With the scramble mode now in full effect for the WWE, the company is moving ahead with trying to get ready for Sunday's No Mercy PPV in Rosemont, IL. The company announced two more matches for Sunday, they are C.M. Punk vs Big Daddy V for the ECW strap, and for the SmackDown tag belts, MVP and Matt Hardy vs Undertaker and Kane.

Now with Cena on the shelf, as stated yesterday there are a number of wrestlers that can move up the ladder in a hurry if the company wants to push them in that direction. WWE over the past 6-7 years has lost stars, but none of them have quite had to carry the company like Cena. When Rock or Steve Austin would be gone, you'd always have the other picking up the slack. Back in the late 80's when Hulk Hogan left to film "No Holds Barred" you put Randy Savage in his place for a year. And of course through a lot of months in the 90's you always had the superstar duo of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart to get ready for.

But with this situation, it's going to be tough to move forward, at least right away. Figure that John Cena was the headliner for the past two WrestleMania's (I don't count 21 as that was actually Batista vs HHH), and I can't remember the last PPV that Cena was not at the top of the card. That is what will make Sunday interesting, as they move forward and try to establish someone at this point to take over as champ. I threw out a few names yesterday, and here is a quick breakdown of what it looks like in terms of trying to move someone else to the top of the company.

* Ken Kennedy - This is the first and most obvious choice as many are just waiting for him to take over and be a main eventer in the company. They teased a face turn months ago, and if you wanted to, you could surprise everyone and make him a face again and he would be hugely successful. He has the mic skills, the wrestling skills, and he has "it" to be a major star in the WWE.

* Randy Orton - Of course with already being in the main event Sunday Orton could be the choice almost by default. He has that killer heel in him that makes a crowd react(unless he's fighting Cena and getting cheered by all the men in the audience). Since the Europe incident sometime ago, he has appeared to be on the path of behaving, and I think he could carry this thing for awhile till Cena returns.

* Umaga - Another guy they teased with a face turn, then came the switch back to heel and then a suspension. There is good in him (ala Darth Vader), as they use him as a heel and a face, like Monday, going after Triple H, then teasing going after Carlito. I don't know about putting the belt on him, but if they did, I think he could actually do the job. The question would be do you do it as a heel, face, or mix?

* Triple H - I gave some reasons yesterday why I do not want to see this at this time. In talking to my podcast co-host John Sefcik about this situation last night, he brought up a good point - H is much more effective going after the belt then when he has it. This does not mean he could not carry the load, as I know he could. I still think they will keep him as secondary main event guy until we get closer to Mania.

* Undertaker - This to me is the most interesting choice both for Sunday and the long term. If you throw him with Orton Sunday and he wins the belt, it actually would create a buzz and make sense. First, it makes sense due to the fact that Taker and Orton have a history. Then it makes sense as you would have the excitement of moving Taker back over to RAW. Also we all know that he is still a great worker and could carry this thing for more than a few weeks. He's the Nolan Ryan of the WWE - put him in and he's sure to give you a solid outing and everything he's got.

Posted by Matt Loede on Thursday, October 04, 2007 at 6:28 AM | Permalink