The Lost generation

[MikeRaw]

I remember in 2006, Umaga got a big push, leading to a main event push at the start of 2007. At first, everyone though he had what it took to e a main eventer, but not many actually liked it. At first, people thought his character was lame, and he wasn't good enough in the ring. But around mid 2007, people thought of him as a future world champion (most did, anyway). People began to accept he had a good future, and his character could work. So, from that point on, we've all been waiting for him to breakthrough. We've been waiting for a feud with Taker, a meaningful feud with Triple H or Edge, a potential feud with a guy like Kennedy or HBK, but none have happened. It just seems like all the potential he had 2 years ago has gone. He looked to have a bright future, but WWE fucked around for so long, that now he's stuck as not even a regular guy on SD, and just floating in the midcard.

MVP is another guy. He got moved to Raw at he draft, and if they use him right, there's hope, but he could also end up just being buried there as well. But anyway, when this guy burst onto the scene in 2006, he had a gimmick that actually could've put him in the main event right then and there. I mean, if you think about some of the guys who are main eventers right from their debut, he is better than 70% of them, and had a gimmick that got him over enough to be in the main event right then and there. That didn't happen, and then he just continued to improve and improve, and by summer 2007, if there was any doubt before, he was definatly ready then. But someone, he slipped through the cracks, and one thing led to another, and he was forgotten, and put into a meaningless losing streak, which brings us to now. Even if MVP gets a main event push now, they've missed so many great years he could've had. Instead of having those years as great main event years, he spent them as great midcard years, which is good, and was entertaining, but they could've done so much more.

Finally, we have Kennedy. This one really hurts me to think about. Much like MVP, he could've started main eventing in 2006, but he didn't. That's ok though, he was still green. But we looked towards the future for him, and it looked bright. Then in mid 2007, he hit his stride, and seemed to be on his way, but once they got plans for him, they seemed to drop them, and unexplainably put him back into the midcard. Then, he blew his own chances throughout 2008 with injuries and steroids.

So there we have it. I just thought, reflecting back on a few years back, I would make a thread to show what could've been. In 2006, almost all of us thought these guys would be the main eventers of the future along with Edge, Cena, Orton, etc. But WWE showed a reluctance to push these guys, and capitalise on their potential, and instead, left them to "rot". Here we are 3years later, and none have hit the main event scene... Does it sadden anyone to think what we could've had in these 3 guys, but we didn't get, because WWE refused to push them completely to the main event, and couldn't decide what to do. It's really sad to think this was a whole crop of up and comers that could've helped define the next generation of main eventers, and they've been "lost"... There's still time, but it's running out. Do you think any of these guys can still make an impact in the main event scene, like we thought they could've?

 

[Evil Austin]

I know this isn't really answering your question but here is another guy you can add to those list of three above that were pushed but they left to rot.

Shelton Benjamin: He began his career with a slow start in the tag team division with Team Angle / WGTT but when he became a single's competitor being drafted to Raw in 2004 they wasted little time trying to push him, I still have no idea why they gave up on his push. Shelton was a face when drafted to Raw and had more then one pin fall victory over Triple H the champion at the time and victories over other Evolution members which was a huge acheivement for somoene who has yet to win a single's gold.

But suddenly they dropped the storyline after the Benjamin / Flair match at Backlash I think it was and Benjamin began hovering around the mid card until now doing amazing things in MITB ladder matches and having great matches throughout the years with guys like RVD and Jericho.

 

[seX-Power]

I still have no idea why they gave up on his push.

Maybe they realised that he has the charisma of Matt Hardy's turd.

 

[Evil Austin]

But he can go in the ring, I am not going to say on the wrestling level of Chris Benoit but both Benjamin and Benoit hovered around the mid card for quite a number of years and I assume for the same reason they were reluctant to push them because of promo problems.

 

[seX-Power]

But he can go in the ring, I am not going to say on the wrestling level of Chris Benoit but both Benjamin and Benoit hovered around the mid card for quite a number of years and I assume for the same reason they were reluctant to push them because of promo problems.

Well obviously. What's your point? Benoit had some charisma even though it didn't come out on the mic, he had charachter and got people interested in his matches without showy moves. If Shelton can get a charachter then I could possibly see him getting a consolation run with a world title, even if it is the ECW title.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

Umaga's been hurt on and off!?

Dude, let him stay healthy. Vince is still high on him, but a couple freak accidents have injured him and taken him out of the picture.

 

[LadyHotrod]

I just don't think Umaga could make it as a main eventer. I just can't picture him getting to that point....I just find him boring in the ring and his mic skills? Yeah....


