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| Article: |
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| Develop-Mental |
James Denton |
Is the WWE screwed for future WrestleMania headliners?
“Say what you will about the wrestling content of the shows, but the reality is that pro wrestling is a star-driven business. The lifeblood of WWE over the next decade will be whether or not it can create new superstars. This is a concern.”
So wrote Bryan Alvarez for The Fight Network well over a year ago. His comments came during one of WWE’s semi-frequent bouts of across-the-board injuries to main eventers, which was a direct result of having a headline crew made up mainly of older guys, something that’s still the case today. And this, in turn, was (and still is) a direct result of failing to create new headliners to replace them.
Think about it. Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho… this is the same creaky 40-something crew that was topping the bill during the Attitude Era a decade ago. Hell, even some of the ‘new’ main eventers like Edge and Jeff Hardy are simply undercard guys from the same period who’ve only just got their break to the top.
The irony is that during the Monday Night Wars, WWE was always seen to have the advantage over the competition because WCW’s stars consisted of 40-year-old guys who were past their prime both physically and as big draws to the fans. WWE, meanwhile, was creating a multitude of hot new stars thanks to long-term investment in its much-ballyhooed developmental system.
Indeed, for years this developmental process was crucial to WWE’s future, producing many can’t-miss prospects and a string of WrestleMania stars. But somewhere along the line, something has gone horribly wrong. Where once it was churning out Randy Ortons and John Cenas, now we’re getting Dolph Zigglers and Kizarnys on TV; meanwhile, proven talents such as Low Ki rot in FCW and Colt Cabana has been wished all the best in his future endeavours without being given a chance to prove how talented he really is.
It’s long been a joke that the developmental system is in disarray, but it’s now becoming a deadly serious issue. After all, it hasn’t produced a WrestleMania headliner since Bobby Lashley in 2005 which makes you worry about where the hell tomorrow’s stars are going to come from...
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 39 of FSM - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders and Barnes & Noble, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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