Credit: WWE.com
When the WrestleMania dust has settled, the part-timers have left and another draft or "Superstar Shakeup" has come and gone, WWE will look for new stars or even established ones to push as the focal points of the company. In 2017, it was Jinder Mahal and Braun Strowman who were the main beneficiaries of a major post-WrestleMania push as WWE looked to establish new top talents to replace departing talents like The Undertaker and Triple H.
This year will be no different.
With WWE's part-time attractions proving to do little to attract new WWE Network subscribers or move the needle in other ways, WWE will make concerted efforts to establish its current talents as the carriers of the company. That clearly worked with Strowman last year as "The Monster Among Men" became a top babyface and a huge draw, and the hope is that the company will renew its focus on full-time talent after its flagship pay-per-view.
Here are five stars who will receive a massive push after WrestleMania 34 and carry the company throughout the remainder of 2018.
Shinsuke Nakamura
Credit: WWE.com
In all likelihood, it will be Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34 in a match that is about establishing Nakamura as the face of SmackDown.
Styles has been the No. 1 star on the blue brand for nearly two years, but with long-running reports indicating he'll eventually move to Raw, his WrestleMania bout with Nakamura is likely to serve as a "passing of the torch" that establishes Nakamura as "the man" on SmackDown. At least thus far into his main roster run, Nakamura has almost been treated like a part-time attraction, appearing infrequently on weekly programming, but he's still gotten over in a massive way with most fans.
Nakamura's SmackDown debut was one of WWE's 10 most viewed YouTube videos last year, while Google search data suggested that Nakamura was WWE's most popular new star in 2017. Thus, it's clear that, despite what has been questionable booking at times, Nakamura is still one of SmackDown's biggest stars, which explains why WWE had him soundly eliminate Reigns to win the Royal Rumble and earn his WrestleMania 34 title shot.
Styles is one of the main reasons why SmackDown's rating jumped by 5% last year, so the plan could be to get him on Raw to help the red brand's ratings, which stayed exactly the same last year. Especially if Styles' move is indeed penciled in, Nakamura is virtually guaranteed to become the WWE Champion at WrestleMania 34 and be booked as the face of SmackDown going forward.
Roman Reigns
Credit: WWE.com
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc), the plan for nearly a year now has been for Roman Reigns to defeat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 and "replace [John] Cena as the new face of the company."
In a lot of ways, that transition has already started. Just look at the way Cena has been booked over the last six months or so, having lost cleanly to Nakamura on an episode of SmackDown last summer, doing so again to Reigns at No Mercy 2017 and then yet another time to Seth Rollins on a recent Raw. Clearly, WWE is moving on from the days of "Super Cena," with the thought process being that Cena's days in WWE are likely numbered as he continues to have more success in acting.
Reigns will be the primary beneficiary of that because, even though some fans aren't willing to admit it, "The Big Dog" hasn't been pushed as well as you might think he was over the last year or so. In fact, he's suffered a number of major losses in 2017 and early 2018, including one at Extreme Rules 2017, another at SummerSlam 2017 (when he took the pin), a clean loss to Nakamura in the Royal Rumble, a somehow clean title loss to The Miz and then yet another big loss, this time to Rollins, in Raw's memorable gauntlet match.
That's all part of the story to ensure that when Reigns defeats Lesnar, it will reignite his push as not only a top star but "the guy" in WWE. Reigns, of course, is already arguably the No. 1 full-time star in WWE, something that's certainly supported by his impressive YouTube viewership, strong merchandise sales and his ability to sell tickets. However, despite being one of WWE's most featured stars over the past four years or so, he hasn't won the WWE or Universal title in almost two years.
That will change at WrestleMania 34, which will serve as the catalyst for a renewed push for Reigns, who suffered more than his fair share of big losses over the course of the last year.
">WWE will focus heavily on part-time stars like John Cena and The Undertaker during WrestleMania season, but that will change once the pay-per-view is in the books.
Credit: WWE.com
When the WrestleMania dust has settled, the part-timers have left and another draft or "Superstar Shakeup" has come and gone, WWE will look for new stars or even established ones to push as the focal points of the company. In 2017, it was Jinder Mahal and Braun Strowman who were the main beneficiaries of a major post-WrestleMania push as WWE looked to establish new top talents to replace departing talents like The Undertaker and Triple H.
This year will be no different.
With WWE's part-time attractions proving to do little to attract new WWE Network subscribers or move the needle in other ways, WWE will make concerted efforts to establish its current talents as the carriers of the company. That clearly worked with Strowman last year as "The Monster Among Men" became a top babyface and a huge draw, and the hope is that the company will renew its focus on full-time talent after its flagship pay-per-view.
Here are five stars who will receive a massive push after WrestleMania 34 and carry the company throughout the remainder of 2018.
Shinsuke Nakamura
Credit: WWE.com
In all likelihood, it will be Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34 in a match that is about establishing Nakamura as the face of SmackDown.
Styles has been the No. 1 star on the blue brand for nearly two years, but with long-running reports indicating he'll eventually move to Raw, his WrestleMania bout with Nakamura is likely to serve as a "passing of the torch" that establishes Nakamura as "the man" on SmackDown. At least thus far into his main roster run, Nakamura has almost been treated like a part-time attraction, appearing infrequently on weekly programming, but he's still gotten over in a massive way with most fans.
Nakamura's SmackDown debut was one of WWE's 10 most viewed YouTube videos last year, while Google search data suggested that Nakamura was WWE's most popular new star in 2017. Thus, it's clear that, despite what has been questionable booking at times, Nakamura is still one of SmackDown's biggest stars, which explains why WWE had him soundly eliminate Reigns to win the Royal Rumble and earn his WrestleMania 34 title shot.
Styles is one of the main reasons why SmackDown's rating jumped by 5% last year, so the plan could be to get him on Raw to help the red brand's ratings, which stayed exactly the same last year. Especially if Styles' move is indeed penciled in, Nakamura is virtually guaranteed to become the WWE Champion at WrestleMania 34 and be booked as the face of SmackDown going forward.
Roman Reigns
Credit: WWE.com
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc), the plan for nearly a year now has been for Roman Reigns to defeat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 and "replace [John] Cena as the new face of the company."
In a lot of ways, that transition has already started. Just look at the way Cena has been booked over the last six months or so, having lost cleanly to Nakamura on an episode of SmackDown last summer, doing so again to Reigns at No Mercy 2017 and then yet another time to Seth Rollins on a recent Raw. Clearly, WWE is moving on from the days of "Super Cena," with the thought process being that Cena's days in WWE are likely numbered as he continues to have more success in acting.
Reigns will be the primary beneficiary of that because, even though some fans aren't willing to admit it, "The Big Dog" hasn't been pushed as well as you might think he was over the last year or so. In fact, he's suffered a number of major losses in 2017 and early 2018, including one at Extreme Rules 2017, another at SummerSlam 2017 (when he took the pin), a clean loss to Nakamura in the Royal Rumble, a somehow clean title loss to The Miz and then yet another big loss, this time to Rollins, in Raw's memorable gauntlet match.
That's all part of the story to ensure that when Reigns defeats Lesnar, it will reignite his push as not only a top star but "the guy" in WWE. Reigns, of course, is already arguably the No. 1 full-time star in WWE, something that's certainly supported by his impressive YouTube viewership, strong merchandise sales and his ability to sell tickets. However, despite being one of WWE's most featured stars over the past four years or so, he hasn't won the WWE or Universal title in almost two years.
That will change at WrestleMania 34, which will serve as the catalyst for a renewed push for Reigns, who suffered more than his fair share of big losses over the course of the last year.
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