I am having a blast keeping up with WWE.com on the draft. I want to talk a little about the picks and of course I have a few things to say about the way the Late Vince McMahon angle is going. I’ll start with Vince first and a few thoughts on Smackdown, and end with the draft picks. So far I’m happy with most of the trades and of course others don’t exactly excite me. But first let’s talk about MR. MCMAHON.
So I was cool with Vince leaving Raw last Monday night. I figured hallelujah he’s finally off TV and that’s like the greatest thing ever, at least for me. And Tuesday I had nothing but good to say about the angle, but what I didn’t put in that column was that while I was fine with the ending on Raw, I had a bad feeling that even with Vince off TV the shows would still revolve around him, and man was I right. I left that out Tuesday for two reasons. One, I didn’t want to immediately sound so negative and 2. Because I was really hoping that Vince got the message and Monday’s show would be the end and we could all move on. But the latter is not the case. The easy going Linda is out today, but Linda the Bitch is back. I am not pleased by the way this “death” angle is playing out, and not pleased is an understatement.
I promised myself I wouldn’t over analyze all of this, but I have to say between the Ten Bell salutes on ECW and Smackdown and the tributes from some of the Smackdown stars about the wonderful Mr. McMahon, I have had it. I think Smackdown really did it for me. First if you notice Mr. McMahon is dead, not Vincent Kennedy McMahon. This is WWE’s way of saying the character on TV is dead. Okay that’s fine I can live with that, but when I see 10 bell salute for a character on two shows and probably three if it happens on Raw tomorrow night, well that’s when I’ve had more than enough. That salute is something that should only be done for the passing of one of wrestling’s own, like Eddie Guerrero and Owen Hart. Not for a make believe character and I’ll tell you why. That ten bell salute is something I guess you could call sacred just for those that have passed. It’s just something that should not be used so haphazardly. I would like to think when WWE starts out a show with that salute it’s for the real thing and nothing more.
And the tributes on Smackdown? After I watched Regal, I stopped listening to the others. I just didn’t appreciate any of it, and it all took away from Smackdown and from building toward their pay per view Vengeance which is a week away. Too much time and I mean way too much time was devoted to Vince. You had the video from Monday night and the tributes. In fact not only did all of that get to me but JBL was so sickening when it came to putting Vince over that I came very close to turning the sound off. God only knows what the hell we will get tomorrow on Raw. Already WWE.com has Shane and Stephanie on the front page with the headline, A Fatherless Day. I would have loved to have seen this angle played out so much differently. You know the song from the Wizard of Oz? Ding Dong the Witch is Dead? That’s what I wish we would have gotten with the end of Vince. We should have gotten some celebrating, and humor from those that suffered working under Vince McMahon. You know like the end of Vince’s reign of terror is OVER. All of this is just too morbid and as I said it has just taken over all the shows even more so then Vince has before, and that’s not a GOOD thing at all.
There were so many good things about Smackdown, but like the draft all of that played second fiddle to the Vince storyline. Ric Flair and Edge gave us an outstanding main event Friday night. Flair worked his ass off and along with Edge they put on such a strong match. You had a decent match with William Regal vs. Matt Hardy. Batista and MVP had another good one. It started out a little slow but it just built and built so well that by the time it was done the Philadelphia crowd was totally into it. There was a super Cruiserweight match for the number one contender for the Title with Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Daivari vs. Jamie Noble vs. Shannon Moore. You couldn’t have asked for a more entertaining match. And while I really can’t take another Deuce/Domino vs. London/Kendrick match this still came off so well. Smackdown had nothing but solid wrestling and while that’s what should have been the total theme of the show. But hell none of the matches compared to a night of remembering Mr. McMahon. Well I guess I am over analyzing this but it feels so good to be able to get this off my chest.
And now on to more pleasant things, like the supplemental draft which just eneded. The draft started with a bang. London/Kendrick are now on Raw, and I couldn’t be happier. They have had as I stated earlier way too many matches against Deuce and Domino and there’s really no one left to feud with on Smackdown. Raw is lucky to have them and I think they are going to really add to the shows.
The number 2 pick was Kenny Dykstra going to Smackdown. I’m not sure about this one. Honestly after the Spirit Squad and Kenny’s mini push earlier on things have really quieted down for him, so maybe being on Smackdown will give Kenny a chance to be on weekly and have new guys to work with.
The number 3 pick was Viscera to ECW. I’ll talk about this one in a little bit.
The number 4 pick was Sandman to Raw. I don’t know what to think about this one. The guy is extreme, but is he too extreme for Raw? I have to think about this one, or at least wait for a while to see if Sandman and Raw go together.
The number 5 pick was Hardcore Holly going back to Smackdown. Really there’s nothing I can say about this one. It doesn’t mean that much to me either way.
The number 6 pick was The Miz going to ECW. Miz and Vis to ECW, oh yeah that’s extreme. Well in all fairness Miz can wrestle so let’s see how he does over there.
The number 7 pick was Daivari going to Raw. Well we know he’s been there before but only as Hassan’s sidekick. Listen there’s not doubt in my mind that this man can wrestle, but I just wonder how consistently he’ll be used. It’s going to be interesting to see if he is on Raw or becomes a regular on Heat.
The Major Brothers were the number 8 pick going from ECW to Smackdown. I have seen these guys wrestle on ECW and they look good. Of course they have only been in a handful of matches but as I said they seem to wrestle well. They do have a good look and we all know that Smackdown can use some tag teams so hopefully these guys will work out well.
The number 9 pick was William Regal to Raw. He’s been on Raw before and I’m really not surprised he’s back there since there have been plenty of rumors that this was going to happen. I’m a big Regal fan, however I prefer him with humor. I would love to see that Regal return to Raw.
The number 10 pick was Victoria to Smackdown. I have no problem with this as long as Smackdown has a women’s division. I think Victoria has been on Raw long enough and we all know that she has gone so many months without being on TV or showing up in bikini segments, when she should have been out there wrestling. So I hope this is a really good move for her.
The number 11 pick was Jillian going to Raw. Now this threw me. I thought with Victoria moving to Smackdown we would see a Jillian Victoria feud. Since that’s not happening maybe in time Beth Phoenix will be sent to Smackdown and that’s where Victoria will find her next opponent. I’m psyched about Jillian on Raw because I want to see her wrestle and also sing, well wrestle.
The number 12th pick was Eugene to Smackdown. Two years ago I thought for sure Eugene would go there because there was nothing left for him to do on Raw. So two years later Smackdown gets him. I really don’t know if this can refresh the Eugene character. But hopefully it can.
The final pick was Johnny Nitro to ECW. I guess Nitro and Melina are no more. I’m kind of mixed with this one. On one hand I would have loved to have Nitro remain on Raw and get a major push, but supposedly he’s been in the doghouse for a while because he doesn’t work hard at house shows. And because of this that ended any push that he was getting. Remember this was a rumor. But he’s with Benoit, Burke and Punk and that could be something very positive for Nitro, and it will also hopefully give him a place on the show every week. So this could be a very good thing.
There you have it the complete draft and while I would be so hyped to see the changes on Raw tomorrow night, probably Linda, Stephanie, and Shane will take over Raw just like the late Mr. McMahon used to do. Yet I will have to remember that now Mr. Kennedy…., Booker T and Sharmell, Jillian, Regal, and London and Kendrick are part of Raw and that’s something to get hyped about. So maybe if I can get past the main angle the rest will just make me smile.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
