WWE 2002 What was, is and could have been

[vthokie8]

I was just watching some old DVDs and noticed that 2002 was quite the change over year for WWE. The Attitude Era was slowly coming to an end, Austin was losing a lot of steam and was in the need of a break after suffering a career full of injuries, The Rock was on his way out of the company and on his way to Hollywood and the nWo was in no means a long term investment. 2002 and early 2003 seen the debuts of today's top draws and OVW was really pumping out some top notch talent for better or worse once they hit the main roster. The Prototype (John Cena), Randy Orton, Leviathan (Batista), Brock Lesnar, Rico Constantino, Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin, Kimo Fatu (Rosey), Ekmo Fatu (Jamal, Umaga), John Heidenreich, Redd Dogg (Rodney Mack), Rene Dupree, Sylvain Grenier, Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore (Eugene) were all called up from OVW while Maven, Nidia and Chris Nowitski were all products of the new MTV series Tough Enough. I mean this looks all too familiar to me. Ten years ago WWE was going through the same thing that it is today. Fans are getting tired of Cena and Orton being on top, Edge and Batista retire, Mysterio, Christian, Big Show and Kane don't have many more years left and Triple H and Taker are all but retired as it is. I just wish WWE would do to these young guys in FCW what they did to these guys, bring them up to the main roster, let them learn on the job, and let the fans decide if they like them or hate them. NXT was a good idea for a season or two, but what is it really doing for these young guys? It makes them look weak, and instead of being a certain character they are classified as "that guy from NXT." I mean what if they did NXT in 2002 with Cena, Orton, Batista, Lesnar, Rico, Nick Dinsmore, Haas and Benjamin? I would be willing to bet none of them would have got the opportunities they got, and yes all of these guys got great opportunities even if they did bust (Eugene co-headlined SummerSlam with Triple H and Haas and Benjamin had every chance in the world to be somebodies). Much like today as well, look at the number of busts on this list. We complain about guys being awful or guys who don't get chances, I mean look at all of the names from 2002 that are on the where are they now list. Heidenreich was pushed as a monster heel fueding with Taker while guys like Rico and Dinsmore who actually had talent were saddled with awful gimmicks and never really worked out. I can't tell you on the current WWE roster who will be the next Cena and Orton or who will be the next Rodney Mack and Rob Conway, but within the next year or so a lot of these guys like Drew McIntyre, Alex Riley and Wade Barrett just to name a few are going to take for and be one or the other.

My questions are this:

Who from 10 years ago was the biggest disappointment, and who deserved a better push?

Who on the current WWE of FCW roster do you think will be top stars and who will be long forgotten?

If Brock Lesnar and Batista were still in WWE, would Cena and Orton still be the Big 2 on the roster? If so, where would they be long gone? Mid-carders? Taking up space?

My opinions are from ten years ago, Rene Dupree had to be the biggest disappointment. The guy had a good look, he was young and he actually got decent pushes yet he could never really put much together. Sadly, I think he will be more remembered by getting his ass handed to him by Bob Holly than anything else. I also feel Nick Dinsmore deserved a bigger push. The guy could work, sure he was saddled with the awful Eugene gimmick, but he even made the most of that. I think they should have taken him off TV for a while, changed his look and name and brought him back and gave him one more shot. I also thought Rico kind of fell in the same category.

On the current roster, I feel that Alex Riley could be a major star in a couple of years, same with Sheamus, Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett and Michael McGillicutty if booked right. That being said, in five years Drew McIntyre, Zack Ryder, Tyler Reks, David Otunga, Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal will all be long forgotten.

I have always felt that if Lesnar had not left in 2004, that Cena may still be on the roster but not in the capacity that he is. If you think about it, Cena kind of stepped in for Lesnar after he left. Yes, they were starting to build him but more in the mid-card picture. I think Cena would have been a World champion, I just don't think the entire organization would have been built around him like it is now. Orton was in the process of being built up long before Lesnar left. I always saw Survivor Series 03 as the moment Orton became a huge star. I do wish at Mania 20 he would have had a one on one with The Rock and beat him clean, I always felt this would have did so much more for his Legend Killer character, that and I think he should have stayed heel after winning the World title and have Triple H play the face role, but this is just my opinion.

 

[gunnascott]

I think Cena would still be huge simply because he has that crossover appeal that can carry over into non-wwe films that I can't see in Lesnar. I think they would had a stone cold-rock relationship with cena being the rock and Lesnar being Austin

And to answer your ? 2002 coulda been the best year ever too many possible variables to think of

 

[EastCoastFan]

2002 marked a pivotal year for WWE. They lost Austin, the Rock and the WWF name in rapid succession. The fans were still sore with disappointment from the Invasion storyline of 2001. The brand extension began. And Vince's little girl, Stephanie McMahon, became head of creative.

