"Who won the Royal Rumble?"
"The Undertaker - first time he ever won it."
"Really? Who finished second?"
"Shawn Michaels."
"Why are those two getting such a hard push now?"
Silence. Why? Hmmm, that's a good question.
The person asking the questions was one of my closest friends who used to watch wrestling with me in the late 90s during the high points of the business, but he only follows casually now. The one answering the questions was me. In this column I'll try to answer that question.
Before we can figure out what will happen at WrestleMania, let's first talk about what might have been. After all, the rumored opponent for John Cena at WrestleMania 23 was going to be Triple H. Whether or not he would have been in that spot with a Royal Rumble win or not is something we do not really know. That was the tentative plan, though. When Trips tore his left quad at January's New Year's Revolution event the plan changed. Big time. The Cena-HHH match would have been a rematch of last year's memorable battle where the crowd was firmly behind a then heel Triple H while booing the babyface champion Cena. I'm not sure what the outcome would have been this year, but when you consider how many jobs Triple H has done at WrestleManias you would think that the match would have ended with The Game walking out as the champion this time around. Like with the Rumble, we'll never really know.
With HHH out of action, McMahon has turned to two men that will both turn 42 years old this year. They have a combined 36 years (or 32 if you want to get picky) of experience working for WWE. They are The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels - the number one contenders to Batista's World Title and John Cena's WWE Title respectively.
The question is why has Vince McMahon and company decided on relying on the likes of Michaels and Undertaker to co-main event his biggest show of the year when both men have so many miles on their odometers? Two words come to mind: Reliability and loyalty. In Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, McMahon has chosen the two guys he feels he can trust the most with putting on the best possible show at his biggest show of the year. Along with Triple H, can you think of anybody in the history of this company that McMahon has more faith in? Injuries aside, they've always been there for him. They've always been loyal, unlike some other younger wrestlers that McMahon has tried to push in recent years. Do the names Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton ring a bell?
When Brock Lesnar burst onto the scene the night after WrestleMania in 2002 it was after he had spent a long time in the WWE developmental program. He got a push up the roster as fast as anybody in company history, ultimately winning his first World Title from The Rock at Summerslam 2002, just four months after his debut. At WrestleMania 19 in Seattle he was winning another World Title, this time from Kurt Angle, while cementing his place as the face of this company for the next decade. Or so we thought. A year after that, Lesnar had tired of the business even though he was so gifted that he was considered a top worker for the company despite still being just 26 years old. He had all-time great potential, but he didn't want it and he left. How do you think all those guys on the roster, including the Undertaker, who spent months putting this guy over only to see him walk out? Don't you think Vinny Mac has to do something to appease them?
How about Randy Orton? It was three years ago at this time when Orton was looking impressive in the Royal Rumble match won by my boy Chris Benoit. A couple months later he was turning in a career best performance against Mick Foley in a no holds barred match that saw him take some very impressive bumps (the tacks!). A few months after that he became the youngest World Champion in WWE history when he beat Benoit for the title at Summerslam in Toronto. A month later he lost the belt after an ill conceived babyface turn that significantly slowed his career down. Throughout 2005 he didn't get much of a push as he feuded with the Undertaker for a long period of time. Then last year when it looked like he might get his hands on Smackdown's World Title he ended up being suspended right after WrestleMania (where he got pinned in the triple threat title match) for "unprofessional conduct" that was never fully explained. There were always rumors of issues with newer female talent as well as a cocky demeanor that probably rubbed some veteran wrestlers the wrong way. Since then Orton has been near the top, but never at the top and who knows when or if he will be there again.
