Inside Pulse Wrestling | The Stomping Ground: Twice As Nice – The WWE’s Big Two (Rock, Austin, Punk, Cena)

The Stomping Ground: Twice As Nice – The WWE’s Big Two (Rock, Austin, Punk, Cena)

by Mike Gojira on June 21, 2012

It is hot as balls here in NYC as I type this (105 degrees, to be exact) and if that’s not a sign that Summer is upon us, I don’t know WHAT is.

With all the drama unfolding around John Cena and Randy Orton’s behind-the-scenes issues as of late (allegations that Cena was unfaithful to his wife, Orton’s alleged reliability issues with management, and Kenny Dykstra’s insinuation that Cena wanted Orton fired years ago), I think we’ve come to a crossroads here in the WWE. We’re approaching the milestone 1,000th episode of Raw and seem to be transitioning away from Superstars made in the past ten years. One cycle is ending, and a new one is right around the corner.

Typically in any given wrestling promotion, there are two top stars who provide the company with fan support and cash flow for a sustained period of time while lesser wrestlers are given the chance to step up their game and achieve that same level of success. Sure; there are plenty of main event-caliber guys on the roster at the same time, but they don’t even come close to the hype and monetary generation of the top two cash cows. The reason I brought up Orton and Cena earlier has a lot to do with the fact that both seem to be distracted by outside influences and might need to step down from their lofty positions.

So who will take their places?

During the initial boom of Wrestlemania, the two biggest names in wrestling were Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan. When the audience began to move away from clamoring for circus acts and chose to root for the more athletic stars on the roster, they turned to Randy Savage. Together with Hogan, the Mega Powers ran roughshod over the competition until Macho Man turned on the Hulkster. From there, the spotlight on Hogan began to dim, making way for smaller guys who could handle more grueling contests. Bret Hart broke the stereotypical mold and was a full-fledged top dog by Wrestlemania X. As Bret continued his rise to the top, Shawn Michaels wasn’t far behind. By the mid-90s, we had gone from Andre and Hogan to Bret and HBK.

As the Attitude Era boomed, Michaels shared the spotlight with Stone Cold Steve Austin until he was dethroned at Wrestlemania XIV. At the 1998 Survivor Series, The Rock joined Austin as the big man on campus when he was awarded the title. Despite attempts by guys like Triple H and Kurt Angle to surpass them, no one really captured the audience’s favor quite like Austin and Rock.

When Austin walked away and Rock turned to film, the WWE split Raw and Smackdown into two separate entities. The biggest names of the time were Triple H and Brock Lesnar. When Lesnar took his ball and went home after Wrestlemania XX, Batista and John Cena stepped up to the plate. Injuries sidelined Big Dave and Randy Orton was on his way to the top, cemented by his run as Legacy’s leader. Although the group failed to make much of DiBiase or Rhodes, it did propel Orton to Superstardom.

Right up until last June, Cena and Orton were Superman and Batman (respectively) of the WWE. The Summer of Punk dissolved all of that, providing CM Punk with a fanbase that nearly rivals Cena’s. With Orton seemingly out of the WWE’s good graces, and Cena embroiled in a huge divorce, who can become CM Punk’s “second”?

Not Sheamus.

Not Zack Ryder.

Not Alberto del Rio.

Daniel Bryan.

Just listen to the fans at a live event whenever he heads to the ring. They chant “YES!” at the top of their lungs. I dare say “YES!” chants rival “WOO!” and “WHAT?” chants these days. The man turned a simple, sniveling, cowardly heel gimmick and made it work.

Good heels can get the crowd to hate them.

Great heels can get the crowd to openly despise them and send death threats.

Awesome heels can get fans to boo them and STILL buy their merchandise.

That means Bryan has loyalty and a strong link to the fans. And that’s MONEY for the WWE.

If the company’s plays its cards right, Punk and Bryan can be the top two guys for the WWE and, hopefully, this will change Vince’s view that big, muscular freaks are the only real draws in wrestling. Let me know what you think.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Tags: alberto del rio, Andre the Giant, batista, Bret Hart, Brock Lesnar, cm punk, Daniel Bryan, Hulk Hogan, john cena, Kenny Dykstra, Mike Gojira, monday night raw, randy orton, Randy Savage, shawn michaels, sheamus, Smackdown, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, triple h, wrestlemania, WWE, zack ryder

Mike Gojira

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Since February of 2011, "The Master of Smarkasm" Mike Gojira has tickled the funny bones of Inside Pulse readers with his insightful comedy, timely wit, and irreverent musings on the world of professional wrestling. Catch his insanely popular column, The Stomping Ground, and his award-winning duet with Kelly Floyd, the Obnoxious WWE Smackdown Breakdown, every week. He is also totally modest and doesn't know the meaning of hyperbole.

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Sideshowbob

If your balls areb105 degrees, your chances of having kids are cooked. Literally.
http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/insider/kjfxxo9/ Kyle Fitta

“Awesome heels can get fans to boo them and STILL buy their merchandise.” That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Nassar

I did enjoy the Bryan/Vince exchange on RAW last week, and I think that was a solid nod that they’ve bought into him. In fact, I fully expected him to be way down the card following his ridiculous loss to worthless Shaemus, was shocked when he was put right into a program with Punk and am thoroughly pleased he’s still riding high.

