Know Your WWE Wrestlers

When I tell people I'm a wrestling announcer, they often launch into their personal stories about their wrestling fandom. However, they often have no idea who today's wrestlers are. Usually, it goes like this:

"I remember back in the 60s when my dad would take me to the Akron Armory and we would see Bobo Brazil and The Sheik."

You would think they packed 10,000 people in there every week, because I hear that a lot. Other people ask about stars from the 80s and 90s.

"Is Superfly Snuka still wrestling?" (Yes, here and there.)

"Didn't the Ultimate Warrior die?" (No, he's still alive.)

Most of the major stars of the Monday Night Wars era (1996-2001) are no longer wrestling. So in case you're wondering ...

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin just starred in a movie called "The Condemned." The Rock has made a lot of movies in the last few years. Brock Lesnar is wrestling in Japan. Goldberg doesn't really love wrestling, so he's just enjoying his money. Scott Hall is out of wrestling. Hulk Hogan is desperately trying to stay in the spotlight through a reality show on VH1.

Other stars like Kurt Angle, Sting and Kevin Nash are still around. They are in TNA (Total Nonstop Action), which airs on Thursday nights on Spike TV. This group has been around since 2002, but it still pulls lower ratings than all three WWE shows (Raw, Smackdown and ECW).

Now that these guys are out of the way, let's all get up to speed on who the major players are today.

JOHN CENA - He has walked out of Wrestlemania with a championship win for the last three years, so it's plain to see that he is the main man. He caught everyone's attention with his Eminem-like rapping persona before proving that he could perform in the ring with the best. Currently, he is the WWE champion, which means he's the top guy on Monday Night Raw. He will face the monstrous Great Khaki at the Judgment Day pay-per-view.

BATISTA - He returned from an injury to win the World title (that's the Smackdown belt) from King Booker last fall at Survivor Series. He dropped the title to The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 23. Batista broke out as a star when he left Triple H's Evolution stable and won the World title from him at Wrestlemania 21.

BOBBY LASHLEY - The WWE front office really loves this powerhouse. First, he won the ECW title in the Extreme Elimination Chamber match. Then, they put him in the Stone Cold role of going up against the boss, Vince McMahon. Lashley beat Umaga at Wrestlemania to give Donald Trump the right to shave Vince's head. This led to Vince winning the ECW belt in a handicap match with help from Shane McMahon and Umaga. Look for Lashley to win the title back in a rematch at Judgment Day.

CM PUNK - He came up from Ring of Honor to become a major player in the ECW brand. Punk has a fresh style and a lot of charisma. He currently feuding with Elijah Burke over who is the top young star in ECW.

MR. KENNEDY - The cocky loudmouth won the Money in the Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania. He started a year-long countdown to Wrestlemania 24, when he would cash in his title shot, but he lost the briefcase to Edge and will sit out several months with a torn tricep.

RANDY ORTON - The WWE loves its third generation stars like The Rock and Chavo Guerrero. Orton won the World title from Chris Benoit at SummerSlam 2004, but he only held the belt for a month and hasn't reached the top again. He has a great finisher (The Diamond Cutter, which he calls the RKO), so if he can stop getting in trouble behind the scenes, he should have a great career ahead of him.

Finally, if you're wondering about some other stars: Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and The Undertaker are still wrestling; while Triple H. Rey Misterio, Mark Henry and King Booker are injured.