10 Solutions to Help Floundering Superstars
Not all wrestlers can be a big star. For every Triple H, Shawn Michaels, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, John Cena, and Chris Jericho, there's a Trent Barreta, Caylen Croft, Jacob Novak, Lucky Cannon, and Percy Watson. Most stars who sign with the WWE will never reach the top echelon, try as they might. However, it doesn't mean that the other stars can't get anywhere either. Why should they be stuck in creative limbo?
Unfortunately, a lot of current superstars are stuck in creative limbo. The creative team just doesn't have anything for them. It's really unfortunate, as these are talented guys and they deserve better. It just feels like the WWE doesn't really care about them. So, in order to combat this problem, I've come up with ways to help boost the careers of ten floundering stars. If the WWE takes some tips from this article (especially the last one), it would definitely help some guys out. Let's get started.
10. Make The Ascension more Powerful- The Ascension is based on old tag teams that were all about destruction, such as Legion of Doom and Demolition. Though Konnor & Viktor were very successful in NXT (they are the longest reigning NXT Tag Team champs in history), that success hasn't translated to the big leagues. Though they debuted in December, they didn't even compete in the tag team title match at 'Mania. That's right, The Ascension is lower on the card than The New Day and Los Matadores. No one takes them seriously anymore. It looks like their next job will be putting the Lucha Dragons over. The Ascension should be treated as powerhouses, not just glorified jobbers. Have them dismantle The Usos or Prime Time Players. Let them lay absolute waste to The New Day. The WWE is missing on a chance to beef up the tag division by portraying these guys as true contenders.
9. Rekindle the Goldust & Stardust Feud- A feud between the two Rhodes brothers has been something the WWE fans have been calling for for years. We almost got it last year, but the WWE got cold feet and instead repackaged Rhodes as Stardust. We did get a feud between Gold & Stardust a couple months ago, but that ended without any real conclusion. That was just bad booking on WWE's part. They had a chance to get people to care about these two wrestlers again. Instead, they blew it. Rekindling the feud won't be hard and would be an interesting feud if booked correctly.
8. More Wrestling, Less Dancing for Fandango- Fandango's gimmick is that of a ballroom dancer. This doesn't exactly translate well to wrestling, and Fandango is nothing more than a low-carder. Unfortunately, Fandango is a talented wrestler (remember, he did beat Chris Jericho at WrestleMania) and deserves to be a mid-carder. The easiest way to do that: make Fandango more serious. He can still dance, but should focus more on wrestling.
7. Make Eva Marie a Manager- The Divas division is a little weak right now, and there is no one weaker than Eva Marie. In fact, she might be the least talented wrestler on the roster. The only reasons she still has a job: she's on Total Divas and is on the Maxim Hot 100 list. It's time to put that sex appeal to use. It's easy to picture her at ringside using her looks to distract her client's opponent. She could actually make a great manager. She'd obviously have to become a better talker, but she could make it happen.
6. Turn Emma Heel- Emma's whole time on the WWE roster has been disappointing. She's been losing consistently as of late and her pairing with Santino Marella went nowhere. Remember, Emma is quite a talented wrestler and was a top-notch performer on NXT, along with the likes of Paige and Seth Rollins. Her bubbly personality was endearing at first, but it hasn't helped her as of late. If she turned heel, it would be really refreshing. She would automatically be moved to the top of the card and could even compete for the Divas title. The turn was hinted at during her NXT bout with Bayley, but as of right now, she is still a face.
5. Make David Otunga an Authority Figure- Let's be real: the only reason Otunga is still with the WWE is because he graduated from Harvard Law School, is a successful lawyer, and is engaged to Jennifer Hudson. He's not great in the ring, not very charismatic, and doesn't captivate audiences on the mic. Still, he's competed in multiple Royal Rumbles, competed at WrestleMania, and won two tag team titles. His best character work came when he was working for John Laurinaitis. All he did was wear a bow tie, drink coffee, look smug, and back his boss up. Still, he got a lot of heat for it. If he joined The Authority, he would do a great job of getting them heat. He could even become Raw or SmackDown GM.
