wrestling / Columns

The 8-Ball: Top 8 Potential WWE Champions

September 23, 2014 | Posted by Mike Hammerlock

Top 8 New WWE Champions

The WWE is nebulously touting something to do with a “next generation” taking over at the 9/22 Raw. It could be some goofy viral marketing attempt to sell the WWE 2K15 video game. Some have wondered if it teases an NXT invasion, but having lived through Invasion I, I’m hoping Invasion II isn’t in the cards.

However, maybe, just maybe the WWE brass finally has recognized the “next generation” arrived on its roster during the past few years. Vince McMahon doesn’t have to go searching for the guys to lead the next era of the WWE. They’re already there. All he’s got to do is obliterate the glass ceiling above them. The WWE universe is begging for something fresh. Since I’m writing this prior to Night of Champions, we might already have gotten something fresh to set up Monday’s “next generation” theme. I hope so.

With that in mind, this week the Magic 8-Ball will attempt identify the top 8 performers in the WWE who deserve to win their first WWE title. The stress there is on the WWE title. Guys who’ve only won the World Heavyweight Champion belt still qualify for this list since that was a secondary title for much of its existence (really since John Cena brought the WWE belt back to Raw). We should be seeing a steady stream of new WWE champions in the next few years. That doesn’t mean we should only see new champs. Daniel Bryan certainly will be getting back the belt at some point. If Sheamus keeps being ridiculously good in every match, then I don’t see how you keep the
WWE title away from him. Cena and Randy Orton make great transitional champion fodder. If CM Punk ever returns, then by all means give him some waist candy.

A few notes about names who missed the list, because it would have been easy to make this a dirty dozen. The 8-Ball wants to see how Rusev fares after he loses some matches before considering him WWE title material. Bad News Barrett would be an excellent choice and should have been the vanguard of the “next generation” back in his
Nexus days, but got undone by John Cena’s ego and Vince McMahon’s trepidation. Now he’s picking up injuries a bit too frequently to enjoy a sustained run. Jack Swagger has the size and actual wrestling ability to be a fine champ, all he needs is respectable booking. A year ago Big E was supposed to be the next big thing and there’s no reason he couldn’t get another push. The pop at MITB when Kofi Kingston almost won the briefcase indicated fans could get behind a serious Kofi push. Finally, there’s 4.4 billion people in Asia. It’s the new frontier for the wrestling business. Hideo Itami would go a long way to breaking into that continent’s established wrestling market (Japan), but we’ll have to see how he resonates with the WWE audience.

8. AJ Lee

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Hey, she’s not a dude. Exactly, AJ is in fact a female, just like more than half the people on the planet. The WWE has been terrible in terms of booking its Divas division. The company seems to think trash television is the only thing women are fit to do. AJ has been the shining exception. Like others, it gave her garbage, but AJ spun it into gold. The Divas title actually has been a bit of a step down for her. She was a central player in the main event scene back when CM Punk and Daniel Bryan were vying for the WWE title. She also was the most interesting character in the John Cena-Dolph Ziggler feud. Obviously AJ isn’t going to pin Brock Lesnar in a 1v1 match, but she has established herself as being crazy like a fox. Some day a woman ought to shock the world and win a WWE title during some mad scramble. AJ has the wile and wits to do it.

7. Cody Rhodes

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Cody’s been in the WWE for seven years, which makes it easy to forget he’s just now entering his pro wrestling prime at age 29. We’ve watched him grow up and work seven different gimmicks. I still say his best work was back in 2011 during his disfigurement phase. He really should have won the WHC title that year or in 2012. As much as anyone, Cody’s bounced off the glass ceiling. Regardless of what you think about his current Stardust gimmick (I think it needs to progress and offered up some suggestions last week), that’s still Cody under the makeup. He’s got all the requisite talent necessary to
thrive in the main event spotlight. One of these days he should get the push to the top.

