What's the Future of Ronda Rousey and Big-Ticket Attractions in WWE's Triple H Era?

If Triple H's first month in charge of WWE's creative direction has been any indication, things are only going to continue to change for the better going forward.

Raw and SmackDown have both been much more enjoyable to tune into since SummerSlam thanks to a renewed emphasis on in-ring action and compelling storylines. That's in addition to multiple former stars being brought back into the fold, such as Johnny Gargano and Karrion Kross.

The bigger takeaway is the effort Triple H has put into featuring fresh faces on both brands. Everyone is seemingly starting with a clean slate and will sink or swim on their own merit and not because of one man's outdated vision.

Thus, the days of part-timers dominating the top title scenes on SmackDown and Raw may well be over. That isn't to say it will never happen again, but it's much likelier the legends and other big-ticket attractions won't be given the opportunities that belong to the talent of tomorrow.

From Ronda Rousey to Brock Lesnar, let's look at what the future should hold for each of WWE's part-time performers.

Ronda Rousey

To say the first few months of Ronda Rousey's return run in WWE were underwhelming would be an understatement. It seemed as if the company couldn't quite figure out how to present her as well as they did the first time, and her once-dominant aura suffered as a result.

That coupled with her losses to Charlotte Flair and Liv Morgan made her feel like just another member of the roster and not the one-woman wrecking crew she was in 2018 and 2019. Turning heel was the key, and now she's in the midst of one of her most interesting runs yet.

She's closer to full-time than most, but she doesn't come across as special as she should. That must change with Triple H at the helm, especially since he's aware of what she's capable of from their feud upon her arrival in the company.

It isn't imperative Rousey remain champion at all times, but positioning her as a heel and in engaging storylines will be what keeps her an attraction. So far, Triple H has done a commendable job of restoring some of that mystique she's lost.

As much of a household name as The Rowdy One is, more organic stars are needed in the women's division, and she should play an integral role in creating them. Liv Morgan and Shayna Baszler are two great choices to start with, but the key will be ensuring Rousey doesn't dominate the scene and have the focus on her at all times.

Goldberg

Upon his anticipated return to WWE in 2016 following a dozen years away, Goldberg was received and booked like a larger-than-life icon, squashing Brock Lesnar in an astounding 86 seconds.

The remainder of his run through WrestleMania 33 was handled exceptionally well, and he went out on the highest note possible. Everything after his return to the ring in 2019 to present day has been subject to criticism from fans, and understandably so.

The shape Goldberg keeps himself in at 55 is amazingly impressive, but there's a place for him on the card that isn't the main event. Assuming he isn't completely done just yet, anything he does going forward should not involve world title gold.

Even in defeat, Goldberg shouldn't be closing out pay-per-views at this stage of his career. His matches have been hit or miss, but he can be useful in other ways that aren't anywhere near the main event scene.

As someone who has his own history with Goldberg, Triple H should know better than to book Goldberg in the same fashion Vince McMahon did, if he bothers to bring him back at all. Putting him in non-title attraction matches with people he can jell with would be much more beneficial for everyone.

John Cena

Although his appearances on WWE TV have been few and far between in recent years, John Cena always makes a major impact whenever he resurfaces on Raw or SmackDown.

Aside from his one-off Raw return in June for the 20-year anniversary of his main roster debut, Cena hasn't been back for a full-fledged run since the summer of 2021. It only lasted a month and culminated with him putting over Roman Reigns in the main event of SummerSlam.

All signs seem to point to fan theories of Cena not wanting to win a WWE world title for the record-setting 17th time being accurate.

He's had multiple opportunities to make history, and the company would have jumped at the chance to crown him champ again if he made it work with his busy acting schedule, but he has instead chosen to share the spotlight and use his notoriety to elevate younger talent.

Triple H will surely welcome Cena back with open arms whenever he wishes in the future, but there really isn't anything different that needs to be done with him. Cena knows his role and plays it to perfection while still coming across like a mega star every time he returns. To stray from that formula would be a mistake.

