[NJ88]

I'm talking here about Kofi Kingston and John Morrison.

Both of them have shown signs of being pushed to the main event, neither guy is there yet. I'm wondering why the WWE is so reluctant to give either of these guys that extra push to break through the glass ceiling. Kofi and Morrison have both been subject to the type of booking we have come to expect from mid-card faces. The stop/start momentum, the feuds, then no feud or no direction. It seems like they have no idea what to do with them, yet they must realise that the company is currently short on main event faces, and pushing someone new into that kind of position is getting a bit essential.

Think of the faces in the WWE right now. The ones who will be staying for years to come are...John Cena and Randy Orton. However, you look at all the faces they have who probably will be leaving in the next 2-4 years and you have Triple H, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Edge, The Big Show, and after that, you're left with a grand total of two face main eventers. I know they could turn a couple of heels but I don't see why building a face to the main event should be so hard.

For the past couple of months, or even since his feud with Orton, Kofi has done a great deal of nothing, yet continues to be pretty over with the crowd. Since losing his IC title, Morrison has done a great of nothing, yet has gotten consistantly over with the crowd. Morrison is now getting a push and a feud with a main eventer in Sheamus, but in all likelyhood, this is just a feud to bridge the gap for Sheamus until Trips comes back, and after that what happens? Morrison will probably be left with nothing to do, even though there are plenty of heels to feud with.

Another thing I noticed was that Kofi and Morrison are the ONLY two mid-carders in the company to recieve regular merchandise. They get the majority of merch the top guys do, plus their own shirts etc, so they must sell pretty well, otherwise they wouldn't bother putting it out.

So if you think about it, they need face main evneters, Both are over with the crowd, both are entertaining in the ring, both sell well, both are marketable and I think both could handle a main event push (probably on Smackdown since with Trips coming back soon RAW has it's fill of faces). So why won't they push them?

 

[Koko B Ware]

I think their lack of mic ability damages them tbh. Both are solid in the ring (Morrison moreso IMO) but they don't really carry themselves at all on the mic. They both have the look and the crowd on their side but they might as well be mute as they simply don't do decent promos.

 

[bme]

....but only one has mic skills and personality, do i really need to say who ?

 

[HoMiCiDaL26]

Kofi was going to be main event, but we all know why he isn't atm. He will get another chance, hopefully next year.

 

[just1988]

Undertaker
Kane
Big Show
Rey Mysterio
Alberto Del Rio
Edge
Jack Swagger
John Cena
Randy Orton
Wade Barrett
Sheamus
CM Punk


There is a list of reasons why they're not in the main event scene

 

[NJ88]

Undertaker
Kane
Big Show
Rey Mysterio
Alberto Del Rio
Edge
Jack Swagger
John Cena
Randy Orton
Wade Barrett
Sheamus
CM Punk


There is a list of reasons why they're not in the main event scene

Just go through these for a minute. I'm not asking why they aren't there right now, I'm asking why they can't seem to make an effort to push them there, or always screw up/drop it when they do.

Undertaker: Goes away for over half the year, will be retiring soon.
Kane: After he loses the title he won't be near the title again.
Rey Mysterio: Very rarely wins the title, and will be gone in three years or so.
Alberto Del Rio: Fair enough, will be around for a while but I'm talking about the lack of faces in the main evnet.
Edge: Always in the main evnet, but will retire in two years or so.
Jack Swagger: See Alberto Del Rio
John Cena: Fair enough, will be a face in the main evnet for a while to come.
Randy Orton: See John Cena
Wade Barrett: See Del Rio
Sheamus: See Del Rio
CM Punk: See Del Rio

I'm specifically talking about pushing a new face main eventer since a lot will be leaving in the next two - three years, and asking why they won't put as much effort into building faces to the main event as they do heels. The only two face main evneters that will be around for the next 5 - 10 years are Cena and Orton. They are fine on the heel side, which is why I'm specifically talking about Kofi and Morrison.

