Who Will be the Cornerstones?

[OYDK]

I'm interested to hear who you guys think the 4 or 5 "cornerstones" or pillars of WWE will be in the next decade to come, as it's not completely clear who will be leading the company into the future. Of course, one must take into consideration everything from contract disputes to injuries and so on, but strictly focusing on right now, who on the roster do you see the company building around and why do you think that?

In the Golden Era, the cornerstones were guys like Hogan, Savage, Warrior, and Andre. The "New Era" had Taker, Nash, Bret, and Shawn. Austin, Rock, HHH, Foley, and Taker made up the foundation of the Attitude Era. Nowadays, there are obviously options, but only Seth Rollins really seems like a lock as a future star at this point.

Personally, the 5 guys I see eventually outshining the rest are:

Seth Rollins: As mentioned, Rollins is already a made man. He's held the WWEWHC since Mania and has had a very good run despite not being given much to work with. He's a great heel and I envision him as an even better face when the time comes. This guy's a pretty special talent.

Roman Reigns: I don't think Reigns will be the eventual face of the company like many predict, but I think he'll be damn good. His promo on Wyatt on Monday showed just a flash of Roman's potential. He really seemed to find his promo style on that night and if he can learn to flip that switch, nothing's stopping him. He COULD be the "Taker" of this era.

Kevin Owens: Another special talent in my opinion. Kevin Owens just gets the business and has gotten very over in a short amount of time. In NXT, he was probably the most over guy on the roster. When he debuted, it didn't take long for the crowd to react and now he's probably one of the best heels in the business. One of the best wrestlers in the world and he plays his gimmick to a tee. I think he'll be one of their most reliable hands in the next few years.

Finn Balor: WWE seems to have big plans for Balor and while I don't think he's the greatest, a lot of people do and that's all that matters. He's got a great look, can wrestle with the best, and can play a pretty good face or heel. I think they should build the next big stable around Balor as he seems to work best in a group.

Bray Wyatt: Go ahead roll your eyes. Bray's too unique to not have him as a pillar going forward. He's also the youngest man in this group and the opportunities with his gimmick are endless. He should have some Taker-esque moments in the future.

It pained me to leave Ambrose off of this list but WWE doesn't seem to be very high on him right now. Unfortunately, it seems as if he'll take on an upper-midcard role going forward.

So who do you see leading wrestling fans into the next era? Try and limit your picks to 4 or 5.

 

[Un-Bo-Lievable Jeff]

Rollins, Reigns and KO seem like good choices for obvious reasons.

I'm not so sure about Wyatt. I think he has become stale as he is, and he really doesn't seem that much of a threat for the fact that he always seems to lose on the feuds. Great on the mic but not the greatest in the ring. Think it would take a bit of a gimmick change to see him as one of the top five in the company.

Perhaps a personal hope rather than genuine contender but I see Cody Rhodes pushing on. Still very young and a great talent. I don't see it necessarily as stardust but I think he could be a top, top guy.

Can't discount Ambrose either as he has potential to be that Stone Cold character.

 

[ShinChan]

Dean Ambrose- He is too over with the crowd...... Awesome character.... He is over even though his booking hasnot been good..... He can be a Stone Cold of this Era.... Mic skills too are awesome and wrestling ability too.... So one of the cornerstones should be "The Lunatic Fringe"

Bray Wyatt- Nice mic skills..... In-ring work is also good as we always saw on raw multiple weeks ago with Roman Reigns..... His persona is also good... Though his booking is stale, still he is good....However his character should be more like a year ago when he would start his walk upside down to shock his competitor.... Which was awesome...
so "The Face of Fear" should be one of the pilllars....

Finn B¨¢lor- Unique personality; in-ring work, signature paint, skills are awesome So "The Demon" should also be there...

Seth Rollins- Just awesome heel.... Too Good mic-skills; Moveset(excuding pedigree) is also good.... So "The Architect" should also be there...

Antonio Cesaro- Good mic skills; Awesome in-ring worker.... So "The Swiss Superman" must be there too

However instead of cesaro; Vince would surely choose Roman Reigns.....

Honourable Mentions- Kevin Owens; Sami Zayn & Stardust.

 

[Just Zay'n]

Oh that's easy.

1) Sami Zayn - He'll be the top star. He got the same treatment John Cena got on his debut, he's the most natural babyface, and this might seem crazy but his diverse ethnic background and experience wrestling in many different countries will kind of make him the "global" face of wrestling.

2) Finn Bálor - Enough said really.

3) Apollo Crews - Has got it all.

4) Baron Corbin - Let's face it, this guy will be big. Most likely because he is big, but he's got the highest amount of ring presence out of anyone on NXT or the main roster, which is enough to get him to the top.

5) Apollo Crews - See #3.

Honorable mention - Apollo Crews

 

[Mustang Sally]

I like the OP's choices of Rollins, Reigns, Owens, Balor and Wyatt.

As to Bray, I also believe his character and storyline mission are more adaptable than many people seem to think. For one thing, as outlandish and out of control as he often seems, he has the ability to work with anyone and bring a good match..... from Undertaker to Roman Reigns. Not everyone can.

I'd like to add Rusev to the list as a performer who could prove to be a mainstay for the next decade. He's young, powerful, has amazing ability for a man of his girth to work a technical match even while coming off as a villain. He's also become more interesting as a personality since his interaction with the ladies.

Still, the guys in the forefront of WWE will be Rollins and Reigns. In so many ways, they're polar opposites and will gain the favor (and scorn) of fans who like different qualities, but their overall impact on the company will be enormous in the years to come.

 

[FromGlasgow]

To be honest I don't see a lot of personality in many of the newer top wrestlers, A lot of great wrestlers skill wise but a big lacking of personality by the time the Cenas and Brocks are finished I could see a couple of new guys coming up to take their spot, Its a big drawback for the WWE now if they had a bit more star power they wouldn't have to keep bringing in the part timers like Taker, Rock, HHH, Sting etc for all the big events.
The top two I think still around for a while would be Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Would like to see maybe Cesaro and Luke Harper get more of a push though.

 

[Messiah]

Nobody currently. With the way things are going WWE won't be around for another decade. They don't know how to build stars anymore.. They better do something fast, WWE is a sinking ship, they need to repair it quickly.

 

[L@RISANO]

As others have pointed out, I expect Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to be the 2 guys at the top in the near future for sure(next 5/7 years).


Beyond them(this is where I find it hard to limit to just 4/5, my apologies);
I think we'll find out by WrestleMania 33, how high WWE rates Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt and Kevin Owens. All 3 have the tools to be a part of the Main Event scene, but it remains to be seen how far WWE is willing to push them and their characters.

After them, there are Finn Balor and Sami Zayn, both of NXT, who seem to be ones with great futures, the latter especially with Daniel Bryan possibly permanently sidelined.




That said; there are also going to be others emerging through NXT which might catch the eye of the WWE Top Brass and get fast tracked to stardom.
Personally, I am looking forward to seeing how things shape up post-Mania 32 until Mania 33. I expect the direction of the company's Main Superstars of the next decade to be much clearer given Cena and Lesnar will be heading into their 40s...

 

[kadroan]

Nobody currently. With the way things are going WWE won't be around for another decade. They don't know how to build stars anymore.. They better do something fast, WWE is a sinking ship, they need to repair it quickly.

True, especially with their heavy dependence on part timers it wouldn't surprise me if things 5 years from now isn't much different from now.

1. John Cena
2. Roman Reigns
3. Seth Rollins
4. Randy Orton
5. Dean Ambrose