WWE’s wrestlers have been working the media circuit to hype Sunday’s Summerslam event, but it seems that a subject not directly related to the pay-per-view has been at the forefront. That issue, regarding WWE’s struggle to develop new stars on the RAW brand, has led to candid comments from different roster members.
Chris Jericho called the situation a “crisis,” recalling a conversation he had with Shawn Michaels about the RAW roster’s lack of star-building. The Miz expressed satisfaction over the fact that CM Punk and Jeff Hardy, two recently-developed stars, were breaking the monotony by wrestling in the Summerslam main event. Legacy member Cody Rhodes, who joins Ted DiBiase in wrestling Triple H and Shawn Michaels this weekend, also weighed in on the matter.
“I personally think that when people say stuff like that, when people say there hasn’t been a breakout, I ask them if they saw the last breakout coming,” Rhodes said in an interview with AOL Fanhouse. “Monday Night Raw is like a varsity team. And it’s filled with freshmen. Very talented, very young, but it’s something the fans are now getting to grow with. It’s a cool experience. I can remember watching Michaels go from tag to Intercontinental Champion to taking the longest run possible to the WWE championship. I think it might be a while till somebody becomes that breakout star, but I know that you have a lot of hopefuls.”
Rhodes specifically put over Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne and, of course, Legacy as the potential stars of the future.