The shit they do with MVP and Kennedy pisses me off. Both are WASTED. They both are good on the mic and good in the ring but never get the proper feuds to give them the push they need. MVP and Matt had an alright feud but MVP probably would have been better off feuding with Jeff if he wanted to get a HUGE push.


Kennedy is a great wrestler and could have great feuds but for some reason, they always seem to over look him and he gets lost in the shadows.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

Kennedy gets injured :/?

He won MITB and was planned to win the belt when he cashed it in, but fucked it all up.

 

[Colin Gimp]

Who said any of these guys were main eventers? Last time I looked main eventers were 6'6 250 bodybuilders who might be able to wrestle. Over the years the need to be able to wrestle has skyrocketed. With a huge lack of talent ala bodybuilders who can wrestle, veterans have stepped up to fight for the top spot that was once oh so far away while WWE eagerly tries to fix the shithole looking at the stars for the one who brights oh so much more.

They put their eggs in Cena, hoping he could carry the brand for years and he has. Quite successfully? Up to whatever you define success as. I'm sure they see it as a success as my love for Wrestling dies a bit more every week while i tune in to see the same old shit replicated over and over getting worse every time. Sigh This year's wrestlemania moment was a well-known monkey bodybuilder John Cena, who lifted Big show AND EDGE on his shoulders for 1.2 seconds OH MY GOD 55 DOLLARS!!!@!@!@!@

to conclude: There needs to be an undetectable steroid so Wrestling can go back to the kill em all took to much to the head roid freaks we all love. (except that benoit guy)

 

[Airfixx]

I know this isn't really answering your question but here is another guy you can add to those list of three above that were pushed but they left to rot.

Shelton Benjamin: He began his career with a slow start in the tag team division with Team Angle / WGTT but when he became a single's competitor being drafted to Raw in 2004 they wasted little time trying to push him, I still have no idea why they gave up on his push. Shelton was a face when drafted to Raw and had more then one pin fall victory over Triple H the champion at the time and victories over other Evolution members which was a huge acheivement for somoene who has yet to win a single's gold.

But suddenly they dropped the storyline after the Benjamin / Flair match at Backlash I think it was and Benjamin began hovering around the mid card until now doing amazing things in MITB ladder matches and having great matches throughout the years with guys like RVD and Jericho.

Shelton's found his spot in the company and even then yet again he has shown that he cannot bring a great deal to the belt he's been given. There were some great mid-card matches on SD last year, but after a good six months or so with the title STILL no-one gave a fuck about Shelton's character and he came out to virtual silence. This is all the proof the Shelton marks should need to impress on them that being "good in the ring" isn't enough.

Don't be suprised if he never goes any higher.

As already stated he lacks charisma which is essential.


"Shelton was a face when drafted to Raw and had more then one pin fall victory over Triple H the champion at the time and victories over other Evolution members which was a huge acheivement for somoene who has yet to win a single's gold"

Seriously, it get's rather tiresome explaining this , but hey.... Once again:

The high profile victories on Raw were an ATTEMPT at pushing Shelton, NOT something deserving of a push. Shelton failed to get over, so the push stopped.

 

[Next Big Thing]

Umaga
Your expectations for Umaga aren’t realistic. He’s a monster heel. He was built up as a dominant monster, and then he made it to the main event and he lost to Cena, and that started the pattern of him being defeated by top guys. That’s been the role of the monster heel for years. Had Umaga ended up winning the world title, all you are really doing is prolonging the inevitable. Compare him to a guy like Yokozuna. He was built up as the dominant monster heel, won the world title, held it for a while, and was defeated by Bret Hart at WM 10, and then from there he lost pretty much every high profile match he was in. With the fact that he was suspended for steroids and with his recent injuries, that could explain why he hasn’t had a big role on television lately. Personally I think they are waiting a bit so that they can try to start the pattern all over again with Umaga. Maybe people will have forgotten how many times he has been defeated and they can use him as a legit main event monster heel again.

MVP
This one is laughable to me. I remember during his losing streak I would go on different forums and see a ton of threads about how the WWE is booking him so horribly. Where were the threads praising the WWE for the fantastic booking they gave MVP in his first year? I didn’t see to many of those. I’m not going to sit here and say that his losing streak was amazing booking for him, but it did result in a face turn and another U.S. title run.

The thing that gets me is he has only been on television for about 2 and a half years now. Are people really upset that he isn’t a world champion and he’s not main eventing yet? It took Bret Hart 13 years to become a world champion. It took Shawn Michaels 12 years to become a world champion. There are so many examples I could give that make the idea of people complaining about MVP not being a world champion yet, seem absolutely ridiculous. I’m sure part of this is people look at guys like Batista, Cena and Orton that came up incredibly fast. What we need to remember is they were really lacking main eventers at the time, so they were essentially forced to push guys into the main event sooner. Give MVP time. If he continues to put the work in and can get the crowd behind him, he will get his shot at the main event.