6. Bray Wyatt

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I’d rank him higher, but Bray’s a weird animal. He’s actually so good he doesn’t need the WWE title. He did cut a superior promo about why he wanted the belt on the road to Money in the Bank. Man, you ain’t got nothin’ in this world if you ain’t got power. Yet he can have a Hall of Fame career without ever winning the WWE title. In fact, not wanting the WWE belt would be a very Bray Wyatt thing to do. It’s a shiny bauble from a dying world. Bray doesn’t care for popular or corporate approval. That said,
he deserves the belt one of these days even if it’s only for a Foleyesque run. He’s going to be one of the defining figures of this “next generation.”

5. Dean Ambrose

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If you don’t love Dean Ambrose, something’s wrong with you. As much as anyone, Ambrose is set up to be the next great WWE antihero. Characterwise he just doesn’t give a damn. That’s what got Austin over, being all id all the time. Ambrose should be back for Hell in a Cell, where we should get him and Seth Rollins in a classic. When Ambrose rises to the top is a little open-ended. He could be on more of a 2016 or 2017 timetable, though if the love affair WWE crowds were having with him before his recent movie hiatus continues to build, hopefully the WWE brass has the good sense
to listen to its audience.

4. Cesaro

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Some things in life are obvious. Give weapons to some faction in the Middle East today and tomorrow they’ll be shooting at you with those same weapons. Don’t drink and use Tinder. And Cesaro is fabulous at wrestling. You don’t need to know anything about wrestling to recognize Cesaro’s talent. He makes it look real, or at least he makes it look like you want reality to look. He had a ridiculous run of matches in early 2014, demonstrating what it looks like when he’s let off the leash. If the WWE wants to put on eye-popping main events in the next few years, then Cesaro needs to be in some of those
matches. He’s got the ability to turn it up to 11. For instance, imagine Cesaro vs. Lesnar for the WWE title. All right, now cover up your visible excitement. It’s called pro wrestling and Cesaro might be the best pro wrestler walking the planet. How don’t you put a belt on that guy?

3. Dolph Ziggler

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Somewhere along the way, Dolph became the poster boy for all the guys who’ve been inexplicably de-pushed just as they got near the top. Granted, he got a concussion just after he won the WHC, but Dolph could have won that belt sooner and should have gone back to a prominent position after he recovered. He was a blast as a heel, one of the most fun bad guys in recent years. Now
he’s consistently popping crowds as a hard-working face. Wrestling isn’t brain surgery. If the fans really like a guy, then give him big things to do. All you’d get with Dolph as champ is great matches, fun storylines and an energized fanbase.

2. Roman Reigns

It’s not if with Reigns, it’s when. With the hernia injury we probably have to wait until WrestleMania. He’s the hot, new thing. He’s what the people want. Just point him at an opponent and let him rip. Can Reigns get better at promos and with his ring work? Sure, but there’s something to be said for simplicity. It’s fun
to watch him kick ass. We’re ready for the man-child and hopefully they come up with a cool way to work him into that WrestleMania main event, though I suppose the standard Royal Rumble victory will do.

1. Seth Rollins

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As I mentioned above, at the time I’m writing this I have no idea of knowing if Seth Rollins has become the WWE champion or not. He very well could have closed out Night of Champions with a cash-in. If he did, then Rollins vs. Ambrose in a Hell in a Cell title match is a must. If he hasn’t cashed in yet, then Rollins remains at the top of the WWE title to-do list. Why? Because building the mystique of the MITB briefcase is the best thing the WWE has done during the past decade. That case means something, or it did until the baffling case of Damien Sandow. Failing on his cash-in is one thing, but going from there to complete jobber status has done serious damage to the MITB mystique. Rollins has to restore faith in the briefcase or the MITB 2015 pay-per-view will be the least anticipated event in WWE history. The virtual guarantee has to pay off. Plus, Rollins is fantastic in the ring and, IMO, underrated on promos. Give him a good two- or three-month run with the title and he’s set up to be part of the main event picture for the better part of the next decade.

I take requests..
The purpose of this column is to look forward. What could be? What should be? What is and what should never be? What would make more sense? 411 has plenty of columns that count down and ranks things that happened in the past. This is not one of those columns. The Magic 8-Ball is here to gaze into the future. If there’s someone or something you think should be given the 8-Ball treatment, mention it in the comments section. I might pick it up for future weeks.