4. Get Bo Dallas a Pupil- Bo Dallas's gimmick is that of an inspirational superstar. He is supposed to make people "Bo-lieve". So far, it hasn't worked out too well. There's an easy fix to that: give him an apprentice or pupil. He could take a low-card superstar (say Heath Slater or Curtis Axel) and inspire them into becoming successful stars. He definitely has the mic skills to pull it off and it would definitely increase Dallas's standing in the company.
3. Give Heath Slater More Competitive Matches- Heath Slater is a talented individual. He's a pretty good wrestler and he's one of the best sellers in the company. His work with the WWE Legends in 2012 was praised very highly, and for good reason. However, he's never been given ample opportunity to shine. The WWE should put him in more high-profile matches, such as with Erick Rowan, Neville, and Dolph Ziggler. Slater doesn't necessarily have to win, but the matches could at least be more competitive, as opposed to the squash matches he is usually booked in.
2. Send Curtis Axel Back to NXT- Some may see going back to NXT as a demotion, but that's not necessarily the case. Look what happened with Tyson Kidd. Axel is a talented wrestler who's very athletic and a good worker. He has however, floundered for many months now. A stint in NXT could be just the thing to get his career rejuvenated. Since he is a WWE superstar, he would be placed in big feuds with top NXT guys like Baron Corbin and Hideo Itami. It would also help him improve his mic skills, something which has been lacking his entire career.
1. Turn The New Day Heel- Back when Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E teamed up, people were excited. Woods cut some angry promos that alluded to racial issues and got people buzzing. Could we actually see a new Nation of Domination? It seemed like things were heading that way, but things were suddenly changed and they became a happy, go-lucky group of guys. Needless to say, fans have been booing them constantly. Fans have been calling for them to turn heel for weeks now, and it needs to happen. They would automatically rise up the card and draw mainstream media attention. Imagine a scenario in which The New Day started a feud with John Cena over his U.S. title. They could say that Cena does not stand for black America, only white America. All three members could challenge for the title. Booked properly, a John Cena/ New Day feud could span six months.
Unfortunately, a lot of current superstars are stuck in creative limbo. The creative team just doesn't have anything for them. It's really unfortunate, as these are talented guys and they deserve better. It just feels like the WWE doesn't really care about them. So, in order to combat this problem, I've come up with ways to help boost the careers of ten floundering stars. If the WWE takes some tips from this article (especially the last one), it would definitely help some guys out. Let's get started.
10. Make The Ascension more Powerful- The Ascension is based on old tag teams that were all about destruction, such as Legion of Doom and Demolition. Though Konnor & Viktor were very successful in NXT (they are the longest reigning NXT Tag Team champs in history), that success hasn't translated to the big leagues. Though they debuted in December, they didn't even compete in the tag team title match at 'Mania. That's right, The Ascension is lower on the card than The New Day and Los Matadores. No one takes them seriously anymore. It looks like their next job will be putting the Lucha Dragons over. The Ascension should be treated as powerhouses, not just glorified jobbers. Have them dismantle The Usos or Prime Time Players. Let them lay absolute waste to The New Day. The WWE is missing on a chance to beef up the tag division by portraying these guys as true contenders.
9. Rekindle the Goldust & Stardust Feud- A feud between the two Rhodes brothers has been something the WWE fans have been calling for for years. We almost got it last year, but the WWE got cold feet and instead repackaged Rhodes as Stardust. We did get a feud between Gold & Stardust a couple months ago, but that ended without any real conclusion. That was just bad booking on WWE's part. They had a chance to get people to care about these two wrestlers again. Instead, they blew it. Rekindling the feud won't be hard and would be an interesting feud if booked correctly.
