. The fans love him and he's a good wrestler. I've heard people say he couldn't be a world champion because he is more of a "light-heayweight". Well uh, Rey Mysterio got a title and run, and he is half Jeff's size. So yeah, Jeff Hardy is my man to one day win it all.

 

[Ticked Off Texan]

I'm gonna have to go with Punk on this one, I've watched him over his time in ECW and he's a great wrestler and he was just in for a push before the Benoit incident, altho he would've lost the match just being able to put up a good match against him would have been something to respect. Not to mention he's over with the crowd and has a good move set. If he doesn't get into the upper level of the WWE with in a year it'll be a shame, but seeing as how WWE pushes huge guys into title posistion I don't really know who they'll push, but CM Punk is the guy that desirves it.

Jeff Hardy is also a guy that would be good as an ECW Champion if he works on his mic skills. He's got the Xtreme thing going so he portrays WWE's version of ECW well. I'd say Mr. Kennedy but he's already getting a push and should be in the upper-card soon but it'll be a while since he was drafted over to RAW.

So I'm going with CM Punk on this one

 

[i76hitman]

Monty Brown could be huge if he's given the right direction.

He needs to be on Raw or Smackdown for better coverage as well.

 

[Mistaap]

Wouldn't this be cool

Have CM Punk start using the Pepsi Plunge which pisses off Tripple H (For stealing his move) and have the two of them fight over that with Punk telling HHH that he is an old timer and his move is WAYYYY more exciting than the pedegre... By this time HHH should have the title and have Punk win it from him at Wrestlemania. It gives Punk the right to do his best move and gives him a (REAL) Title from a multi time Champion..

I think if they have him win the ECW title.. It will hurt him

 

[KnightShadow]

With the Benoit thing going down, I think Vince will probably look at the smaller wrestlers now. Remember how the wrestlers trimed down when the whole steroids thing blew up? I think that the smaller wrestlers are going to get a better push now.

 

[ACTAFOOL]

its true that the smaller guys usually dont get big pushes, but vince is starting to come around

like every1 said, look at Kennedy, im not saying hes small, compared to regular ppl hes huge, but compared to batista, cena, lashley, khali, undertaker, kane, hes not that big, neither is edge, he might be tall but in terms of size muscle hes not a freak also

come to think about, a lot of future main eventers arent huge, cm punk, kennedy, nitro, matt, all strong but no batista's... so vince will have to start considering using smaller guys anyway, for the exeption of MVP or chris masters

but with this whole steroids thing, now is the time for small guys

 

[That Irish Kid]

Where's Mr. Kennedy? He is a very good superstar and has the charisma o go very far, the IWC can't stop talking about how he is the next big thing.

As far as that list, Matt Hardy should recieve a singles push immediately.

 

[TheRealDC]

With another face turn, and some good quality matches, I would love to see Shelton Benjamin back in the picture. The dude is crazy good. He has proved he could do some quality matches, and doesn't really blow that many spots. He is now, because even I would start to just have the "eh, why bother" attitude. They had him primed and ready for the spotlight and for no rhyme or reason they just drop him. It made no sense whatsoever. If you don't believe that he is Main Event worthy (even if its just to job) look at his match with HBK a few years back, they STILL show highlights of that match. The ending was phenomenal. Plus, his showcase of talent in the MITB matches was simply amazing. So I would vote other, but my selection would be for Shelton.

***btw, keep in mind that I am a huge Jeff Hardy fan and I voted for Shelton***

 

[ACTAFOOL]

shelton does have amazing talent, and i hate it that WWE doesnt give him a push, sure he did a MITB and ladder match with hardys, but they look at him like a jeff hardy, just someone to entertain, so i doubt his big push will be coming soon =/... even though it would be a good one

if i were shelton i'd go to TNA, not only would he have a title shot fast, but they would actually use his talent.. a lot more than wwe at least...

 

[jamesjd66]

Shelton is a great wrestler and it's horrible how he gets looked down upon for not using his full potential....meanwhile even if he is half-assing it, he's still better then 80% of the talent. Turn him face, and let him go. When he came to RAW solo he had huge momentum and it was a shame how he got pushed aside. The good thing is that he was young and probably would've burnt out with the fans. Now with more years under his belt the sky is the limit

 

[Mistaap]

I loved him match with Lashley last night.. Shelton should be pushed as a main event guy. He has a great moveset and is the most athletic wrestler in the WWE period. Eventhough he is not great on the mic,,, Neither was Benoit.. he has great matches and makes him over with the crowd..

PUSH SHELTON NOW!!!

 

[Ticked Off Texan]

I agree with those saying Shelton Benjamin, if turned face and given a push he could make a good champion, minus the mic skills but he could always work on that, but right now he's got a pretty good tag team shot with Haas right now.

 

[R-Weezy]

CM Punk. Punk is without a doubt one of the top 5 talent WWE has. He has amazing charisma, and cuts great promos. I expect him to win the ECW Title at the Great American Bash, and then go heel, dropping the title to go to RAW or SD so he can dominate there.

 

[Jonny B]

I agree with those saying Shelton Benjamin, if turned face and given a push he could make a good champion, minus the mic skills but he could always work on that, but right now he's got a pretty good tag team shot with Haas right now.

They turned him face, gave him the IC Title and his act quickly grew stale.

I might be missing something here, but there is only one person on that list with the qualities that are needed (bar maybe CM Punk, but we all know its only a matter of time) and thats Matt Hardy. Hardy is still one of the most over people on the Smackdown Roster, he is one hell of a worker and can cut a decent Promo. Add to that the fact that he has been going over everyone in sight lately I honestly think his Main Event push is coming in the next year or so... one can only hope.