Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and More from the Brass Ring Mailbag

WWE is promoting a fantasy matchup come to life as it moves forward with Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar. But many New Era WWE Superstars probably wish this matchup would have stayed in WWE 2K17, as yet another top pay-per-view is relying on part-timers.

Goldberg vs. Lesnar is an exciting prospect that will garner mainstream attention, but then what?

Dreams Worth More Than Reality?

"

@ThisIsNasty With Golberg/Lesnar headling Raw vs Smackdown '16 is WWE admitting that they're in a purgatory where they can't create stars?

— Jon From Purgatory (@Unenthused0) November 3, 2016"

WWE has struggled to create new stars for years. It has been five WrestleManias since the last time a main event consisted of only full-time Superstars. Even then, one of those stars was the already-established John Cena. WrestleMania once was either a coronation of the next big thing or an ongoing celebration of what WWE had already created.

Now, WWE has backed itself into a corner, requiring it to feature dream matches between big-name, part-time stars to generate buzz.

WWE is invested in its future through the thriving NXT brand and a litany of first-time world champions in 2016. The problem is that it isn't all the way invested. To acclimate its stubborn, know-it-all fanbase to new main event performers, WWE must endure an extended period of lean business and resist relying on temporary fixes.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin didn't come out of nowhere prior to his memorable run that defined the Attitude Era. Prior to his success, he floundered until the promotion allowed him to find his voice and develop. This needs to happen with current Supertstars who WWE feels can carry the torch for years to come.

The Next Big Dog?

It should be Roman Reigns. Even as WWE has gone away from Reigns in the world-title picture, he still feels like the biggest star on the show. Nobody is apathetic toward him, and WWE has been wise not to make too many drastic changes to his character to maintain the organic nature of his reactions.

Big Cass seems on his way, but it should be years before WWE gives him a serious push toward the main event. Possibly taking cues from the constant nerd rage directed at Reigns, WWE has shrewdly eased Big Cass into the top of the card.

One minute, he'll appear in a Raw main event or a No. 1 Contender's match and have a good showing. Then he'll go right back to palling around with Enzo Amore—with whom he does his best work. If WWE times it well enough, Big Cass could join Reigns as a perennial WrestleMania main event persona.

Bray Wyatt seemed destined for great things. This can still be the case, but his character feels stale at the moment. It was a mistake booking him to lose against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31 because it made him come off as an impostor.

Rusev is fine as an upper-echelon heel, but he may have already hit his ceiling. Baron Corbin can be an elite heel because he doesn't get any of the cheers that both "villain" world champions receive. Once he irons out the wrinkles in the ring, Corbin should be a dominant heel champion on SmackDown for a long time.

Shield Us from The Shield?

No more Shield. Please. The careers of Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have been one big Shield tease since the formidable group broke up in 2014. Those were good times, but what kind of reunion happens after only two years?

Reigns and Ambrose were wingmen for much of the post-Shield, pre-draft era. When Ambrose went to SmackDown in the draft, WWE finally seemed to be moving away from the ubiquitous Shield references. But at the end of Raw, teasers indicated that Reigns and Rollins were going to link up. Please, no.

WWE won't make the most out of the marketable futures of Reigns and Rollins by constantly reminding people how much better they were as a team. The novelty of a Shield run will dry up quickly, and fans will be left with nothing more than a glorified tribute band.   

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.