This is from the new Heyman Hustle hope you enjoy its a great read, and dont forget to discuss.
YOU see them all the time.
Wrestlers that should be much bigger superstars than they are.
Held back by politics, stupidity, lack of writers' understanding and sometimes even their own devices and demons.
They're called 'underutilised talents', but every now and then the miracle occurs and you see someone bust through the parameters under which he or she works.
I've seen it happen, up close and personal.
With Steve Austin, the time he was released by WCW and was given the forum to express himself in the original ECW.
With Mick Foley, when he agreed to turn heel on the fans and cut some of the most memorable promos of this or any other generation.
And even with Brian Pillman, when he stopped settling for upper mid card and wanted to be the talk of the industry.
These are, in my opinion, the Top 5 most underutilised talents in pro wrestling today.
Let the debate begin!
NUMBER 5 - TITO ORTIZ
Why not start right off with some controversy?
I was going to mention The Briscoes from Ring of Honor, because a long-term storyline between the young, hip, edgy Briscoes and the team of Miz and Morrison would be a classic.
But The Briscoes are not underutilised in ROH, just underexposed to the masses.
Tito, however, is finishing up his UFC contract this weekend. What does he do next?
Wear out his name in MMA, or capitalize on his love for pro wrestling and exploit his larger than life personality by joining WWE or TNA?
And remember, where Tito goes, so goes Jenna Jameson, the best self-promoter in show business today.
Forget these short term deals with Pac Man Jones and Floyd Mayweather. Tito and Jenna can be long term stars who command attention, and they can bring that attention to whatever wrestling promotion is smart enough to TAP into their controversial relationship.
NUMBER 4 - BETH PHOENIX
It doesn't matter that she's already been WWE women’s champion, the audience hasn't even had a taste of what this phenomenal athlete is capable of.
I think Beth's ring skills are deteriorating because she's not being allowed to work up to her potential. WWE should bring in opponents for Beth to squash every week.
There are plenty of women wrestlers in the Shimmer group, the West Coast indies, even in Mexico to feed to Beth.
Then, in due time, when someone finally steps up to her, the audience would be craving to pay to see WWE's heel version of Gina Carano get chopped down to size.
The WWE's women’s division lacks a long term vision, and Beth has been rushed into programs that just fill the female-segment on Raw, reminding one of the old adage about "leaving a lot of money on the table".
NUMBER 3 - JAMES MITCHELL
The best backstage promo artist in the business, bar none. A brilliant spokesman who can articulate the merits of the opponent without selling his own act short.
The Sinister Minister's delivery is defined by a composure that only top notch thespians can master, and his timing is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
A compelling character whose attention-grabbing look is surpassed only by his wealth of talent. WASTED talent, I might add.
But that's not surprising, considering that he works for TNA. Speaking of which ...
NUMBER 2 - THE ENTIRE TNA ROSTER
No long term concepts + bad television writing + zero marketing strategy = hard working talents whose efforts are wasted on a show that has not grown the audience whatsoever despite the tens of millions of dollars sunken into it.
NUMBER 1 - RANDY ORTON
What? How can the most spotlighted heel in WWE be the most underutilised talent in wrestling?
Because how often is Randy Orton scripted to get real heat?
Orton's run with Shawn Michaels was based on HBK superkicking The Legend Killer into oblivion week after week on TV.
Orton's storyline with Jeff Hardy was based on Hardy pinning the champ, and then one-upping him at almost every turn. Orton's schedule with Cena was the same story.
Ditto for HHH. The final week before WrestleMania, Orton tapped out to Ric Flair on Monday Night Raw.
On a case-by-case scenario, there's nothing wrong with any of it. But put into context, when does Orton get to make you hate him so badly, you're willing to pay to see him get beat, or at least beaten up?
What heinous act has Orton committed against a babyface you care about?
The only time Randy is allowed to 'pile on the heat' is during promos, and admittedly he falls short in that department.
His voice does drag. I concede, he doesn't have enough range. So, Orton either needs a manager, or a full-time off-camera behind the scenes interview coach.
The fact Orton carries the heat he does right now, even though he really hasn't done anything in almost a year - when he was given the credit for putting Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, and a host of legends on the shelf - is a testament to his ability to carry himself like a main-event heel.
With a new round of contemptible actions added to the mix, Orton can be a far bigger superstar than he already is today.
That's my Top 5. What's YOUR opinion
My 5. would be.
5. Paul London and Brian Kendrick
These two have the makings to be huge, The have the ability and charisma to get it done. But wwe has stuck them in a tag team on Heat. The need to break up and have a long feud against each other. That would be amazing. Maybe bring back the cruiserweight title.
4. Jamie' By God ' Noble
A former ROH world champion who in the last year has had only two feuds that didnt last long, Hes first was against Hornswoggle which ended going nowhere with the little man becoming Vince's bastard son and the second against Palumbo which got great reaction but it just faded away after Palumbo beat him down for like the fifth time. The could have really went with a Rocky like story here with Jamie getting knocked down but getting up.
3. Christopher Daniels, stuck in hes stupid curry man gimmick now. This man should be main eventing TNA he has the talent and i was really looking forward to hes feud with Sting which ended so shit.
2. CM Punk, This guy has been in the dub about 3 years now including hes time in OVW and hes had a ECW world title and is the current Money in the bank holder but what major story lines has he ? The feud with the New Breed ? Hes feud with Morrison ? Hes feud with Mike Knox over Kelly Kelly or hes feud with Chavo Guerraro ? These have not been anything special at all. What the dub need to do is turn him heel and just send him to Raw and feud with Triple H, there's so many ways the could do this but the easiest is have Punk come out and say that Triple H was the reason he was in that shit hole of OVW for a year and the same reason he cant use hes through finisher the Pepsi plunge. That's it... So simple but WWE wont do it,,,
1. My number 1 would have to go to Paul Heyman , the guy that wrote this columns. Hes a free agent for gods sake, TNA should try to sign him , WWE should try to re hire him hes awesome. Hes a great booker, Commentator, on screen performer and is IMO the best promo manager ever ( better than James Mitchell ) Heyman can be used in so many ways and it shocks me that all hes doing is writing columns nowadays, TNA should fucking stop spending money on shit fucking things like more gimmick matches and offer him a big sum contract to come and try save TNA. cause if anyone can its him...
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