Logan Paul

Logan Paul shocked the world with his incredibly impressive in-ring debut at WrestleMania 38 and again when he went one-on-one with The Miz at SummerSlam, making the company's decision to sign him to a performer's deal a no-brainer.

It was obviously implied that he won't be regularly competing on Monday or Friday nights but rather on an occasional basis for WWE's biggest pay-per-views.

There's no word on when he'll be back inside the squared circle, as he may have his sights set on his next boxing bout for the remainder of the year, per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Ash Rose of GiveMeSport.com).

Paul's first two WWE matches were both undercard outings, so it's not as if he was immediately put in a position of prominence. That should continue once he returns, as he's a notable name to the mainstream audience and can bring new eyes to the product whenever he's involved.

WWE's booking of Paul has practically been perfect thus far and should continue as is during the Triple H regime.

"The Rated-R Superstar" Edge

Interestingly, Edge is far more active than arguably anyone else on this list. Other than when he was written off WWE TV for two months after being booted from The Judgment Day, he has appeared on a majority of the Raw and SmackDown shows since the summer of 2021 and has been doing some of the best work of his entire career.

He's fresh off a win in the main event of Raw over Damian Priest in his native Toronto, though he still has unfinished business with Judgement Day. He's expected to either face Finn Balor one-on-one at Clash at the Castle or team with his wife Beth Phoenix to take on Balor and Rhea Ripley in mixed tag team action.

The Rated-R Superstar recently confirmed to Bleacher Report that he has (and has had) plenty of creative input with what he's doing on television and even approached Triple H with the idea to wrestle on Raw this past Monday.

With all of that said, there's no reason to believe Edge will be booked any differently than he has been considering he's barely been featured in the main event scene.

He's received two title shots since returning to the ring in 2020 and lost them both. One more run as world champ could be a cool story to tell eventually, but otherwise, Edge's spot will be safe if he continues to deliver on such a high level and remains a regular.

Roman Reigns

At 37-years-old and still in the prime years of his career, it still feels strange to classify Roman Reigns as a part-timer. However, he fits the bill considering his appearances on WWE TV have been much less frequent since becoming the Undisputed WWE Universal champion at WrestleMania 38 in April.

The reduced schedule is well deserved given everything he's accomplished as well as contributed to WWE in the last decade, but it's not an ideal situation when he's the sole world champion and there's nothing for the Superstars of SmackDown and Raw to fight for in his absence.

His next title defense will come at Clash at the Castle against Drew McIntyre next weekend. With the event emanating from Cardiff, Wales, it's safe to assume the crowd will be behind McIntyre to take the titles from him.

He isn't the most compelling choice to be champion right now, especially since a returning Cody Rhodes dethroning Reigns would make for a stronger story, but that may not be until WrestleMania season at the earliest.

Either way, Triple H could be looking to wrap up Reigns' run on the sooner side so the belts are back in the possession of a full-time Superstar. Splitting the titles again should also be considered a top priority.

Brock Lesnar

The booking of Brock Lesnar has been heavily criticized by fans since his return to the company in 2012.

In that time, he's achieved far more success than he did during his initial run, including winning seven more world titles, headlining countless pay-per-views and ending The Undertaker's iconic undefeated streak at WrestleMania in 2014.

Lesnar has no doubt been a big box office draw for WWE, but it isn't necessary for him to be world champion as often as he has been in the past five years. His last two reigns were brief, and he was surprisingly active from August 2021 through April 2022, but fans have grown tired of seeing him resurface and chase a championship time and time again.

The Beast injects excitement into the WWE product. He remains a must-see Superstar and was at his most entertaining as a babyface just recently. Despite all of that, it's unlikely Triple H will want to shove him down the throats of the audience as aggressively as Vince McMahon did.

Lesnar is a valuable asset to the company in a variety of ways, but his creative direction should and will be different whenever he decides to pop up again.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.