Rebuilding the roster (a fantasy booking thread of sorts)

Chain Smoker

Okay... lets see how this works. I basically want people to take turns picking one wrestler at a time from the WWE roster that should be kept, with a justification for what they add that's significantly beneficial to the roster and isn't provided by the names listed ahead of you (so you have to take things into account like the Rock being worth f*ck all about 364 days of the year, whether Neville adds much when you've got guys like AJ and Rollins, etc). Once you've picked a wrestler and given your reason, you have to wait either 24 hours or until ten other people have picked a wrestler before you can go again.

NXT roster is currently not included, but if the thread gets over 25 picks, then you can add one NXT name but you'll also have to pick a main roster member to no longer be available for selection.
If the thread gets over 50 (or runs out of main roster members) you can start picking names from wherever but you'll then have to select a member of either the WWE or NXT rosters to be released.


Some roster lists here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WWE_personnel#Male_wrestlers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WWE_personnel#Female_wrestlers




So I'll pick first, if you can list them all out in your post, it'll make it easier to keep track too.
John Cena
He's the top guy, capable of carrying his weight great main event matches when needed, can be great on the mic, and even though he's entering the latter part of his career, he's likely gonna be full-time for another while yet. Right now there's no one with close to his value for the company so he's gotta be first pick.



List of Wrestlers to be Kept
1. John Cena (picked by Chain Smoker)
2. Kevin Owens (picked by johnnyryan89)
3. R-Truth (picked by happyoutscan)
4. Seth Rollins (Straight Edge Punk)
5. Sasha Banks ((Bounty Hunter)
6. Bray Wyatt (nasty_crash)
7. Big E (connemara man)
8. Enzo Amore (shag nastii)
9. Roman Reigns (kankan14)
10. Cesaro (brianregan09)
11. Bubba Ray Dudley (riffmongous)
12. AJ Styles (stereomaniac)
13. Sami Zayn (necrominius)
14. Becky Lynch (deano7788)
15. Dean Ambrose (angron)
16. The Miz (johnnyryan89)
17. Xavier Woods (nasty_crash)
18. Brock Lesnar (thedunne)
19. Luke Harper (Bounty Hunter)

johnnyryan89

Kevin Owens
Has all the attributes to be the number one heel. He's good on the mic, has put on a number of top quality matches since his debut and is super over with the crowd. Also for a big guy he's athletic and well able to get around.

happyoutscan

R-Truth as a heel.

Great charisma and a very good worker. Brilliant on the mic too. He's an ideal midcard heel, much better then the Miz if booked correctly.

Not that gone on him as a face although he can be funny.

Straight Edge Punk

Seth Rollins.

He could take the ball and run with it for the next decade if he manages to stay fit.

Equally adept as a face or heel, the future could be very exciting with him as the face of the company.

Bounty Hunter

Sasha Banks

Most over woman on the roster, she is also only 24 and they have barely scratched the surface with what they can do with her as the focus so far has been on Charlotte. It probably does not hurt that Snoop is her cousin but if your going to start a womans division and can't take Bailey (ill leave Becky for someone else) then no better place to start imo than The Boss

nasty_crash

Bray Wyatt

i think his promos are great but he can be givin too much time - also he has been badly booked!! If he could stay injury free and possibly loose the stable could be looking at taker longevity!

connemara man

Big E

Buckets of Charisma works as a face or a kick ass heel. Great in ring might never make the top tier but could be a permanent part of the upper mid

Xenji

Shinsuke Nakamura

The man just oozes charisma, he can have great matches with anyone and has an unique look, preferably he should be left as a lone wolf tweener type character and one that is portrayed as one of the most dangerous men to be in the ring with, have him knock a few people out or take out some of the more physically impressive members of the roster.

ShagNastii

Enzo Amore.

As somebody stated in the Raw thread on their debut. There is and should always be a place for that midcard tag team/talent that is over to the moon with fans due to their entertaining catchphrases, persona and promos.

During the attitude era I was tuning in for the NOAs or Edge & Christian or Commis Regal as much as I was Austin VS McMahon.

Enzo more than anyone on the roster oozes the fun that should be in a wrestling show. Pro wrestling should be somewhat naff- pro wrestlers should be turned up to 11. Enzo is both in bucketloads.

