PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

WWE MAKING A DEADLY GAMBLE WITH HOW THEY BOOK THEIR NEXT GENERATION

HOW DOES THIS GET ME OVER?

That is the question that a number of WWE talents, including CM Punk, Ted DiBiase,  Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes and Manu should have been asking themselves last night as the WWE creative team explained to them their roles for last night's three hour edition of Raw, because out of all five, the only person who came out of their appearances looking strong or stronger was Randy Orton, who dropped into a chinlock 45 seconds into his first wrestling match since June.

While chances are many of the talents above were indeed asking themselves these questions last night, I have to doubt any of them may have voiced their concerns out loud.  In a political world where they don't know if they can trust the other to keep from stooging their doubts out to management, much less expose themselves as having a "bad attitude" for actually caring about how they are booked, their concerns likely remained silent and in the shadows.

Thus, we saw the following last night:

*Ted DiBiase throw his two closest confidantes out of a Battle Royal with no follow-up or repercussions.

*CM Punk finally get his chance at revenge at the person responsible for costing him the World title with no build and no pre-match promo.

*Ted DiBiase attacking Punk while he was down and not exactly at a moment where another heel, Orton, needed help.

*Randy Orton laying out DiBiase as his two closest cohorts stood by useless, mouths agape.

*CM Punk (remember him?  The babyface out for revenge?) disappearing without another sign or peep out of him.

*Punk's pal and partner, Kofi Kingston, being nowhere to be found during any of this, even though a potential injury could cost him his own World Tag Team championship.

*DiBiase's cohorts, one a Samoan bruiser and the other a conniving punk who turned on his former Tag Team partner, standing around like a pair of Peter Parkers to Orton's Flash Thompson when he challenged them to a 2 on 1 fight backstage.

*Kofi showing up later in a meaningless tag match without even a glimmer of concern for his partner.

All I could think was, "What a waste."

WWE's top level of talent has never been more stale, yet WWE is doing nothing to coax the next generation into being ready to carry the ball. 

I will be the last person to claim the current top echelon of the company is unable to carry their weight.  Yes, Undertaker, JBL, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, etc. have all delivered for the company and will deliver again, but they are also getting older by the year and there is nothing fresh about any of them from a fan's perspective.  Michaels worked his first Wrestlemania in 1989.  Undertaker debuted in 1991.  Triple H and JBL have been with the company well over a decade now.  Sure, there's Chris Jericho, John Cena and Batista, but they've also fought just about every combination of top talent that they can in main event feuds.  Ditto Edge, Kane, The Hardys and hell, even Rey Mysterio doesn't have that many fresh matches left, plus he's always booked as a fluke.   

Time is not on many of these talents' sides, and that's not even factoring possible injuries.  Last night, WWE built up Randy Orton at the expense and fan interest of other talents and think about how many injuries Orton has suffered during HIS career.  It's the equivalent of asking a Blackjack dealer to hit you when you've got 19.  Sure, you could hit 21 and have a big score, but there's also a very real chance of blowing your bets and being left with nothing.

Think about this: the hottest feud of the year, Michaels vs. Jericho, was a rematch from a Wrestlemania bout that took place in 2003.  What happens when we hit 2013?  What will headline Wrestlemania then, when everyone from Undertaker to Triple H and beyond are either retired or holding on well past what should have been their retirements.  As much as WWE Corporate likes to tout how they are looking to International expansion for their future, they should also be looking within for that same future.  After all, you can't tour with a crew that doesn't exist.

Now more than ever, World Wrestling Entertainment needs to start looking at the talents and assets they see as Wrestlemania  main events a year or two or three down the line and begin to build and protect them.  For every talent they try to nurse and evolve, there will be some like Ken Kennedy will who will unfortunately flame out and suffer setbacks, but others will break through like John Cena and Batista before them.    Some of those new talents could even be Punk, Orton or Rhodes, but WWE has to figure out ways to insure they aren't exposed to the audience as being hapless losers,idiots, cowards and second class citizens the way they were treated last night.

It's impossible to protect every single character and performer, but there's going to come a time where the same WWE Creative team that sacrifices talents for the short-term will look to some, if not many of the same names to replenish the top of the card, only to find fan apathy for these characters because the audience has been taught not to believe in them.  In the end, it will be the talents who find themselves branded failures, when in any other aspect of writing within the entertainment world, it would be the writers who find their job security at risk. 

The time for WWE's writing staff to build their future is now and a big part of that will be designing angles to get over all of the talents they intend to carry the ball, not just one person at the expense of five other potential stars.  The countdown has already begun, but whether Creative will take heed before it's too late is a story that won't be fully told for some time.

Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet