While I could write a piece like this and say guys like Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes are the future of wrestling then give myself a pat on the back in a year or two when they both become world champions, I prefer not to take an easy route. Instead, here is a prediction of five guys who are low down the ladder right now - five guys I believe could be the future of wrestling.
5. Curt Hawkins
Already you're questioning my judgment I can sense - of the two former Major Brothers, why would I choose Curt Hawkins over Zack Ryder? First off, Curt Hawkins has untapped potential and though he is not as funny as Ryder is, he has a little more star presence, is better on the microphone and is a decent wrestler. While Zack Ryder may be getting weekly appearances on television right now, he will peak as a wrestler in his comedy act and become typecast in that role. Hawkins has not suffered this same fate. The NXT regular is being kept around by WWE because he has the right tools to be a decent wrestler sometime in the future. At a young age of 26, he has barely reached his limit.
4. Gunner
When Gunner beat two world champions in a row on Impact last year, in the form of Mr. Anderson and Sting, eyes were opened to the potential of this TNA rookie. Gunner has the intense presence to pull of being a credible main event heel and he is one of the main beneficiaries coming out of the Immortal era, currently enjoying being managed by two legends of the game - Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff. Though it remains to be seen if the new TNA creative writing team gets behind younger guys as much as Vince Russo did, Gunner has everything to take it to the next level if given the opportunity.
3. Magnus
You have to give credit to Magnus for doing something nobody has been able to do for about two years - help get Samoa Joe over and reinvigorate him. When Magnus and Joe were paired together as a wild-card tag team just over a month ago, many thought it was just a case of giving Joe something to do in the mid-card again. But the tag team has proved a succesful act and Magnus is a large part of that success. When he took the microphone in front of 8000 fans at Wembley Arena on the UK Impact show, he displayed the confidence and skills of a veteran. His ring work is also great for a guy so young and he throws a mean elbow drop from the top rope. All of this and he is only in his mid-twenties. Surely with another 15-20 years left on his career, Magnus could be one of the next big things.
2. Jinder Mahal
With the success of the TNA-backed Ring Ka King promotion in recent weeks on Indian television (It pulls in 14million viewers a week, 10million more than Raw does in the U.S.), Indian wrestling is having a boom period right now. WWE's Great Khali is also already a major star in his homeland India - a force of nature, but without the wrestling skills. Now WWE have an Indian wrestler who does have the wrestling skills, the image and the star presence. A similar size to the likes of Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal is a decent wrestler who could be a huge act given the right push. He isn't technically from India as he is Canadian, but he has Indian parents and speaks hindi - which he does on TV in his heel persona. If WWE is branching in to new markets and want to capitalise on the success of Indian wrestling at the moment, Jinder Mahal could be one of their next top acts. He is only in his mid-twenties and has plenty of time left to blossom in to becoming a major star.
1. Percy Watson
I have put Percy Watson at number one for a reason, and that reason is because I believe about five years down the line he could be the next huge star in wrestling, at the level of a John Cena or The Rock. Watson has everything it takes to be a WrestleMania headlining wrestler - the star presence, the charisma, the looks, the in-ring ability, the mic work. At the moment he is an unpolished diamond, but with a few years of experience and working his way up the card he could be the next big thing. Anybody who watches NXT on a weekly basis will testify that he definitely has something, though all may not be convinced he has the potential to be the next face of the WWE.
When I compare Percy Watson to The Rock, I say it for a reason. He truly reminds me of a young Dwayne Johnson - mainly for his image, which closely resembles that of his Rocky Maivia persona as he made his debut in the mid-nineties. Like Rock, he stands tall at around 6'6 and has the gift of athleticism that few men his size have. His reverse body splash is a unique and fun move and it is the type of dynamic move that will help him get over with the fans. It is a big bet from me to say an NXT rookie could be the next face of wrestling, but who would have thought that about a young "Stunning" Steve Austin or Rocky Maivia in the early days of their careers?
