In less than twenty-four hours, WWE will hold a special three-hour event on the USA Network that will feature week three of Mr. McMahon’s Million Dollar Giveaway, and more importantly, the WWE Draft. The company has an opportunity to truly “shake things up,” as they always claim they do with their Draft.
Recently, the company has taken the draft to the extreme. They have prevented any information leaking out by not even informing the wrestlers of what brand they’ll end up. Unless you’re on the very top of the food chain (Triple H, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, etc.), you’re headed into San Antonio tomorrow night not knowing which brand you’ll end up on after the show’s over. While this definitely results in great surprise moments for fans, it could be quite annoying for wrestlers. With a product that has been stale for a while, this is probably the best timing for WWE to truly shake things up and move some pieces around.
The word we’ve gotten is that as of late Sunday, every major wrestler in the back had been talked about when it comes to switching brands. I couldn’t help but notice that the situation we’re in right now is very reminiscent of the only draft that truly shook things up – the one that saw the switch of the WWE and World Champions by sending WWE Champion John Cena from SmackDown! to RAW for World Champion Batista the other way. While Edge has been on RAW in the past, sending Triple H to SmackDown! is without a doubt a move nobody would see coming. Most importantly, this isn’t “just a shocking surprise” but it makes sense. The RAW champion has not been on SmackDown! since the brands were split and has not feuded with the likes of Edge, Undertaker, and Batista in years; and has never even faced people like MVP before. I think that the most shocking move of the draft would be a Triple H move to SmackDown!, as it would give the Friday nights brand a new strong face going into their near future (as well as long term future when they jump on MyNetwork TV), as well as freshen things up on both RAW and SmackDown!. Before looking at other potential moves, one should consider the top stars on each brand to see where we stand.
RAW — TOP FACES: Triple H (champion), John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy. TOP HEELS: Chris Jericho, JBL, Randy Orton (injured, out for at least eight months), Umaga, Lance Cade (???).
SmackDown! — TOP FACES: Batista, Undertaker (gone in storylines indefinitely, will return), Rey Mysterio (returning soon), Big Show (mostly involved on ECW, but technically on SmackDown!), Matt Hardy. TOP HEELS: Edge (Champion) and La Familia, The Great Khali, Mark Henry (mostly involved on ECW, but technically on SmackDown!). We have MVP and Finlay in here as well, who are border-line to be honest.
ECW — TOP FACES: Kane (Champion), CM Punk, Kofi Kingston. TOP HEELS: Shelton Benjamin, Chavo Guerrero. It’s looking bad on Tuesday nights, as those are a stretch.
As you can see, due to Orton’s injury and Kennedy’s turn, RAW is full of faces in the main picture, with only two true heels (Jericho and JBL), and Umaga who was supposed to switch brands a long time ago. This resulted in the company giving Lance Cade a shot at the big time, which not everybody took to so strongly, but a possible alliance with Chris Jericho could be an interesting storyline to follow. With so many faces, they’ve had no chance but to put together 3-men and 4-men matches recently, and are now working a Face vs. Face program in Cena/Triple H.
On the other hand, SmackDown! is very short on faces after Undertaker and Rey Mysterio’s injuries, as Batista is the only wrestler who’s currently a top face there (since Big Show is on ECW for the most part, and Hardy hasn’t been elevated that high.) We forget about ECW for the time being, since this is what the company has done anyway. Regardless, after the RAW and SmackDown! math is done, ECW gets the remainders. Thus the only logical move is either for some RAW faces to join SmackDown! (which is the smarter move), or for some SmackDown! heels to join RAW (not as good a move because most have been seen there.)
The only move that has been talked about for months is that of Umaga to SmackDown!. In a very weird fashion, WWE announced in a conference call a few months ago that he’ll be jumping brands to Friday night. As usual with Vince these days, this probably changed a few hundred times through today, but word is that ultimately should happen. No other switches have been announced, talked about, or teased.