Kankan14

Roman reigns.

Reduce
Reuse
Recycle.

Pull him back from his current role and let him grow into one naturally.

Bounty Hunter

Xenji wrote: »

Shinsuke Nakamura

The man just oozes charisma, he can have great matches with anyone and has an unique look, preferably he should be left as a lone wolf tweener type character and one that is portrayed as one of the most dangerous men to be in the ring with, have him knock a few people out or take out some of the more physically impressive members of the roster.

unfortunately he said in the OP the NXT roster isn't available yet, otherwise Nakamura would 100% get picked!

Chain Smoker

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

unfortunately he said in the OP the NXT roster isn't available yet, otherwise Nakamura would 100% get picked!

Yup, the issue is that I was actually a bit surprised by how bloated the WWE main roster is on paper so that needs to be resolved first before pulling in the five or so extremely obvious NXT choices.

brianregan09

Cesaro

Another one of the pack just bursting to hit the glass ceiling amazing in ring worker has a great look and super strength, could be a bit better on the mic but that'll come along the more he gets pushed

riffmongous

Bubba Ray Dudley

I'd have him as a mid to upper card heel in his Bully Ray persona, and have him feud with new faces trying to help them get over and up to the next level

People might say he is too old but his best work came in TNA only recently

Stereomaniac

A.J Styles
I'd have him barely speak on the microphone and play more of a Sting 1997 kind of role against whoever the top heel in the company is going to be. I'd also give him good long matches.

Necro

Sami Zayn.

If booked correctly (so it probably won't happen) Zayn can hit the heights of popularity Bryan did. Imagine a WWE title celebration like the time he finally won the NXT belt. An organic explosion of joy that was hard not to get caught up in.

That, and his theme music is so happy and cheerful it brightens up my day.

Deano7788

Becky Lynch.

I feel she's the best of the women's division technically and has improved massively on the mic. I think she's able to have a good match with most opponents and as a natural babyface she'd be a good foil for Sasha, who I feel is best as a heel.

Angron

Dean Ambrose. Currently one of the most popular people on the roster, in spite of WWE screwing him up at various points. He can be massive if they'd just give him a frigging chance.

List of Wrestlers to be Kept
1. John Cena (picked by Chain Smoker)
2. Kevin Owens (picked by johnnyryan89)
3. R-Truth (picked by happyoutscan)
4. Seth Rollins (Straight Edge Punk)
5. Sasha Banks ((Bounty Hunter)
6. Bray Wyatt (nasty_crash)
7. Big E (connemara man)
8. Enzo Amore (shag nastii)
9. Roman Reigns (kankan14)
10. Cesaro (brianregan09)
11. Bubba Ray Dudley (riffmongous)
12. AJ Styles (stereomaniac)
13. Sami Zayn (necrominius)
14. Becky Lynch (deano7788)
15. Dean Ambrose (Angron)

johnnyryan89

The Miz

Perfect mid card heel, his work with AJ was very good and the two of them put on better matches then Styles and Jericho I feel. He's great on the mic and puts on good matches when working with better guys. Would be the perfect guy to have to break in new faces that they want to get the fans to get behind. Plus with Maryse back now we gotta keep him around.

nasty_crash

Xavier Woods

Massively talented on the mic and massively under rated in the ring! Will be a part of WWE for years if packaged right!

Brock Lesnar:
Brings the big time feel to any show he is on and even though he only uses 3 or 4 moves, is captivating to watch.

Bounty Hunter

Luke Harper

I expect Kane / Show may not make the cut in our fed but you need some big men and almost no big men are as good workers as Harper is, very technically sound and if pushed right he could be great especially as he can also do a good job on the mic if given an opportunity. We already have Bray on board too if you wanted to do the Wyatt family shtick or have them team as atm we are low on tag teams.

johnnyryan89

Colin Cassidy

Can see him and Enzo being a success on the main roster as a tag team. They've got a catchy gimmick and could work as both faces and heels. Hopefully Carmella is brought up soon enough even if it's just to be their manager and still wrestle in NXT.

riffmongous

Question! Where are the jobbers? :P

Are jobbers still neccesary or just lazy booking? Should a jobber be someone who can still get a bit of a reaction or micropush like Ryder or Slater, or just someone who should barely even be noticed e.g. Ascension?