Kennedy
I don’t really understand this one. He was given a great push in 2006 and early 2007. He was put in a world title match at the Royal Rumble, and history has shown us that that spot seems to be a trial run for future world champions. He won the MITB that year, and was surely going to cash it in at some point. Then he got injured. Then he got suspended. Once he came back from his suspension, is it really a shock that they didn’t throw him right into the main event? It’s not as if they buried him after that. I recall him having a couple month feud with HBK and then Ric Flair. He left again to go film a movie, and when he came back they put him in a feud against William Regal, who at the time was getting an insane amount of heat as the GM. It was obvious that they were trying to recreate one of, if not the most successful feuds in history, the McMahon/Austin feud. Unfortunately Regal got suspended, and that killed the plans. Shortly after that Kennedy got injured again, and here we are. The WWE has given Kennedy great booking, and it’s asinine to say otherwise. He’s just had horrible luck. Well, getting suspended was his own fault, and his constant injuries may be a result of steroid use, so maybe it’s not just bad luck. Either way, don’t blame what has happened to Kennedy on the WWE.

Shelton Benjamin
He’s been pushed countless times, but he’s just never done enough to truly get over with the fans. He’s below average on the mic, and up until very recently he’s been below average in the ring. In terms of athleticism, he’s unbelievable, and is the sole reason for him being pushed so many times. However, being a great athlete doesn’t make you a great wrestler, and Shelton Benjamin has been proving that for years now.

 

[MikeRaw]

MVP
This one is laughable to me. I remember during his losing streak I would go on different forums and see a ton of threads about how the WWE is booking him so horribly. Where were the threads praising the WWE for the fantastic booking they gave MVP in his first year? I didn’t see to many of those. I’m not going to sit here and say that his losing streak was amazing booking for him, but it did result in a face turn and another U.S. title run.

The thing that gets me is he has only been on television for about 2 and a half years now. Are people really upset that he isn’t a world champion and he’s not main eventing yet? It took Bret Hart 13 years to become a world champion. It took Shawn Michaels 12 years to become a world champion. There are so many examples I could give that make the idea of people complaining about MVP not being a world champion yet, seem absolutely ridiculous. I’m sure part of this is people look at guys like Batista, Cena and Orton that came up incredibly fast. What we need to remember is they were really lacking main eventers at the time, so they were essentially forced to push guys into the main event sooner. Give MVP time. If he continues to put the work in and can get the crowd behind him, he will get his shot at the main event.

Aside from some of your bullshit stats (such as saying Bret Hart didn't win the WWE Title for 13 years, when he clearly won it 6 years in, and that it took Michaels 12 years, when it took him 8) which de-values you right away, you also have to realise just because one guy takes a long time to reach the main event, doens't mean everyone else does. Ok, so Bret Hart (in my top 3 all time BTW) took 6 years, so what? Many others, liek Austin, HBK, Triple H, Rock, and the list literally goes on and on, have won it sooner. There's no time table for how long a guy needs before he can main event, it's when he's ready. I believe he was ready long ago, long before this downward spiral he's been in (which even goes as far as to turn him face of all things), if you disagree, and think he's not ready, fine, but don't try to throw shitty examples and fake stats at me.

Kennedy
I don’t really understand this one. He was given a great push in 2006 and early 2007. He was put in a world title match at the Royal Rumble, and history has shown us that that spot seems to be a trial run for future world champions. He won the MITB that year, and was surely going to cash it in at some point. Then he got injured. Then he got suspended. Once he came back from his suspension, is it really a shock that they didn’t throw him right into the main event? It’s not as if they buried him after that. I recall him having a couple month feud with HBK and then Ric Flair. He left again to go film a movie, and when he came back they put him in a feud against William Regal, who at the time was getting an insane amount of heat as the GM. It was obvious that they were trying to recreate one of, if not the most successful feuds in history, the McMahon/Austin feud. Unfortunately Regal got suspended, and that killed the plans. Shortly after that Kennedy got injured again, and here we are. The WWE has given Kennedy great booking, and it’s asinine to say otherwise. He’s just had horrible luck. Well, getting suspended was his own fault, and his constant injuries may be a result of steroid use, so maybe it’s not just bad luck. Either way, don’t blame what has happened to Kennedy on the WWE.

So you're saying that it's not their fault for not pushing him? They did give him nice booking at times, I agree, but at the times when his potential was the highest, they dropped the ball. It's like a guy hitting 30 home runs, which is nice, but none come with guys in scoring position. They pushed him in ways, but like I said, at times when his popularity was the highest, they had a reluctance to push him.

