WWE News: WWE CFO Comments on Who the Company's Next Big Star Is

John Cena, Randy Orton and CM Punk are the three biggest full-time stars in the WWE—I think most of us can agree on that.

I won’t get into the debate of which one we like more or which one is better because we’d be here all day. Instead, I want to take a look at which superstars are going to fill their spots in the future, which current WWE stars have the best shot of becoming the top star in the company in the next five years or so.

There are a lot of options we could choose from, and WWE CFO George Barrios recently addressed that very question: Who is the WWE’s next big star?

From WrestleNewz.com:

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Barrios was asked why WWE hasn’t made new big Superstars to replace the ones who have recently left and the ones who will be leaving soon like Triple H and The Undertaker. Barrios talked about how WWE is going through turning over their roster after several injuries and retirements. He admitted that WWE does not know who the next big Superstar is right now.

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To give the WWE credit, I would say that the company did an excellent job building up Punk last year as the “next big star,” but of course, we want to know who is going to be the next next (does that make sense?) star to challenge Cena as the face of the WWE.

Truth be told, I think Cena (34 years old) and Orton (31 years old) have firm grasps on the top spots in the company for the next four to five years, if not more than that. But there are a number of stars who are currently rising up the ranks of the WWE and are looking to become the top star in the company.

When I consider serious threats to Cena, Orton and Punk, however, I have to look at the long-term, rather than the immediate future. You could make a case for someone like Sheamus, The Miz or even Dolph Ziggler to be the “next big star,” but all three of them are already 30 years old or older and will be fighting Orton and Cena for the top spots while in the primes of their career.

The one superstar currently on the roster who is young enough to enter his prime once Orton and Cena are leaving theirs is none other than the Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes.

Though he debuted with the WWE way back in 2007, Rhodes is still just 26 years old and is already one of the most well-rounded superstars in the company. He has charisma, he can wrestle, he can work the mic, and he stands out from the pack with the way he carries himself in the ring.

Rhodes has already established himself as one of the best heels in the company, despite the fact that the only time he’s really been given a main event-caliber feud is when he had that rivalry with Orton last year. Plus, we haven’t seen Rhodes as a baby face since early on in his career, so he could be one of those stars who breaks out big-time once he becomes a good guy.

No matter what happens with Rhodes, though, it’s clear that he’s someone that’s going to be around the WWE for years to come and will make plenty of noise when he’s there. 

And he just might be good enough to become the biggest star in professional wrestling.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions on Formspring.