With more NXT stars than Raw ones this week, has the world gone mad? No.. this is wrestling, so expect the unexpected. But who really ever though an Indian promotion would ever come along that would challenge the big American companies? Ring Ka King finds itself entering the Super 20 this week and most likely will for many weeks to come..
20 new
Percy Watson
Sadly the end of Titus O'Neil's 3-week streak on the Super 20, but perhaps the beginning of something new as Percy Watson hits number 20 on a super tough week. He looks like he could be a future star to me - he's confident, his in-ring work is good, his promos are clear, he has a good voice and he has charisma. Plus, age is on his side.
19 new
The Great Khali
Don't know if it's my new-found love for Indian wrestling after seeing Ring Ka King, but I find myself receptive to the return of Great Khali. He brings something different to the table and we haven't seen him for a while, plus he sold the RKO like a champ' on Raw - which he deserves kudos for.
18 new
Gail Kim
I wasn't into Gail Kim much til the last couple of weeks when she had two great matches with Tara. Tara deserves plaudits too, but Gail Kim is just a little bit better.
17 -16 6w
James Storm
Storm did not look the star that he did last week on Impact or Against All Odds and seemed to play second fiddle to Jeff Hardy. He still looked great though, but TNA need to put everything behind him leading up to Lockdown if they want to build him up as the next top face of the company (which they should)
16 new
Johnny Curtis
Curtis' character is awesome and unique and he plays the part of the creepy sexually charged guy well. Proper laugh out loud moments when you see him hiding behind doors or corners of walls. As well as his backstage skits, he had a cool match with Yoshi Tatsu on Superstars this week and showed off his new personality well, making the rest holds fun with his peculiar mannerisms.
15 new
AJ Styles
AJ Styles still looks like a main event star to me, no matter how many mid-card angles he gets put in. His matches with Daniels and Kazarian this week were good and he came out of both looking like a real pro.
14 +2 2w
Austin Aries
Aries gets in here for a second week just on match strength alone. I'm glad to see him beat Alex Shelley clean, he has to be one of the first long-term dominant heel champions I've seen in years. But it begs the question - who else is left? Zema Ion is the new number one contender, and whether that was by accident or not after the Jesse Sorenson injury, it should prove to be an interesting match up with Aries. The fans are already chanting his name - perhaps a face turn is in order? That could be the cause if they plan to feud him with Ion.
13 new
David Otunga
Hilarious promo from Otunga this week, "praying" for John Laurinaitis in the Tim Tebow pose to big heel heat. The reason I love Otunga is the same reason I love Ring Ka King - he's an over the top, larger than life character who takes what could be a crap gimmick without the right direction and gives it personality of his own. Always like to see wrestling in suits, ever since I saw The Wall in WCW - so another bonus that helps find Otunga back on the top 20.
12 new
Gunner
Welcome back to the Super 20 Gunner and let's hope you stay here for a long time to come. It was about time someone beat the hell out of Garrett Bischoff and taught that punk kid a lesson, and thankfully that man was Gunner at Against All Odds. Would preferred to have seen his DDT on the concrete, but a simple DDT to the mat was fine enough. Still believe he will be a World Champ' by the time the year is through.
11 new
Sonjay Dutt
Not sure if Sonjay Dutt is an American-born Indian wrestler or if he is just one of the Indian guys, but he has a crispness to his in-ring work that I was surprised to see - most of the other Indian talent in RKK is pretty green. His character is great too, that of the weaselly heel and he does it better than anyone else in wrestling right now. Kissing his opponent's foot was hilarious and even one of the Indian commentators broke into English to laugh and say "I love this guy"
10 +2 2w
Robert Roode
I thought I was getting sick of Robert Roode, but the ending of the Against All Odds match showed me he is a legitimate champ', with his interactions with Sting. Spitting in Sting's face then laughing and telling him to count when Sting knocked Hardy out with the belt was great. I can forgive how badly the match was booked (why didn't Sting count Bully to win the title if he could count Roode?), just for the great ending - which Roode played magnificently. Even tapping out to Sting on Impact and rolling out cradling the belt like his baby and trying to get friendly with Bully Ray was quality - "Calfs and abs, like old times!" - "Old times" of course being less than 2 weeks ago.