As for the talent, they had loads of it, plus a great farm system in Ohio Valley to create new stars. If I had to pick one disappointment, it would be Rosey. He was ferocious along with his brother in the Island Boys/3 Minute Warning. Then Jamal left (or got canned), so what did they do? They made him a Super Hero In Training, and he became a total laughingstock.

TBH, there isn't anyone on the FCW roster that excites me. In WWE, guys like Alberto Del Rio, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Evan Bourne, Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett will stick around, but most of the guys from the Nexus/Corre will be gone in the next couple of years. If handled properly, Alex Riley could be star for a long time. Zack Ryder is hot right now, but I have a bad feeling that he'll get branded a comedy character and he'll wind up where Santino Marella is now.

On a side note, the character of "Eugene" was entirely Nick Dinsmore's idea. He could wrestle, but by going the route he did, he created a character that burned bright - for a very short amount of time. Jim Cornette has always said Nick was a great wrestler who should have had a good long career and that he'd like to bring him into Ring Of Honor, but people don't want anything to do with him because of "Eugene".

 

[MisterRob]

For me, my biggest disappointment would have to have been Nick Dinsmore. Dinsmore had a TON of potential, is extremely talented in terms of wrestling and even has good mic skills and charisma. I think he had a complete package that could've really made him a possible star, but instead he got stuck with the Eugene gimmick and that derailed his entire career long term. Its really sad, to me, and just shows how it really is really about the right opportunity at the right time as much as its about talent.

My second biggest disappointment would have to be Shelton Benjamin. He had some success, sure, but I think Benjamin has far more potential then he ever reached and that's as much because of him not being able to take advantage of opportunities as it is about the WWE misusing him. But he had as much potential, wrestling-wise, as those who actually rose higher and became stars (like Lesnar, Cena, Batista, and Orton). Benjamin just doesn't have "It", which is a shame.

 

[P. Nut Butters]

On a side note, the character of "Eugene" was entirely Nick Dinsmore's idea. He could wrestle, but by going the route he did, he created a character that burned bright - for a very short amount of time. Jim Cornette has always said Nick was a great wrestler who should have had a good long career and that he'd like to bring him into Ring Of Honor, but people don't want anything to do with him because of "Eugene".

Eugene was an idea concieved by Nick, but the WWE embellished his idea and wrote ideas into the character of Eugene for which it is now rather infamous, for lack of a better term.

Back on topic, the 2001 WCW invasion has to be my biggest overall disappointment from ten years ago, but I don't believe it was half as bad as some like to tell you it was.

I definitely agree that Rene Dupree was a big "lost opportunity." Maybe if a 20-year-old Rene walked into the WWE today, he'd be a shoe-in for future world champion. I personally think that Rene had everything the WWE looks for in a superstar of the present time, but he was a bit too early.

Putting him in a lackluster tag team with Kenzo Suzuki of all people, a tag team that had absolutely no believable selling points and could never be taken seriously as world tag team champions if they had come along a couple of years before they did, was even worse. Nothing against Suzuki or Dupree's personal abilities, but they came off as one of the most atrocious forigen heel tag-teams I've ever seen.

10 years ago, I was waiting for the day that Deacon Bautista broke that stupid McMahonism thing with Devon and became a world champion, which leads me to my other big disappointment. Even though it came a few years later, Batista finally winning the World title was a classic case of a train going full-steam-ahead to nowhere.

Evolution, in my opinion was great. Horsemen knock-off some have said, but Randy and Dave had such great character buildup from 2002/03 to late-04/2005. The angle which lead up to Batista vs HHH was extremely compelling and you could taste Dave's victory on the tip of your tounge, but even so, you had to tune in to see how it would go down. He had all that momentum I was talking about and then.... He won the belt. Just like that train going full-speed to nowhere, it was a "HELL YEAH!" moment, but I really don't think there was anywhere to go with all that momentum after Dave won the belt.

When Randy won the belt in 2004, it was like the snot-nosed brat had stolen the belt, but then he lost it back to HHH, (which I thought was a great move) and from that, they could keep Randy's momentum going as he tried to get the belt back once again. But Batista won his first World title and the big letdown was that I personally felt that he fell victim to the "nowhere to go but down" trap (not in terms of position on the card, but character wise).

Additionally, I have to say that whether Lesnar left in 2004 or not, John Cena would have been big. I am no John Cena fan, and perhaps Lesnar's leaving sped up Cena's push because of the void Lesnar left, but since Backlash 2003, which ironically was Lesnar vs Cena for the WWE title, in my eyes it became accademic that Cena would be a future frontman in the WWE.