 

[Prospekt's March]

Perhaps WWE have no faith on them to carry big feuds, as evidenced by the few amount of any meaningful storylines for both of them over these past few months, they picked up some victories here and there without any real follow-up most of the time. I disagree with that view though. Kofi already proved that he could hang with main eventer when he's involved in a big feud with Orton, he's massively over with the crowds at that time, but WWE decided to keep him in the midcard instead of slowly elevating him to the main event scene as a result of his increased overness, which was a strange decision, IMO. Kofi can talk when he's given a chance and he's also entertaining in the ring, there's no reason not to push this guy, he only lacks character development though, they should develop his badass no-nonsense smiley good guy personality a bit more. John Morrison on the other hand, while he has some flaws on the mic, he can be a believable main eventer due to his in-ring ability and also because he looks like a star, WWE should capitalize off his marketable look, and he's pretty over too so i don't see why WWE still don't want this guy to main event yet. He can be Jeff Hardy-like main eventer who doesn't need to talk often as long as he's over with the fans and still could entertain the crowds with his in-ring action. To be honest, he was actually tolerable on the mic during his tag team stint with The Miz so maybe WWE should give the guy more freedom to be himself and stop giving him crappy material.

 

[Chris32482]

WWE doesn't like to push faces at all, it isn't just Kingston and Morrison. Look at all the guys to receive major pushes over the past couple years; Miz, Sheamus, Swagger, Barrett, Del Rio, and to a lesser extent guys like Rhodes, DiBiase, and McIntyre. I understand the reason behind this of course. It's easier to push heels because for one thing, they don't have to pick up clean victories. A guy like Sheamus can be built as a unstoppable powerhouse by facing people like Jamie Noble and Evan Bourne, but when he gets into the main event scene he has to cheat or get lucky to beat guys like Orton and Cena. But that's OK because he's a heel, and heels aren't suppose to win clean. Also, its easier to draw a reaction from the crowd as a heel because all you have to do is trash the audience and brutally assault faces. Not trying to take anything away from Sheamus, Barrett, Miz, Del Rio, etc. They all have great charisma, but I think that, because of the reasons I just mentioned, charisma is easier to transmit as a heel than as a face.

The problem then, is that in order to build up faces to the main event level, you have to do the opposite of all that. They have to win big matches clean in order to establish themselves as a credible main event contender. That means Kingston and Morrison would have to beat guys like Sheamus, Barrett, Edge, Kane, even Orton and Cena. That's the only way to pass the torch and prove that these new guys are legitimate. But for some reason WWE has been reluctant to do this. The have made an art form lately out of pushing heels to the moon without ever having their long time Main Eventers do the job (except Jericho of course). I think that they are going to have to reverse this trend if they are going to take this youth movement to the next level.

And as far as personality, in the past decade faces rarely gain huge popularity without first developing their character as a heel. Rock, Austin, HHH, Guererro, Angle, and more recently Orton. Also, Jericho never got popular until he developed his cocky heel persona either. I think that's where the WWE went wrong with Morrison. His heel persona could work as a face persona I think, all you have to do is put him in feuds with people that the audience doesn't like. However, you don't have to have amazing mic skills to be over as a major face. You can do it just by your in ring ability. Bryan is doing that right now. Benoit, RVD, and Jeff Hardy did it as well, because people like to see those guys compete in the ring.

So, to make a long post short,I agree with the OP. WWE needs to push Kingston and Morrison into the main event. But they're going to have to give them some clean victories over some established Main Eventers in order for them to be taken seriously.

 

[Nexus One]

Before I clicked this thread, I said let me guess who this guy is talking about...yeah..Kofi Kingston and the WWE pet project known as John Morrison. Well Morrison is not main eventing because he's a failure. He's been failing since 2003 and people are just now noticing. Melina can't carry anymore. Miz can't cover up his horrible mic detachment with the audience. His matches don't generate superstar reactions. He's just a little too plain. Kingston? A little better and what they did to kick off the year actually worked..he got over big but they held him down and basically had Sheamus kill him before Wrestlemaina this year and he hasn't been the same since. Just comes out overly happy and wrestling spot matches that don't even go 10 minutes in length.

