As I’ve mentioned before, TNA has a 65+ member roster, WWE has more than that, and Ring of Honor has less than 30 wrestlers. So in my mind if you want to do this fairly, you need to level things out, it’s a lot harder to pick three from WWE when there are 100 wrestlers under contract. So I have amended their list to something I feel is a bit more fair, besides, a 9 man wrestling federation is just too small. So here is my breakdown of how I will be picking my fantasy federation…
WWE: 6 Picks
TNA: 4 Picks
ROH: 3 Picks
So that gives us a 13 man roster. But just for the heck of it, let me “draft” three indie wrestlers that aren’t under contract with any of the big 3.
1. Sonjay Dutt-While he is working on and off for Ring of Honor, he is not actually a contracted roster member. And his charisma, in ring ability, and overall look make him a great addition to any roster.
2. Muhammed Hassan-It’s hard to believe that 5 years ago this man caused the ruckus he caused. Portraying a Muslim-American who felt discriminated against in the Post 9/11 America, he just oozed evil. He has disappeared from the scene ever since UPN (pre-CW) said they disagreed with a segment involving masked men choking the Undertaker following his command, and hasn’t been seen wrestling since.
3. Rene Dupree- He made splashed in the WWE both with La Resistance, alongside the highly overrated Kenzo Suzuki, and as a singles performer before being fired for what was thought to be steroid abuse. He’s only 26 years old, and was sure to make it to the top had controversy not knocked him down.
Okay. Now onto the main event. Let’s start small with ROH and work our way to the big guns of the WWE.
ROH: Three Roster Picks
1. Chris Hero
Hero has exceeded all of my expectations. When I first got into ROH, I watched some of his older matches and just couldn’t get into him. Maybe it was the baggy wrestling pants, or the mesh shirt, I don’t know. But over the past year he has been consistent in every aspect of pro-wrestling. His in ring work is phenomenal, especially alongside Claudio Castagnoli, and his promos are believable and very well cut. I pray he’s not too old (30) to truly make his mark, but considering that many of the heavyweight champions of the past 5 years have been over 40, I don’t think so.
2. Kenny King
When people think of Kenny King they automatically dub him as sort of a Shelton Benjamin Jr, but upon even a slightly deeper look, it’s easy to tell King has a lot more lasting power than Benjamin. We all know Shelton is great in the ring, and Kenny is too, however where Shelton may lack that character end of things, Kenny has an overload. He can play to the crowd, and he can just as easily, if not moreso, play the guy whose just too good for his own good. His recent work with Jerry Lynn has proven that King can hang with the greats, and at 28 years old, I think there is a lot of promise in him.
3. El Generico
If there’s one market that loves buying merchandise, it’s kids. If there’s one market wrestling promoters hate to admit effect their product, it’s internet marks who whine about bad wrestlers going over. El Generico can appeal to both of these markets, similar to the way Rey Mysterio Jr. does in WWE. While offending Hispanic people may be an early problem for Generico (the “Generic” Luchador from Canada), his in ring ability and his devotion to such an odd character will surely win over the hearts of all viewers.
TNA: Four Roster Picks
1. Rob Van Dam
An obvious pick. Van Dam may be 40 years old, but he has proven time and time again that he is unstoppable in the ring. And with a few years off from the ring for his body to heal up, he has that much more time to tack onto the end of his career. Not to mention his overuse of marijuana keeps him on a nice relaxed vibe that will keep the stress off him, god knows people like Chris Benoit could’ve benefited from a stress reducing drug.
2. Homicide
If you know me, Homicide is another obvious choice. But beyond my fandom of him, he is great. While his promos are a tad one note (him yelling in Spanish and hitting himself in the chest), his look and his in ring abilities more than make up for that. He can fly, he can grapple (not so well, but he can) and he can go hardcore like no other. Homicide can feud with anyone, high flier, grappler, hardcore wrestler, or giant and put on a good show.
