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 The Snowman is a genius Follow @TheDocLOP QUESTION OF THE DAY: Giving the rub of defeating Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania to an emerging star may be too tempting to pass up. If there is not a star over enough to maximize the benefits of that rub, do you think it is worth the risk for WWE to force it? From the moment that Brock Lesnar ended Undertaker's "Streak" at WrestleMania, people from all walks of wrestling life started talking about how he'd use the heat gained from that victory to put over someone next year in Silicon Valley. Quickly, Roman Reigns emerged as the leading candidate. I pushed that match on the LOP Radio Post-Mania XXX show. Jim Ross recommended it the following week. This summer, the rumor mill started to reinforce it. A problem emerged, however. On WWE TV, Reigns received a push that suggested creative's direction for the heat transfer from Brock to Roman at Mania 31 would be a clash of titans. The Beast Incarnate would mow through all comers, WWE Championship in tow and "The One in 21-1" moniker splashed across t-shirts and mentioned ad nauseum on WWE commentary. The only man that could rise up to stop him would be the new superhero, Roman Reigns. Yet, this push reminiscent of Ultimate Warrior in 1989 as he prepared to offer Hulk Hogan “The Ultimate Challenge” did not catch on with the 2014 WWE audience. I know that I've been sparingly writing columns since June, but rest assured I've been paying attention to every broadcast to see how the crowd responded to Reigns, assuming that all rumors of his ascension would prove false unless the crowd bought into him. The sad fact of the matter is that they haven't. In the dating world, there’s a saying for when a person does not like his or her suitor and it’s applicable to the former Hound of Justice right now. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but, "Roman Reigns, WWE fans just aren't that into you." So, what happens, now? It's hard to fathom WWE handing over the keys to the kingdom to an unproven, albeit potential-packed emerging star who isn't that over. And, not to spoil the fun of any fans that might be salivating at the thought that I might be suggesting Dean Ambrose is going to take Roman’s place, but he's not that over, either (at least, not yet). Raw was in Chicago last week and Ambrose got a respectable reaction certainly better than his former stablemate, but it wasn't the kind of pop that should have anyone thinking "Whoa! Ambrose should beat Brock Lesnar and become wrestling's next Steve Austin." Two months from now, Ambrose might bring back memories of Daniel Bryan’s pops, but not at present time. Bryan showed us what it looks like to be an incredibly popular, genuinely adored babyface character in the modern era. Nobody is even close to that level right now. CM Punk was close. He, too, got over organically and in a major way. Right now, Bryan is the only wrestler who gets a reaction befitting of a passing of the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar. Call me crazy, but as resistant as WWE appeared to be this year to going all-in with Bryan, I would think it would be even less likely to happen again based on a variety of factors from historical precedent to his injury-plagued post-Mania run. It would be great if there was a top babyface moving quickly up the ladder who had the chops to be one of the torchbearers for the next generation in WWE. Lesnar is the perfect heel to put over whoever that man turns out to be. The issue is that it’s less than six months until they go / no-go for launching that star into the place where defeating Brock Lesnar to win the WWE title at WrestleMania would take him and there does not appear to be anyone ready for the mission. The other rumored opponent for the Beast Incarnate next March is The Rock, but I think I speak for all fans itching for the next generation to begin when I say that Rock vs. Brock is “A-OK,” but it does not need the WWE Heavyweight Championship of the World to be a monstrous draw of outside interest. Batista, with his increasing Hollywood credentials, would be another opponent that fits a similar mold as Rock for the Current Big Thing. We may well be over a year away from knowing who the leader of the next generation will be. There is definitely a group of young and hungry stars on the roster, some of whom we’ve identified and discussed in this column in the last several months and others who are preparing for their main roster debuts in NXT. One monstrously interesting question for WWE to answer in the next six months is whether or not they feel that they should use beating Brock Lesnar for the World title as a stepping stone even if someone like Roman Reigns is not completely ready. Or would they, perhaps, call an audible given the circumstances and change course. In a perfect world, they would tweak their approach to getting Reigns over when he returns from the hernia repair, it would work, and we would move into a new era with a star at the helm who has the momentum to fully take advantage of the spoils that beating the “One in 21-1” would bring. Things likely won’t work out perfectly. Do you hot shot Reigns (or someone else) instead and then hope and pray that it doesn’t backfire. I could see why they would go that route. Circumstances like Brock taking down “The Streak” and being able to provide a massive rub to a wrestler who then becomes a top drawing star for several years do not present themselves every day. From a business-perspective, that would be hard to pass up. Even if Reigns (or whoever) got a pop that