Put yourself in Vince McMahon's shoes. Ever since Brock Lesnar quit on the company and Randy Orton proved to be too immature for his spot how eager would you be to push guys in their early 20s? I guess you could say John Cena is an exception, although Cena's got a different rep than a guy like Orton. He also has a much better connection with the crowd. It's the kind of connection that is natural, the kind that Cena has earned. Orton's definitely a good heel, but he's not on Cena's level at this point in terms of getting a crowd to react to him. The point is that for the guys on the roster that are in their early to mid 20's they better have patience because it may be a while before they are headlining a WrestleMania. Look at Edge. He's in his early 30s now and he was arguably the company's best wrestler in 2006. What's he doing this year? Probably wrestling Orton in the third match from the top, at best. He's been with the company for nearly a decade now. That's a long time. Not long enough apparently.
The Next Ones????
When McMahon looks at his roster right now how many young (as in under 35) main event wrestlers are there currently? Aside from the obvious ones like Cena (30 in 2007), Edge (34), Rey Mysterio (34) and Orton (27) the selection is a bit slim. Let's take a look at eleven guys who aren't main eventers currently and who have never been put in that position so far in their career. Note that beside each person's name is their age (in 2007), just for reference sake. They will be listed in the order of who I think has the best chance of being a main eventer the quickest.
Bobby Lashley (30): I guess you could say he's headlined before, but ECW is by far the bastard child of the three WWE brands, so let's just pretend he hasn't. After all, nobody watched December to Dismember. He also main evented a Smackdown PPV with three others although again that's not a true main event because they yanked his singles title match due to not believing in him fully. I think for Lashley to be a true main eventer he's going to have to develop his personality better, which he is slowly doing. They're running profiles on him in ECW, but again if you do stuff like that when nobody is watching it's kinda hard for them to get you over. Physically he's got the look, obviously. I think he's athletic enough to have good matches, yet I'm not sure if he's capable of giving a great twenty minute match on PPV either. With that said, I can definitely see him in a main event slot at a WrestleMania as soon as next year.
Ken Kennedy (31): He's not as young in terms of age as some of the others you'll see, but he's still very new in WWE, having debuted in August 2005. He's very close to main event status at this point. It seems like McMahon's high on him, possibly because he chose Vince's middle name to be his last name (at the suggestion of Paul Heyman). I think Kennedy's mic work is strong, his body is big enough where he'd be believable in the role and he's always getting better in the ring. I think there's a good chance that he could headline (or co-headline) WrestleMania in the next two or three years.
Johnny Nitro (28): There are a lot of reasons to root for this guy, especially if you were the fan of the Tough Enough show like me. As a co-winner of season 3 he's the only person on the WWE roster that won that competition and would be proof that the idea of Tough Enough actually worked. His act with Melina is over and will continue to be over because he's a guy that has worked so hard to get better. Most people said he was the most improved performer last year. I'd agree. His downfall may be that he's too small at 6'1" and 220 pounds, but he can overcome that if he gets good enough in the ring. By the way, one of the reasons why MNM won't be back full time is because they like Nitro too much in singles. That's a good sign for his future.
CM Punk (29): As far as great matches go, he has the most of anybody in this group whether you've seen them or not. It's not even close. His work in Ring of Honor was tremendous both in the ring and on the microphone. Of course in WWE they don't care about what you did in what they perceive as the minor leagues, so he has to prove himself all over again. I think he's a guy that can do that. Apparently he's got support from the likes of Triple H and Shawn Michaels (he was on their Survivor Series team among other things), so that could help him in the long run. Being in ECW won't help, though. It doesn't matter if you have a long winning streak as Punk once did. If it happens there it's not news. Hopefully he'll get up to the big time sooner rather than later because I think if he's given the opportunity he can take off. One thing's for sure. You can't question his work ethic. He wants it as bad as anybody and that's why he can go far. More than anybody else on this list, I hope he makes it.
Jeff Hardy (30): You never know. Four years ago most of us never thought Rey Mysterio would main event, much less have a World Title run. Hardy's back in WWE looking as good as he was in his days teaming up with his brother. He has always felt like a McMahon favorite. I think most of us can remember how close he was to beating the Undertaker for the title in a ladder match on Raw five years ago. He'd be a great underdog story if they ever decide to do it. I actually believe he'll be a World Champion one day although I'm not sure if it will be something where he gets the belt at an event like WrestleMania. Since he's always so popular with the fans that possibility is always there. You can't deny that.
