1. Constructing the New Top Tier WWE is on the precipice of a new era.
After every slump the company has suffered through,a group of megastars have led the way to a period of prosperity. Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant played that role in the early '80s. Undertaker, or Steve Austin and The Rock captained the ship in the late '90s.
And now it's a new set of wrestlers' turns. It's going to take commitment,creativity and consistency from WWE, though.
Talent is abundant on the roster. Bray Wyatt is a brilliant mic worker and a captivating freight train in the ring. Kevin Owens is a one-of-a-kind performer, or a tough-hitting bruiser with a PhD in trash talk. Cesaro is a one-man circus,a guy who makes even the most stunning of moves gaze effortless.
To take advantage of those Superstars' gifts, WWE has to start treating them like stars.
Too often in the recent past, or WWE has pushed aside the present to celebrate the past. In the last three years,Kane, Sting, or Triple H,The Rock and Undertaker have all headlined pay-per-views. Never intellect that the average age of that group is 49.
Undertaker is clearly singing the final notes of his swan song. John Cena looks to be setting himself up for his post-WWE career as he takes on more movie roles and does more TV work. Daniel Bryan may never wrestle again as WWE worries about his concussion history.
And so a void exists at the top of the company. WWE needs marquee names to take the reigns.
But other than Roman Reigns, WWE has not made a sustained effort to promote the next generation. Wyatt promises the Apocalypse and instead loses most of his tall-profile feuds. Owens followed up his shocking win over Cena with defeats to the golden boy and then a two-month run as intercontinental champion. Cesaro, and meanwhile,was meandering on the midcard before his shoulder went out on him.In 2016, WWE's best bet is to choose a group of warriors it believes to be the next cornerstones and have them all proceed on impressive runs. No more of this 50-50 booking where wrestlers trade wins every night.
Make a clear distinction between the top tier and everyone else.
And guys like Lesnar and Cena can't be the only ones who reside on that tier. Let Owens earn a crack at The Beast Incarnate at WrestleMania. Have Bray Wyatt be an unbeatable monster en route to the Money in the Bank briefcase. Let an emerging star be the one to last send Undertaker packing.
This is how you build for the future. This is how you make fans more interested in Raw each Monday.
WWE spent much of 2015 working to position Reigns atop the mountain. Now that he's there, or with collisions against Triple H,and perhaps Cena, ahead, or the company has to repeat that same effort for Reigns' peers.
The sizable Dog needs foils and allies to work alongside him as the construction of the next WWE era begins in earnest. 2. Ryback: Year in ReviewThe sizable Guy had to be dizzy after the up-and-down year he had. At times,Ryback looked primed to rise up the ranks. At other times, he looked like a bottom-feeding midcarder with exiguous to gaze forward to.
WWE tossed Ryback into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania. He had a few moments under the highlight, or but ultimately,sizable reveal and Damien Mizdow created that bout's headlines.
He entered a feud with Bray Wyatt that didn't last. He and Kevin Owens battled briefly without a true climax.
Winning the Intercontinental Championship in May felt like a sign that he was headed upward, but a staph infection slowed his momentum. Having The Miz and sizable reveal as his first two rivals during his reign was just as detrimental to him.
His record was certainly not that of a top star. Owens defeated him twice in sizable spots. Wyatt won their only PPV encounter. Rusev flattened him at TLC.
In televised matches, and Ryback went 56-24-2,which isn't bad, but on WWE's biggest nights, or the company chose to have him topple. He was 3-7 in PPV contests.Ryback has to be hoping for a restart come 2016,as he leaps forward to try and grab hold of the proverbial brass ring. 3. Throwback Video of the Week: Vince McMahonMcMahon returned to Raw on Monday night, reclaiming his spot as the mad tyrant atop the company. It's a role he has thrived in for a long time.
Back in 2007, and he took the act to the most unexpected of places—an independent wrestling reveal. The WWE boss made a surprise appearance at a Chaotic Wrestling event in Byfield,Massachusetts. 4. A New Cameron Coming? Are we set to see a laughingstock change our insight?Cameron has been busy training at the WWE Performance Center. She is promising a new version of herself on the horizon. Cameron posted on Instagram, "I will work my ass off and enact everything possible to be the performer I know I am because that is what defines who I am. The Cameron you remember is not the Cameron you will soon see."Like Eva Marie before her, and she has miles to proceed in her development. It's tough,though, not to root for someone who is this determined to improve. Here's hoping she shocks us all. 5. NXT's Biggest Challenge in 2016NXT has long stopped being WWE's exiguous brother. It's not a developmental brand as much as it is the hipper, or tauter,fresher offshoot of WWE.