I can also go for a pick so I'll go with Emma to flesh out the female roster, mainly to lose to the big four but with the potential for a one off title challenge when some variety is needed

Chain Smoker

riffmongous wrote: »

Question! Where are the jobbers? :P

Are jobbers still neccesary or just lazy booking? Should a jobber be someone who can still get a bit of a reaction or micropush like Ryder or Slater, or just someone who should barely even be noticed e.g. Ascension?

I can also go for a pick so I'll go with Emma to flesh out the female roster, mainly to lose to the big four but with the potential for a one off title challenge when some variety is needed

A jobber should be a Slater type if they're on the roster. Anonymous local nobodies have more value than the Ascension.

Kankan14

Cody Rhodes.


A perennial mid-carder he may be, but he as solid as a mid-carder can be imo.

johnnyryan89

Rusev

Has everything you need to be the upper mid card to main eventer heel. His run as US champion should have led to him challenging for the main title but had to job to Cena at three PPV's one after the other, then ended up in a ridiculous storyline with Dolph and then stuck with the LON (which could have worked if you booked him in Seamus' role. Keep him with Lana, give him that monster heel run again and you've got yourself another top heel to feud with your main faces.

Chain Smoker

(Read rules on post #1)

List of Wrestlers to be Kept
1. John Cena (picked by Chain Smoker)
2. Kevin Owens (picked by johnnyryan89)
3. R-Truth (picked by happyoutscan)
4. Seth Rollins (Straight Edge Punk)
5. Sasha Banks ((Bounty Hunter)
6. Bray Wyatt (nasty_crash)
7. Big E (connemara man)
8. Enzo Amore (shag nastii)
9. Roman Reigns (kankan14)
10. Cesaro (brianregan09)
11. Bubba Ray Dudley (riffmongous)
12. AJ Styles (stereomaniac)
13. Sami Zayn (necrominius)
14. Becky Lynch (deano7788)
15. Dean Ambrose (angron)
16. The Miz (johnnyryan89)
17. Xavier Woods (nasty_crash)
18. Brock Lesnar (thedunne)
19. Luke Harper (Bounty Hunter)
20. Colin Cassidy (johnnyryan89)
21. Cody Rhodes (Kankan14)
22. Rusev (johnnyryan89)
23. Heath Slater (Chain Smoker)



Heath Slater
Jobber to everyone under the sun but has enough character that you could still build a short term storyline around him

Angron

1. John Cena (picked by Chain Smoker)
2. Kevin Owens (picked by johnnyryan89)
3. R-Truth (picked by happyoutscan)
4. Seth Rollins (Straight Edge Punk)
5. Sasha Banks ((Bounty Hunter)
6. Bray Wyatt (nasty_crash)
7. Big E (connemara man)
8. Enzo Amore (shag nastii)
9. Roman Reigns (kankan14)
10. Cesaro (brianregan09)
11. Bubba Ray Dudley (riffmongous)
12. AJ Styles (stereomaniac)
13. Sami Zayn (necrominius)
14. Becky Lynch (deano7788)
15. Dean Ambrose (angron)
16. The Miz (johnnyryan89)
17. Xavier Woods (nasty_crash)
18. Brock Lesnar (thedunne)
19. Luke Harper (Bounty Hunter)
20. Colin Cassidy (johnnyryan89)
21. Cody Rhodes (Kankan14)
22. Rusev (johnnyryan89)
23. Heath Slater (Chain Smoker)
24. Dolph Ziggler (Angron)

When WWE actually do something with him, he's as over as anyone, in spite of the terrible stuff he gets stuck in. He'll almost certainly never be main event again, but he can be well utilised on the upper-mid card.

PTH2009

Ryback

i knw they have stop/started with his character a lot but they make him into a more PG brock lesner type monster

Maybe doing a Batistia type role (with evalution in 2003/04) with a group of other stars.

