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The following article was published Sept. 9, 2006 in PWTorch Newsletter #931. This year's new Raw Roster Evaluation was published in last week's PWTorch Newsletter available online now exclusively for VIP members...

TOP TIER

(1) John Cena (#2 on Smackdown last year; previous to that #4, #12): It's without question a small gap between Cena and Triple H for the top position in this year's rankings. Cena gets the nod because he's held the belt more often recently, and Triple H has been wrapped up in a DX feud with the McMahons rather than the World Title picture. It's a virtual tie, though, as Hunter is every bit the main eventer as Cena these days. Cena, though, has had a strong push since last year's rankings had him one spot behind JBL on the Smackdown roster. He has been given the full vote of confidence from Vince McMahon. Everyone knows that the positioning of Cena as the top star on Raw is as important to Vince McMahon as anything on any of his shows. Cena is to be protected and featured in the best possible light. Cena has come through with solid matches, solid mic work, and a good fan following. He has been accepted as a top star in WWE, even though many fans prefer to boo him, not cheer him. WWE had a problem on their hands earlier this year as booing Cena became the vogue thing to do among male fans whose voices had changed - which is the majority of WWE's demographic. But Cena's younger male fans and female fans countered the boos, and it led to Cena getting huge reactions, even if it wasn't 100 percent the type of reaction Vince McMahon was hoping for. The anti-Cena sentiment has cooled, and it appears WWE's booking of him has changed to a more conservative approach, where avoiding anything that could make him look bad is more important than taking chances. He doesn't rap in the ring anymore, the toilet humor has been cut way back, the references to Chain Gang are fewer than before, and even the negative gay comments have been reduced considerably. He's at the apex of his push, the centerpiece of not just TV and PPV main events, but also starring in "The Marine," a WWE Films production.

FORECAST: From here, Cena's career could go up, down, or stay the same, and predicting which is difficult. His push wasn't organic, brought on by fan demand after years of being underpushed. He was the Chosen One of Vince McMahon at a time when he was short on young, good looking, well-built, marketable babyface acts. The road has been rocky, and Cena isn't a total package, but he's come a long way, and his overwhelmingly positive attitude and hard work ethic on the road has thus far led to his ascension into WWE's top overall act.

(2) Triple H (#1 last year; previous to that #1, #3, #1, #2, #5, #7): He co-headlined Raw. He's feuding with the Chairman. He's the centerpiece more often than not of Raw. He's as powerful as any wrestler behind the scenes. After a long run as a heel, he's turned babyface since our last rankings. Yet he drops to no. 2. He's in as strong a position this year as last, but he drops only because Cena seems to be positioned as The Future of WWE, whereas Triple H is seen as someone whose in the midst of the second half of his years as a headliner.

FORECAST: Hunter may have a chance to be the sole lead babyface on Raw if Cena is shifted to Smackdown after Unforgiven this month. The DX run should end after their feud with the McMahons, which will free up Hunter to begin a new chapter in his career as an elder-statesman singles babyface. A feud with Edge would then seem inevitable.

(3) Edge (#6, injured, #6, #9, previous to that ranked in tag division only): It's rare for a wrestler to be WWE Champion and ranked no. 3, but considering who's ahead of him, it's hardly a dig. He just happens to be the top heel on a brand with two top babyfaces who are The Son In Law and The Chosen One. He has yet to be portrayed as a true centerpiece of a roster, as he has been big-footed, even while champion, by heel Triple H earlier this year and the heel McMahons more recently. Yet he is a strong act who fans buy as a top act. He is a very good wrestler, although perhaps falling short of having consistently excellent matches. He is very good on the mic, although perhaps a notch short of excellent - although given a chance to carry himself like the true centerpiece of a brand without being overshadowed by segments involving the McMahons or Hunter could help that. He's perceived as a top star, but hasn't proven himself to be a draw on his own yet, other than a few weeks of strong ratings during his first short WWE Title reign earlier this year.

FORECAST: With Hunter turning babyface and Randy Orton spending time in the second tier for a while, he's a lock to be pushed as the top heel on Raw for the foreseeable future.