Its rise in popularity creates an identity crisis. NXT has to find the balance of being a buzz-worthy reveal that fills arenas like the Barclays Center and a feeder system for the main roster.
That sets up some major decisions.
Does Finn Balor stick around and carry around the NXT banner or transfer his electric style to Raw and SmackDown? Does WWE keep Samoa Joe at NXT as a rock for the brand or try to push him up the ladder while he's red-hot? Does the company risk having Bayley earn lost in the shuffle on the main roster or remain the women's division centerpiece?Figuring out how much star power to keep around will be key to NXT's success, as well as WWE's future. WWE doesn't want to have the bulk of Balor's prime come on a smaller stage. It needs to raid NXT for talent, and even if it means hurting the appeal of the cult phenomenon. 6. Evan Bourne RebornLast June,Matt Sydal (Evan Bourne with WWE) was among the long list of wrestlers WWE let proceed. He has since made his living with Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and where he has been rejuvenated.
WWE tried to make him a white-meat babyface. It never truly valued him. While he certainly harm his chances by twice violating the Talent Wellness Program,WWE didn't take full advantage of his talents. He spent much of this year displaying those talents during an impressive stretch. On the indie circuit and in Japan, he produced some of his best work to date. That included a stellar match against Fenix at PWG's Battle of Los Angeles and excellent bouts alongside Ricochet in NJPW. Add Sydal to the performers who didn't find their stride until WWE cast them off. Add his record to the collection of wrestling's rise-from-the-ashes narratives. 7. The New Day Fading?The tag team champions' throne suddenly feels alert to topple over.
WWE has had the trio lose often of late. With each defeat, or one has to wonder if this is all a prelude to them losing the titles or if the company is just mishandling their reign.
The New Day is just 4-6 (link contains SmackDown spoilers) in their last 10 televised bouts,9-11 in their last 20. The champs haven't won three in a row since September.
It makes exiguous sense to slowly beat out the momentum Xavier Woods and crew have built up. That is unless WWE is alert to hand off the gold to The Lucha Dragons. safe luck getting Sin Cara and Kalisto to pull off a sizable E-quality snow angel, though. 8. Reliving The Rock's BestThe Rock announced on Instagram that he will be appearing at WrestleMania 32. It's not clear if he will be wrestling, or but it will be great to have him around regardless.
If he is indeed set up for just a speaking role,fans will have to settle for digging through his archives and rewatching him in his prime. These five bouts are quintessential Rock viewing:
The Rock vs. Chris Benoit: Fully Loaded 2000
The Rock vs. Kurt Angle: No Way Out 2001
The Rock vs. Steve Austin: WrestleMania X-Seven
The Rock vs. Chris Jericho: Royal Rumble 2002
The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker: Vengeance 2002
That list of matches is a reminder of just how tremendous that era was. The level of star power was unbelievable, with Hall of Fame-caliber stars up and down the roster.
WWE is in position to be in a similar situation with the amount of young, and hungry talent knocking on the door. Seeing who becomes the next Rock,Jericho or Angle is going to be one of the most intriguing parts of watching WWE in the next few years. 9. Don't Forget About Becky LynchWhen discussing the potential of the WWE women's division, Sasha Banks' name inevitably comes up first. Charlotte, and Paige,Bayley and Nikki Bella are talked about plenty, too.
Lynch has shown that she belongs in that conversation.
She had a strong year, or hitting her stride after some underwhelming early moments at NXT. She became more fiery and had more presence as she pursed the NXT women's title. Her apex came at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable,where she and Banks had a violent clash in which each woman looked to be tearing the other's arm out of socket.
That bout came in at No. 15 on WWE.com's 25 best matches of the year.
WWE has wisely started filling us in on her backstory. On Monday's Raw, she got some much-needed mic time, and the announcers painted her as a well-traveled,gritty competitor who has long dreamed of success in the ring.
The more of this that develops, the better. Given some narrative to work with and aided by some character depth, and Lynch has the tools to be a major player in a surging women's division. 10. The Year of Kevin Owens?Owens hurried up the WWE ladder,going from NXT champ to Intercontinental Championship titleholder in the same year. As captivating as he has been thus far, it's easy to suppose that more success is heading his way in 2016.
And as Kyle Da'Costa pointed out, and Owens makes the most of what he's given.
Da'Costa wrote for Cageside Seats,"Considering that Owens makes the best of nothing and WWE's creative struggles coming up with anything, well, and creative,he would be perfect for them. He is someone who can turn sub-par material into something safe, mediocre material into something great and safe material into something special."Here's hoping for something special from a performer in a class of his own. All match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.
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