Hello again, and welcome to another Ringside View. With the departure of Ric Flair last year, retirement has become a popular and viable option for a number of elder statesmen in the grappling game. With JBL leaving this year and rumours of Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker considering trading in matches of the year for gold watches, it looks the end of the old guard in WWE. The big question is who will be able to step up and fill the void? WWE have a large talent pool but many superstars are almost interchangeable or completely forgetful. However, there are a few who look to take the steps into the main event scene. This edition will be exploring some of those superstars likely to become the heroes (and villains) of tomorrow.

Jack Swagger

The tall blond All American American has already made a large impact on the ECW brand. Debuting last year, Swagger won over the fans as the arrogant pretty boy fairly quickly. A long lasting feud throughout the autumn with Tommy Dreamer set him up as a man to hold the ECW title soon. But no one could have predicted how soon. The man with less than a year on a national circuit beat the beloved Matt Hardy at the start of 2009, shocking the world. Despite the little experience and the greenness of Swagger, he carried the title with poise and with matches far better than they had any right to be. Having lost the title to Christian at the Backlash event, Swagger looks to have one more year on the ‘C-Brand’ before advancing onto the big shows to iron out some little details. His biggest drawback right now is his character borders on the comedy geek and super competitor. While he stands out of the crowd without being just another body, his promos focus much on comedy expressions and drawing attention to his speech defect until his serious edge is greatly diminished. This may not be all Swaggers fault but WWE need to look at the productiveness in slamming Swagger for his one imperfection over and over again.

John Morrison

‘The Shaman of Sexy’ is pegged by some to be the next big star. Surviving the Tough Enough reality show and debuting as Eric Bischoff’s lackey on Raw as Johnny Spade, before changing it to Johnny Nitro. Nitro returned to Ohio Valley Wrestling where he formed a team with Joey Mercury (formerly Joey Matthews from the original ECW) and girlfriend Melina. Taking the tag titles off Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio on their Smackdown debut in 2005, MNM took the WWE by storm. Being the stand out stars of the ailing tag team division meant that the fans took MNM very seriously. However, it all hit the fan in 2006 when Melina’s cocky attitude and Mercury’s drug use forced the team to disperse quickly. Nitro ended up on Raw with a red hot feud with Jeff Hardy which led to 2007. Nitro then look to fall off the map completely until the tragic events in June 2007 made WWE put Nitro into the frame of ECW champion. Headlining against CM Punk and…well, not many others. Renaming himself again as John Morrison, after Jim Morrison of The Doors, Morrison lost the title to Punk before getting involved with The Miz. Starting out as hype for a triple threat match, the two were put into a tandem and, in the tradition of the Hollywood Blonds or New Age Outlaws, caught on fire. Going throughout 2008 entertaining the Internet audience with the Dirt Sheet and holding the tag titles on both Raw and Smackdown, Morrison sky rocketed. Briefly feuding with DX and gaining victories over Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio, Morrison looked to be on top of the world. Having split from the Miz and turning face in the process, Morrison faces a challenge making it away from the land of the heel. But going straight into a high profile rivalry with Chris Jericho will certainly not hurt ‘The Guru of Greatness’ in becoming a huge star very soon.

MVP

Montel Vontavious Porter debuted on Smackdown as the highest paid performer in WWE history. Playing on the public image of sportsmen in the current age, MVP entered WWE with a lot of fanfare. After a so-so run with Kane, MVP rebounded and soon became a technical maestro and United States Champion. Entering the performances of both men’s career, MVP and Matt Hardy had a classic run with quality matches and sterling segments. After dropping the US title after a lengthy run, MVP then hit a massive road block. Rumoured to have had a falling out with management resulted in a near year long losing streak. Rebounding late last year, MVP was now a heroic baby face, finally beating Big Show in a last man standing match. MVP then went into a minor feud with US champion Shelton Benjamin and preparing for the Money in the Bank ladder match. MVP finally moved from Smackdown to Raw along with his newly won US title. Last week, he entered a solid outing with WWE Champion Randy Orton on Raw and has gained mainstream television attention thanks to Sherri Shepherd of the View (US version of Loose Women) MVP looks to have more upside to his career than he has in months.