(4) Shawn Michaels (#3, #3, #2, unranked previously due to retirement): An absolute anchor of WWE's roster due to his standout skills compared to most everyone else near the top of the roster. He is athletically gifted and despite his mileage, he can still go. He also is incredibly popular, with no indications that fans are tired of him or wanting to turn on him, which was an issue earlier in his career. He does tend to give the impression he's along for the ride, and he'll give it his best, but it's just a job to him now and he's just putting in his time to earn seven-figures for a few more years. He wasn't around during the boom period when Rock, Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Undertaker, and Triple H had their best income years, so this is his chance to try to make up some of that ground. He is absolutely perceived by fans as a credible main event performer who is worth paying to see, but finding a way to put him in a money drawing position is a challenge given the breakdown of the roster and lack of strong heel opponents to draw with.

FORECAST: I'd argue he, more than Cena, would be a good fit with Smackdown after the DX run is over. Although he recently extended his contract with WWE, he does need to take time off sooner than later to get his knee repaired. He deserves another run on top with the World Title, but with Cena and Hunter as top babyfaces ahead of him, and no heel turn in his future due to his religious lifestyle, he's probably "relegated" to a position of feuding with second-tier wrestlers on their way up the roster who need seasoning against a veteran like him.

(*) Vince & Shane McMahon: Although not full time wrestlers, they must be included in the top tier since they are headlining PPVs and TV shows on a regular basis. They're an admitted novelty act and probably won't be headlining much longer, much less at this time next year, but given their prominence recently, they must be acknowledged in a high position to accurately reflect the depth chart of featured talents at this point in time.

SECOND TIER

(5) Randy Orton (#4, #5): Previously, the golden child heir apparent to a perennial top tier spot on Raw, he has been bounced around brands, sent away for therapy, and reduced to a non-main event role. Although his matches are inconsistent, they're at a passable level for a main event wrestler in WWE. Although his interviews are relatively mundane, they're at a passable level for a main event wrestler in WWE. The problem is, he's not excellent in any particular area, other than looking the part and carrying himself like a top star. Last year, I predicted he'd be a top four finisher on one of the two brands by this point. Had he stayed on Smackdown, he might have been, but not on Raw.

FORECAST: Iffy future for the next two years, but if plays the game, shows up on time, doesn't cause problems, and finds ways to improve in the ring and on the mic, he'll be part of the Million Dollar Club soon enough.

(6) Kane (#7, #4, #3, #13, #8, #7, #7,#16): He moves up a spot this year, although he didn't leapfrog anyone compared to last year's list other than Chris Benoit, who's on hiatus (although he's returning in a few weeks). He got a huge push because of his movie, but since then, has been used as a utility player without a solid direction or any sense that he's looked at as a PPV main eventer at anytime in the near future.

FORECAST: More of the same - just a monster role player filling out the mid-card on Raw PPVs and TV shows.

THIRD TIER

(7) Carlito (#11 on Smackdown last year): Normally, we include five wrestlers in the first tier and five wrestlers in the second tier, but there's a pretty distinct dropoff earlier than usual when looking at the drawing power and push of various stars. Part of the reason is that Carlito and his ilk (including others in this third tier) have suffered is a result of Vince McMahon pushing himself and his son. Although he'd deny it, the time and creative energy Vince spends booking himself on TV and PPVs, if shifted to other wrestlers, would probably pay off bigger. Carlito, if given a more consistent push with more creative effort, would be a bigger star. But there's only so much prime TV time and major segments on each edition of Raw, and those are being sucked up by the top tier players right now. Carlito is not even close to being a PPV main eventer, which is what separates him from Kane and Orton, who in a pinch you could imagine being put in a PPV main event.

FORECAST: He's got charisma and star power and just enough in-ring athleticism to be a mainstay in the second tier for years to come.

Jeff Hardy [photo by Torch editor Wade Keller (c) PWTorch]

(8) Jeff Hardy (new to WWE this year): Hardy immediately became a prime player in a stripped down WWE Raw roster when he returned last month. He is a big name from the boom period WWE had, but mainly as a tag wrestler. He now enters Raw as a singles wrestler, but so far, nothing has been done to establish a connection between him and his fans other than throwing him into the ring. Still, he has the charisma and dazzling creative athletic moves to stand out from many others in WWE.

