WWE : The Next Generation

With the recent ascension of Benoit and Guerrero to the top of the WWE pile (though the former looks a lot more temporary than the latter) and the continuing pushes of Randy Orton and John Cena it appears that WWE are finally waking up to the fact that they have a real problem at the top of their roster. It still awaits to be seen if all of the above end up as nothing more than feed for the selfish appetites of Undertaker and HHH or if they will be spared the brief moment of glory ended by a pedigree or tombstone from Mr Levesque-McMahon and the Deadcowboy Man Bikertaker or whoever he is this week.

But who should WWE be focusing their energies on now? The pushes of Cena and Orton have shown one thing – to get a new guy over they have to devote an awful lot of time, effort and television to them. Orton and Cena both floundered when they first arrived. They had no characters, they wrestled generic matches and were just seen as two more guys with great bodies and very little else. But, hours and hours of vignettes and promos later they are on the verge of main event status. Orton has had the benefit of Mick Foley writing a career making programme for him (as well as a behind the scenes friendship with HHH) while Cena’s rapping persona (initially a Halloween party joke) has taken off big time. His latest addition to the act – a simple packet of nuts as the punchline to his pre-match raps – is the kind of successful little detail which gets people noticed. When you start reading stories in newspapers about kids tossing bags at each other in school and telling they pals to choke on their nuts you’ll know that Cena has become a mainstream story.

So where next? I’ve picked three guys who I think WWE should focus their energies on. First up a word about people I’ve not selected. Paul London has a heck of a reputation from his days on the indi scene but – not being a Velocity viewer – I’ve never actually seen him wrestle. The fact that he wasn’t part of the Wrestlemania Cruiserweight clusterfuck shows how low he is on management’s list. Charlie Haas was a very solid tag team worker but is one of those people that is always second behind his partner. His late brother Russ (you may have noticed Charlie always has "Russ" written on his wrist tape) was considered the better prospect of the two and as you’ll see a bit further down his most recent partner is also rated more highly than him. Matt Morgan has nothing in my opinion. He’s big but that’s about all. His look is so nondescript and his ring work is very basic. When he was paired up with Nathan Jones is was obvious that the untalented Jones had a hundred times more charisma than the one dimensional Morgan. The less said about John Heidenrich the batter.

My picks are as follows. First up is Rene Dupree. I’m very impressed with him. I think he’s got "it". He’s also got a poodle which is a dreadful mistake. Aside from Damien the snake, no animal in WWF/E history has ever been anything more than a woeful embarrassment. Dupree would make an excellent Honky Tonk Man style heel. The fans just want to hate his guts – partly because he has the cheap heat French gimmick but partly because Dupree has an aura of supreme arrogance which makes for a perfect bad guy. From his cocky dance (now named "The French Tickler" which may or may not be a Monty Python reference) to his unnaturally shaped body, Dupree is a man that fans will pay money to see get the crap kicked out of. That is, lest we all forget, the point of heels in wrestling.

Sean O’Haire seemed on the verge of great things when a series of videos played last year in which he advocated not paying taxes, cheating on your wife and various other illegalities. He was the well spoken, sharply dressed and subtly evil looking devil’s advocate. It was a character which would’ve translated well to the ring. He’s got good size, good athleticism and if his ring work isn’t up to scratch then WWE should ensure that OVW teaches him to wrestle rather than just sending him there because they’re paying him but not using him. O’Haire is still being punished for something he didn’t do. He was Roddy Piper’s on screen sidekick, Piper gets fired for telling the truth (or Piper’s version of the truth) in an HBO show about drugs in wrestling and O’Haire gets punished because Piper’s not around to further embarrass.

Shelton Benjamin has looked technically solid thus far but from all accounts we have yet to see him at his best. The World’s Greatest Tag Team’s gimmick was that they were a no nonsense wrestling tag team. There one moment of personality – a really dreadful APA spoof – seemed out of place and wasn’t terribly funny. Nothing about the APA is funny except Bradshaw’s hair. And that’s beyond spoofing. Now that the WGTT have been split the chance for the Shelton Benjamin underneath the serious exterior to emerge has arrived. I would suggest they not rush him onto tv. Give him a few weeks of build up and a new character. Nothing stupid like an S&M freak, a plumber, a vicar or a pimp – just a few character pieces which will give the fans some reason to want to see him. A concept that’s been in my mind for the past few days is the absurdly simple slogan "Shelton Benjamin is better than YOU". Imagine the videos – similar to the Mr Perfect ones of 15 years ago – where the legitimately athletic Benjamin proves that he’s better than you or I. A character like that would give a basis for all his promos, a starting point for his first major promo and would certainly attract the interest of sign writers.

You’ve also got the wasted talent such as Matt Hardy and the young guys whose careers may already have been ruined by a humiliating gimmick such as the Basham Brothers. WWE’s problems don’t come down to a lack of talent, they come down to management and the creative team being unwilling or unable to create new stars. Since Orton and Cena (one Raw, one Smackdown) show that it isn’t the latter it must therefore be the former.

Post script - typically, a week after I wrote the above WWE released Sean O'Haire. I guess his double taint of association with Piper and his former push in WCW were too strong for Vince to stand any longer. Why anyone would release O'Haire and keep A Train is a mystery.