Welcome to the latest Roundtable discussion here at iFight365.com where this week we’re asking the question: Which of WWE’s current crop of youngsters has the potential to be a long-term main event star?

James Mustoe: WWE has quietly been building a bit of a youth movement over the last year. Guys like Kofi Kingston, DiBiase and Rhodes, Tyson Kidd, and the wonderful Evan Bourne all stand out as having great potential in the organisation for the future. However the guy who has flat out shown the most potential as a top level break out star (and very soon too!) is the former ECW Champion Jack Swagger.

The only recent call up from the same amateur background as Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin and Brock Lesnar, Swagger has been consistently entertaining right from the outset. He has been given the platform (ECW) to develop in a relatively pressure free environment, and has been able to have good long matches against veterans as diverse as Christian, Fit Finlay, and Tommy Dreamer. Moreover Swagger has the size that WWE looks for, and is not bad on the stick too. I look forward to him continuing to be a dominant force on ECW throughout this year, before being promoted to RAW or Smackdown (preferably the blue brand), early next year, and hopefully a dream feud with Kurt Angle if or when he re-signs with WWE after his TNA contract expires this Autumn.

Dan Short: I tried figuring a diamond in the rough that would fit the bill in answering the question. Yet I always came back to someone who is so obvious for the answer that he’s pretty much ready to go in becoming a long-term main event star. And that man is CM Punk.

I’m sure there are a number of fans like me who has been quite surprised with how quickly he has established success in the WWE since 2005. He’s already been the World Heavyweight Champion, Intercontinental Champion, and World Tag Team Champion, achieved Triple Crown status, and won Money in the Bank twice in a row. At the same time, though, he hasn’t quite been treated as a main eventer over the past year on Raw given where he was in the pecking order.

The move to Smackdown will certainly be the most beneficial to him as it places him as one of the top babyfaces. This was immediately established on the first episode after Backlash and with Undertaker out with injury and Jeff Hardy needing time off, Punk is in the position to be move up into being the top face of the brand. He has the fan recognition; his merchandise is one of the top sellers behind John Cena, and the abilities both in wrestling and in talking to really get over strong. So with all that it mind, he’s ready to go as far as being a main event star.

Mark Bright: For me, the answer to this question is pretty clearly CM Punk. He has that Rob Van Dam/Matt & Jeff Hardy/Rey Mysterio type of unexplainable connection with the crowd, where he’s always over regardless of push, and when you’re in that situation, even when WWE don’t necessarily WANT you to be doing well, they will still push you to a certain level, so I don’t think he’ll ever be jobbed out, at least not excessively, so he has that going for him.

Punk’s different look, his top-notch promo ability (on the rare occasions he’s been allowed to show it his interaction with other main eventers doesn’t see him being out of place at all), crowd connection and ability to have good matches, I don’t see any weaknesses that other contenders have.

MVP has suffered immaturity issues, and also there’s the potential negative publicity WWE might encounter if a man who suffered a decade in prison for gun crime is the company poster boy. John Morrison’s promos are laughably bad. The Miz has yet to show the ability to have decent matches. Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes have great last names but are solid guys who are too bland and plain-looking to stand out from the crowd. Shelton Benjamin is Mr False Start and that will continue forever. Vladimir Kozlov’s matches are terrible. And someone of Evan Bourne’s size has that counting against him despite his undeniable talent when it comes to being a potential main eventer.

Punk has none of those shortcomings, and there are even reports that Vince McMahon is a fan of his, and even “won him over” after talk in the past that Vince wouldn’t understand how to use him. And in the end, the one who gets over with Vince will be the one who gets the biggest push.

Phil Lowe: The fact this question is so hard to answer is proof that WWE’s developmental system, well, sucks. There’s a lack of people coming through whom you can see being the next Hogan/Rock/Austin/Cena and the reason for that is because WWE screwed up massively. Dumping OVW was a mistake, as was not doing more to work with Booker T’s training school a couple of years back. People get called up from FCW way too early and when they don’t get over with the crowd right away (through no fault of their own), Vince and co send them back to Florida. It’s one of the things that annoys me with WWE and is up there with creative writers telling wrestlers “we have nothing for you,” which if true, should result in the writer being fired, not the wrestler.

Anyway…

I’d love to say I can see Evan Bourne as the one to break through and be a true star, but although he’s had a relatively decent push in his short WWE career to date, I don’t see WWE ever getting behind him in the way needed for him to become a main eventer.

Although the likes of CM Punk and MVP have a ton of talent and have been given pushes, they are both now in their thirties and I think to answer this question properly, you have to look at the guys still in their twenties. That said I do believe Punk could be at the top of the WWE for a number of years if they use him right.