FORECAST: Who would dare predict his future? He could flame out in a month, or he could catch fire and end up in semi-main events on PPVs.

(9) Umaga (new to WWE): Well on his way to being pushed as a top tier heel, then was derailed a bit when used as TV fodder for John Cena on Raw. Still, has risen in the ranks in a very weak heel roster on Raw to be among perhaps the top three heels not counting the McMahons.

FORECAST: With his manager talking for him, and his ability to come across as a Bulldozer in the ring, he can be a steady player rising to semi-main events by default next year.

(10) Johnny Nitro (tag wrestler last year): He's the IC Champ, although he hardly seemed to earn it or work his way up to it. He just got the belt given to him almost immediately upon his Raw arrival, and it's tough to tell if he was supposed to add credibility to the belt, or if the belt is adding credibility to him. In any case, he's seen as a green, unproven star by fans.

FORECAST: He'll be given a shot to earn fans' respect if he can put on solid matches, learn to carry himself like be belongs at the championship level in WWE, and develops a persona and solid mic skills.

(11) Ric Flair (#12, #9, previously unranked): Down to just being used as a utility player, he's still the life of some editions of Raw. He works a full time house show schedule, appears on most TV shows, and gets the star reaction from fans. But due to his age, it's clear his in-ring days are limited.

FORECAST: What role he has once his in-ring appearances diminish to an occasional special match remains to be seen.

(12) Chris Masters (#18 last year): Hard to know what to make of his push these days. Jobbing to Super Crazy this week sent a message that he's not in for a push anytime soon. He's got the look Vince McMahon likes - or had it, at least. His mic skills get mixed reviews. In the ring, he's not good.

FORECAST: Will be given more opportunities than most because he has an overall look that history says gets extra time from Vince.

THE OTHERS

(13) Shelton Benjamin (#9 last year): A big dropoff this year, but his push is so start and stop, there's just something about him that management is clearly not happy with. They don't believe in him, despite a grassroots support for him among the fans... (14) Super Crazy: New to Raw this week, and there's no telling whether he'll get a push or not, but on a roster with little depth, he immediately jumps near the top 12. He can be exciting at filling some TV time in the ring, but his character is pretty limited otherwise... (15) Gene Snitsky: Lost without Goldust as his partner... (16) Rob Conway... (16) Charlie Haas... (17) Eugene (#14 last year)...

TAG TEAMS

(1) Spirit Squad (a lot of roster spots are taken up by this team, and once they're broken up, there could be an influx of fresh faces to inject some new life into Raw's scene... (2) Trevor Murdoch & Lance Cade... (3) The Highlanders... (4) Val Venis & Viscera... The tag division overall isn't taken seriously or presented in a serious manner by WWE, so its rendered almost irrelevant in the revenue-drawing picture. There are some potential singles stars in the mix...

WOMEN'S DIVISION

(1) Trish Stratus... (2) Lita... (3) Torrie Wilson... (4) Mickey James... (5) Candice... (6) Victoria...(7) Beth Phoenix...

MANAGERS

(1) Melina... (2) Armando Alejandro Estrada...

DROPOFFS

Batista (#2): Moved to Smackdown, where he is the top star over there.

Chris Benoit (#5): On his way back to the main roster soon after taking time off for personal reasons and health reasons.

Chris Jericho (#8): Retired from WWE and pro wrestling, now appearing on various TV shows, comedy troupes, and bands.

Christian (#10): Jumped to TNA where he became NWA Champion and now a top heel.

Rob Van Dam (#11): Shifted to the ECW brand where he's a headliner.

Muhammad Hassan (#15): Released by WWE.

Tyson Tomko (#16): Could be back as a main roster member.

Maven (#17): Released by WWE.

Rhyno (#20): Signed with TNA.

Steven Richards (#22): Moved to the ECW roster.

Tajiri: Moved back to Japan)

William Regal: Shifted to Smackdown.

Hurricane: Shifted to Smackdown.

Rosey: Released.

Molly Holly: Retired from wrestling.

Christy Hemme: Released, now with TNA.

FINAL THOUGHTS

ECW and attrition left Raw with less depth this year than at any time in recent memory. The Chris Jericho and Christian losses and lack of creation of new stars really hurt.

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