The only people that have stayed on one brand since the split a few years ago have been Triple H and Shawn Michaels (on RAW), and The Undertaker (on SmackDown!). These are also the most experienced guys in the company, as well as the “leaders” in the back. I can’t help but think that if WWE is going to truly “shake things up,” one of them must switch brands. Undertaker moving to RAW makes a lot of sense, however, he’s a very important part of SmackDown! and has great value there, as he’s presented as the brand’s attraction. Thus if the move happens, there’s no way RAW keeps both Michaels and HHH in my opinion – one has got to go. I don’t think Triple H would want to move to SmackDown!, but you never know with him, as he’s tried hard to play good guy lately. Michaels prefers RAW, but if it comes down to it, he’d have to be the sacrifice. The dumbest thing to do is move Jericho, so I don’t see that happening. A JBL switch would also not make sense, and neither does an Orton switch as he did poorly last time he was switched from RAW to SmackDown! – not to mention he’s not active at the time so probably wouldn’t be involved. Thus you keep JBL and Jericho as your top heels on RAW, with the possibility of Lance Cade being elevated. That’s still not enough heels for fresh programs, thus you have to move the faces around. On the other side, moving Cena is an interesting theory. He’s been on RAW for a while and he was the first shocking draft pick back in the day when he moved to RAW as the WWE Champion. He’s been on top on Mondays for a while and is getting stale, so I can see why they’d move him. But his value is so big, and he’s fueded with Edge for so long, that it’s pointless at this time. I’d say keep Cena, and in another few months, turn him heel. The “boo him or cheer him” formula seems to have finally ran its course. Again looking at the faces, moving Jeff Hardy to SmackDown! would not be smart since we’ll eventually end up with Jeff/Matt reunion part 200, followed by a match between them. Jeff has done very well for himself on RAW and is the only wrestler to get elevated in the past year, thus they need him on there. I can see them move Kennedy as he’s done well on SmackDown!, but he’s about to peak as he’s gaining steam, and moving him might affect that. Thus it’s down to Triple H and Shawn Michaels, indeed.
Ideally you move Triple H to SmackDown. You’ll still need a strong heel on RAW to make it even, and I think the smartest thing to do is send MVP there and work him into some angle to turn him legit heel again. MVP’s long program with Hardy is just about over, and he’s worked with the faces on SmackDown!, thus unless you turn him face, there’s no need for him to stay. There’s no way they’re moving Mysterio from basic cable, so that’s not happening. I think you can also count on Matt staying on SmackDown! because you don’t want the Hardys on the same show, plus Matt is fresh at the moment. I would also move Umaga to SmackDown!, and worry about the face/heel situation depending on what I need.
The one top guy that needs a change is CM Punk. After winning Money in the Bank at WrestleMania, the ECW wrestler has not been heard of for the most part. I think RAW would be a better home for him.
SmackDown! should definitely get some mid-card guys in this draft. This would help the Friday brand, and also get the “ready to be elevated” guys like Kennedy, Burchill, and even Hardy busy with new storylines. I think I’m ready to run a mock draft that I feel would be good for the brands!
RAW gets:
— MVP
— CM Punk
— Elijah Burke
SmackDown! gets:
— Triple H
— Umaga
— Carlito
ECW gets:
— Mark Henry
— Jesse and Festus
— Super Crazy
NEW RAW — Cena (champion?), CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels, Mr. Kennedy as faces with the heels being Chris Jericho + Lance Cade + Stable? (This would probably feature Cody Rhodes, or Ted DiBiase Jr., or both…), JBL, MVP, Randy Orton (when he comes back). That’s not bad at the top. I guess you can interchange Michaels and Triple H depending on what they decide, but I think the best “trade” (really, all the Draft represents is a bunch of trades) as Triple H for MVP. Keep ‘Taker on SmackDown. I can’t wait for three months of the renewed Jericho/Cena feud, not to mention Jericho vs. MVP which is going to be classic.
NEW SMACKDOWN! — Triple H, Batista, Rey Mysterio, The Undertaker as the faces. On the heels’ side, you have Edge (with La Familia), Finlay, Umaga, and Khali. Looking at this, I would think either Triple H or Batista will most likely turn heel. Can’t you see the ready-for-TV storyline of Hunter turning heel, and talking about being on top of RAW and SmackDown! for years as he wins the title five more times?
Of course, it’s hard to figure WWE out these days. Let’s just hope it’s a good show tomorrow, and to the person who ends up winning money from Vince’s giveaway, congratulations!!!
Eddie
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