Who's the number 3-4 guy right now?

[Stopspot]

WWE always have a couple of top guys. One man who is as good as cemented on top of the card and as the face of the company, one man who is as good as cemented as number 2 but who can also drop down or up if need be to either fill a void or make room for an up and comer. Then there are the top 3-4 who fill a similar function.

Cena is obviously the top guy right now, has been for some time and bar any kind of injury he will continue to be for a while. Punk is also pretty cemented as the number 2 guy after his long title run. But who's number 3 and possibly number 4? And to make it more interesting lets split it, who's the number 3 guy in the fans eyes according to you and who do you think is number 3 in the eyes of management?

In the eyes of the guys backstage I think it is a mix of Sheamus/Orton or Del Rio at number 3. They are pretty interchangable and do their work. Reactions aren't always what they want (for Sheamus and ADR at least).

But in the eyes of the fans I'd say it is or at least is becoming Daniel Bryan. Bryan keeps getting insane reactions from the fanbase, selling merch and keeping his momentum going. He pleases the fans by both fan interaction and in ring and character work. In the eyes of the fans Bryan is high profile. And the thing is I think the WWE is seeing it like that as well. After Cena/Ryback Bryan is probably involved in the most high profile program right now with Kane, Ambrose, Rollins & Reigns. Especially in comparrison to what Orton and Sheamus is doing (Sheamus doing brain teasers with Sandow and Orton doing nothing). Bryan is on almost every show and always has something going for him. WWE's seemingly have noticed that he is good for the company and are rewarding him.

In short in my opinion:
Cena #1
Punk #2
Bryan #3 (but depending on how his story and depending on how the Punk angle goes I could see him overtake Punk in the future).
Sheamus/Orton/ADR/Ryback #4

How does your list look?

 

[Crayo]

From the eyes of the company, the #3 are a collection of three guys... The Shield. They're by far the #3 at the moment. They are putting a lot of faith into them, and rightfully so. It was Orton not to long ago as #2, and he - with Sheamus - has slipped down the pecking order due to one simply being hard to book (Orton), and one not getting any reactions after a huge push (Sheamus).

Bryan is a good call from the fans' point of view, but that's mainly the smarks. He is over as hell with the casual fans, but do they really see him as the credible #3 guy in the company? I doubt it, considering Bryan has lost a lot of matches in this last year. He is just over. In terms of credibility though, Orton probably is with the fans as well. The smarks can not count in this.

 

[Crayo]

To add on to my point, wrestlers like dolph and Bryan will always be used as much as possible. When you have fantastic reliable ring workers like those, they will always be used. I think it shows WWE has faith and trust in them, but I doubt it puts them at the top of the pecking order. Normally they are just used to make the wrestlers above them on the pecking order look good.

 

[Stopspot]

Nice shout out with the Shield. I personally didn't count them in since they are a group and I was thinking more in the lines of single individuals but you are correct in that they are putting a ton of trust in those 3 men. It will be interesting to see how they remain in momentum once the Family shows up since the groups have a pretty similar build up (one superior talker as a singles wrestler and a credible tag team) and with both groups being heels I feel like they could muck things up with two dominant stables at once (wouldn't have been an issue if we still had the brand split).

Ryback probably ranks as number 1 on the list of heels right now despite his short time as a heel. Henry is too injury prone and Dolph has been out and misbooked.

 

[Crayo]

Forgot about Ryback. I'd rank him above Sheamus, ADR, and Orton at the moment.

 

[Crayo]

Also, about the family, I don't see that as an issue. They are nothing like The Shield in my opinion. They are all about one guy (Bray), and serving him like Legacy served Orton. The Shield really are a trio and it is about the team, and "justice". There is no special member.

 

[Stopspot]

I'll add him in with the others in my list since I really didn't think of him either when I made my OP.

To add to your point about being a top guy that makes other guys look good. I agree with your description but I don't think that necessarily is a bad role to have as long as you yourself are a well handled guy. Dolph is an example of being a badly booked guy like that, with how he is almost always made to look weak or irrelevant next to his manager. Bryan seems to be handled better and it makes him an integral part of the top card. He doesn't need to strut around with the WWE belt, but he is involved in something high profile. Undertaker had a similar role for a long while, were most of his programs was to help others look good.