The other guy whom I could never understand why the WWE didn't run with was Mark Jindrak. He was the standout of the Jindrak/Cade tandem and should he have been packaged and gimmicked right, he's another who could have made it. Instead, they teamed him up with Luther Reigns and made him Kurt Angle's lackey in Team Angle 2.0 and we got to watch fun moments such as: "Jindrak and Reigns do a run-in!" during or after every Kurt Angle match and other ones like the "tranquilizing" and hair-shaving of the Big Show. None of that would have been bad if they actually went somewhere with Mark or Luther or both guys perhaps, but it's a waste when you think about that likely being Jindrak's WWE highlight.

 

[DeathClutch]

It's amazing how many people are talking about shit that didn't happen in WWE in 2002.
From a product stand point, they lost the WWF name and they lost Austin. Rock was around for pretty much 4-5 months of the year and was used greatly. Their PPV's were pretty good for the most part, some weren't all that thou but the majority of them were strong. Guys like Hogan returned, Brock debuted we had the Ruthless Aggression Era, HHH returned and turned heel, HBK returned.

2002 gets dicked over so much yet WWE actually did a good job in cleaning the product up with the deadwood titles, trying to get some kind of order. Some storylines like Katie Vick tarnished RAW, but SMACKDOWN was putting out Kurt, Benoit, Rey & Edge and Chavo & Eddie feuds over newly created tag belts, try and find some of their matches on youtube, Brock/Taker WWE really were getting on with it when Austin left and Rock & Hogan putting Brock over like they did and Taker all helped.

 

[theonerandom]

I think today if Brock was still around he'd definitely either would have gotten pissed off about SOMETHING and left (read his book, he pretty much hated everything that wasn't his family, money, and hunting) I'm sure getting rid of Sable would have been the thing to throw him over the edge b/c she wasn't getting any younger. If he didn't throw a tantrum, then I think he would have been what Batista was, the monster that can also be a good guy and talk on the microphone. Also I believe Shelton (good friend in real life) and therefore Charlie Haas would never have been discarded by WWE b/c Brock would have pushed for them and then you'd have a new Champions in the title history. Cena would still have been on top and Orton but not near the capacity as now, I think Cena/Brock would the center and Orton would play a Chris Jericho role. Also idk where I'd put CM Punk if I'd put him anywhere.

Biggest disappointment: John Heidenrich and the Boogeyman: So much waste of TV time for someone who better who could have used it but instead was invested into these two.

Better Push: Renee Dupreee (he had it all, even at the time the anti-France attitude made him a great heel but in the wrong direction they put him in) and Sean O'haire b/c he was a good worker and with Piper as a potential long -term manager it would have been amazing. Wild card, Maven.

Who 10 years from now being relevant and important: Cena/Punk/Orton/HHH/Miz aside from those people and the almight HHH who will never go away (don't want him to either) Barrett, Riley, McIntyere (guy could wrestle), Sheamus, Rhodes, DiBiasie, Ryder, and Hennig.....I believe that actually all if not most of the new people/younger people that are being brought up now and that are being used will be a major star in WWE later down the road, I think they are an investment and WWE is doing a pretty good job with bringing in younger guys and using them to a potential.

Do I wish 2002 was a little different? Yeah, I wish HBK would have gotten the title more then once, and Goldberg stuck around. NWO vs DX would have been great at Survivor Series, but it happened the way it happened and like a previous poster said it wasn't bad, dead-weight titles were gotten rid of, they just threw people into the ring and hoped they worked and if not they were discarded, only thing is I hoped they kept the European title and made it the title for the current lower card roster as a potential stepping stone for the IC title then World

 

[Northwestern]

From what I saw, Perry Saturn was a huge disappointment. He only got his small push with The Radicalz before being the laughingstock alongside Moppy. After which he was dumped off close to his sideline injury. Perry was one of the few people to this day I could see holding up a World title.

Who deserved a better push besides Perry? Test. I always saw him as a Psudeo-Heidenreich, he could have done it. He barely pulled mid-card though and few people saw him beyond ECW in 2006 through to his departure. Shelton Benjamin also deserved a push. Something just didn't let him, and after time, he was released.

As for those of the future? I can honestly see Kofi Kingston making something of himself beyond the US title. Cody Rhodes hasn't been too big since Legacy disbanded, same with Wade. I haven't seen Cody do much in terms of titles or actions. Wade, while losing the IC title just a month ago, hasn't done much either. This might be me as I haven't been watching RAW or Smackdown for the past months.