Did the WWE wait too long to sign new stars?

[cory16154]

How long do you see guys like AJ and Samoa Joe competing for the WWE? Can the WWE count on guys like them to carry the company for the foreseeable future?

[Hit Girl]

Yes. By the time they signed guys like Daniel Bryan and then wasted time trying to bury him, all the years of hard hitting indie work caught up with him.

[radiantsilvergun]

Possibly. I worry for guys like Zayn and Owens who are only in their early 30s but have a decade + of wear and tear on them working the "indy style". There might be a short window for many of the talents they've brought in during the past 5 years.

[Jacy Derangement Syndrome]

I never trusted wee.

[Deleted]

I'm in the camp that believes you should always be reloading for the next cycle and never backing off it. The "face of the company for the next 10 years" style is outdated IMO. WWE shouldn't care if X superstar is selling so much more than everyone else, just as long as it's selling. Why not have 3 or 4 people seen as megastars?

But going off the business model of having to wait until superstars turn stale, they did wait too long. People were starved for fresh faces years ago. That mindset contributed a LOT to CM Punk's success. CM Punk was definitely talented enough to be "the guy", but a lot of the love for him came out of spite for Cena, Orton, and the same old shit. And Punk's character (and behavior behind the scenes) reflected a man who was ALSO performing out of spite for Cena, Orton, and the same old shit.

[Mozenrath]

Jan 31, 2016 1:38:09 GMT -5 Jacy Derangement Syndrome said:

I never trusted wee.

I don't think I want Austin Aries carrying my wee.

[fw91]

it depends how you look at it. Yes Styles and Joe aren't really young, but I doubt they would have as good as a chance making the main event if they were with the e' during their prime TNA years. I always considered TNA to be minor leagues, but spending a lot of there, did give them credible name value

[BJ Sturgeon]

They waited too long to make the people stars they had on the roster.

[alexwrightspackage]

Jan 31, 2016 3:38:14 GMT -5 BJ Sturgeon said:

They waited too long to make the people stars they had on the roster.

Exactly what I was going to say. They can lure in the stars, but the likes of Dolph, Dean, the Wyatts, Rusev, Barrett should've been groomed for the main event for years, so they can step in during this injury epidemic.

Edit: Going over the posts in the Roman Reigns/sabotage thread, he's someone who could've totally benefitted from an IC or US run the last couple of years instead of a main event push asap. Like with the rest of the guys mentioned, a slow burn the previous few years would've benefitted everyone, as Orton, Cena and Jericho start their decline.

[Ruthless Pessimism]

Luckily, Bull Dempsey is only 28. Plenty of time for his run at the top.

[________ has left the building]

WWE did try to sign those guys earlier. Both Joe and Styles were offered developmemtal contracts over a decade ago but turned it down because the money was not right for them. WWE tried again while they were in TNA and made bigger names for themselves. And got turned down again because of loyalty to TNA. It was not until they left TNA for good did they really listen to WWE's offers.
Sometimes the wrestlers themselves do not feel they are ready for that move. Daniel Bryan was pursued by WWE for years while in the indies. It was not until he felt he did all he wanted did he finally said yes. Johnny Gargano turned down a developmental offer by WWE because he liked his spot in DGUSA/EVOLVE.

Wrestlers should be smarter and protect their bodies so it won't be broken down by the time they reach the Bigs. The problem is nowadays is in order to stand out from the herd, you going to have to sacrifice your health to do that. Those 5 stars matches come at a cost.

[FAR5222]

Yes they did. I was way too emotionally invested in the product in late 2012 to early 2014. I would love if the names signed now would have been there earlier. But it's cool that they are here now better late then never.

[DJ Maniak]

Jan 31, 2016 1:38:09 GMT -5 Jacy Derangement Syndrome said:

I never trusted wee.

WHO ARE YOU TO NOT TRUST THE KWEE WEE?

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2016 3:42:15 GMT -5 alexwrightspackage said:

Jan 31, 2016 3:38:14 GMT -5 BJ Sturgeon said:

They waited too long to make the people stars they had on the roster.

Exactly what I was going to say. They can lure in the stars, but the likes of Dolph, Dean, the Wyatts, Rusev, Barrett should've been groomed for the main event for years, so they can step in during this injury epidemic.

Edit: Going over the posts in the Roman Reigns/sabotage thread, he's someone who could've totally benefitted from an IC or US run the last couple of years instead of a main event push asap. Like with the rest of the guys mentioned, a slow burn the previous few years would've benefitted everyone, as Orton, Cena and Jericho start their decline.

And those 3 guys had good, long runs in the midcard. Cena had a fantastic US title run (feelings on the spinner belt aside) where he was eventually facing main event level people for his own belt and not backing down from them. Orton's time in Evolution forced him to step up to the bigger fish that HHH and Flair were frying. And how many good midcard feuds (both involving and not involving titles) did Jericho have?