9 new
Jwala
I don't know what Jwala's beef is and I'm not quite sure if he is face or heel, but he has an amazing intensity and creepiness about him. Not even sure what the mark is on the side of his face, but it looks cool. As soon as I saw him on camera he stood out to me and he is one of the better Indian wrestlers in Ring Ka King.
8 -5 2w
Randy Orton
Randy Orton brings real star power to WWE, and even though he is hanging around in the mid-card at the moment, he should either win the Elimination Chamber match or face the winner at WrestleMania. A strong match with Bryan with a good ending in where he brawled with Big Show sees him stay around the top 10.
7 +2 2w
Heath Slater
The One Man Southern Rock Band stays on the chart for a second week after having the best match in WWE world on Superstars with Justin Gabriel. Why is Gabriel not here though? Because he doesn't have the charisma, the charm and the brilliance of Heath Slater. Both are good workers that compliment each other, as seen with their great match - but Slater has the edge on Gabriel with his mannerisms and general demeanor. He stands out from the crowd.
6 +7 7w
Sting
Sting is one of only two players left suviving from week 1 of the Super 20, in a tough week where Cody Rhodes (did nothing noteworthy), John Cena (not on TV), John Laurinaitis (rarely featured) and Mark Henry (suspended) all lost their spots. But Sting was great this week. His mega charisma, while more apparent than anyone elses in TNA, doesn't overflow and make anyone else look bad. That is why Sting is so good, whereas Hogan's charisma just steals the show - that can be a positive or a negative. The Stinger was great in the tag team match main event and his segment with Roode at the end of Against All Odds showed why he is one of the more intriguing characters on the show, even if that match was overbooked so poorly at the end.
5 +2 2w
Triple H
The Triple H-Taker feud just blows everything else out of the water right now in WWE and the slow build up to WrestleMania should be epic. Hunter's opening promo on Raw was long, but necessarily so - it gave a new spin to the feud and made the match seem more relevant than it would have been, giving HHH a heelish edge.
4 +2 2w
Daniel Bryan
Bryan improves week after week and his new left-wing liberal gimmick makes him even more hateable as a heel. Everything about him has improved, from his promos, to his matches and even his facial mannerisms. It is small things like that which make a star and one of the things I criticised Daniel Bryan about in my '10 reasons Daniel Bryan sucks' was how he should study Randy Orton for that part of his in-ring game. Seemingly he has taken my advice and he has become one of the more entertaining acts in WWE at the moment because of it.
3 new
Magnus
After seeing Magnus kill it on the microphone this week on Impact and then seeing him in Ring Ka King as "Sir" Brutus Magnus, I am convinced he is the future of the business. Wade Barrett move over, Magnus is the next big thing out of England. To think he is only in his mid-twenties is a shock, his in-ring work and promo style suggests that of a veteran. In Ring Ka King he looks like a total star and in TNA he is helping make Samoa Joe relevant again - something nobody has been able to do for 2 years.
2 n/c 7w
Bully Ray
The Bully was incredible this week, as always and along with Sting is one of only two remaining stars who have appeared on every Super 20 list since its inception, many moons ago. He played his part in some good matches this week and cut awesome promos as usual (calling Christy Hemme a skank was priceless), but my favourite Bully moment this week came on TNA Xplosion, the UK only show. Some blonde slag from the shitty Man U channel was being interviewed as she had been in attendance at the Impact house show in Manchester, when Bully Ray turns up in a Liverpool top and starts calling her ugly and fat and to stop calling him at 3 in the morning. So, so funny - but not as funny as...
.
