WWE: 15 Wrestlers Who Will Lead the Company for the Next Decade

At some point, there will be a change. We saw it with the coming of the "PG Era" in the WWE.

Steve Austin, Triple H, The Rock and others left the building and a new attitude, new regime and new outlook on the business came with it.

In a few short years, that will happen again. We won't see The Undertaker, Kane and others as new and younger talents come in and grab hold of the gold ring. They will choose sides and fans will choose who they want to support.

In the end, we will have new heroes and new villains and, hopefully, we will have some semblance of wrestling like we remembered it.

For the WWE, it is time to think about moving forward and taking a few wrestlers along for the ride. While R-Truth is 40 years old and will be on the downside of his career, others like The Miz, Cody Rhodes and Brodus Clay are just making their marks.

These wrestlers, however, with some tweaks, will be the future of this company.

Brodus Clay

I am not sure how they will use the big guy when he makes his return, but when he does, we will all know about it.

Clay is one of those guys in the mold of Bam Bam Bigelow or Vader who can dish out punishment.

He could play the heel or villain, but I am guessing he will be a heel before he is adored by the fans.

John Cena

Cena is in his mid-30s now and looks like he could wrestle easily for the best 10 to 15 years. It probably won't happen that way.

Cena is still the wild card as the most popular wrestler in the WWE right now. A heel turn could make him more popular. Who knows?

But he will be around for the next decade, so he will determine his own fate in the ring and with the fans.

Cody Rhodes

He will be a world champion like his daddy.

Rhodes has the ability and charisma to leap past a Randy Orton, in terms of legacy.

He will be around for the next decade and hopefully will make a face turn so he is loved as much as his father, The American Dream.

Justin Gabriel

There is something about him that screams "it factor," but the writers are not using him properly.

He has a unique look, like Rick Steamboat had, and his ability in the ring is quite good.

If he could talk better on the mic and fell into a cruiserweight division, he could really become a factor down the road in the company.

Mason Ryan

Let the beast loose!

Ryan's main drawback is he does not speak English well.

Other than that, he could strike fear in anyone on the WWE roster.

Matt Morgan

At some point, he will be back in the WWE.

Morgan is the one mistake everyone knows about that got away. Morgan has even said there has been talk between the two sides in recent months.

It is just waiting to happen.

The Miz

He could be the most "electrifying" wrestler of this decade.

Miz is that good and he is getting better.

He has remarkable mic skills and his ability to win over the crowd as a heel is great for someone with his limited experience.

CM Punk

As long as Punk is around, the WWE is a better place.

Punk is the hero we all want to be on television, to act like Stone Cold, to tell the boss what the hell to do and love every minute of it.

WWE is not the same without having him around.

Randy Orton

He can hear all the voices he wants to. Orton stepped up his game and matured some in 2011. He did make some fatal errors in judgment and made some really bad comments about wrestlers in the back. But he sold for Christian and Mark Henry and looks to be the elder statesman now trying to get people over.

Refreshing.

Bo Rotundo

When he makes it to the Big Show, he will delight and surprise many.

The son of Mike Rotundo and grandson of Blackjack Mulligan, his pedigree alone makes him a household name.

He will be a world champion and help carry this company for decades.

Samoa Joe

Another one of those guys who I think will make the leap from TNA to the WWE.

Joe could be the new Mark Henry or enforcer in the ring.

He is so agile for his size and a feud with Brodus Clay would certainly bring down the house.

Sheamus

He is one of the few wrestlers who have really stepped up his game this year.

Sheamus not only became one of the more popular wrestlers in the company, he worked on his mic skills and in-ring performance and sold for many a wrestler.

He will be a future star and Hall of Famer.

Wade Barrett

The reinvention of Wade Barrett came at the right time.

He is big, strong and powerful and he is the Triple H of this generation.

His feud with Randy Orton will put him over as a new and rising star in the business.

Zack Ryder

The new John Cena?

Maybe it is true.

Ryder is moving steadily up the ladder of success in the WWE. It is only a matter of time before the star holds gold, probably the U.S. Heavyweight title.

I can see him having the same appeal as Cena in a few years.

Dolph Ziggler

If there was a time to make a move toward the WWE title, it is now for Dolph Ziggler.

We are seeing some of his best matches at the right time, just before the end of the year.

Ziggler and CM Punk had one epic match two weeks ago, leading me to believe he and Miz will be the heels everyone will love for years to come.