NoDQ.com > Columns > The Shooting Range: WWE Stars of Tomorrow #2 Posted by Michael Clancy on 11/03/2009 at 01:52 PM
The Shooting Range:
WWE Stars of Tomorrow #2
The Shooting Range continues its look at the young guns that fill a large chunk of the WWE roster at present. Looking back at last week’s column Sheamus has already taken his first steps forward, moving the WWE’s official number 2 brand Raw and squashing Jamie Noble in his debut in a rather unspectacular encounter. It would seem that the big Irishman still had plenty to do on ECW and the move to Raw is somewhat premature, it is similar to the way Mike Know was moved to Raw without really achieving anything on ECW; the switch seems premature and could only hurt Sheamus’ development, his matches sandwiched in between Hornswoggle embarrassing Chavo Guerrero and DX plugging their new merchandise.
This week’s column then will examine the pros and cons of 3 more bright young sparks that can currently be found plying their trade on Raw, determining if they have the potential to lead the company in years to come.
Kofi Kingston
Like John Morrison in last week’s article, Kofi’s place on this list could be questioned due to the fact that he is an established superstar on Raw. Looking at Kofi’s accomplishments in WWE it is easy to forget that he only debuted on ECW in December 2007. Having held the Intercontinental and Tag Team titles, his crowning achievement was his impressive United States Title run this year; the reign being successful in showcasing Kingston as a fighting champion, successfully defending the belt at four WWE pay-per-views, and elevating the prestige of the title with some highly competitive contests involving stars such as MVP, William Regal, Carlito and current champion The Miz. October has proven to be a difficult month for Kingston, losing the US Title to The Miz at the start of the month he then went on to suffer the losing pin in the huge Bragging Rights tag match which handed brand supremacy to Smackdown. These defeats suggested rough times ahead for the former Jamaican, perhaps a spell on the lower mid-card or a prolonged period on WWE Superstars, that is until his performance 2 weeks ago on Monday night Raw changed things significantly. With all of Kofi’s high-flying, fast-paced, unique offence it is intriguing that his biggest impact in WWE to date has come from a backstage segment. But that is exactly the case for Kingston for as soon as he ran those keys along Randy Orton’s brand new car on Monday night his career reached all new heights. Not only has it planted the seeds for an original and intriguing rivalry between the Legend Killer and the man from west Ghana but it also shows that Kingston has more to his game than just solid in-ring work. Seeing Kofi destroy Orton’s prized possession was a throwback to the Attitude days when Steve Austin or DX use to wreak havoc on their rivals personal property, it is an indication that big things could be on the horizon for Kingston if this rivalry is handled correctly.
The next few weeks will be crucial to Kingston’s status on Raw. If Orton turns his focus to Kingston and makes him the focus of the psychological warfare we know he is capable of, then it could be the makings of a very interesting feud between the two, leading to a Team Orton vs. Team Kingston match at Survivor Series before the two face each other one on one. An extended feud with a main eventer such as Orton would be the best thing that could happen to Kofi right now; a chance to elevate his status in WWE and prove that he can hang with the big dogs. Fans were given a taste of a Kofi-Orton encounter this week on Raw and luckily the match was not allowed to play out fully before Priceless got involved, the brief one on one exchange acted as a way of wetting the appetite for a PPV match in the future.
Does Kingston really have the attributes of a main eventer? His speed and high-flying offence seem to be more suited to a superstar in the old Cruiserweight division or the Intercontinental/US Title scene that Kofi has featured in prominently already. A move up to the WWE Title picture would almost certainly require him to put on some weight, which would consequently affect his aerial ability; but his unique wrestling style and undeniable charisma suggest that Kingston could thrive in the main event picture. How WWE handle his feud with Orton will have a drastic effect on Kofi’s status in the WWE for the next few years. It’s unrealistic to imagine Kingston holding the top title on Raw any time soon but if his feud with Orton is handled in the correct manner then it could so the seed to a very long and successful career for Kofi Kingston.
The Miz
A man who would get my vote for most improved superstar of 2009, The Miz has really raised his game several notches since being drafted to Raw last April. Starting out on Smackdown in 2006, Mike Mizanin was lambasted by the crowds and colour commentator John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield for his reality TV background, many believing he was trading on his celebrity to get in-ring time that was being taken away from more deserving talents. It has been a long road but The Miz has finally reached a point in his career where he can be respected for his in-ring and microphone work; no longer merely a reality TV publicity stunt and more than just the ‘Marty Jannetty’ of a fairly successful tag team, The Miz has really grown into his cocky gimmick.
