Who Steps Up?

[lariat_tubman]

Simple question: with Steen gone who do you guys think will step up and become 'the man' in ROH?

[Burnside]

Was Steen really "The Man" at any point after losing the title in April 2013?

[K.O.]

Was Steen really "The Man" at any point after losing the title in April 2013?

I think as far as "overness" he clearly has been.

[187_Joeism]

Looking at the booking i think Cedric, ACH, Ciampa, Silas or O´Reilly will have the chance to step up.

[lariat_tubman]

Was Steen really "The Man" at any point after losing the title in April 2013?

I think as far as "overness" he clearly has been.

^ This. But I don't mean necessarily the title holder or main eventer but just the guy who has the most press, fanfare, is the most over, etc. in the company. I hate to use this example but he was the John Cena of ROH, the biggest guy they had (non part time performer).

[Thelone]

No one in the actual roster.

[Robareid]

It very much feels to me like Elgin has been their "guy" for a good while.

[AndyDiaz]

Ced or O'Reilly for sure. Silas maybe.

[Marketh.]

When I think of "the man", I don't think of it as someone who's been put in that position by the company, unless they also happen to be the most over act on the roster.

[Robareid]

Okay, it seems we interpret it differently. When I think of "the man" for a company, I think of John Cena for WWE. Whether he has the title or not, he always has a large focus on him, and is never just there. That's what Elgin is for ROH right now I think, and has been since he went face.

[Marketh.]

"The man" could easily mean that too, but since the title is about who's going to step up, it seems more appropriate it be about someone who'll make a bigger connection with the fans. Someone being "the man" because they've been booked that way is more like getting a leg-up.

Is being allowed to win more and kick out of bigger moves the same as stepping up? I don't see it that way.

[Robareid]

Okay then, in that respect I think Kyle is a guy who will get super over as a face in singles over the next two years. ACH is already really over, but a sustained push up to near main event level and he'll be getting huge reactions. If we're looking at overness, I'm not sure Silas will ever be amazingly over, not because he's not talented enough, but because, and this is already happening, his character works best as a heel and yet he gets cheers because he's a damn great wrestler, so he's always going to get that mixed reaction.

[Burnside]

Okay, it seems we interpret it differently. When I think of "the man" for a company, I think of John Cena for WWE. Whether he has the title or not, he always has a large focus on him, and is never just there. That's what Elgin is for ROH right now I think, and has been since he went face.

I would argue that to be "The Man" you need BOTH of these factors:

1. Positioned by the company as the undisputed top guy
2. Accepted by the fans as the undisputed top guy

In other words, you have to be chosen BOTH by the promotion AND by the fans. Samoa Joe was The Man. Bryan Danielson was The Man. Nigel McGuiness was The Man. Davey Richards was, very briefly, The Man. Steen was the Man from his 2011 return through dropping the belt to Briscoe.

To me, Kevin Steen was not The Man after April 2013 because he lacked #1 - while still very over, he was marginalized and sidelined by the booking and was never positioned on top after turning face.

Elgin isn't The Man right now because he doesn't quite have #2.

[Rhawk]

Does Elgin count, or maybe not since I think they've seen him as their next big guy for awhile now.

And while I don't see them as 'the man', I do see Silas, ACH, Cedric, Ciampa, O'Reilly, The War Machine and Moose as guys that are being built up to be bigger stars in ROH.

[Sandy Fork]

Ciampa. Fits all the criteria needed.

[trufreedom]

If Moose ever gets over in front of an ROH audience, I will eat a Mike Mondo t-shirt.

[Marketh.]

Moose just comes across as a Rasche Brown with far less charisma.

[Thelone]

Moose is already kinda over, but I don't see him going anywhere in ROH. Beating jobbers over and over will get boring really fast (especially with his current two-move arsenal) and people will shit on him if he starts beating established guys too soon.

[Marketh.]

I just reminded myself how entertaining Skullkrusher's squashes were.

[trufreedom]

The difference is, I wanted to like Rasche Brown because he was a breath of fresh air in ROH.

But now you have Elgin, Hanson and Rowe all doing a big man routine. Adding an ex-NFLer to do the same schtick only much worse doesn't make sense.