Another thing those 3 had before going after the WHC that Roman has not (and if you listen to the Steve Austin Show, you've heard this from him ad-nauseum); at least one singles heel run. Cena's white rapper run started with him being heel and while the crowd eventually warmed up to it because of how good he was at it ala Steve Austin (though not at the same magnitude), he had a good heel run. Orton had his run with Evolution (similar to Reigns and The Shield), but he had The Legend Killer run too, which was amazing. And Jericho went back and forth as a heel and eventually won his first world title (not including the Raw match with Trips) as a heel. On top of that, some of those people you've mentioned have had solid heel runs already; Dolph, Bray and Rusev for sure. Dean I feel could flip the switch in a minute, and maybe they use Roman Reigns to do that (though they need to watch how they do it...Dean bashes Reigns skull in repeatedly with a chair and gets the 3-count at Fastlane, they'll give a pop rivaling AJ Styles at the Rumble). Barrett...eh, I'm convinced they'll never give him a shot. The iron got cold on him a long time ago. He had The Nexus and that will always count for something, but it doesn't seem like his other heel shticks have stuck.

[mizerable]

Another problem is lack of competition. Because back in the 90's you had guys who jumped ship and each side had to find new talent.

Now that that's gone, there is no incentive for the top talent or the company to do anything about it. Unless Orton has a career ending injury, I honestly see him being with them for another 15 years since I doubt he has any interest or ability in doing anything else. Cena will always be lured back by the money he is making and a guy like Triple H is there in case of an emergency.

I would love nothing more than for them to elevate more stars, but that comes at a cost as well. You need to always build up your undercard too as well. And the main event can't be too stacked either, you need to phase guys out for good, specifically guys like Taker and Triple H. If you must have part timers, look at guys such as Cena and Orton for that, which is also good for keeping them somewhat fresh, otherwise their appeal is " same ol' shit" after one month.

You aren't going to have a reinvigorated product until this happens. The New Generation didn't gain traction until the Hogans, Savages and Warriors left. The Attitude era didn't gain traction until Bret and Shawn stepped aside for Austin. Cena wouldn't be the guy if Austin and Rock never left. The old guard of the last decade to 15 years needs to gain a little humility and let a new set of guys take the helm. They have the talent. They can do it.

[cabbageboy]

I do think some guys like Styles, Joe, and even Aries have waited too long to go to WWE. Styles is going to be 39 this year and WWE is treating him like some indie rookie kid or something. Joe is going to be 37 this year, ditto Aries. It's actually kind of sad how many guys wasted away their primes in TNA only to be sabotaged time and time again.

In Hollywood parlance Reigns reminds me of someone like Taylor Kitsch, who studios simply decided was going to be the next big thing and starred him in massive budget would be blockbusters like Battleship and John Carter...only to see those films bomb something fierce. The public tells you who the star is....you don't tell them.

[lildude8218]

It's not their fault that it was written in the stars a million miles away.

[Juice]

Jan 31, 2016 10:57:10 GMT -5 cabbageboy said:

I do think some guys like Styles, Joe, and even Aries have waited too long to go to WWE. Styles is going to be 39 this year and WWE is treating him like some indie rookie kid or something. Joe is going to be 37 this year, ditto Aries. It's actually kind of sad how many guys wasted away their primes in TNA only to be sabotaged time and time again.

In Hollywood parlance Reigns reminds me of someone like Taylor Kitsch, who studios simply decided was going to be the next big thing and starred him in massive budget would be blockbusters like Battleship and John Carter...only to see those films bomb something fierce. The public tells you who the star is....you don't tell them.

But Joe and Styles and Bryan and a lot of other guys would not have been treated as they are right now. Had they jumped ship sooner they would have been WWECW'ed like Wildcat or frankie kazarian'd with a run on Velocity before leaving. The platform wasn't prepared for them. Joe would have been a generic samoan savage or never used because of his weight. They were right to wait. Because WWE had to catch up with the times, and they are still trailing. Had theses stars signed immediately after leaving TNA they would be in the Cesaro camp. Look how long it took them to really decide to push Bryan and the circumstances behind them.

I prefer Styles showing up in this years Rumble as opposed to silly semi kayfabe competition like the first few seasons of NXT or Jobbing to CM Punk in ECW.

[Stu]

So what I'm seeing is:

WWE tried to sign them years ago, but got rejected.

If WWE signed them years ago, they may not have been used well since they weren't as famous (completely hypothetical, BTW).

WWE finally signed them and are using them well because they're famous, but they're all old.



I'm struggling to find anyone at fault here. The only win-win scenario would have been if WWE signed these guys years ago and used them perfectly. And despite all the comments that they would've been buried, we'll never know for sure what would've happened.

[radiantsilvergun]

Jan 31, 2016 10:58:20 GMT -5 lildude8218 said:

It's not their fault that it was written in the stars a million miles away.

Seasons come and go.......