WWE Question 12: I’ve posted 20 questions on WWE, TNA and the Indies, inviting readers to answer. Now, I’ll be posting some reader response and commenting on what I think the answer is to each question. Feel free to continue to post responses on any question after the one I’ve already answered (I’ll be going in order). The awesome Andy Wheeler replied to all 20 questions over on Pulse Wrestling. No one knows more about the WWE mindset than Wheeler, so be sure to give him a read. Here’s the question:
12. Drew McIntyre and Eric Escobar are the beneficiaries of serious pushes it seems- are either future stars? Which is better?
“McIntyre will be done in about 6 months. He was praised by Vince Mcmahon, the last person he did that too was Elijah Burke.”– Jimmy
This one’s a logical fallacy. It wasn’t a cause-effect thing that Vince praised Burke so he was fired, so Vince praising McIntyre doesn’t mean he’ll be released.
“That seems like a bit of a loaded question since Drew's had a lot more face time than Eric has. Both of them have a star quality, but when all is said and done, I see Eric as more likely to get the bigger push. That's purely speculation though since he has barely even debuted, and Drew's already had a PPV match.” – Peter
Certainly, it’s early. Eric being hyped pre-debut means a bigger push likely. That seems to make sense.
“Too soon to say, but I really like the way they introduced Drew McIntyre, and Escobar is with Vickie which means the fans are at least going to react to him.” - G
So both are due serious pushes because of the way they have been introduced… right?
“It is more of a debut thing than a serious push but only time will tell.
In fact they should do this with all of our debuting superstars. Giving them a random name and telling them to just go out there will not work. They wonder why the crowd is dead and then a month later someone is without a job. They need to put them in feuds on their debuts, have them cut promos, have them assault someone or help someone. Make us care about them. Give them personality. If they suck at that position THEN help them improve or get rid of them, but pass them the ball first.
FCW is the place for character development. Once you on show you need to make an impact. Having generic music, not saying anything and being thrown in front of a live crowd is not an impact. It is a shame that this is considered a serious push when all debuting superstars should get similar treatment.” - Nocturn
Nocturn makes a great point. Perhaps the WWE has realized that just throwing people out there without vignettes or a character is the road to failure. This next group of arriving stars (beginning with Escobar and McIntyre) is already being taken more seriously because the WWE is giving them something to do beyond just being a generic wrestler.
“Drew McIntyre and Eric Escobar will benefit from 'serious pushes' but only if they are capable of getting over and are decent in the ring (and that isn't how many moves they can or can not do). Escobar will be helped in this situation by Vickie Guerrero, who was easily the most over person in the company before leaving earlier in the year. I don't know enough about Escobar to comment about his future but McIntyre has a good future ahead of him if he continues to improve. A good future, however, does not necessarily mean main event status. Funaki has had a great career over the past twelve years by being a glorified jobber.” – A. Dust
So in the end it will come down to how over each is capable of becoming. My guess for that is that Escobar maintains heat originally drawn to him by Vickie Guerrero and goes farther, but McIntyre clearly has something and ends up at least an upper-midcarder. The match quality isn’t there for more yet, but that could be a function of working with R-Truth. In the end, Escobar has the gimmick and a heat machine manager, while Drew just has the gimmick, so the edge, for now, is Pure Escobar.
Breaking news: The Wrestling Observer (www.f4wonline.com) is reporting that Drew McIntyre is the guy D-X have picked out as worthy of being built around. So much for Escobar’s edge. Expect these two to look impressive on Team Smackdown, Sunday at Bragging Rights.
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