WWE: Could The Part-Timers Do More?

wrestlemania 29 There is and always has been something going on in wrestling that the fans can enjoy. Wrestlemania 29 is just on the horizon. This means the return of several part-time superstars to our TV screens until the big event is in the history books. Wrestlemania is always an exciting time for us fans as the WWE is usually pulling out all the stops to entice us to spend our money on the biggest pay per view of the year. This year we may very well see the end of the feud between The Rock and John Cena as the WWE title will be defended between the two, Triple H looks for redemption against Brock Lesnar after his loss to the former UFC champion at Summerslam last year and we will see The Undertaker defend his streak against €˜The Best in The World€™ CM Punk. Not only that but there are several other matches that are to be announced over the next few weeks leading up to the event. Now looking at those three matches alone, who wouldn€™t want to order the ppv? Forget about predictability for one second, it€™s the biggest wrestling event of the year, each man is going to give us the best that they have to offer and we will see some truly remarkable matches on the grandest stage of them all; it€™s a win-win situation for any wrestling fan. There is, however, one thing that bothers me when I look at this line up and I know that this is something that many other fans have a problem with as well. Four out of the six competitors are part timers, throw Chris Jericho in the undercard and that makes five. Now believe me when I say that I am a huge fan of The Rock; In fact I am a big fan of every part-timer on the card and there€™s no denying that each man will add to the overall buy rate. Wrestlemania will do over a million buys and every wrestler on the card will take home a huge paycheck. In the short term this seems like a win-win situation for the company but how well will this plan work five years from now? How about in three years? It€™s very doubtful that The Undertaker will still be wrestling after the thirtieth anniversary; The Rock could decide he€™s contributed enough any day now and head off to make more movies and what€™s stopping Brock Lesnar from taking his ball and going home again? Of course if the right amount of money is on the table then we could see The Rock picking up five more world titles in the coming years but there will come a point when each part timer says enough is enough. I will never say no to watching someone like The Rock return every single time; the man has given us so many memories and has put his body on the line countless times just like any other superstar past or present but he needs to be used in a way to elevate other superstars on the roster, not just John Cena. How much could someone like Wade Barrett or Dolph Ziggler benefit from a match against The Rock or The Undertaker? It doesn€™t even have to be a match, an in ring or backstage segment would be enough, just some form of interaction with a legend such as the Undertaker could do wonders for either mans career. Sure every part-timer is involved in a feud leading up to Wrestlemania but that doesn€™t mean that every wrestler on the roster can only interact with their rivals; give some of the younger talent, the superstars that may one day be headlining Wrestlemania a chance to hang with the legends. Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow were in a throwaway segment with The Rock leading up to the Royal Rumble where they were made to look like chumps. Was this their fault? Did they not run with the opportunity they were given? To me they never had a chance; they were booked to look weak so that The Rock could look strong. Did The Rock need this in the build up to the Royal Rumble? In my opinion he didn€™t; The Rock could be wrestling Hornswoggle in a Viagra on a pole match at Wrestlemania and still come out on the other side smelling of roses. CM Punk doesn€™t need to end the streak to come out of his match looking like a superstar; he€™ll look like a million bucks just being in the ring with The Undertaker. The same thing happened when Punk faced Triple H at Night of Champions in 2011 and during his feud with The Rock over these past couple months. Remember when Randy Orton feuded with The Undertaker in 2005? To me that was the feud that made Orton look like a main event player. What about Mick Foley vs. Edge from 2006? Edge went through a long line of brutalities throughout that feud and went on to win ten more world championships. We need more of these feuds; we need more of these defining moments for the superstars of tomorrow. An argument could be made that it is up to the veterans currently on the full time roster to put over the younger talent; while that is true there€™s no denying that the amount of veterans currently wrestling full time on the roster is slowly dwindling. Christian has been out for six months with a shoulder injury, Rey Mysterio can€™t go more then two months without aggravating his knees, Mark Henry has only recently come back from injury and is likely set to put Ryback over at Wrestlemania and Kane and the Big Show have been in the WWE for fifteen years and have put over almost every superstar that has come and gone during their tenure. These veterans have done everything in their power to build the newer stars up to the level of a John Cena or a CM Punk, now it€™s time to let superstars like Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, The Miz and Wade Barrett receive their defining moments in their careers by letting them tangle with the legends that paved the way before them. Not many people would believe that Daniel Bryan would be able to defeat Brock Lesnar let alone last five minutes in the ring with him but what about the suspension of disbelief in professional wrestling? If Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan could make it seem plausible then the entire WWE €˜Universe€™ could see Daniel Bryan in a completely different light. One in ring segment where Kofi Kingston is allowed the chance to hang with Triple H or The Rock and Kingston automatically gains credibility. It€™s difficult to foresee what the landscape of the WWE will look like after Wrestlemania but if there was ever a time for them to pull the trigger on some of the superstars floating around in mid-card hell then the fallout after Wrestlemania would be perfect; all the big storylines will most likely come to an end and some fresh feuds can start where some of the mid-card talent will get the chance to shine. In the end it€™s all about what direction the WWE decides to go in with their talent pool. If the WWE books Dolph Ziggler like a champion then soon people will believe what they see; book Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow to look inferior to The Rock and people will never see them as anything else. It€™s up to the WWE to make mega stars out of who they have but it€™s my own personal opinion that once Wrestlemania is out of the way then the part-timers should be used to elevate the current talent to their level.
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