I’m not sure what it is that’s convinced WWE to change
their tack. A strong possibility is Triple H’s ascension to Official Number
Two. With ‘The Game’ having gained more clout backstage it’s possible this
refocus is down to him. His successful reshuffle of the developmental system
certainly hints at his involvement.
It could be that WWE are happy with how CM Punk has
progressed over the last year and a half. In June 2011 he was a reliable upper
mid-card talent. In January 2013 he is the promotion’s number two (regular)
star behind John Cena. That’s a decent leap in an impressive amount of time. It
happened because of Punk’s hard work and WWE’s decision to give him the chance
to prove he could succeed. Perhaps his rise has made them think about other
wrestlers making a similar move up the card.
It could simply be that a breaking point was reached and
head honcho Vince McMahon realised he needed to create some new stars before a
bad situation becomes worse and that paying attention to the lower reaches of
the card was the best way of doing that. Cena and Punk are still on TV every
Monday night, and The Rock’s with the company on a part time basis. Best to
start building up new stars now while people are still watching rather than
waiting until Cena and Punk go part time and ‘The Great One’ leaves for good,
further denting the viewing numbers.
Whatever has caused WWE to re-evaluate the way they book
their mid-card acts I’m pleased they have. It’s been needed for a long time and
is crucial to the future success of the promotion and the business in general.
Current beneficiaries of this reshuffle are Wade Barrett,
Antonio Cesaro, Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes, and, of course, Ryback. Each man
has, to a greater or lesser extent, has found themselves receiving an increased
number of high profile matches and opportunities to impress over the last six
months.
Until recently Kofi Kingston was on that list too. For
whatever reason I don’t think he can be considered a prominent member of the
rising star club anymore. Since dropping the Intercontinental championship
clean to Barrett at the Boxing Day RAW recording he has failed to gain any
meaningful screen time. Based on the last couple of weeks I think ‘The
Wildcat’, who had seemed like he was being treated as something special last
autumn, is going to be playing a supporting part for the foreseeable future.
He won’t be the only one. WWE are apparently keen on
bringing back several career mid-carders from the past to help the current batch
of climbers improve and hone their skills. The rehirees apparently won’t be
getting strong pushes of their own, they’ll be there to enhance and guide.
As ideas go it’s not a bad one. Rumoured names such as
Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, and MVP would all be perfect for the stated role.
All of them have strengths that could be transferred to the likes of Ryback.
They’d be like a more active, more televisually prominent crew of road agents. With
Shelton and Carlito having been spotted in Phoenix over the last few days there’s
a strong chance they’ll make their returns as “surprise” entrants in this
evening’s Royal Rumble.
Judging by his hair Carlito's been sleeping rough since leaving WWE
In addition to those three guys it would be nice to see
names like John Morrison, Colt Cabana, Brian Kendrick and Paul London
considered too. All could help brighten up the middle of the card. If treated
right, and if WWE were willing, these men could stumble into pushes of their
own too. It’s hard to see how them getting over and making WWE some money would
be bad.
Although, of course, it would be. WWE is very particular
about who is awarded pushes these days. This initiative seems to be a way of
creating a new level of enhancement talent. The planned rehires likely wouldn’t
be getting jobbed out every week but equally it doesn’t sound as though they’d
be getting serious pushes. Anyone getting over could be seen as not performing
the job they were hired to do: namely to help others gets over.
It’s a double edged sword for anyone heading back to WWE
to be a part of this plan. They most likely got into wrestling to make it to
WWE and become a significant part of the company. Should they quash their own
dreams to get a decent paycheque and help other guys who are perhaps more
limited surpass them? That sounds like a bitter pill to swallow.
Hopefully the likes of Shelton Benjamin, who currently
seems like the frontrunner to head back to WWE having negotiated his way out of
his ROH contract, know what they’re in for and are willing to temper their own
abilities in order to aid others. If WWE gives the returning men a little
leeway to earn higher spots on the roster this could be just what’s needed to
reinvigorate the mid-card and create some new stars, whether they’re chosen
ones or not.
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