His move to Raw earlier this year certainly raised some eyebrows, widely regarded as the less talented half of his tag team with John Morrison, moving him to WWE’s flagship programme seemed a bold and questionable move by the creative team. Prior to his Raw move, The Miz’s singles career had been forgettable at best and so it seemed unlikely that the Chick Magnet would be able to hold his own with WWE’s top names like HHH, Shawn Michaels and John Cena. And yet The Miz was almost immediately thrown into the spotlight with a feud with John Cena, spending weeks verbally abusing Cena when he knew full well Cena could not answer his challenges, making him come across even more arrogant than ever before. These promos worked wonders for The Miz, giving him exposure to the big time without shoving him down the fan's throats. Admittedly he was squashed by Cena when he finally got his hands on him, and was then beaten several times more but the feud did suggest that Mizanin could at least hold his own on the microphone with the big boys. With his feud with Cena over The Miz then entered the US Title scene, a division more suited to his current level, his quest for the gold allowed him to showcase his talents against other rising stars in the business. Losing in 3 successive US Title matches didn’t hurt him too much and whilst his new ring attire may make him look, as John Morrison so brilliantly put it, husky, his new found aggression has served him well and he The Miz was eventually rewarded for his steady improvement on Raw with the US Title.
Having received his first taste of singles gold in WWE the question stands on how far can The Miz go? Many didn’t expect him to last a year in the company but he now stands as one of WWE’s most reliable mid-carders; as dependable in the ring as he is at cutting a good promo. He was received a further push at Bragging Rights when he defeated his former partner and current Intercontinental Champion John Morrison in a match he was widely expected to lose. All this shows that love him or hate him The Miz is a character who can defy the odds and surprise his fair share of people; and with that in mind it would be foolish to dismiss him as a future main-eventer.
Evan Bourne
A sad testament to what can happen if you are pushed to far to quickly; Bourne’s career has stalled since his move to Raw earlier in the year. Unsurprisingly considering his in-ring style, Bourne’s WWE career got off to a flying start, immediately catching the eye with some truly astonishing aerial ability. A well travelled performer despite his relatively young age, at 26 Bourne wrestled in TNA, Ring of Honour and other promotions on the indy circuit before being signed to a WWE developmental contract in 2007. He managed to impress many in his short time on ECW, capturing fan approval to such an extent that he won a landslide vote to face Matt Hardy for the ECW Title at the 2008 Cyber Sunday. Although he came up short on that occasion Bourne more than held his own against Hardy, it seemed like Bourne was destined to achieve great things on ECW.
All that momentum disappeared in a flash on the following episode of ECW when Bourne tore his deltoid ligament performing one of his characteristic high-flying moves. The injury kept Bourne out of the ring for several months but his return was highly anticipated by fans and enthusiastically advertised by WWE in equal measures, it seemed everybody wanted Bourne back sooner rather than later. Bourne eventually returned in March 2009 and seemingly picked up right where he left off, picking up big wins over superstars like Jamie Noble and Mark Henry, the youngster appeared destined to enter the ECW Title picture again before long. Then things went spectacularly wrong for Bourne.
Everyone remembers it, WWE’s creative team went crazy for about 2 weeks and in a rather massive ‘jump the shark’ moment decided to run a storyline in which Donald Trump bought Raw. They quickly realised that Trump owning Raw made no sense at all but in week that Trump was running things he still managed to shake things up by trading various superstars around the company (including trades between ECW and Smackdown which is a lot of power for a Raw owner). It is a moment the Shooting Range affectionately refers to as ‘The Violent Rape and Pillaging of ECW’ which saw the brands crown jewels- namely Jack Swagger and Evan Bourne- transferred to Raw. The move made sense for Swagger, who had beaten everyone on ECW and with very little still to prove on ECW was ready to move to the next level. The move made next to no sense for Bourne, who could have gone on to feud with ECW Champion Christian and to this day could be enjoying healthy competition with the likes of William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu or Zack Ryder. Since being on the red brand Bourne has made very little impact, Raw not being famous for letting the smaller guys flourish (Hornswoggle excluded) Bourne has floundered between nothing rivalries with the likes of Chavo Guerrero and acting as a glorified jobber for Jack Swagger and The Miz. Losing week after week wouldn’t be too damaging to Bourne’s image if he was at least given a chance to showcase his undeniable skill; his US Title match this week with The Miz being his only recent match in which he was able to get much offence in.
Hopefully his match this week on Raw will be a turning point for Air Bourne and he will start becoming a regular face in the US Title picture, and yet if experience has taught us anything it is that at 5ft 9in and weighing 183lbs Bourne just doesn’t have the physical presence to make an impact on Raw. At this stage a return to the Land of Extreme seems unlikely but wouldn’t hurt his character in any particular way; he is arguably a far more deserving candidate for an ECW Title shot that Zack Ryder or Yoshi Tatsu. A move to Smackdown would seem like a decent move also as they have traditionally had more favourable conditions for the smaller superstars. At any rate there is no denying Bourne’s ability and popularity and whilst he may never win the top gold in the company there is still a lot the WWE could be doing with this kid, and if there is nothing for him on Raw then a move elsewhere is needed in the very near future.
Check back next week for the final instalment in the Shooting Ranges look at WWE’s Stars of Tomorrow. As always opinions, thoughts, arguments, agreements, praise and criticism is welcome at shootingrange69@aol.com
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