1 new
Scott Steiner
...Big Poppa Pump! With Ring Ka King pulling in a reported 14million viewers in India, beating out Raw in America by 10million, Scott Steiner is the hottest act in wrestling right now. Some may say Matt Morgan would be entitled to this honour, due to him being the RKK champion - but the real star of the show is The Genetic Freak, bringing his surreal jacked-up comedy ravings to India and terrifying the fans in the process. Anyone who doesn't believe a Ring Ka King star deserves to be at the top of this list just needs to watch the opening minutes of one of the latest episodes in where Steiner calls the Indian general manager Jazzy Lahoria "white trash". Ring Ka King is awesome in itself, but Steiner being on there makes it 10 x better. It is more simplfied and old school in it's feel as it's for an audience more unaccustomed to wrestling than our own, which begs the question why they brought a lunatic like Scott Steiner across - someone that native English speakers can barely understand half the time. It just adds to the greatness that is Ring Ka King - the show is wrestling gold and Steiner is the best act on there.
Super 20 - the top 20 wrestlers this week in wrestling.
Week 4 of 2012
A revolutionary week this week, as 11 newcomers make it into the chart, some returning faces, a couple of brand new stars and the very first ever NXT entries. Read on to find out...
20 new
Titus O'Neil
After a decent match with Darren Young, Titus O'Neil cut a hilarious and random heel swerve promo for seemingly no reason. The first ever NXT entry onto the prestigious Super 20.
19 new
Mickie James
A great match with Madison Rayne this week on Impact, TNA knockouts keep showing the WWE barbie dolls how it's done. Mickie James is probably the best female in-ring worker around, an underrated talent.
18 new
Jack Swagger
That two minutes of Swagger beating the crap out of Zack Ryder and then pinning him to steal the U.S. title was one of the most satisfying things on Raw as of late. About time that farsical run came to an end. The U.S. title suits Swagger perfectly.
17 new
Vickie Guerrero
If you didn't see Vickie Guerrero daning on this week's episode of Smackdown make sure you find it on Youtube. She's had some funny moments in her career, but this was amongst the best of them. She also played her part well on Raw in the opening promo, laughing in Mick Foley's face as Laurinaitis told him he couldn't be in the Rumble.
16 -13
Gunner
A big win over AJ Styles for Gunner this week on Impact, but unfortunately no DDT to the concrete.
15 +2
Cody Rhodes
After posting my Top 5 Hornswoggle moments article this week, I got a kick out of Cody Rhodes going after the little troll and beating on him until Justin Gabriel made the save. They had a decent five minute match, Cody showing how talented he is in the ring as always.
14 -10
Chris Jericho
Jericho falls down 10 places, but his performance on Raw was still gold, walking out in the middle of the tag team match after hyping up the crowd. Still no idea where this is all leading to, it's keeping us all glued to find out week after week - great writing
13 new
Eric Young
EY was hilarious as usual and his "match" with Angelina Love. He keeps finding news ways to make his grapple spot funny, even though we've all seen it 100 times already. His chemistry with ODB is amazing, they should become a legit tag team.
12 +3
Sting
The boss of Impact was great in his role as GM, as he has been every week the last couple of months. A feud with Bully Ray could make for some great matches and promos.
11 +3
Mark Henry
The WSM running down Teddy Long and his Vegas wheel on Smackdown was priceless. His match with Bryan wasn't so good, but that was down to bad booking more than anything. Desperate to see Henry take the gold against Bryan and Big Show at the Rumble - he deserves to main event WrestleMania.
10 new
R-Truth
As I go through the list it feels like there were lots of great comedy segments in wrestling this week. Truth's photoshop slideshow at Disneyland was brilliant, and the "I'm not even sure if that's PG" line was hysterical. I though R-Truth as a babyface might be terrible but it's actually turning out better than him as a heel.
