Elevating a wrestler to the next level can have many payoffs for theWWEcompany, a wrestler’s personal status, future investments, and viewer attention.Despite the current controversiessurroundingWWE, the locker room still hosts a lot of potential talent and legends who still have great storylines in them. A big push may come from a mid-card title victory,a Royal Rumble victory, or an unbeaten winning streak showcasing a wrestler’s potential.
Whilst the be-all and end-all of the big push usually result in a wrestler winning the WWE title, the benefits of that push are even better if, a decade down the line, that superstar is still wrestling on the top bill, or has a career that is still talked about. A superstarmay be with the company for yearsbefore they finally get their big moment, but the great benefit is that the fans love to see a hard worker finally achieve the crowning jewels of professional wrestling.
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One of the quickest pushes from theWWEhas to be Brock Lesnar during his first run with the company. Dubbed by Paul Heyman as “The next big thing,” no truer words were spoken with the impact Lesnar made. No more than three months after his televised debut, Lesnar won the 2002 King Of The Ring. Two months later he would defeat The Rock at Summerslam to winhis first of manyWWE titles. Lesnar would not lose by pinfall until November at that year’s Survivor Series, following a turn from Heyman to side with The Big Show. To wrap up his first year, Lesnar would also win the Royal Rumble and defeat Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania XIX to earn his second WWE title.
Speaking of Kurt Angle,the former Raw general managerand Olympic athlete had the best 2000 on paper. In February of that year, he would hold both the Intercontinental and European championships, although he would lose both to Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania without ever being pinned. Following this, he would win King Of The Ring and then defeat The Rock at No Mercy, thanks to some help from Rikishi, and achieve his first WWE championship. The years 2002 and 2006 were exceptional for the Olympic athlete, as he put on great matches and showcased himself as a dominating world champion. Even in TNA after leaving WWE in 2006, he was instantly pushed to be a force not to be reckoned with.
It’s no secret that McMahon,when he isn’t in the newsfor his personal life, is a fan of pushing the big guys in WWE. On paper, more big guys will get a chance at world titles, except for those such as Rey Mysterio. Current champion Roman Reignshas certainly had some of the biggest successover the last couple of years, and it doesn’t look like that will stop soon. John Cena got a huge push between 2004 and 2005 as he climbed up the ranks from United States champion to WWE undisputed champion. Before that, it was The Rockin the late 90s. Each man has been the big guy in the locker room and the face of WWE. Each man hasturned their attention to Hollywood, but on paper, the pushes from the WWE and Vince McMahon have been three essential moments for Attitude, Ruthless Aggression, and PG eras. Any time John Cena or The Rock returns to WWE, there’s a guarantee for huge viewer numbers.
AWWEpush that sadly didn’t work well was Randy Orton in 2004. Nowone of the most popular wrestlersto ever enter the ring, Orton looked to be having a good 2004 while Evolution was still a strong stable. His reign as Intercontinental champion was vibrant andgave the belt a lot of meaning. Thanks to legends such as Mick Foley and Ric Flair, Orton was becoming one of the biggest wrestlers in the business. However, the turmoil of Evolution and Orton becoming a baby-face just didn’t work for theWWE. Orton defeated Chris Benoit at that year’sSummerslamand held the world heavyweight title for a month. With the gimmick lacking credibility world, he lost the belt at Unforgiven the following month to Triple H who was seen as a much more stable and effective heel titleholder.
Some world title victories, meanwhile, came way too late for certain wrestlers who had more than proven themselves. Superstars such as Booker T and Rob Van Dam didn’t earn WWE world titles until 2006. Booker T was a previous five-time WCW world heavyweight title winner, while RVD had won pretty much everything but a major world title.
The two wrestlers are no doubt legends whostill appear in the franchise’s video games, but there were moments where the wrestlers were being pushed and WWE didn’t capitalize on it. King Booker was a great gimmick; however, Booker T’s first major WWE title should have happened during hiscontroversial feud with wrestling legend Triple Hin the run-up to Wrestlemania XIX. If anything, the poor results of that match are why Booker T fell down the card and would be seen holding the United States championship and not the world heavyweight one for some time.
Rob Van Dam is one of the most technical wrestlers of all time, whether it is hisextreme career with ECW, or fan dubbed Mr. Monday Night on WWE Raw. Following the invasion and signing with WWE, Van Dam would win Hardcore, Intercontinental, and tag team championships. RVD would look favorable in early 2000s heavyweight title matches. Clearly, the WWE didn’t feel he was ready to hold the title yet in a stacked roster despite his popularity. When he finally won the WWE championship alongside the ECW world heavyweight title, it was almost a fluke in conjunction with the returning ECW show.
One of the most interesting WWE careers is that of thepreviously injured, Bobby Lashley. The powerhouse won his first heavyweight championship in 2006 at the ECW pay-per-view December To Dismember. Vince McMahon gave Lashley a big push at the wrong time, with the fact that Lashley was still on Smackdown and was now ECW champion. Lashley would drop the belt in mid-2007 following a draft to Raw and would leave the company in 2008. A decade later he would return as one of themost exciting and potential wrestlerson the roster. It would take a few years to win his first WWE Championship, but he looked comfortable.
Jeff Hardy,when he’s in his primeis one of the most exciting wrestlers to watch. The Enigmatic Enigma was mainly in tag-team bouts or holding mid-card championships during his original run in the WWE. His main WWE title match in this time came against The Undertaker in 2002, and though he put on a strong display, he didn’t get another big title shot. Years down the line and after a return to the WWE, Hardy looked like a more competent wrestler. Thoughhe was seen in tag-teamand Intercontinental title matches again, Hardy was a lot more capable of taking on the big guys. His big push finally came in 2008 following titles matches in the Autumn. Hardy would finally win the WWE Championship at Armageddon to close off a successful year by defeatingbig opponents in Edgeand Triple H.
Looking toward the future, there’s no doubt WWE hasbig plans for Cody Rhodesonce he heals from his pectoral injury. The new golden boy has seen major success in matches with Seth Rollins and the two recently achieved a five-star review in their match at Hell In A Cell. Whilst it looks like Roman Reigns will hold onto at least one title for the next year, it would be great to see some opportunities for the universal title from Rhodes and Rollins. At this stage in his career and after winning titles such as the Intercontinental and tag team championships in his first WWE run, it would be strange to see Rhodes go after the mid-card title when he has already more than proven himself. Whilst the WWE still has a massively stacked roster, easy to say there could be more big pushes around the corner.