Shelton Benjamin
He’s been pushed countless times, but he’s just never done enough to truly get over with the fans. He’s below average on the mic, and up until very recently he’s been below average in the ring. In terms of athleticism, he’s unbelievable, and is the sole reason for him being pushed so many times. However, being a great athlete doesn’t make you a great wrestler, and Shelton Benjamin has been proving that for years now.

This I agree with. Benjamin is average, anyone who thinks he can be a main eventer is dreaming.

 

[monkeystyle]

Well obviously. What's your point? Benoit had some charisma even though it didn't come out on the mic, he had charachter and got people interested in his matches without showy moves. If Shelton can get a charachter then I could possibly see him getting a consolation run with a world title, even if it is the ECW title.

Exactly, Benoit had the personality of a guy who would use a chainsaw to cut through butter and Benjamin has absolutely nothing in that department.

It's too bad the WWE doesn't give a damn about their tag division and establishing long term teams because him and Haas never should've been split up.

 

[MikeRaw]

It's too bad the WWE doesn't give a damn about their tag division and establishing long term teams because him and Haas never should've been split up.

:king:

 

[Next Big Thing]

Aside from some of your bullshit stats (such as saying Bret Hart didn't win the WWE Title for 13 years, when he clearly won it 6 years in, and that it took Michaels 12 years, when it took him 8) which de-values you right away,

After looking it up, I was actually wrong about when Bret Hart started wrestling. He started in 1976, and I thought it was 79, making it 15 years actually. Shawn Michaels started in 1984 and won the belt in 1996, so it did in fact take him 12 years.

Since I did say MVP has only been on television for 2 years, then I will go by when Bret and Shawn entered the WWE. Bret Hart debuted in 1984, and won the belt in 1992. So it wasn’t 6 years like you are trying to say, it was 8. Shawn Michaels debuted in 1988 and won the belt in 96, so it was indeed 8 years for him. So even if we shed off the extra 5 years from both guys, my argument still stands.

you also have to realise just because one guy takes a long time to reach the main event, doens't mean everyone else does. Ok, so Bret Hart (in my top 3 all time BTW) took 6 years, so what? Many others, liek Austin, HBK, Triple H, Rock, and the list literally goes on and on, have won it sooner. There's no time table for how long a guy needs before he can main event, it's when he's ready.

First off, out of that list, only the Rock really won it in the same amount of time as MVP has been in the WWE for. You might say Austin as well, but seeing as how he had been in WCW since 1991, it took him 7 years to become a world champion. More than anything though, if you honestly believe that MVP is on the same level as any of those guys, I suggest you get your head examined.

I believe he was ready long ago, long before this downward spiral he's been in (which even goes as far as to turn him face of all things), if you disagree, and think he's not ready, fine, but don't try to throw shitty examples and fake stats at me.

He’s much more ready now than he was in 2007, which is when you said he should be main eventing. I don’t think that there is a timetable for someone to be a main eventer, it’s when they are ready. However, there are so few people that are truly ready after only 2 and a half years of mainstream exposure. You might have thought in 2007 that MVP was so amazing and should be a main eventer, but the problem is, the fans didn’t agree with you. MVP had no where near the amount of fan support needed for a main event push at the time. When you consider how crowded the main event scene was, there is no way he deserved to be in the mix.

So you're saying that it's not their fault for not pushing him? They did give him nice booking at times, I agree, but at the times when his potential was the highest, they dropped the ball. It's like a guy hitting 30 home runs, which is nice, but none come with guys in scoring position. They pushed him in ways, but like I said, at times when his popularity was the highest, they had a reluctance to push him.

When exactly were those times? His popularity was growing in 06 and early 07, and they had him feud with the Undertaker, Batista (for the world title) and then win the MITB, which was basically a future title win. He got injured shortly after. What more were they supposed to do? When he came back around mid July, they had him injure one of the hottest guys in the WWE at the time, Bobby Lashley. While I have never seen this confirmed, the common belief is that Kennedy was the one that was supposed to be McMahon’s son, but he got suspended before they could make that happen. That would have been a monster push for Kennedy. When he came back he feuded with HBK and Ric Flair, two of the most popular guys in the company. Are you going to tell me that’s not a good push? And then he filmed a movie, and came back and was put in a feud against the man getting the most heat in the WWE. Is that not getting a push? Regal got suspended. Not the WWE’s fault. Kennedy got injured just a few months later. Not the WWE’s fault. So when Kennedy has only been on television for a few months at a time since getting injured after winning the MITB in 07, when were they supposed to push him into the main event?