sounded like flatulence in a noisy room when he closed Mania – or maybe worse, got booed out of the building – he’d still be able to say he was the guy that finally slayed the beast and he’d be set as a top star for years to come. There is a logical question lingering in counter to the perceived necessity of having Lesnar transfer his heat to an up-and-coming star at WrestleMania: Why force feed the audience something that they are not showing interest in seeing just because it’d be nice to take advantage of Brock’s heat and credibility in 2015? The possibility exists to call a very financially-profitable audible. The Rock lives in southern California and has expressed previous interest in wrestling Brock Lesnar. I think all involved parties from Rock to Rock’s agent to WWE to Brock know that there may not be a bigger economic draw on the table here in late 2014 leading to 2015 than wrestling’s biggest name in the whole world versus wrestling’s biggest name in the sports world. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins, as individuals, may not be ready to leap into WrestleMania’s main-event in its currently rumored association with Brock Lesnar, but the fans definitely seem to want to see The Shield resolve their group-related issues. Could their long-rumored triple threat be a WrestleMania main-event for the WWE Championship-caliber match? I think it’s a reasonable assumption. There is a noticeable difference in crowd response when one former Shield member involves himself in the business of another than when any former Shield member mixes it up with anyone else. The audience has made it clear that Ambrose vs. Rollins, for instance, is the hottest feud in the company. If WWE were to get behind a triple threat match for the title, then creative direction could be geared toward elevating all three to that level between now and the pre-Mania TV shows. The youth movement would be served, but in such a way that it compliments what the week-in and week-out fans want to see. The Shield was a very well-booked stable for the majority of its 18 months near the top of the wrestling world, so much so that their biggest feuds at the peak of their popularity as a unit inspired some of the most unique crowd reactions that I’ve heard in 30 years of watching WWE. It was a simple formula that will hopefully get copied down the road for other superstars. They were introduced in a high profile situation and proceeded to introduce a very basic premise for their presence. For about four months, they were a focal point on WWE TV, facing a variety of top stars. After WrestleMania 29, their characters evolved and it was that growth which allowed them to keep building their reputations despite losing quite a few matches. They became more than just a group of henchman. By the end of their run together, they had given the fans a good sense of who they were as individuals, each distinct in his own way, all while redefining the expectation for the six man tag team match. The people cared, developing an emotional connection with all three and a simultaneous desire to see them succeed as a team. That’s what made the break-up so effective. It was so sudden; a rare moment of betrayal in the modern era by Seth Rollins in which the fans felt the sting of the chair shots and curb stomps. The groundwork has been laid all year for each of them to step into significant roles for WrestleMania 31. They could easily be elevated to the main-event for the WWE Championship if the booking continues that has led to them widely being considered the three most likely candidates to lead the next generation in WWE history. The future can start tomorrow, officially stamping a new era on March 29, 2015. It would be a distinct advantage to have Rock vs. Brock as the catalyst for outside interest, as well as proven draws like John Cena and nostalgic enhancements like Sting, to help ease the transition. Frankly, that is a gift from the Wrestling Gods. If I may play fantasy booker for a moment… We start with Reigns vs. Lesnar for the title in January. To set up the Rock vs. Brock match, I would suggest having Rock accompany his cousin, Roman, to the ring at the Rumble. That accomplishes two things – it gives Reigns the rub from the top guy of his wrestling heritage and allows Brock to lose the WWE title via tainted loss. On the same night, Dean Ambrose would win the Royal Rumble match. The Authority would then conspire to cost Reigns the title (and, perhaps, even Ambrose his title shot). Seth Rollins would cash-in to the win the championship. It would be an unprecedented scenario that would fuel the already established desire to see the triple threat. Personally, I think that would be awesome. I posed the question over the summer, “Is it possible to successfully manufacture a top star?” Contemporary history clearly tells us that the answer is, “No.” It also tells us that WWE will go with what is working for their audience. If the fans continue to show indifference toward the man that WWE desires most to get the Brock Lesnar rub, will they go in another direction? Or is the desire too strong to take advantage of a perfect heat transfer? Would they consider waiting a year? As we inch closer to the end of 2014, these will be the questions for which I will tune in for answers. ---------------------------- To order The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment (Kindle Edition), click here The e-book format is just $9.99 and is available worldwide. For those of you that have already purchased a copy and would like to buy the e-book, it’s only $2.99.
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