So.....who's stepping up? (Smackdown)

[clifford]

Ok, so, looking over the Smackdown roster, I can't help but notice how thin the face side of it is. Let's presume that Jeff is leaving after Summerslam. That leaves Smackdown with;

Rey Mysterio
John Morrison
Great Khali

Finlay, R Truth and Cryme Tyme also lurk in the midcard.

Man that's effin' thin. I can only assume that the plan was for Edge to become top face on the show. Obviously the Undertaker will be back, but he's more of a sporadic appearence kind of guy.

So who is going to become the top guy, the face audiences will tune into see week in week out when Jeff leaves? It's Jeff now, before that it was Triple H, before that it was Batista.

Mysterio? Logical choice, but he has a history of injuries, especially in recent years, so putting all the eggs in his basket would be unwise.

Morrison? Look, I like Morrison, but he has no real connection with the fans outside of fancy moves that make them go 'ooooo'. YOu can have all the great matches you like, but without the charisma to back it up you won't go to the top (See Benjamin, Shelton).

Khali? erm, well I guess it would open up the Indian market again but come on, do you really want Khali as the focus of the show?

I guess Matt Hardy could turn face, or Kane, but again, they aren't 'big' enough to carry the show. Like Vince is lamenting, they can't really create new stars.

A pipedream would be Kurt angle returning to the WWE and going to Smackdown. After such a long abscene he would no doubt return a face. Imagine the feuds available? Angle/Punk, Angle/Jericho, Angle/Matt, Angle/Ziggler even, Angle/Morrison as a respect feud? However the chances of him leaving TNA in the next few months are seriously slim and unfortunately he would probably re-debut on Raw.

What I would like to see, and what is also entirely possible and doable, is Christian moving to Smackdown, maybe through some sort of loophole after dropping the ECW title in the near future. He does connect with the fans, and I think he could easily be the top face on Smackdown.

What do you guys think?

[Krimzon]

Morrison will be the go-to guy. They've been building him up for the last few months for when Hardy leaves. I believe they want him to be the next Jeff Hardy. Will it work? Can't really say. Only time will tell.

[Deleted]

I think between Mysterio, Khali, Morrison, Matt, and Taker, you could tie up plenty of PPVs until things flesh out more. Sure there are no top heels to really move the title to in lieu of Punk (who I still wish was a face himself), but he could easily save Taker, Mysterio, and possibly Morrison - who is more over than you give him credit for, I think - for the big shows and have Matt and Khali tie up minor ones. Really could win up having an Attitude era style where every now and then lesser names get to man up and get the rub of a main event feud for a month or two.

[Deleted]

Dolph Ziggler is the next great superstar of Smackdown.

How they don't have a "Hi My Name is: DOLPH" shirt yet is beyond me.

[Slingshot Suplay]

Slam Master J.

[Reptar]

How could you forget Kung Fu Naki?

[robferatu]

It's obviously Morrison, or at least that's what all the signs are pointing towards. The thing with him is, although he's a face. He's not really connected with the audience yet. They cheer when his music hits, but you don't hear much crowd involvement in his matches.

[Peeetah]

Da Undatakah

[Deleted]

Aug 12, 2009 10:44:40 GMT -5 Slingshot Suplay said:

Slam Master J.

[MGH]

Morrison is going to be the man on Smackdown if things keep going this way. I'm completely OK with that.

I agree with the guy above saying Ziggler, if we aren't just talking faces. He got me in his corner for keeps after Night of Champions.

[clifford]

I just think that Morrison needs more time, a bit more tweeking here and there. he hasn't even been on pay per view since Judgment Day. Could he really go from midcard tag teamer to top face on Smackdown in six months? Even Cena didn't have that meteoric a rise.

I feel that Morrison could no doubt be 'the man'; he has the look, the moves, the catchphrases, the entrance, the gimmick. But he needs a bit more time. Plus, does he feud with Punk after Jeff is gone? I mean they've face each other twice already this past month, and are facing each other again this friday.

Another alternative I suppose would be; Punk and Ziggler winning their respective title matches at Summerslam. Then have Rey feud with Punk for the title (with Matt Hardy also involved someway) and Morrison feud with Ziggler over the IC title.

[WWE Trademarked My Name]

Aug 12, 2009 10:27:50 GMT -5 clifford said:

Morrison? Look, I like Morrison, but he has no real connection with the fans outside of fancy moves that make them go 'ooooo'. YOu can have all the great matches you like, but without the charisma to back it up you won't go to the top (See Benjamin, Shelton).

Wait so Jeff Hardy's replacement can't have the same effect on the fans that he had? Morrison has way more charisma than Jeff. I really hope it works out for Morrison. It's somebody they built up out of literally nothing and I'm amazed he's come this far considering the lack of success any other Tough Enough winner had.

You all have forgotten about the true future face of SmackDown! Curt Hawkins!

[clifford]

Aug 12, 2009 13:45:37 GMT -5 WWE Trademarked My Name said:

Aug 12, 2009 10:27:50 GMT -5 clifford said:

Morrison? Look, I like Morrison, but he has no real connection with the fans outside of fancy moves that make them go 'ooooo'. YOu can have all the great matches you like, but without the charisma to back it up you won't go to the top (See Benjamin, Shelton).

Wait so Jeff Hardy's replacement can't have the same effect on the fans that he had? Morrison has way more charisma than Jeff.

The difference bewteen Jeff and Morrison, at the moment, is that Jeff can connect with the fans on a whole higher level than Morrison can. Charisma ain't just mic skills, as Jeff's 'effin suck. Jeff has busted his ass and put his body on the line for most of the last decade to get where he is today.

Morrison can get to that point however, he just needs more time. He needs a big name match in a big game environment to solidfy his status as a top face. I really hope it works out for him too, I think he could be a great top player.

[Bravo Echo November]

Morrison and Ziggler are the two who have the brightest future on SD. Man, if only Kofi, Swagger, Bourne and MVP were on SD...

[Bong Buster Bundy]

Assuming Hardy does leave and Punk gets the strap back, his feuds I'd expect to be....

Mysterio once he drops the IC Strap to Ziggler and moves on...

Morrison if they manage to elevate him to that next level...

Undertaker when he returns.

I really like the idea of an Undertaker vs. Punk feud but don't know if WWE would be able to book Punk strongly enough and make him look credible, I envision many a squash match beatdown of sorts with Punk getting DQ'd/Counted Out.

I also like the idea of Christian coming over to feud with Punk.

[EJS]

I expect it to be ....Jeff Hardy.

[Dave at the Movies]

I want Morrison to be the top face but they need to stop making him smile and cut bad promos. They just need to let him be himself.

why is it that when they are heels it seems like they do better yet when WWE turns them face they pretty much fail creatively?

[Handsome Halfbreed]

I have a tuff time envisioning Morrison as a top face w/ his current character. It would be like turning Rick the Model Martel face.
But who knows, he's got the look and wrestling ability to pull off a cocky face. Honestly all he needs is a strong heel to work with and the obvious answer there is CM Punk.

Both Rey Misterio and Khali are out of the question. Rey should be the guy to put over future main event heels and Khali is midcard comedy guy.

[STMP]

I'd put MVP from RAW to Smackdown. They are not using him right and he would be perfect as a former Smackdown-star returning to his old home.

The fans would easily get behind him and he would probably have some good matches with Punk.

Christian is also another good choice, since he is also a huge former Smackdown-star. And when Edge returns as a face, you'd have E&C back again.

*Insert clapping Jericho going YEY*

[Dub H]

Move MVP would be my awser too

But it woubivosu the new Super Morrison will be the one