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| Generation... Next? |
Matt Barnes |
Looking at the stars of the future that WWE just doesn't seem to care about...
In recent years, there’s been a real desperation about WWE’s recruitment policies. The company has tried everything under the sun to create a new generation of stars, from pushing green-as-grass newbies into main event-level spots to performing a massive talent swoop on the UK wrestling scene (and then discarding almost every wrestler it signed within the year). Most recently, the focus has fallen on men and women falling into the category of being second and third-generation talent, with WWE seemingly believing that wrestling ability, flair and charisma are genetic traits, as opposed to things acquired and built upon throughout a lengthy dues-paying career.
A glance at WWE’s talent roster is almost like looking at a roster from the early Nineties, with names such as Neidhart, Smith, Orton, DiBiase and Rhodes making up the numbers. Interestingly, these superstars are currently the main focus of much of the company’s current programming. In many ways, recruiting talent from supposedly ‘gifted’ gene pools isn’t necessarily a bad idea… if the new recruits can back it up, that is. The problem at the moment, however, is that these guys are all still finding their feet, and are largely being allowed to do so at the expense of other more talented and experienced performers.
You see, as much as names such as those listed above may fill us with fond memories of the past, names such as Hardy, Punk, Bourne and Swagger can stir similar feelings in the present day. These guys, along with Kofi Kingston, MVP and many others, are giving 110 per cent whenever the opportunity is given to them, and the results are phenomenal.
So just why does WWE insist on pushing unproven grapplers with family ties ahead of everybody else? A big part of the answer, for sure, is fear – fear of failure, fear of missing the boat on an incredible talent that could head to TNA, and fear of its product going down the pan at a rate of knots as the credit crunch takes hold. Clearly, WWE can’t see the wood for the trees, but it’s clear to FSM that the only thing WWE has to fear is fear itself.
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 44 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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