Ted DiBiase is seen as somebody who will main event in the future – and I agree that he will. However, I do not think it will happen as soon as others believe it will. There’s no doubt he’ll be turning babyface, but I really feel WWE will screw it up. They’ll turn him way too early (in time for The Marine 2 at a guess) and they’ll rush it, resulting in starting over with him from scratch…something which will possibly happen for Jack Swagger as well.

For me, neither DiBiase nor Swagger will be at the top of the card and in a position where people are behind them as a draw for a couple of years at least.

Kofi Kingston unquestionably has talent, but I just don’t see him rising all the way to the top. In some ways he’s in the same boat as Evan Bourne in that he doesn’t (at least to me) appear too hot when it comes to a promo, but again that comes back to WWE’s system and the way wrestlers don’t get time to cut promos…and when they do, it’s almost scripted word for word.

So to finally answer the question, I’m plumping for The Miz. While John Morrison may be seen as the more popular of the two – especially amongst internet fans, Mike Mizanin has improved incredibly over the past year or so. He’s gone from somebody who had charisma but barely a scrap of wrestling ability. But unlike some who have come up, WWE gave him time to improve and the results have been superb. I did feel when WWE split him and Morrison up at the draft that Miz could become the Marty Jannetty of the two while Morrison went on to become the star. But while Morrison may indeed become a star in his own right, the past few weeks on Raw have been extremely encouraging. Providing WWE don’t bury Miz in his program with John Cena, I do believe the guy could draw some money if booked right and given the opportunity to show he can more than hold his own in the ring. After all, Cena himself was hardly the most polished wrestler when WWE started to seriously push him…

Michael Campbell: This isn’t the easiest question to answer, because despite the abundance of talent that are on WWE’s books, younger talent generally aren’t afforded the opportunity to shine. These days they’re told exactly what to do, and when to do it. Thus, it’s much harder to break through, than it was in the mid-nineties, or even the Vince Russo era, when the infamous writer supposedly enjoyed receiving input from his under-card guys (and in fact, really needed it, because creative was so preoccupied with the top stars).

The guy that most people have been pointing to lately is of course, former ECW champion John Morrison. However, even Morrison has fallen victim to stinking booking, being forced to turn baby face, prematurely, and for no reason, then jobbing to the guy he looked most likely to feud with, just a week after. Crazy. As far as Morrison goes, I absolutely think he has what it takes to be a top star… He has all the tools. But not as a babyface. He exudes a cocky, utterly despicable attitude, and has a great deal of heel charisma. I’d also like to see him reunite with Melina, who added a lot to his act and made them somewhat unique. Also, in today’s world, the powers in charge of the product seemingly value the once-vital role of manager as even more redundant than the art of tag wrestling. It’s a shame, because a vast amount of us fans would deeply lust for a return to the days of the powerful manager. Melina and Morrison could carry this off. I don’t perceive him as being a massive figure, like Cena, Batista, or Orton, but I absolutely think he has what it takes to be the guy working against those names.

Ted DiBiase will be a main eventer, although it will probably take longer than expected, because they’re going to botch his push with a Babyface turn. But even if this happens, a’la Orton in 2004, they’ll recalculate and start over, because they have desperately high hopes for him.

The same goes for Jack Swagger. I see a tremendous “upside” in him, as JR would say. But he’s still not a seasoned performer, and it’s likely because they want him to succeed, so badly, they’ll overdo his run at some point. Like DiBiase though, he’ll be given every chance.

Kofi Kingston I believe has an intangible quality, that makes him very, very exciting, despite his obvious flaws. If he can correct his weaknesses, he could go places. But a long-term main event star? I doubt it.

Evan Bourne however, is the one guy out of all of these dudes, who genuinely, naturally connects with the audience. He has “It”. Does he have the other ingredients to be a big star? I think yes- but his promos are poor, and without the gimmick side that Rey Mysterio brings, he’s lacking in that larger than life vibe.

If I’m honest, I don’t follow FCW- I just don’t have time to see any of their stuff, even if I had access to it, so I can’t really comment. However, by all accounts, it looks very much like the roster is crammed with second/third generation guys, with little regard to actual ability. There’s one or two I have seen- who simply do not have it, and never will. What I do know, is that Drew McIntyre will be expected to do very well- he’s big, has the look, and presence. He’s far from a polished performer though, but with his size, he’ll get the opportunity to prove himself, that someone like Low Ki/Kaval, probably won’t. Ki could provide a wonderful big-match alternative to the WWE formula- but it’s never going to happen.

So where does that leave us? Well with no-one really. But with Edge, and Randy Orton firmly established now as permanent Main Eventers, there are spots opening up. Hopefully Jeff Hardy and CM Punk, who are for me, slightly too old for this topic, but younger than most established names, will soon join them in those spots. Christian has a bright future, but he can hardly be described as a youngster. And isn’t that the whole problem with the WWE… their complete denial of the ageing process in male performers?