WWE'S INABILITY TO CREATE NEW, LEGITIMATE STARS IS BECOMING A DANGEROUSLY SCARY TREND
By Todd Oblak on 4/7/2009 12:57 PM
WWE is in bad shape. Where are the new stars? Where is the next Stone
Cold or Hogan or Rock or Ric Flair or HBK? Are they on the roster now?
Did they have the opportunity to break the glass ceiling and achieve
greatness last night and just didn't?
The past 17 Royal Rumble winners (2 in 1994) have had the opportunity to
face the Heavyweight Champion at Wrestlemania and 11 have won the title
following their Rumble victory. Those that have lost at Wrestlemania
following a Rumble win (Luger, HBK, Austin, Rock, Cena & now Orton)
either did not have the right circumstances behind them going into
Wrestlemania or lost some of their momentum between the Rumble and
Wrestlemania. Orton had neither of those this year. He had more heat
going into Mania this year than he ever has. So why was the main event
such a stinker?
WWE is so scared of trying something new that they think they're gonna
drive away casual fans if they give somebody new a shot. I heard the
story floating around that WWE was worried if they had Orton win the
belt as a hot heel that the fans would leave upset like they did when
HHH retained at Mania 2000. I think the difference here is Orton's heel
is so hot right now that people actually cheer him. The Legacy gets
cheers. People like seeing those guys and like seeing them get beat
up. They are so easily dislikable that they are likable. Orton is so
over right now that if he would've snuck away with the belt and HHH &
the McMahons would've beat down Orton and company afterward and ended on
the note that even though Orton got the belt, they didn't win the night
the crowd would've gone home happy.
Where are the new stars in WWE? 3 Main Events, 3 Winners that have all
won World Titles before at Wrestlemania. What made this year so
different? Cena, HHH & Taker have all been at the top of the mountain.
If you want to be technical, so have HBK, Big Show, Edge & Orton. So
where was the drama this year? CM Punk won MITB again, after he won the
World Title last year. I like CM Punk and thought they shouldn't have
pulled the rug out from under him so fast last year. But this year he
wasn't the one that everyone wanted to see win it. Weren't there polls
on both WWE.com and PWInsider.com that clearly stated everyone thought
Christian would/should win MITB this year? Hasn't he consistently been
garnering big pops since his return? Didn't he leave on good terms
prior to going to TNA? Why are they holding him back so much?!? He's
entertaining, he's proven, he's a good worker and he's over! I make the
same case for MVP! Where's his shot at the next level? Is Kennedy
ready to come back? How cool would it have been if someone would've
"gotten hurt" before MITB and Kennedy would've taken the final spot and
won the thing again (since he never got the shot originally)! Kennedy
is believable as the next contender.....he probably should have been
working at the top of the card 2 years ago.
If WWE doesn't start taking some risks and allowing their characters
some more mic time (instead of the Santino/Diva slapstick bits that I
have been fast-forwarding on my DVR the past few weeks), they are gonna
keep doing poorer in the ratings. Bottom line, WWE needs a few new
stars.....I say they put a slowly incling rocket on a few different
backs and see who gets to the moon first. Sink or swim time. Mania 25
is in the can and all there is left to do is begin building toward Mania
26 next year.
