In the current structure of World Wrestling Entertainment there are three men who the company will rely on this year and many years into the future. They represent this generation of WWE. The generation of young men that signs a development deal with WWE, develops their talents at the farm system known as Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and gets called up when management deems them ready. The three men are John Cena, Dave Batista and Randy Orton. Three men who will be surrounded by gold for the rest of their careers, who I've deemed the Golden Trinity.
These three all took similar paths to get where they are today. They had all taken different routes to find the wrestling business. Eventually they made it, worked their way up the ladder of OVW and came into WWE in 2002, benefiting from the brand extension (or roster split) that took place that spring. Orton and Cena came in as babyfaces booked without much story. Orton's family history as a third generation superstar was supposed to make him likable. Didn't work. Cena was doing the "young guy with a bright future" thing. Batista, meanwhile, served as a bodyguard to Reverend D'Von Dudley, a gimmick best remembered for all the wrong reasons. All of them have reached the point now where they look back on those days, have a quick laugh and be thankful that they've overcome all that.
Times have changed, haven't they? The progress these three have made should be credited to the brand extension. This is not a column about why I like the brand extension, but the point has to be made. Without the brand extension, all of these guys would have been competing with eachother for the chance to improve. The roster would be cluttered with people. Who knows if they'd be where they are today without the brand extension. Part of the reason why the brand extension was done was because WWE knew they had these guys ready and waiting in OVW to help lead the company when it was their time. The brand extension has worked and these three guys are examples of why it has.
As I write this column today in early March, all three of these guys are in similar places. Sure, Orton's the only one of the three to be a World Champion, but we all know that Batista and Cena will be able to say they're a champion in the very near future. At WrestleMania, Batista is in the biggest match against Triple H for his title, Cena is in the second biggest match against JBL for his title and Orton is against Undertaker in one of the four biggest matches on the show, along with Michaels vs. Angle. Again, all of them are in similar positions. It seems like if you look at their careers over the years they parallel eachother a lot. All of them started at OVW at around the same time, all of them came up with WWE at the same time and all of them are now major players in the company at WrestleMania 21, the biggest show of the year.
I think the best way to focus on these guys is to look at them individually as talents and try to focus on their strengths and weaknesses as performers right now. What I've done is focused on three strengths and three weaknesses for each guy.
John Cena
Strengths: - He's an excellent promo. While his raps are what first got him attention, it's his straight "in your face" type promos that are strong. In particular, I'm talking about the one with Angle before No Way Out, as well as the one that started the March 3rd edition of Smackdown. This guy can talk really well. Forget about his rhymes. It's his promos, the regular ones, that will carry him far. Potentially, he could be the best talker of his generation of wrestlers.
- Youth. He's going to turn 28 this year, so there's plenty of time for him to work on his weaknesses, which I will get to shortly. Most wrestlers don't hit their primes until they are in their 30s, after they've been wrestling for a few years and by then he'll have a good five years in WWE under his belt, so he's about to hit his prime pretty soon. He's at the point now where he's not green and he's not polished. He's still learning some things.
- The people flat out love him. He's not a guy who turned face because WWE wanted to force a John Cena face run down our throats. The people wanted it. A lot of times in wrestling or other forms of entertainment you'll hear people talk about having "it," whatever "it" is. It's that ability to relate to the fans the way that every wrestler wants. Hogan had it, Austin had it, Rock had it and it sure seems to me like Cena will have it sooner rather than later if he doesn't have it already.
Weaknesses: - His work in the ring could be better. Part of it is him working with below average workers on Smackdown like Rene Dupree, Kenzo Suzuki and people of that ilk, but it's still a valid point. When he has worked with Angle he has been more than capable, same for with a few matches he had with the likes of Benoit and Guerrero in 2003. He's average in the ring, but as I've said previously, there's plenty of time for him to get better.
- He's on Smackdown. It's considered the "B" show by most fans, it's the less popular of the two brands right now and even WWE has said as much on TV. There's not much Cena can do about it other than do his job and hope that his talents aren't hurt by it.