3. “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero
I was always a fan of Elijah Burke in his stint in ECW a few years back, and you could tell he was just waiting for his moment to really blossom. Unfortunately for him, WWE gave him the ax before he could truly get over. I was weary when TNA signed him because I feared he would fall into the background as much of the TNA roster does, but he has completely changed his previous character and made it a whole lot more awesome. Another guy that can fly, but at the same time is more than comfortable being a grounded wrestler.
4. Ken “Mr.” Anderson
I loved Kennedy and you could tell when he made his one night return to the WWE that they were ready to bring him up to the level he should’ve been at earlier. However, due to a freak injury of both himself and Randy Orton, he was fired immediately, saying he was a liability to both himself and those in the ring with him. He re-emerged in TNA, under his real name and hasn’t injured anyone in the ring yet. And he’s growing as a character better than he ever did in the WWE. If he were given a main event slot, he could prove everyone wrong.
WWE (not including current NXT performers)6 Roster Picks
1. Matt Hardy
This first pick is an odd sort of pick. Matt used to be among my top 5 wrestlers, and to this day I still have a soft spot for him, regardless of the number of times he’s flopped from face to heel to face again. The problem is WWE can never really get their hands around how great he is. He came over on top against his brother at Wrestlemania a few years ago, but since losing the feud overall he has fallen into obscurity and mid card feuds. He has the tools, so a heel main event push could be easy and tangible.
2. Jack Swagger
Some say his quick rise to the main event is dumb, but I love him. He’s a great character with a legitimate wrestling background that not enough pro’s have these days. His big smile makes him that jerk you just need to hate, but I can see him being a great face if he is written for properly.
3. Randy Orton
In the big 3 of the 2000’s (Orton, Cena and Batista) I would have to say that Randy would be my pick (even if Batista was still around) to draft. He’s younger, he’s extremely talented, and it appears as though WWE seems to be holding him back. If he were to be put in an ROH or dare I say TNA ring I think he could step his wrestling game up and take the number of headlocks down drastically. He was so good at being a heel the fans started cheering for him, which says something about his charisma.
4. Mike “The Miz” Mizanin
Chris Jericho is getting old. The Miz is a young Chris Jericho no matter what the marks say. And while Jericho has always operated on his pure talent and abilities, Miz came into a world that scorned him. A group of people, fans and talent, that branded him as a hack have all been silenced over the past few years. Yes, his character is a tad one note and in the same vein as heel Jericho or Christian, but he shows that he can hang with the big guys and he’s got a boatload of potential to boot.
5. CM Punk
A veteran of all 3 major feds of right now, Punk has broken the indy guy in WWE curse and became the top dog. While right now he’s cruising the upper-mid card, he can snap back into main event material without as much of a transition. He is probably my second favorite wrestler ever, my favorite right now, and it’s because he is the complete package. He works as a great face, and clearly right now he is the most interesting thing on Smackdown.
6. Justin Gabriel
I don’t know much about Justin Gabriel and perhaps that’s why I’d want him. He’s cut like a Greek statue, he can do a 450 splash perfectly, and he’s got an accent. When I see the Nexus, I see a handful of mediocre wrestlers and a few good ones. Gabriel is the standout of the group (behind Bryan Danielson of course) and his ability seems to be taking second fiddle to the Nexus angle. If there is someone in Nexus that will turn face it’s easily going to be him. The WWE right now is riding on Evan Bourne’s high flying antics, and perhaps they should shift gears to Gabriel...or at least pair the two together.
That’s it. This sat in my documents folder for a while, but I finally got around to finishing it. I didn’t draft women or managers, you can just pepper them in as needed. There are only a few good managers around, and women’s wrestling is an art of it’s own that needs a draft of its own. So that’s that. Sorry for the lack of posts this summer, keep up with me on http://rateyourmusic.com/dwinch as I post a lot there more frequently than I do on here. Hope your having a great summer and hit me up with some suggestions whether they be related to movies, music, comics, books, wrestling, I’m trying to get into UFC so give me some matches and stuff to watch.
Keep on reading brothers and sisters!
Oh and for those curious here is the link to the Wrestling Roundtable video.
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