A heel Ryback could be good

Chain Smoker

Whoops, yeah, if anyone wants to keep at this, they can now pick someone from NXT at the expense of someone on the main roster who hasn't already been chosen

1. John Cena (picked by Chain Smoker)
2. Kevin Owens (picked by johnnyryan89)
3. R-Truth (picked by happyoutscan)
4. Seth Rollins (Straight Edge Punk)
5. Sasha Banks ((Bounty Hunter)
6. Bray Wyatt (nasty_crash)
7. Big E (connemara man)
8. Enzo Amore (shag nastii)
9. Roman Reigns (kankan14)
10. Cesaro (brianregan09)
11. Bubba Ray Dudley (riffmongous)
12. AJ Styles (stereomaniac)
13. Sami Zayn (necrominius)
14. Becky Lynch (deano7788)
15. Dean Ambrose (angron)
16. The Miz (johnnyryan89)
17. Xavier Woods (nasty_crash)
18. Brock Lesnar (thedunne)
19. Luke Harper (Bounty Hunter)
20. Colin Cassidy (johnnyryan89)
21. Cody Rhodes (Kankan14)
22. Rusev (johnnyryan89)
23. Heath Slater (Chain Smoker)
24. Dolph Ziggler (Angron)
25. PTH2009 (Ryback)
26 Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura, because, c'mon!


Released List
1. The Rock


They haven't had anything for him in ages so he's just been and he's gotten a lot more guarded ever since the incident at the Rumble with Reigns. Let him go, move on.

A Brad Maddox Guy

Finn Balor. Worst case scenario: he's a fairly popular midcarder capable of putting on great matches to get people over. Best case: he keeps improving on promos, is strongly pushed and becomes a main event merchandise selling machine capable of putting on great matches.

Out the door is Naomi. Known for being the best funkadactyl with a butt bump for a finisher. Doesn't say much for her years on the main roster really. She might be athletic but doesn't bring a lot else and with the female talent now available has become surplus to requirements.

Bounty Hunter

1. John Cena (picked by Chain Smoker)
2. Kevin Owens (picked by johnnyryan89)
3. R-Truth (picked by happyoutscan)
4. Seth Rollins (Straight Edge Punk)
5. Sasha Banks ((Bounty Hunter)
6. Bray Wyatt (nasty_crash)
7. Big E (connemara man)
8. Enzo Amore (shag nastii)
9. Roman Reigns (kankan14)
10. Cesaro (brianregan09)
11. Bubba Ray Dudley (riffmongous)
12. AJ Styles (stereomaniac)
13. Sami Zayn (necrominius)
14. Becky Lynch (deano7788)
15. Dean Ambrose (angron)
16. The Miz (johnnyryan89)
17. Xavier Woods (nasty_crash)
18. Brock Lesnar (thedunne)
19. Luke Harper (Bounty Hunter)
20. Colin Cassidy (johnnyryan89)
21. Cody Rhodes (Kankan14)
22. Rusev (johnnyryan89)
23. Heath Slater (Chain Smoker)
24. Dolph Ziggler (Angron)
25. PTH2009 (Ryback)
26 Shinsuke Nakamura (Chain Smoker)
27. Finn Balor (A Brad Maddox Guy)
28. Chad Gable

Released List
1. The Rock
2. Naomi
3. Cameron

Chad Gable: He is ready, willing and Gable to be a megastar. Dubbed the next Kurt Angle he is already great and was the rookie of the year for the year just gone. Hopefully someone will add his tag partner soon too

Out.... Cameron....Girl Bye

Personally I would have kept the decent Funkadactyl but there are enough decent female wrestlers that, thats not an issue (we only have 2 here though so Bayley or someone should prob be next picked). There is absolutely no reason why Cameron should be in the top fed in wrestling, wiki has her on the main roster and even though I wouldn't have her in developmental I am happy that that is enough for me to have her as eligible to be released

Chain Smoker

...I should've included something to ensure the women's division doesn't get wiped out =/

paulie21

Samoa Joe has all the makings of a monster main event heel and needs to be brought up soon

Released: The Undertaker is my all time favourite but id wish he'd retire his matches are not as memorable since the streak was broken and at 51 with a young family he needs not to end up seriously injured

johnnyryan89

Carmella

She's not bad in the ring and completes the trio with Enzo and Cass

Released is Adam Rose, he'll probably be left go anyway soon enough and will never move above the social outcast so I'll cut him.