Our heroes won’t be around forever. It seems hard to believe. To think we could one day see a WWE without the likes of Shawn Michaels, Triple H and The Undertaker is quite a thought. So who exactly will be stepping up to replace these stars?

A quick look at the WWE talent roster at the minute is quite depressing. I’ll be honest; WWE disappoints me sometimes with their depth of talent. They never prepared for the departures of The Rock, Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Mick Foley and more and let’s face it, they are suffering now.

It can be sold to me as many times as possible, but John Cena isn’t The Rock. Infact, he is nowhere near. In all honesty, I look at the headliners today and not many strike me as being genuine main event material. Chavo Guerrero isn’t main event material. Neither is John Morrison or The Miz. WWE really need to sort it out.

Of course, losing Christian Cage, Rhyno, Rob Van Dam, Andrew “Test” Martin, Matt Morgan, Chris Masters, Rene Dupree, Booker T, Kurt Angle, Team 3D and more over the last two years hasn’t done WWE any favours. They have been left without well established wrestlers to take over those who have needed time off for injuries. The deaths of both Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero didn’t help either.

So who will be the next wrestler to step up to the main event scene?

A quick look through the Raw brand gives us four or five genuine wrestlers who could make that step up eventually.

Jeff Hardy is a wrestler who, if kept away from potential problems with the Wellness policy, could headline the company for years. He has the look that every woman in the world seems to drool over and his wrestling style never seems to grow old. Any type of match and no doubt, Hardy will give you a good match to watch.

Of course, much of Hardy’s success depends on whether his heart is in it, something which Hardy seems to lose with relevant ease. However, there is no doubt that his potential has no limits and he’s certainly someone who you can expect to move up the card sooner rather than later.

Lance Cade is another wrestler who I hold in high regard. WWE need to push this guy and quick. I’ve always found his tag team with Trevor Murdoch extremely stale and boring and although the gimmick works well for both guys, it becomes repetitive very quickly.

Cade has all the potential to be a great mid-card worker and I can see no reason why he can’t move up the ranks even further. With a manager by his side, Cade would be a great headliner.

With Smackdown lacking any real direction and let’s face it, being average at best, I can’t understand why WWE doesn’t move someone like Cade over. Smackdown is embarrassing at the minute.

The likes of Vickie Guerrero, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins don’t keep me entertained. In fact, at times, I wonder if they keep anyone entertained. Ryder and Hawkins should be opening the card, not fighting the likes of The Undertaker.

When I watch Smackdown, I wonder why there is a brand split.

I’m surprised WWE hasn’t done more with Paul Burchill either. After all, anyone who will have seen his matches in England will know that he is an extremely talented performer. Again, why is this talent being wasted on Raw? With some many stars on there now, he should be moved to Smackdown. An awful gimmick, Burchill should just be allowed to go out and wrestle rather than drop hints of an incest storyline.

At this point, I was going to look at some names on Smackdown who could maybe step up to the challenge of becoming a future star, but I’ll be honest, it would’ve been a waste of time. With the obvious exception of Matt Hardy, MVP and Gregory Helms, it’s a poor roster.

So, let’s have a look at Florida Championship Wrestling, the new WWE developmental company for the stars of tomorrow.

Fans of Ring of Honor will immediately identify Matt Sydal and Colt Cabana as two stars who could step up to the main roster and improve the product. Certainly, if both have half the success they had in the indies, then they will go on to have big things in the WWE.

Cabana, in particular, can take faith from the fact that is former partner CM Punk is having fantastic success on the ECW brand. Despite his size, I would expect Cabana to have a similar position further up the card. A feud with someone like Punk or Tommy Dreamer would be a fantastic start.

Ron Killings and Chris Harris can also expect quite a bit of success in the company. Harris, who would be a great heel, could definitely improve Smackdown with a possible feud against Matt Hardy.

Killings, on the other hand, I would expect to go to ECW and challenge for the gold. He’s a fantastic worker who deserves a chance to be more than just another wrestler.

Of course, there are plenty of wrestlers who have the ability to main event the show but very few go on to actually do so. The WWE is lacking any real star potential at the minute and it’s quite worrying. The talent across all three brands is so thin; the company could probably scrap the brand split and go back to just one promotion. They need to. Right now, this company isn’t a shadow of its former self.

Where’s the next Steve Austin going to come from? What about the next Mick Foley? Who knows, but it will certainly take a while to find them.

WWE need to plan for the future now. Without wrestlers ready to replace our heroes, we are left in a situation where stars who aren’t necessarily ready, are main eventing our shows. It becomes boring and lacks any real direction because the superstars aren’t believable or cared about.

Sort it out WWE. The future’s in your hands. Shape it now before it’s too late.