 

[Prospekt's March]

WWE doesn't like to push faces at all, it isn't just Kingston and Morrison. Look at all the guys to receive major pushes over the past couple years; Miz, Sheamus, Swagger, Barrett, Del Rio, and to a lesser extent guys like Rhodes, DiBiase, and McIntyre. I understand the reason behind this of course. It's easier to push heels because for one thing, they don't have to pick up clean victories. A guy like Sheamus can be built as a unstoppable powerhouse by facing people like Jamie Noble and Evan Bourne, but when he gets into the main event scene he has to cheat or get lucky to beat guys like Orton and Cena. But that's OK because he's a heel, and heels aren't suppose to win clean. Also, its easier to draw a reaction from the crowd as a heel because all you have to do is trash the audience and brutally assault faces. Not trying to take anything away from Sheamus, Barrett, Miz, Del Rio, etc. They all have great charisma, but I think that, because of the reasons I just mentioned, charisma is easier to transmit as a heel than as a face.

The problem then, is that in order to build up faces to the main event level, you have to do the opposite of all that. They have to win big matches clean in order to establish themselves as a credible main event contender. That means Kingston and Morrison would have to beat guys like Sheamus, Barrett, Edge, Kane, even Orton and Cena. That's the only way to pass the torch and prove that these new guys are legitimate. But for some reason WWE has been reluctant to do this. The have made an art form lately out of pushing heels to the moon without ever having their long time Main Eventers do the job (except Jericho of course). I think that they are going to have to reverse this trend if they are going to take this youth movement to the next level.

And as far as personality, in the past decade faces rarely gain huge popularity without first developing their character as a heel. Rock, Austin, HHH, Guererro, Angle, and more recently Orton. Also, Jericho never got popular until he developed his cocky heel persona either. I think that's where the WWE went wrong with Morrison. His heel persona could work as a face persona I think, all you have to do is put him in feuds with people that the audience doesn't like. However, you don't have to have amazing mic skills to be over as a major face. You can do it just by your in ring ability. Bryan is doing that right now. Benoit, RVD, and Jeff Hardy did it as well, because people like to see those guys compete in the ring.

So, to make a long post short,I agree with the OP. WWE needs to push Kingston and Morrison into the main event. But they're going to have to give them some clean victories over some established Main Eventers in order for them to be taken seriously.

If memory serves, both of them actually have done this plenty of times. Morrison beat then-world champion CM Punk and then-IC champion Rey Mysterio last year. Kofi and Morrison also defeated then-world champion Jack Swagger clean. And who can forget the epic Boom Boom Leg Drop that Kofi hit on Orton in MSG last year? Both of them also have defeated Chris Jericho multiple times, if he counts as main eventer. The problem is, these victories meant nothing because there was no follow-up, these were just considered as random matches which got easily forgotten few weeks later. A really wasted opportunity to build them up as major players in my opinion.

 

[Chris32482]

If memory serves, both of them actually have done this plenty of times. Morrison beat then-world champion CM Punk and then-IC champion Rey Mysterio last year. Kofi and Morrison also defeated then-world champion Jack Swagger clean. And who can forget the epic Boom Boom Leg Drop that Kofi hit on Orton in MSG last year? Both of them also have defeated Chris Jericho multiple times, if he counts as main eventer. The problem is, these victories meant nothing because there was no follow-up, these were just considered as random matches which got easily forgotten few weeks later. A really wasted opportunity to build them up as major players in my opinion.

You make some good points, but to be fair, not all of those instances you mention had a major effect.

Swagger was world champion, yes. But come on, we all know he was a fluke world champion, and getting a win against him really isn't that big a deal.

And Jericho? I love Jericho and I love the fact that he is not afraid to put people over. But in all honesty it's losing its effectiveness. Sure, Jericho could lose 100 matches in a row and still be considered a legend. However, its reaching the point where EVERYBODY has beaten Jericho. He lost to Evan Bourne and Heath Slater. So it's like, who cares?

As for Kofi's leg drop on Orton, that was indeed awesome. However he still never pinned him for the 1-2-3.

 

[Prospekt's March]

You make some good points, but to be fair, not all of those instances you mention had a major effect.

Swagger was world champion, yes. But come on, we all know he was a fluke world champion, and getting a win against him really isn't that big a deal.

And Jericho? I love Jericho and I love the fact that he is not afraid to put people over. But in all honesty it's losing its effectiveness. Sure, Jericho could lose 100 matches in a row and still be considered a legend. However, its reaching the point where EVERYBODY has beaten Jericho. He lost to Evan Bourne and Heath Slater. So it's like, who cares?

As for Kogi's leg drop on Orton, that was indeed awesome. However he still never pinned him for the 1-2-3.