8. More Wrestling, Less Dancing for Fandango- Fandango's gimmick is that of a ballroom dancer. This doesn't exactly translate well to wrestling, and Fandango is nothing more than a low-carder. Unfortunately, Fandango is a talented wrestler (remember, he did beat Chris Jericho at WrestleMania) and deserves to be a mid-carder. The easiest way to do that: make Fandango more serious. He can still dance, but should focus more on wrestling.
7. Make Eva Marie a Manager- The Divas division is a little weak right now, and there is no one weaker than Eva Marie. In fact, she might be the least talented wrestler on the roster. The only reasons she still has a job: she's on Total Divas and is on the Maxim Hot 100 list. It's time to put that sex appeal to use. It's easy to picture her at ringside using her looks to distract her client's opponent. She could actually make a great manager. She'd obviously have to become a better talker, but she could make it happen.
6. Turn Emma Heel- Emma's whole time on the WWE roster has been disappointing. She's been losing consistently as of late and her pairing with Santino Marella went nowhere. Remember, Emma is quite a talented wrestler and was a top-notch performer on NXT, along with the likes of Paige and Seth Rollins. Her bubbly personality was endearing at first, but it hasn't helped her as of late. If she turned heel, it would be really refreshing. She would automatically be moved to the top of the card and could even compete for the Divas title. The turn was hinted at during her NXT bout with Bayley, but as of right now, she is still a face.
5. Make David Otunga an Authority Figure- Let's be real: the only reason Otunga is still with the WWE is because he graduated from Harvard Law School, is a successful lawyer, and is engaged to Jennifer Hudson. He's not great in the ring, not very charismatic, and doesn't captivate audiences on the mic. Still, he's competed in multiple Royal Rumbles, competed at WrestleMania, and won two tag team titles. His best character work came when he was working for John Laurinaitis. All he did was wear a bow tie, drink coffee, look smug, and back his boss up. Still, he got a lot of heat for it. If he joined The Authority, he would do a great job of getting them heat. He could even become Raw or SmackDown GM.
4. Get Bo Dallas a Pupil- Bo Dallas's gimmick is that of an inspirational superstar. He is supposed to make people "Bo-lieve". So far, it hasn't worked out too well. There's an easy fix to that: give him an apprentice or pupil. He could take a low-card superstar (say Heath Slater or Curtis Axel) and inspire them into becoming successful stars. He definitely has the mic skills to pull it off and it would definitely increase Dallas's standing in the company.
3. Give Heath Slater More Competitive Matches- Heath Slater is a talented individual. He's a pretty good wrestler and he's one of the best sellers in the company. His work with the WWE Legends in 2012 was praised very highly, and for good reason. However, he's never been given ample opportunity to shine. The WWE should put him in more high-profile matches, such as with Erick Rowan, Neville, and Dolph Ziggler. Slater doesn't necessarily have to win, but the matches could at least be more competitive, as opposed to the squash matches he is usually booked in.
2. Send Curtis Axel Back to NXT- Some may see going back to NXT as a demotion, but that's not necessarily the case. Look what happened with Tyson Kidd. Axel is a talented wrestler who's very athletic and a good worker. He has however, floundered for many months now. A stint in NXT could be just the thing to get his career rejuvenated. Since he is a WWE superstar, he would be placed in big feuds with top NXT guys like Baron Corbin and Hideo Itami. It would also help him improve his mic skills, something which has been lacking his entire career.
1. Turn The New Day Heel- Back when Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E teamed up, people were excited. Woods cut some angry promos that alluded to racial issues and got people buzzing. Could we actually see a new Nation of Domination? It seemed like things were heading that way, but things were suddenly changed and they became a happy, go-lucky group of guys. Needless to say, fans have been booing them constantly. Fans have been calling for them to turn heel for weeks now, and it needs to happen. They would automatically rise up the card and draw mainstream media attention. Imagine a scenario in which The New Day started a feud with John Cena over his U.S. title. They could say that Cena does not stand for black America, only white America. All three members could challenge for the title. Booked properly, a John Cena/ New Day feud could span six months.
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