Kenny Dykstra (21): He's not even legal yet, but he will be in March. This kid has the best chance of anybody to main event a bunch of WrestleManias because he's got the right combination of size, athleticism and natural talent that could take him far. Of course because of his age it may take a while for Kenny. That hesitation that McMahon has with the young kids may change in a few years, but in the meantime I think Dykstra going to have to prove himself in the midcard. But can I see him headlining WrestleMania 27 or 28 in a few years? Definitely.
Montel Vontavious Porter (34): My buddy Alex is big MVP fan. He's talked about him to me a lot and I have to admit the character has grown on me. He's a solid in-ring performer who is very capable of pissing a crowd off. I think his personality will take him far, as well. Until I looked it up I had no idea he was 34 years old or that he spent over 9 years in prison. I think to come back from that to be the wrestler he is shows that he's very dedicated to the business. He got a push in the upper midcard immediately, but he's still got some way to go before making it up the next level. I'm not sure if he'll ever get there. Depends on how he does when given the chance to have long PPV matches, which he really hasn't had to this point. Put him on house shows with Chris Benoit for the next three months. He'll get better. Also, I may have to change my name to Vontavious some day soon. It's just cool.
Chris Masters (24): I'm pretty sure the age is right, although WWE has said he is younger. Masters has the type of body that Vinny Mac loves, so he's always going to be a guy you have to keep on the radar. Whether he develops into a main event level performer is something we don't really know. I think in his case he's a maybe more than anything because he's still so young with only a couple of years experience at this stage. Due to his look, though, he's always going to be a person McMahon looks at very closely.
Shelton Benjamin (32): In a perfect world he'd be on the cusp for that spot right. I don't know why or how WWE has failed to capitalize on the momentum he had that first night he appeared on Raw in 2004 when he beat HHH in one of the most memorable Raw matches ever. From that point he was stuck in the midcard and now he's back to being a tag team wrestler. In other words, not much has changed for him in his nearly five years on the main roster. There's no better athlete on the roster and if you give him 15 minutes in the ring he'll put on a good match. It's just that the opportunities are never there and I'm starting to think they never will be.
Carlito Caribbean Cool (28): That promo Ric Flair cut on him a few weeks ago was apparently something management had felt about him. They think he's got as much potential as anybody, but he's not maximizing it. Maybe they're right. I think it's evident that he's got the tools athletically to be very good in the ring. However, he's yet to have any sort of breakout match despite a number of opportunities. I think he's miscast as a babyface because he has the kind of natural heel charisma that could carry him far. I just don't believe in him as much as a face especially when he's paired with the very boring Torrie Wilson. If he's a heel he might be a main eventer one day. As a face? I don't think so.
Elijah Burke (29): He's still too new on the main roster to really figure out what his place is. However, he's got a legitimate athletic background as a boxer and seems to be a McMahon favorite even though I'm not sure being the "future of ECW" is such a good thing right now. He does seem to be a bit on the smallish side too. Definitely somebody to keep your eye on, though.
There are other guys on the roster under 35 that could headline one day, but I'm not going to go out of my way to tell you why people like Matt Hardy, Joey Mercury or Gregory Helms will be unable to reach main event status. Some guys just aren't main eventers. Just like some of the ones I wrote about will never be. Of course things can happen. You can't always predict it accurately.
Then there are all of the wrestlers in Ohio Valley Wrestling under contract right now learning how to become better performers. I don't know enough about things down there to give any sort of opinion on them. The one name I like most down there is definitely Harry Smith. I've seen some of his work. Due to size (6'5" and 260) and his lineage (son of Davey Boy Smith, nephew of Bret Hart) the chances of him becoming a star are very good. That’s another column for another time, though.