Jack Swagger was a freaking world champion, and the show is supposed to be centered around the world champion, so, if someone is beating the world champion then it should be considered as a BIG deal, but no, they didn't do any follow-up or mention of Morrison and Kofi's victory over Swagger the following weeks therefore it meant absolutely nothing. WWE could have used their victory over the world champion as a catapult for perhaps further storyline development involving any of them but they didn't do it.

Of course people will care because Jericho ain't exactly a jobber, beating Jericho isn't the same like beating Zack Ryder because Jericho could still maintain his heat despite losing all the time, and it could benefit people he put over. And also, he's a former world champion after all, it gives the wrestlers who beat him some credibility. In Slater's case, he's a member of a very dominant stable and he's a tag team champion now, so him beating Jericho didn't seem pointless after all because he's actually progressing. Shame about Evan though, WWE halted his push all of sudden even though he's actually over with the fans.

Actually Kofi did pin Orton once during an episode of Raw last year when the guest host served as special referee and he did a fast count to give Kofi the victory, which gave Kofi big momentum heading to TLC PPV the following sunday. Kofi should have went over Orton at TLC PPV imo, but they decided to give the victory to Orton instead, therefore it killed all Kofi's momentum. He's been stuck in midcard hell again since then.

 

[NoGimmicksNeeded]

So I saw the title and thought 'Kingston', but honestly couldn't think of another one who deserved it that much. Now I see why.

Yeah Kofi is ready to start being pushed into more main event feuds. With the proper build he could be a convincing champion next year, no problem. Morrison needs substantially more work, and not to sound horribly internet-cliche, but I don't see him making it as a face. I think he could be a relatively decent face WHC down the line, with a lot of work and an improvement from him, but it strikes me that he needs to be a heel to break the ceiling.

Put it this way, look at the type of Cena/Nexus/Orton promos they open Raw with. Kingston, given more mic time and a defined character, could do it, in my mind. Morrison though? Not without substantial work.

 

[vanderhevel]

not everyone is gonna be a main eventer, there is a midcard for a reason.

 

[Shotakan]

John Morrison has terrible live mic skills, especially as a babyface. As for Kofi Kingston, the man had his shot with Orton and blew it epically. John is slowly being built up again, but Kofi I feel is midcard for life.

 

[Prospekt's March]

not everyone is gonna be a main eventer, there is a midcard for a reason.

You miss the point here, babyface main eventers like Rey, Taker, Big Show, Edge, etc are not gonna be around forever so they have to be replaced eventually, Kofi and Morrison are the ones who are very popular with the fans and they should already get elevated as main eventers when these veterans retire, but WWE decide to hold them back for some reason. WWE have adequate other midcard talents to get pushed so they aren't exactly losing anything if both Morrison and Kofi are elevated as main eventers.

John Morrison has terrible live mic skills, especially as a babyface. As for Kofi Kingston, the man had his shot with Orton and blew it epically. John is slowly being built up again, but Kofi I feel is midcard for life.

Err, he didn't, WWE did.

 

[Shotakan]

Err, he didn't, WWE did.

How was it WWE's fault? Kofi worked a bad match against him, fumbled over his lines every live promo he gave, and the fans turned on him so fast you could swear his name was John Cena.

 

[bme]

John Morrison has terrible live mic skills, especially as a babyface. As for Kofi Kingston, the man had his shot with Orton and blew it epically. John is slowly being built up again, but Kofi I feel is midcard for life.

Kofi has actually improved while Morrison has'nt

 

[Shotakan]

Perhaps, but that doesn't change the fact that, from WWE's perspective, Kofi in the main event failed, while John in the main event is an untested commodity.

 

[P.Smith]

Before I clicked this thread, I said let me guess who this guy is talking about...yeah..Kofi Kingston and the WWE pet project known as John Morrison. Well Morrison is not main eventing because he's a failure. He's been failing since 2003 and people are just now noticing. Melina can't carry anymore. Miz can't cover up his horrible mic detachment with the audience. His matches don't generate superstar reactions. He's just a little too plain. Kingston? A little better and what they did to kick off the year actually worked..he got over big but they held him down and basically had Sheamus kill him before Wrestlemaina this year and he hasn't been the same since. Just comes out overly happy and wrestling spot matches that don't even go 10 minutes in length.

You've been failing on this forum since July 2010.