9 new
Garrett Bischoff
The training video of Garrett Bischoff on Impact this week was hilarious and epic, channelling the spirit of Rocky Balboa and Tony Montana with a cheesy 80's movie style montage. Just who is Bischoff's trainer?
8 new
Sheamus
Sheamus and Wade Barrett put on a spectacle of a match on Smackdown this week and one of the best TV matches in a while, with their tables match. Less leprchaun and Irish comedy and more intensity like this from Sheamus and he will find a regular spot in the illustrious Super 20.
7 new
Wade Barrett
Barrett just about gets the nod over Sheamus, but he had the benefit of enjoying the previously mentioned promo with R-Truth to get him there. The win over the Irish fella helps too. He seems like one of the odds on favourites to win the Royal Rumble in a few weeks.
6 new
Dolph Ziggler
Mr. Ziggles has truly arrived. His promo destroying Mick Foley was incredible and for the first time ever Ziggler felt like a bonafide main eventer, with the mic skills to match his stellar in-ring work.
5 +13
John Cena
Cena showed a side of him we haven't seen for a long time this week on Raw, physically decimating Jack Swagger in revenge for his assault and title win over Zack Ryder earlier in the night. He looked great as the pissed off tough guy and even showed heelish tendencies in his assault, Swagger coming off as kind of sympathetic. The Rise Above Hate angle continues, but where will it lead to?
4 -2
James Storm
It's stupid that James Storm had to fight another #1 contendership match this week - this time against Jeff Hardy - but nevertheless Storm looked like a legit main event star on the mic and in the ring. He has it all to be the lead face of TNA and take them to next level, I believe - as I wrote in this article.
3 -2
Bully Ray
If Storm is the top face in TNA right now, then Bully Ray is the top heel. A fantastic backstage segment with Sting showed off a great chemistry with the Insane Icon and the post-main event beatdown on Storm and Hardy with his trademark chain was a mark-out moment. After a feud with Sting, Bully deserves a PPV world title match sometime in the next few months.
2 new
Michael Cole
Any Cole Miners out there who didn't watch this weeks episode of NXT: Redemption - go and watch it. Cole was good on Smackdown and heeled it up to his usual high standards, but on NXT he gave a blistering performance. He destroyed everyone and everything associated with the show, all in typical Cole fashion and turned what would have been a terrible, unwatchable wedding angle between Johnny Curtis and Maxine into a work of art with the gift of his voice. Vintage.
1 +11
John Laurinaitis
John Laurinaitis becomes the first ever star to win the historic Super 20 for a second time, after a blistering performance on Raw. If the Ziggler-Punk title match at the Rumble had no heat going into it, that all changed after Laurinaitis completely sold the match with his brilliant promo work. Credit has to be given to Punk for his promo against Laurinaitis also, and he narrowly misses out on the top 20 this week - but Laurinaitis was on another level with his end promo, finally snapping after weeks of back-and-forth with CM Punk. His mannerisms when he finally snapped were amazing and I had flashes of early Vince Mcmahon, fixing the tie and wiping down his suit. Decking Foley with the microphone was a touch of class to finish the show. If CM Punk can keep his game up, this feud could be the next Austin-McMahon - and hopefully they will have some matches down the line.
This Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment award, the Most Improved Star Of The Year, goes to the most improved wrestler or wrestling personality in the last year.
6. Bully Ray
Bully mother f'n Ray. The best promo guy in the wrestling business, officially. Brother/Bubba/Bully Ray was always a great trash talker as part of The Dudleyz/Team 3D, but he has really come into his own as a singles wrestler this year since turning heel on D-Von.
And while you could say Bully Ray is one of the best on the mic, it would be foolish to say he is a bad in-ring worker. Having gotten into shape and dropped a lot of fat this year, The Bully - as Mike Tenay affectionately refers to him as - has had quite a few top matches including a match of the year candidate with AJ Styles in their last man standing bout.
