The Return of Degeneration X

Ever since Wrestlemania 22 one of the most talked about stories in the WWE has been the reformation of Degeneration X. The exact date and location are already determined. June 25th in Charlotte, NC at WWE Vengeance. There is however one aspect of DX's return that is yet to be determined. Who exactly are going to be the members? Shawn Michaels and Triple H are no-brainers. There was some talk of bringing back some of the group's earlier members. Let's quickly run through them.

Chyna (The only other original member) - After she left the WWE she tore into the company, Triple H, and the McMahons. She's pretty much burned her bridges as far as the WWE goes. She's also made a variety of media appearances that put her mental stability into question.

The New Age Outlaws - They are under contract with TNA. The WWE could go after them, but they would be opening themselves up to a lawsuit that would be more trouble than the Outlaws are worth. They've also released a shoot video where they tore into Triple H so that can't help them.

X-Pac - He has the most likely chance of returning, albeit tiny. The problem is that he is so universally hated in the wrestling industry. The boys in the back hate him (except HHH and HBK) and the fans hate him. In fact, the term 'X-Pac Heat' has been coined in his honor. It means that not only do the fans hate your character, they also hate your very existence as a human being. Anyways, as far as I know he is still involved with the upcoming disaster-to-be MTV wrestling promotion. By the way, I strongly feel that X-Pac's continued involvement in the wrestling industry is due to the fact that all of these indy promotions don't want to turn him down so that they don't hurt a possible working relationship with the WWE sometime down the line.

There is also talks of bringing in a member (or two) from the current roster to 'get the rub' as they say; someone to get over with the crowd from an association with Shawn and Trips. Similar to what happened to Batista and Randy Orton as part of Evolution with Triple H and Ric Flair. Let's throw a few names out and see who should get the rub.

RVD - He's way over with the crowd. His problem is with the bookers. He'll be too involved in ECW anyways.
Shelton - For some reason his reaction crowd seems to fluctuate. One night he'll get a strong reaction and the next night the crowd is chanting boring. The problem with him is that his mic work needs a lot of improvement. I'd have to rule him out.

Carlito - I just don't see him fitting into DX for one reason of another.

Chris Masters - His stock has fallen a lot. For the first few months of his WWE career is it looked like he was being groomed to be a future main eventer. Since then however he has become a bit of a jobber. It's like he's only used when they need to further an angle by incorporating the 'Masterlock Challenge' into it (even if the angle has nothing to do with him). Although I don't see much of a possibility I would have to say that he's got the best shot.

Any member of the Spirit Squad - All 5 of these guys are amazing athletes and would benefit a lot by joining DX, but I just don't see it happening. I still see them becoming big stars in the future though.

I really can't think of anyone else on the RAW roster that is a serious candidate. Let's look as a couple of Smackdown superstars.

Kid Kash - Let's face it - the cruiserweight division is pretty stupid, at least to me. Moving Kid Kash to RAW to join DX would be excellent. He's got the whole 'bad ass' character going and he's an awesome wrestler. I don't think that the WWE higher-ups think that he's got what it takes to be a top star. He may not be a future WWE main eventer, but he can put on a great match. I would definitely give him serious consideration. The problem is that he is a former ECW wrestler and that may mean that he may be heading back there once it starts back up.

Johnny Nitro & Melina - The thing about the Tough Enough wrestlers is that the WWE has seriously dropped the ball once they came into the WWE, but that's a topic for another day. Internet reports say that they were 'fired' from Smackdown because they were being suspended due to backstage misbehavior. Therefore I see a good chance that when they come back they would be moved off of Smackdown and brought into RAW. Storyline-wise they are considered free-agents, right? They both are over with the crowd and both possess the cockiness that is required to be a member of DX. Nitro is actually a good wrestler and from what I have heard Melina is good as well. Maybe she would be able to get into the ring a little more if she was to join DX. Nitro also looks to have a bright future in the WWE so associating him with Shawn and Trips would definitely be a great move. Overall, having Nitro and Melina join DX would be a smart move.

There has been talks of also bringing possibly someone from the WWE developmental promotions such as OVW and DSW, but I really don't see the chance that they will bring in an unknown face. If the names that I have given aren't picked to join DX I would have to say that DX will consist of just Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Also, DX is rumored to not be a long-term angle. For the time being it is only going to be for a couple months at the very most.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com