Predicting The WrestleMania Main Event Matches
First of all, I think the John Cena & Shawn Michaels vs. Batista & Undertaker match at No Way Out is a tremendous idea. Everybody knows No Way Out is just a setup for Mania anyway, so there's absolutely nothing wrong with mixing the two main events up to produce a "dream" tag match. They probably should have had a stipulation where the winning team gets to have their match go on last at WrestleMania, but I understand why they would not do that because they tend to bill more than one match as a main event at a show like Mania. I'm not sure who's winning the tag. I don't think it matters. For predictions sake, I'll pick The Undertaker and Batista just because they were on the receiving end of a beatdown on Smackdown.
I think the Batista vs. Undertaker match will be built up incredibly well. Almost every World Title match at Mania is built up well, but this one is special because I think fans will be into the whole "Title vs. Streak" storyline. I'm not sure how good the match will be, though. Batista hasn't done much for me match wise since he was wrestling HHH in the cell two years ago. I haven't liked his Smackdown stuff at all. Undertaker's a guy who works a lot better with the smaller wrestlers. His matches with other big men are rarely good in my opinion, with Brock Lesnar being an exception. I also think the fans may turn on Batista in the match because Undertaker has surpassed him in terms of popularity and the fans seem to be yearning for another title run for the dead guy. They'd be better off making it No Holds Barred or something to that effect because otherwise it could be a stinker. I see it going about 15 minutes with Undertaker getting the win, keeping his streak alive. I'd love for Batista to turn heel after the match too. Then they could carry this on for a few more months if they want.
The last match on the card will be John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels, in my opinion. I know that Undertaker won the Rumble, but that doesn't mean he's going last. Just look at Rey Mysterio last year. Of all these four main eventers, Cena's the single biggest star and he should have the last match on the show. I also think this match will be given the most time at Mania in the 25 to 30 minute range. Cena's upped his game lately in terms of having some very good PPV matches recently. Wrestling a guy like Shawn Michaels, who is definitely one of the best ever, might give Cena the best match of his entire career. I'm very excited to see how it turns out. As far as predictions go, I see Michaels coming out on top after each guy kicks out of a bunch of big moves throughout the match. I think Shawn deserves one more title run just to see what he can do with it. Cena's young enough and good enough where a loss to a guy like Michaels is not going to hurt him. Meanwhile, this is the best chance to put the belt on Michaels again, so I see it happening. To end the show, I can see Triple H limping out there to hug his best friend in what would be a memorable visual.
In Closing
After all that, what explanation is there for why The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are headlining WrestleMania this year? I think the simple answer is that they are the best options right now. Whether that's a good thing long term or not, I'm unsure of that. However, when Vince McMahon puts them in position to headline a show where 70,000 people are going to be in the building he knows he can count on them more than anybody else on the roster to entertain the fans. Ultimately, that's what it's all about. It's about giving the fans what they want. Right now the fans want The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Listen to them and they'll tell you.
For whatever reason these "old" guys feel new again. Unlike last year I'm excited about WrestleMania. Maybe it's because I'm an old school fan that has loved watching Michaels perform and more of than not liked Undertaker too. They must be doing something right. Or maybe everybody else is, including Vince McMahon, doing something wrong. I don't know what it is yet.
On April Fool's Day at WrestleMania 23 we'll know one way or another. My opinion? It's not so bad. Let the old guys have one last run in the sun. They deserve it.
Smell ya later,
John C. - oratoryjohn@gmail.com
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Note: I may be back for a No Way Out running diary although it may be a Monday thing because I'll be watching the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night live. Also be on the lookout for some columns covering past WrestleManias as well. I think I could be going list crazy about Mania in the next month.
Oh, and if you're up for some silliness check out what my friends at Morphine Nation are up to. After all, the 2006 Time Man of the Year - Skeletor - is there. You should be too.
Visit My Archives to view seven years of columns from over the years.
P.S. Thanks to Wikipedia for the age info for the wrestlers. I love Wiki.
