The concept of The Next Big Thing will forever be attached in the minds of many to Brock Lesnar and his astonishing push to the top of the WWE in 2002: its the nickname he got landed with before Here Comes The Pain became his catchphrase. Its clear that Vince McMahon saw nothing but dollar signs when he looked at Lesnar, and for good reason. The problem is that since Lesnar left WWE in 2004, the only performer to receive a similar level of support from the office has been John Cena. Randy Orton and Batista have received individual pushes to true main event status, but dropped back down to the upper midcard again; likewise veterans like the Undertaker, Chris Jericho and Triple H have dipped in and out as and when the boss required. Now Batistas gone to the movies, Taker, Jericho and Hunter are semi-retired and Orton might as well be judging by the lack of ideas they have for his character. Others have been and gone: for the most part, both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan got over despite their booking, not because of it. The Shield were booked perfectly while still a unit, but that protective instinct has largely vanished since their split, each man suffering from a different variation on the WWEs usual inconsistent and unenthusiastic approach to the main event push. With the sudden rise in public awareness of the revamped developmental system in NXT, however, theres renewed interest in who the WWEs next massive superstar might be and whether WWEs current environment allows for the creation of true stars at all. Thats the disgruntled fans line, isnt it? Stubborn and egotistical, Vincent Kennedy McMahon adamantly refuses to listen to the fanbase of his own product. Well like what he tells us to like, damn it? Except the main events of the last two Wrestlemania events were eventually amended specifically because the fans kicked off. Hmmm maybe theres hope after all. Before we kick off this list properly, let's take a look at an honourable mention...
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
