-Written By: Leo
Just the other day I thought to myself where will I be in five years time? After a couple minutes of thinking about it my attention turned towards where other will be in the next five years, more specifically WWE and it’s superstars.
My first thought was who will be WWE champion? Which then really fired me up because Orton, Cena and Punk will all most likely either be gone or on much less shows by then. Since the loss of some of the top superstars in the business like Shawn Michaels, Edge, Batista, Triple H, Jeff Hardy and the Undertaker, WWE were stuck with a lack of star power for a while. With Rey Mysterio being injured most of the time and Jericho working every so often it was basically John Cena and Randy Orton who carried the company. That was, of course, before the outbreak Punkamania. But even then WWE had, and still only have, 3 legitimate wrestlers who are main eventers and familiar with the WWE audience. Sure I guess you could say Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus are all top superstars, which they are, however none of them really have a longstanding career in WWE the way that Orton and Cena do. Which led me to think, Orton and Cena really broke out in around 2005 and since then have been top contenders but I don’t really see a lot of the guys in WWE just now being as big as they are. So who will be Champion in five years time, who will be main eventing Wrestlemania?
Well it took me a while but I looked through the WWE roster and had a good think about where each wrestler could be in five years. Some may prove me wrong and there are guys for sure I haven’t mentioned who will probably be at the top so any suggestions from you guys is welcomed.
Here is my List of guys who I think will have reached the top of WWE in 5 years.
Dolph Ziggler – Ziggler is a guy we all know is talented but despite his ongoing pursuits of World Championships he has yet to maintain a place in with the top guys. I reckon in the next two or three years Ziggler will be a regular main eventer and continue to be for years to come. His bumps are envied by every wrestler and his extreme confidence allows for him to have interesting interviews.
Evan Bourne – Bourne is one of my favourite superstars in WWE and I can honestly see him making a big impact on the wrestling business. He has been unfortunate not to already be in a higher spot but I predict with his high-flying ability and easy going nature Evan Bourne will be one of the top Stars in the business. If he improves his mic skills then nothing will hold him back. However, I don’t think he will be a constant Champion holder like Cena has been. I think his reigns as World Champion will be more like Rey Mysterio’s but he will still be a main event superstar.
Drew McIntyre – Why the hell is he being teamed with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal?! When McIntyre first debuted on Smackdown a few years back he was a tremendous heel. His undefeated streak added to his cool, arrogant persona. “The Chosen One” made some serious impact capturing the intercontinental title within months of his debut. But since then McIntyre has been seriously misused and now appears to be nothing more than a jobber which is sad considering he has all the makings of main event star. With an excellent mat based wrestling along with his charismatic mic skills he could be a real bright spark in professional wrestling. I think despite where McIntyre is just now on the card he will rise up and in five years I am certain he will be a main eventer for WWE, the guy is still only 27 years old!
Daniel Bryan – Obviously Daniel Bryan is already a top guy but he has yet to cement his legacy in WWE. I think in five years he will be one of the biggest stars in the world. Similar to John Cena or The Rock in terms of popularity. He has shown he can do everything and I believe he is the type of guy who loves pro wrestling so much he will just continue his career for years and years to come. A future wrestling legend.
Jack Swagger – Swagger is another guy who has proved himself as a top contender. The former Heavyweight Champion has a terrific all-round ability yet is being used as a midcarder at best. While at the top of the mountain Swagger never really caught a strong fan base however, at the age of just 30 years old I think that will soon change. He will pursue his dream and in 5 years he will be one of the guys that people will be saying “Put him in the ring with anyone and he will have a good match.”
My Last Superstar on the list is who I think will eclipse all others and will go onto be known as one of the greats of professional wrestling. He is a man who is not talked about that often and may surprise a lot of readers. That man is Kofi Kingston. Kofi is a marvellous wrestler in all aspects; he has natural charisma, an exciting and diverse moveset, immense mat wrestling, and I have yet to see him have a bad match. Kofi Kingston could be a massive star if WWE would just push him slightly. It pains me to see him being put in a match like the elimination chamber and money in the bank without ever winning them because if he was just given his chance I am certain that he would instantly be a top star. His charming nature only enhances his character. Not to mention the spots he has pulled off such as at the Royal Rumble. I really think he his massively underrated and could be a huge superstar. In fact in five years I believe that Kofi will be WWE Champion and headlining Wrestlemania. But that is just my opinion, I would love to hear your guys suggestions and thoughts on this.
Thank You.
Ringsidehustle.com 
Interesting column. The thing I like most about Kofi is the grin. It’s one of the best. Eddie G. had it. Kelly Kelly had it. You really get the feeling that he loves being out there.
Something to keep in mind as far as who will be top dog in five years is the unexpected. If not for Cena dressing up as Vanilla Ice, he was close to being released. We don’t know what could happen. A wrestler could (sadly) die and the real life friend could wind up getting a huge push from it, with the fans getting being them.
The journey from bit player to major star is one thing I like about wrestling. It’s a big reason why I enjoy “bad matches”. I like to watch as somebody grows as a performer, where they are called up>a nobody>a solid hand>a mid-card star>a semi main eventer>a consistant main eventer>an “it” guy.
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Thanks. I know what you mean about a lot of things can be unexpected but these are the guys I think that if they get their chance will be at the top. 😀
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Especially if Vince like them.
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Guys like Kofi and Bourne are guys that I think would have been main event stars by now if they were ever going to be main event stars. Especially Bourne aka Matt Sydal. He’s only 29 years old but he is a 12.5(!) year professional wrestling veteran. I don’t think many people realize that. Alberto Del Rio made his wrestling debut only one month before Bourne. Sheamus has less wrestling experience than Bourne. When Miz debuted in WWE in 2006, Bourne was in his third year for ROH and had already wrestled for TNA and the IWA. Bourne is a guy that I think should have gotten a big push by now.
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I think Bryan, Sheamus, ADR are the 3 biggest contenders to be the top guys in 5 years time. More so Sheamus and ADR because Bryan has been wrestling on the Indy scene for about 10 years before making it to WWE.
I think ZIggler will be either a guy who makes it soon or will just do down hill. That’s just how I feel about him. Drew, Kofi, Evan, Jack…I just don’t see it happening for them. I agree with what Tony said, if they were destined to make it they would have already.
There is a certain lack of charisma lacking from them which is probably why they aren’t world title material now.
Great first column! If you have more don’t hesitate to send it along 🙂
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thanks, I will write something soon. I appreciate your opinion and understand about them making it by now just got my fingers crossed that maybe soon they will.
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At the moment WWE are hanging onto and paying BIG money to the likes of Taker, The Rock, Lesnar and Triple H… These guy make up the main, full on storys throughout the year. Whom which they allow their ‘Top’ stars to feud with.
This is what I predict the further to be, the ‘Top’ guys now will be holding the fort in a few years time. A handful of guys, if that, will be allowed to prosper but not at the expense at the current top tier, therefore diluting their overall talent and expectations… And so on
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I’ll be honest, you’re assumption of Kofi Kingston doesn’t surprise me in the least. He’s young, athletic, and a huge hit with the younger demographic. In addition, and take this only for what it is, nothing more, him being African American obviously lends itself to WWE’s supposed new initiative to create “ethnic stars”, like we had back in the 60’s and 70’s with guys like Bruno and Pedro Morales, etc.
I do think, however, that Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose both have a great potential to be something special in the next few years. This gimmick they are currently in is really stifling for them. I hope they get the chance to show what they can do as singles competitors, they’ll turn your head, I guarantee it.
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Yeah, I have heard a lot of great things about them but I haven’t actually seen to much of the, hope I see more soon though.
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