- His raps have gone soft. Remember, these are what got him the attention in the first place as a cocky, young heel. Due to the censors on UPN and broadcast TV, his raps have become weak. However, with UPN possibly ending its deal with WWE in a couple of years, a potential move to USA network, which is a part of the edgier cable TV business, could allow that part of Cena to come back.
Batista
Strengths: - He's a very strong actor. The others that I'm talking about are strong actors too, but he's got this quiet demeanor about him that allows every little move of his to be amplified. The guy can take off his shades, look to his left and the people will go nuts because he just looks tough. You can't teach that. You either got it or you don't.
- He has the look that defines a professional wrestler in Vince McMahon's book. When a guy is 6'6" and 285 pounds of solid muscle like this guy, you know McMahon likes it. Simply put, he looks like a star and the fact that he's gotten better in other areas allows him to be a star. Even before he was pushed strong, he was a guy that stood out.
- He's been a part of a very good angle involving Triple H. Ever since Survivor Series, the seeds for this rivalry were planted. As the weeks turned to months the pops for Batista became huge. It was obvious that he was "the guy" for HHH to feud with at WrestleMania. Even though the build for this match has been obvious at times, when you look at the big picture it's hard not to like what they've done here.
Weaknesses: - His age. He just turned 36 years old in January. While being older helps in terms of knowing the right and wrong things to do away from the ring, it hurts because you don't know how many years you can get out of your body at that age. I don't think it will hurt his performances in the near future, but it's hard to plan five years down the line with a guy that's pushing forty.
- His work in the ring. Don't get me wrong, it'd be unfair to Batista to expect him to work in a ring as well as a Benoit, Michaels or Angle. That's not what I mean. What I mean is that he's just okay for a big guy. He's not great. It's not like we can think back to Batista's single matches from the past and point to one of them as being awesome the way we can for other wrestlers. I think as a big man it's fair to compare him to the best of the best, which would mean Brock Lesnar, Vader and the Undertaker circa 1997. He's got a ways to go there.
- Despite being older, he's greener than the other two people I'm talking about in this column and most guys who get this hard of a push. Ask yourself has there been any single feud Batista has had in his nearly three years in WWE that stands out? I, personally, can't think of many. There's been some matches here or there with Benoit, Michaels and Jericho that were okay, but no feud. That worries me a bit. Can he carry his own weight when he's not feuding with HHH? At this point I think it'd be unfair to say yes. He has to prove it to us still.
Randy Orton
Strengths - Been there, done that. Had the epic feud with Foley where he did his part very well. It's not like it was just Foley, as some would have you believe. Orton was very good in that feud, as well as in their match at Backlash. He really showed me something there. He's also been at the top of the mountain as the world champion, headlining several PPVs and showing he can hang with the best at the top of the card.
- Massive potential as a heel. He showed it through all of 2003, then some more in 2004 all the way up until Summerslam when they decided to turn him face. Personally, I'm not that upset that they turned him face. I'm just upset that they tried way too hard to get people to like him by having him do some of the outrageous babyface things, like Rock imitations when he would mock announcers. It just didn't work for him. He's got the natural heel look. Sometimes I wonder where they'd be today if he stayed heel and Triple H went face after being kicked out of Evolution. I guess we'll never know.
- Youth. He'll be 25 in April. I think that says it all. In five years time he still won't be at his prime as a performer. This is a guy that has another good ten years left as a performer and even more after that. He's the most polished in-ring performer of the three guys I'm talking about his column, and he's also the youngest. I think that shows that potentially he could a really good in-ring performer in a few years.
Weaknesses - He's fallen flat as a babyface. Back in the summer the plan was for Orton vs. HHH at Mania, but WWE listened to the crowd and decided to go in another direction with Batista as the number one contender. I think that's the right move. For them to have the alternate plan of Orton vs. Undertaker is a good sign, but only if Orton is the one that goes over in it.