C M Punk

Former head honcho of the Ring of Honor before accepting a WWE contract in 2005, Punk looked to be an impending failure in the big leagues. Faltering during a match on Heat, Punk was sentenced to Ohio Valley Wrestling until Paul Heyman brought Punk up in 2006 to be the new face of the recently revived ECW. Punk instantly became a fan favourite, despite WWE losing faith in him. Punk persevered and eventually won the ECW title in 2007, only to lose it briskly to Chavo Guerrero. Punk then won the Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 24, after failing to regain the ECW title. Punk did nothing of note until June, when he pounced on an injured Edge and became World Champion. This should have been a big deal for Punk, but he was booked as a lucky loser from the first night. Punk managed good matches with Batista and JBL, who cut him down as a paper champion, before being knocked out by Randy Orton at Unforgiven, giving Chris Jericho the title without Punk ever losing it. Rather than chasing the title, Punk settled for the tag team championship along with Kofi Kingston for a stint. Meanwhile, Punk then looked at William Regal’s Intercontinental Championship. Winning a tournament in the last months of 2008, Punk unseated Regal in early 2009. Punk lost the tag titles to the exciting duo of Miz and Morrison. Next, he lost the Intercontinental title to JBL in the run up to Wrestlemania 25. Punk was not expected to win the Money in the Bank for a second year, but he prevailed. Despite doing nothing for several months, Punk was drafted to Smackdown and last week was immediately put into a main event with Edge. With a rivalry with Umaga on the books, Punk looks to have some good performances but his character needs more support if he is to become a permanent main eventer.

The Miz

Former reality television star has excelled in recent times as a spoilt brat. Coming second to Daniel Puder in the final version of Tough Enough, Mike Mizanin was given a contract anyway and was sent to Deep South Wrestling to train under Bill DeMott. Coming to Smackdown in 2006 and using the moniker ‘Miz’, he was shown as more of a Gene Okerlund figure rather than a wrestler. Problem was, with irritating catchphrases and a cocky personality, the fans soon turned on Miz. Having a handful of matches and a horrific segment at No Mercy, Miz ended 2006 as a non entity. 2007 was not much different, apart from switching brands and ending up on the ‘under new management’ ECW. But at Cyber Sunday, Miz won the vote to wrestle CM Punk for the ECW title. While he didn’t win it was a very encouraging sign and he was involved in a three way competition for the gold along with John Morrison and CM Punk. This, as stated earlier, led to the formation of the self proclaimed ‘greatest tag team in the 21^st century.’ Facing all competition from Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes to Jesse and Festus, Miz and Morrison sky rocketed in popularity with the WWE fans. Playing the straight man in the web show ‘The Dirt Sheet’, Miz honed his microphone skills. Soon, Miz and Morrison’s hard work paid off by rubbing shoulders with the likes of Batista, JBL, Rey Mysterio and having a competitive match with D-Generation X on a special three hour edition of Raw. Miz also had the honour of wrestling the ECW Championship scramble match while his partner sat on the sidelines. The tandem’s last hurrah was a gripping feud with the Colons to unify the two tag team titles, which was criminally bumped from the Wrestlemania card for no real reason. Miz was moved to Raw in the last Draft show and ended his relationship with John Morrison by hitting him with the Reality Check. These past two weeks, the Chick Magnet has started a minor feud with John Cena and shown amazing potential to be a future superstar.

Overall, these men can only succeed if the WWE wants them to. So far, they’ve shown some interest in the future superstars, but will they make it to the main event. Cynics will say no, citing the HHH effect which hampered the careers of Rob Van Dam, Booker T. and, most recently, Randy Orton. But one can hope that the tremendous talent on hand will make the highest plateau.