After a great career as a tag team wrestler, Bully Ray has found his niche as a singles star and elevated himself to a position where fans are craving to see him win a world title. As The Bully said in a backstage promo during his initial push earlier this year, in other words: "I would love to win the World Title.. can you imagine how pissed the wrestling world would be if Bully Ray was World Champ?"
While many smarks would have been pissed off at the time if that had come true, even smarks have some sense and they too have come around to Bully Ray being one of the best wrestlers in the business today. Who says only push youth?
5. James Storm While Beer Money were the best tag team of 2010, the former TNA tag team champions got over on their superb wrestling abilities in their long series of matches with the Motor City Machine Guns. Everyone knew James Storm and Bobby Roode could go in the ring - but what everyone did not know was just how good James Storm was on the mic.
Clearly the Shawn Michaels to Bobby Roode's Marty Jannetty, James Storm was the breakout star of Beer Money during the Bound For Glory series finale - in which Bobby Roode undeservedly won. Just like Bully Ray is currently doing, James Storm carried Bobby Roode as a singles wrestler via his microphone skills, putting over his tag team partner in the build for his TNA World Title match at Bound For Glory with Kurt Angle. It became obvious who the real talent of the group had been all that time.
Though Storm is not as ripped as his former tag team partner, part of his appeal is his everyman look. A little on the fat side he may be, but it doesn't stop him from looking twice as tough and a more legitimate threat in the ring than Roode does since his cliched and uninspired heel turn.
Winning the world title, albeit for a brief amount of time, was clearly the highlight of Storm's year and his whole career. Roode may have stole his thunder for now, but when the TNA bookers realise Storm has more potential to be a main event player, he will be right back up there with the best of them. A win over Kurt Angle at the latest PPV shows he isn't done on top just yet.
4. Cody Rhodes When Cody Rhodes first appeared on Raw all those years ago, getting slapped by Orton before being schooled by Hardcore Holly - it seemed that the current Intercontinental Champ was just another undeserving and pathetic-looking 2nd generation star who had got a WWE contract through family links alone.
How wrong was I, as Cody Rhodes has since elevated himself to become an almost permanent fixture in my fave five. While he was decent in Legacy, Rhodes really took off in 2010 when drafted to Smackdown - debuting his "Dashing" gimmick. After cutting a hilarious semi-shoot promo on the fat, wasting Matt Hardy, people began to take notice of Dusty's son.
But he'll never be as good as Goldust, they cried. How wrong they were. While the "Dashing" gimmick was fun, the best was yet to come - as at the beginning of 2011 the new Cody Rhodes was born. "Hideous" and "Grotesque" were the words standing out from his titantron video. After legitimately breaking his nose, Rhodes was forced to wear a protective mask which he worked into his character and so began a 4-month feud with Rey Mysterio in where Cody showed his real signs of being a future world champion.
Since his "Undashing" gimmick, a series of excellent matches and brilliant promos, Rhodes has emerged as one of the brightest talents in the WWE and for sure a world champion sometime in 2012. He has elevated the status of the IC title, just as he said he would do and brought more credibility to that belt than Daniel Bryan has reduced credibility from the world title.
Now unmasked and with plenty of character depth, Rhodes has all the freedom and potential to move up to the next level. A long feud with a legitimate main eventer such as Randy Orton or John Cena in 2012 will take him there.
3. Mark Henry When I try to think of the worst aspects of WWE in the past few years, the tag team of MVP and Mark Henry often come to mind. While MVP was brilliant as the heel U.S. champion on Smackdown, tagging with Mark Henry in matching red outfits after a big losing streak was the sign of his demise, which would eventually see him leave for a new challenge in NJPW.
But Mark Henry didn't even have that period in his career he could look back on that MVP had. A feud or two with Undertaker and a run as ECW champion was okay, but nothing people would remember in 10 years time. No, Mark Henry would undoubtedly be remembered as the guy who got Mae Young pregnant and subsequently became the proud father of.. a plastic hand.
