I have made attempts at doing in-depth talent evaluations in the past but I never got around to doing them due to a lack of time and honestly, a lack of interest. However, now that the WWF roster is as good as it has ever been I have decided to sit down and evaluate every wrestler on their roster. After I finish my look at the WWF talent I will evaluate ECW and the newly revamped WCW roster as well. The first thing I should do is explaining my grading system.

I tried to look at each wrestler's work rate, mic work, charisma, drawing power and impact on the company as a way to grade them. At this point I have decided not to look at valets, managers or McMahon family members but I may write about them in the future. For the tag teams I have decided to split them all up and take a look at all the wrestlers individually. I repeat, this is a look at wrestlers ONLY. In the final part of this column, after I do evaluations of all three federations, I will take a look at the tag teams separately.

Christian

Age: 25; Height: 6'1"; Weight: 225 lbs.

WWF Titles: Light-heavyweight Champion, Tag Team Champion

When people think about the current tag team champions they think about Edge first, often bypassing the talents of Christian. In the ring, the more polished of the two fictional brothers is Christian. People often overlook Christian because he is smaller and seems more like a follower rather than the leader of the team. Christian has a vast array of moves in his arsenal, he bumps well and he has good presence in the ring. As is the case with a lot of young guys in the WWF, he is still unproven in the department of mic work and charisma. Lately he has been showing signs of being a charismatic heel and he has actually been given some mic time. However, he has not been given enough time to be considered a good mic worker although I can tell he will be good one day. People are always looking past this guy and that is a shame because he is a VERY talented wrestler in his mid-20s. He has shown great strides in the past year by delivering some innovative offense and tremendous bumping. As he earns more mic time and shows more charisma I believe that Christian will be a big star. Yes, even bigger than Edge and maybe even the Hardys. Just remember, you heard it here first.

Grade: B (High mid-card wrestler who needs a little work in some areas in order to improve.)

Edge

Age: 25; Height: 6'4"; Weight: 240 lbs.

WWF Titles: Intercontinental Champion, Tag Team Champion

The search for the "next Shawn Michaels" is something that I hate talking about because I don't think anybody will be as good as the greatest WWF superstar ever. However, when people talk about then next HBK they bring up the name Edge and I think that is a little unfair. It's unfair to Edge to try and live up to that legacy. To tell a 25-year-old guy that he is going to be the next big thing is a little too much to deal with. I would say that he's talented, he's got "the look," he's a good worker and he is decent on the mic but that does not mean he is the best of the younger wrestlers. Earlier in the evaluation I said that Christian would turn out better than Edge. I really do believe that, however that does not mean I think Edge is a slouch. The problem with Edge, at least the one I have noticed, is that he never was able to look really good when he was wrestling singles. I remember his match against Jeff Jarrett at Fully Loaded '99 when Edge walked in as the IC champion. I thought it was great that he had the belt (he lost the belt in 24 hours) because the potential was there for him to be a great singles star. In that match he looked lost, he blew a few spots and it seemed as though he blew up (meaning he got tired) in the middle of the match as well. Shortly after that match the singles push that we thought he would be receiving was stopped. He was back to teaming with Christian to form the best tag team without a name. Edge is a great part of the team but I am not sure if he can be a great singles star like so many other people seem to believe. I look forward to the time when Edge breaks out on his own again because the last time it happened he fell flat on his face. Maybe he will learn from his previous mistakes and evolve as a star. Next time, he needs to take advantage of the opportunity and make the most out of his talent.

Grade: B (High mid-card wrestler who needs a little work in some areas in order to improve.)