This doesn’t feel like a “let’s give you a nice little run for fun but that’s it” like Miz got. This is more like undersized Jericho and Punk getting an opportunity, Vince and the other top brass realizing this is something special and hopefully, keeping him in the mix for a long time.
Mike Gojira

Then what is the truth, oh great one?

Look at Chris Jericho, Triple H, and Edge.
Mike Gojira

I didn’t say they were MY balls.
Michael L

I’d like to think that is where the WWE is going, but VKM is often fickle when it comes to pushing new talent, especially if they don’t fit the “mold” of what he thinks makes a WWE Superstar. This is very concerning given that the word is out that VKM has soured on the indy scene somewhat wants to hire bigger talent–even if they don’t have any wrestling experience.

On the other hand, perhaps VKM is listening to the fans for once (at least somewhat). The reaction to Punk’s promo last year combined with the Chicago home crowd at MITB pretty much elevated Punk into the position he is in now, and not even a poorly run half program with Nash & HHH really diminished that. The backlash against Bryan’s 18 second loss at WM has perhaps helped Bryan distinguish himself from the other also-ran main eventers such as Swagger, Miz and Del Rio.

Unfortunately, as long as Orton doesn’t fuck up again, he will always be in the good graces of WWE management. As long as Cena continues to wrestle, he will always be McMahon’s golden boy. Thus, nobody will be allowed to carry a brand, let alone the company until either or both are gone. The fact that Cena has been in the main event for the last five PPV’s despite not holding either major title is demonstrative of that. It was expected and justifiable with Rock and Lesnar. But no way was it justifiable with Kane, Laurinitis or even Big Show. By having Cena headline those PPV’s, they’re sending a clear signal that they do not have faith in Punk or Shaemus to carry the company yet. But then again, Bret Hart often had to play second fiddle to the Undertaker or other matches on the card when he was world champ in 1994.

Still, things do look a bit better than they did just 3-4 years ago. Back in 2008-2010, the WWE didn’t even seem to care about making new stars, as it had become the Cena/Batista/Orton show, with Michaels and HBK stealing the thunder on the undercards. With the advent of Nexus, it was clear that things were looking to change, even if half-heartedly. But over the last few years they’ve done a serious job of grooming upcoming talent and bringing them along. Sometimes it has worked–sometimes it hasn’t. But at least they’re trying harder than they have before, and they’re showing more patience with Punk and Bryan, even if both wrestlers are clearly behind Cena in the pecking order.

BTW, one wrestler I think could fit that mold even if he’s not yet at the main event level is Barrett. He’s got all the skills to become a major superstar, and was likely going to be a MITB winner before his injury. He’s also got the look that McMahon often looks for. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get into the main event scene upon his return.
Mike Gojira

Too true.

I also agree with your assessment of Barrett. He has all the tools to succeed.
http://twitter.com/BlairADouglas Blair A. Douglas

Exact.
http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/insider/kjfxxo9/ Kyle Fitta

An awesome heel can make a mediocre, if not sub-par, babyface look good. A heels ultimate goal is for the fans to love a babyface more and hate them more. If a heel is liked in any kind of way, they aren’t doing their job phenomenally. Jericho, Edge and Triple H were very good heels, but you’re using awesome too lightly. When I think of an awesome heel, I think of Ric Flair/The 4 Horsemen, Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette, Paul Orndorff, Jake Roberts, and Roddy Piper and so many more not mentioned. As any credible heel would tell you, if fans like you in any way, you aren’t doing your job at the fullest extent.
Mike Gojira

True, but I was really talking about in terms of merchandising as well.
flamingwombat

This is fairly spot on. I found it weird that people were praising Daniel Bryan for his heel work because people were cheering him (!?) I love DB as much as anyone, but you have to admit that he’s failed at being a true heel.
http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/insider/kjfxxo9/ Kyle Fitta

He did fail but so did Stone Cold Steve Austin. The only difference is the WWE capitalized on it by turning him face, while WWE ignored the crowd and kept Daniel Bryan heel. The only reason McMahon used to listen to the crowd then was because he close to going bankrupt. Since he has a lot of money, he really doesn’t care what we think because he knows more than us. Whoever they push is the right person to receive a push, despite what we believe. At least they finally realized Lord Tensai failed; it took them a while, though.
http://twitter.com/BlairADouglas Blair A. Douglas

I disagree, although I think it depends on the circumstances. I remember Rock’s heel run when he came back for the Hogan / Austin / Goldberg run and think that he definitely could have done a better job of not being liked. But Bryan was verbally abusing a poor girl and couldn’t win most of his matches without cheating.
flamingwombat

Rereading my comment, I realize my intended meaning not be clear. I didn’t mean to say that I found it strange that people were praising Bryan’s heel work EVEN THOUGH he was getting cheers. Rather, I was perplexed that people were praising Bryan BECAUSE he was getting cheers (despite the fact that he should have been getting the opposite). Obviously part of the problem is that he came up with a catchphrase for the fans, which true heels shouldn’t do, then had that catchphrase get over more than he was.
http://twitter.com/BlairADouglas Blair A. Douglas

Did he think that “YES!” would catch on originally though, is the question. I remember when I first saw him do it, and I thought “fuck, that’s annoying”. Which is why Bryan said he took the idea from that UFC guy.

I assumed that if WWE thought it would get him cheered, that they’d have told him not to do it.
flamingwombat

Yeah, I remember him saying that. He had the right intent it seems, but obviously it backfired. (And serendipitously probably saved his WWE upper-card career.)