Then, the 2011 draft came and Mark Henry was moved to Smackdown as one of the "big moves" shown on the draft edition of Raw. A collective groan was emitted within the wrestling world, as a draft pick was seemingly wasted on the happy-go-lucky guy in the big red Kool-Aid outfit. But their groans were about to be proven erroneous and short-sighed, as Mark Henry turned heel that very same night, clotheslining John Cena.
Big deal, we cried - Mark Henry sucks heel or face. But how wrong we all were. The world's strongest man went on to become one of the biggest draws of the year in WWE and the Smackdown ratings went in the opposite direction to Raw's - they rised. Of course, there was more to that than just Mark Henry, but he was a vital ingredient in the success of Smackdown this year. His feuds with Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show were all incredible and featured surprisingly good matches - a rare feat for such a big guy (especially 2 big guys, when it came to his matches with Big Show). It was the first time in a long time the fans got to enjoy a dominant heel destroy everything in his path, and suddenly with his tough bastard ad-libbing and slapping up WWE production staff, Mark Henry felt fresh. Then he became the World Champion and you know the rest.
2. Gunner If you told me this time last year than Gunner would become one of my favourite wrestlers in TNA, I would have said: who's Gunner? Oh, that guy who acts as security for Jeff Jarrett and Immortal? He's a wrestler?
Fast forward to twelve months later, and Mr. Intensity is piledriving Garrett Bischoff onto the exposed concrete. Concrete exposed by his new manager Ric Flair, no less.
He held the TV title for a while, but Gunner really had his breakout moment after pinning Mr. Anderson and Sting 2 weeks in a row, both of whom were the world champion at the time of defeat. It seemed like he was about to break out as the next big thing in TNA and perhaps even wrestling as a whole. His backstage promos were cold, calculating and believable. His in-ring work was hard-hitting and exciting.
But his push was put on hold and not even featured in the BFG series, a (fake) undefeated streak (17 wins and 3 losses) that Gunner deserved was given to the drab, boring Crimson. When a wrestler is named after the colour of his hair, you know he has no distinguishable charisma.
Still, Gunner has re-emerged towards the end of the year and now being managed by Ric Flair after Immortal has crumbled into ashes, a big feud with Garrett Bischoff going into 2012 is just the ticket to get him back on the map. Do I smell a World title next year?
1. R-Truth (Winner)
If a heel turn ever saved someone's WWE career, it was R-Truth in 2011. The phony "What's Up" rapping entrance, which was boring from the moment it was conceived, gave way to one of the funniest and most charismatic superstars in wrestling today.
John Morrison was hit with the Jannetty curse for a 2nd time, as after Miz had gone on to greatness after Miz 'n' Morrison, R-Truth went on to main event another 2 PPV's this year after turning heel and blowing smoke in his former tag team partner's face. Having already been in 2 main events (if you count the Royal Rumble) - R-Truth took his tally to an impressive 4 PPV main events after turning heel - a WWE title match with John Cena at Capitol Punishment, the PPV which was built around Truth himself. And then being involved in the Survivor Series main event against the returning Rock as part of The Awesome Truth with The Miz. A dream year for a guy who this time last year was rapping to fat kids in the audience "What's up?" to which they would reply in their high-pitched voices, and off-time with the music "...What's up?"
But it isn't just Truth's stellar mic work and gimmick that needs to be recognised - his in-ring work has for a long time been great. He just needed this gimmick and the feuds he has had this year to compliment his wrestling abilities. Now that he has been suspended (for smoking weed presumably), he could come back as heel or face and his gimmick would work either way and suit his in-ring style, such is the genius of his new creation.
And so I could go on about how funny Truth's promos were and how he was the greatest thing in wrestling for a number of months - the reason to tune in to Raw every week - but the best thing I could do is post up a video. So here it is:
One last thing that really shows how high Truth set the bar this year - he actually made the "WHAAAAAT?" chants become something funny to appreciate and laugh along with, instead of being tired and old. Dont what me!