- With his potential as a heel performer well known, it's unlikely that he'll be able to make the ascent as top heel on the Raw roster as long as HHH is around. While HHH is quick to say that he doesn't have to always be on top, history has shown that as long as he's healthy he'll be that top heel. His lukewarm face run in 2002 showed that. With that in mind, it will be tough for Orton to fully maximize his potential as a heel while he's on Raw. It would be a refreshing change to see him on Smackdown where he could develop as their top heel and compete in a memorable feud with Cena.
- Youth. Much like it is a strength, it is also a weakness. He's a guy who is going to be scrutinized by his peers inside the arena and outside the arena. Whenever he makes a mistake, veterans on the roster who are jealous of where he is on the card, or where he has been, will be quick to point out that he's "too young" to be pushed. So while it's a strength because it means he has longevity as a performer, it's a weakness because it could lead to issues with his peers.
The Three Questions
There are many questions to answer about these three, so I thought it would be a good idea to tackle three different questions.
Who is in the best situation right now?
I'd say Batista. In feuding with HHH, he's in a rivalry with the best possible choice between these three guys. Cena could have a good feud with JBL, but JBL is not the champion that HHH is. Orton is in limbo right now, although if he got a win over Undertaker at WrestleMania it would be huge for him.
Who has the most overall talent right now?
I think Orton does. If you think about his overall body of work, he's done everything from having solid matches, memorable promos and holding his own against veteran wrestlers. Batista is still raw while Cena just hasn't had the competition that Orton, which has hindered his chances of having better matches.
Long term, who has the most potential as a legitimate main event draw?
I think it's a tossup between Orton and Cena. I think Cena has the potential to be really huge in terms of making money for the company. While it might not be as much as what Austin, Hogan or Rock brought in, I think it will be enough to allow him to be ahead of his class of wrestlers. I think Orton could fill the void left by HHH when he eventually retires. It's almost like they are this generation's version of Rock and HHH. As for Batista, due to his age I don't see him lasting that long.
And Finally…
I'm not about to call these three guys the undisputed leaders of the new WWE. It's just that since they all came into WWE at the same time they're always going to be linked. I think that's something that WWE really needs to build upon should they have feuds involving these guys. I think that's where their true talents will shine through. All of them have done good work with veterans, but can they do it with eachother. Can they raise each other's game the way Rock and HHH helped eachother back in the day when they climbed the ladder at the same time? It's not something we will know now, but hopefully we can find the answer to that question in the not too distant future.
The reality of the situation in WWE right now is that the likes of HHH, Angle, Michaels, Undertaker, Benoit and Guerrero are getting older. They can't last forever. Some are over 40 years older, some are closing in and it's not like everybody can go into their 50s the way Ric Flair has. New stars need to be made while all of these men are still productive. This is the right time to do it. In five years, these three men along with the likes of Jericho, Edge, Christian, Benjamin and others will have to be the leaders.
Last year's WrestleMania had the tagline of "Where It All Begins Again." It seems to me like this year's WrestleMania is the one where it really begins again. It seems like this is a new era for WWE. The era when the newer, younger stars join in with the older guard and become their own stars, the kind that we'll remember for years. For WWE to truly to be successful this year, next year, five years from now and a decade from now it will be up to Cena, Batista and Orton. It will be up to them to cement their legacies as the leaders of a successful generation of performers.
Which one of these men will be the best of the bunch? Which one of these men will surpass all of his peers? Who will stake their claim as the leader of this group?
The answer of course is Triple H. That was easy!
What? You thought I had an answer? Sorry. Maybe in a decade.
Smell ya later,
John C. - oratoryjohn@gmail.com
Related Articles:
The Untouchable One - An article I wrote about John Cena from July 2003. I compare him to some guy named The Rock.
Randy Orton Meets His Destiny - An article I wrote about Randy Orton from August 2004. I still believe in everything I wrote. It's not his fault that his title run sucked. Blame the writers.