 

[Snowman1]

Since the Shield just went over Hell No, feuding with Sheamus and Orton feels like a step down. So Hell No > Celtic Vipers
Bryan's gotta be #3 since he's really carrying Hell No and is easily the most over babyface on the roster, so of course WWE will turn him heel lmao

 

[Crayo]

I'll add him in with the others in my list since I really didn't think of him either when I made my OP.

To add to your point about being a top guy that makes other guys look good. I agree with your description but I don't think that necessarily is a bad role to have as long as you yourself are a well handled guy. Dolph is an example of being a badly booked guy like that, with how he is almost always made to look weak or irrelevant next to his manager. Bryan seems to be handled better and it makes him an integral part of the top card. He doesn't need to strut around with the WWE belt, but he is involved in something high profile. Undertaker had a similar role for a long while, were most of his programs was to help others look good.

I didn't say it was a bad role to have, it's just not as high up as the guys he is helping. It's great if WWE trust you because you eventually get the push - or should do - and get a nice run. We have seen what happens to superstars when they are not trusted (Orton, Swagger, etc.). They are simply paying their dues, and are the best guys to go to for WWE to make others look good.

Rainman - You really think WWE rank Bryan ahead of the Orton's, Sheamus', or ADR's? I personally think not. They may trust him more or whatever, but in terms of who they want to push, he is not as high up (or wasn't, who knows about the near future).

 

[Snowman1]

I didn't say it was a bad role to have, it's just not as high up as the guys he is helping. It's great if WWE trust you because you eventually get the push - or should do - and get a nice run. We have seen what happens to superstars when they are not trusted (Orton, Swagger, etc.). They are simply paying their dues, and are the best guys to go to for WWE to make others look good.

Rainman - You really think WWE rank Bryan ahead of the Orton's, Sheamus', or ADR's? I personally think not. They may trust him more or whatever, but in terms of who they want to push, he is not as high up (or wasn't, who knows about the near future).

From WWE's perspective? Maybe not, *insert bitching about WWE's corporate structure here*. Alkaline mentioned it's Bryan from the fan's perspective, I'll agree with him on that.

I can't see why you wouldn't try to make a star out of Bryan though, and don't just mean that as an IWC darling. Casuals love the guy as much as we do, he's really marketable too.

 

[Lockard 23]

There isn't a clearly defined #3 or #4 guy at the moment. It's whoever happens to be challenging for the WWE Title and/or is in the WWE Title picture for at least a short period of time (Ryback at the moment) or whoever is involved in the WHC picture for a significant period of time (Del Rio, Ziggler, Sheamus and Big Show for a time, etc.)

The Shield can't really be considered the third and fourth guys since they aren't challenging for the world title or involved in that sort of program in any way. They are, however, involved in the second or third most important storylines in the company (I'd easily say what they're doing has been more important than what the WHC has been doing for the past several months.)

If we're going by baby face reactions, then Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton are up there due to crowd reaction. I might side with Orton as more popular than Bryan (based on the pops they get when their entrance music hits) but it really depends on what level of importance the WWE are booking them to, not just how the fans react to them. I'd say what Bryan is doing now is more important than what either Orton or Sheamus is doing unless/until they enter into a feud with The Shield again over the tag titles.

 

[Stopspot]

If we're going by baby face reactions, then Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton are up there due to crowd reaction. I might side with Orton as more popular than Bryan (based on the pops they get when their entrance music hits) but it really depends on what level of importance the WWE are booking them to, not just how the fans react to them. I'd say what Bryan is doing now is more important than what either Orton or Sheamus is doing unless/until they enter into a feud with The Shield again over the tag titles.

Do we take crowd reactions during matches into account as well? Because if that is the case then Bryan blows Orton out of the water. Compare a Orton match to a Bryan match of equal length and it is quite clear that Bryan is getting stronger reactions throughout the match than Orton gets.

Just based off of when the theme hits then Orton takes the cake, but overall crowd overness goes to Bryan in my book.

 

[Lockard 23]

It's tricky since the YES thing just seems to me an easy thing to chant, similar to the What chant. That's why the pops they get when their music hits are important to take into account because it might show who the audiences are more happy to see given how much they rise to their feet (i.e cheer) when the theme hits.

I'm pretty sure at the moment, Bryan's segments in general draw bigger in the ratings than Orton's, though. (In that case though, you'd have to take into account Bryan's opponents as well and the overall angle he's involved in.)