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Note: For the purposes of this article, the term "top talent" refers to any superstar who has made it to the top of the WWE food chain at least once (i.e. they were WWE or Universal champion for a considerable amount of time.)
While I was in the middle of watching the 5-on-5 men's traditional survivor series match, I realized something strange. All the newly acquired superstars like Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor were the first ones to be eliminated from their respective teams leaving all the veterans in the ring.
There is speculation, however, that this is WWE's way of getting back at these former NXT stars because NXT takeover: War games upstaged Survivor Series. Could this be true though? I honestly have no idea.
But, what I do know is that this is no way for WWE to pave the way for the future. John Cena is already considered a part-timer who has one foot out the door and we know Randy Orton is not happy with his booking meaning he could probably consider early retirement. So, this is the best time to have your younger guys carry the company on their shoulders.
When Rock, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and many other top guys left the company at the end of the attitude era, it was guys like John Cena, Randy Orton and Edge who carried the weight of the company on their backs. Then what happened? Edge's early retirement due to injury left John Cena and Randy Orton as the standard flag bearers.
Trouble for WWE?
If WWE keeps this up by relying too much on old part-timers (John Cena and Brock Lesnar) and pushing the wrong guys (Roman Reigns) constantly they will back themselves up into a corner with no way out. This formula has been going on for far too long and past PPVs clearly show how monotonous it has become.
For example, WWE Battleground is widely regarded as the worst PPV of the year largely due to the fact that the wrong guys were pushed to the top abruptly without any real meaning and without showing the WWE audience why they should cheer or get behind someone who only two years ago was considered a jobber.
What can WWE do?
WWE has the power to make sure that PPVs like battleground never happen again. What they should be doing is building up guys like Finn Balor, Nakamura, Bobby Roode etc. and not just these guys. There is an endless pool of talent in WWE right now that could be used to deliver exciting and exhilarating matches.
Wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn and Bray Wyatt can really put on captivating matches and yet WWE has them doing silly entrances and losing matches routinely. When booked properly we've seen what these three are capable of. At least, for now, there is a promising storyline involving Sami Zayn so I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping that WWE doesn't mess this up as well.
WWE shouldn't turn these guys into main event wrestlers overnight though but over the course of the next few months WWE can slowly build up these wrestlers by adding them to meaningful storylines. This also seems to be the perfect time to push these wrestlers with WrestleMania season just around the corner.
Why should they be pushed?
The resume on the indy circuit speaks for itself. Shinsuke Nakamura and Finn Balor dominated the wrestling scene in Japan while Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe were multiple time champions in TNA. Matter of fact, they were two of the guys responsible for shaping TNA into the brand it was a few years ago.
If this isn't an indication that they are more than ready to be thrusted into the main event spotlight then I don't know what is. They also played a monumental role in taking NXT to where it is today. NXT would no way where it is today if it weren't for Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and Bobby Roode.
This clearly indicates that these wrestlers know how sellout shows and fill up arenas which are really what it's all about for WWE. More ticket sales means more revenue for WWE so it's a win-win situation for all parties involved.
In the end...
WWE are too set in their ways to change anytime soon. WWE should come out of this age-old habit of relying heavily on veterans and just put their faith in the younger wrestlers who have been able to captivate audiences around the world. At the end of the day, it's really all about wrestling and these guys who deserve to be pushed are all really good wrestlers!
WWE needs to find a way to break this awful habit and move on to bigger and better things.
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