wrestling / Columns
Scripted Through Sin 7.01.08: Draft Me up An Old Lager
Motivation, as I’ve said before, is an elusive bitch. No greater example of that truth, for me, could be found in my work than last year as I started off strong, in my mind, only to end on such a staggering, drunken path. I kind of got wayward during the transition from the Benoit situation to the in-house reasoning for why we, as a community, are dumb, though I wanted to avoid that discussion to only focus on the outsiders who look down upon us, as that could be viewed as being an unbiased write up. After all, we all know that our community is looked down upon unfairly, but many of us are either unaware of or simply ignore the legitimacy behind some of those put downs. After all, they’re far and few between. In the end, while I’m not entirely happy with the results, I think I’ll live otherwise I doubt I would’ve sent in that draft for release on the site.
But, as per usual, no one cares about my personal blurbage, so let’s get right into the thick of things: we’ve sat through the WWE Draft and its Supplemental Draft that occurred on Wednesday morning. So, for this entire edition, we play around with the moves; noting what they did right and wrong in my eyes, as well as going on about where I’d have placed the selected talents, and only those selected talents.
Of course, what edition of Scripted Through Sin would be complete without some sort of rant? So of course we’re going to talk about McMahon’s constant need to make the summer storylines about him and his ill-fortunes to befall him now that he has no Steve Austin to feud with. Maybe we would’ve been better off seeing an Alzheimer’s riddled Steve Austin tripping over his oxygen tank mask and swinging about his walker attacking a decrepit, liver-spotted Vince McMahon, as Vince clearly has nothing better to do without his arch nemesis to constantly bicker with. Now where’s the theme of ‘The Odd Couple’ when you need it?
Moved ‘em Down To Storage?
From the opening sequence of RAW, with Triple H going his usual snail’s pace to get to the ring as he readied for battle to represent the brand in the Draft match against Mark Henry, straight down to sitting in front of the computer on Wednesday afternoon watching the highlights of the Supplemental Draft and the live banter between Howard Finkel, Corey Clayton, Craig Tello and Lennie DiFilo in the live blog chat room, the only racing thought floating around in my head was, “we’re fucked! Utterly and truly fucked!” Oh, if only I could deliver that in the same manner as Lewis Black to really illustrate how true those words ring in my head.
As the Supplemental Draft continued to play out, all I could do to stop myself from punching my screen was sitting far back, listening to the random loop on Winamp and think about all the cute fluffy bunnies in the world and how they live so peacefully in the small fields of Canada. Anything to sooth my senses as around the time Big Daddy V was announced to be moved over to SmackDown! all I could think of, “great, let’s further test Michael Hayes patience by giving him another person to work with who he has more soul than.”
But we’re kind of getting ahead of ourselves here.
The challenge to any good writer is being able to work around road blocks and overcome obstacles that would be seen as limiting or overly controlling. So to challenge myself in a manner to try and either better myself as a writer, or showcase that I’m at least on the path of being a good writer, I’m limiting all talk about the Draft to the players that were moved and no one else. The task here is to move them to brands that I feel would benefit them and their direction, regardless of whether I agree with them being moved from their previous home [brand] or not. I’ve restricted myself from wasting all of our time by writing up on the who I think should have been moved but wasn’t as that was more pre-Draft drivel we can kind of tolerate to read when we’re not dealing with a post-Draft date. So with those rules in mind, let’s get started with some of the Drafting goodness we already indulged in last Monday.
Taking the Take On Switch
Michael Cole: We’ll start off with the announcer switch that probably had a lot of people talking – at least when they were done crying and screaming fits over this perceived horrible decision. For me, Michael Cole has showcased that, over the years, his announcing hasn’t improved to the caliber you’d like in a lead announcer. His voice has always leaned on being annoying for some, if not many, and his presentation has always sort of suffered because of his lack of presence and boom in his voice. Let’s face it, he’s not nearly as commanding a voice as Jim Ross has become in the past decade and because of this his presence on RAW will automatically hurt the quality of the show. Unfortunately for a lot of us, many would have expected the WWE to see how poor a presence Cole is to the announce booth when he and [Jonathon] Coachman called the main event of Wrestlemania XXIV. Instead, we’re treated to seeing Cole now headline RAW as its main voice – at least for now.
PROS: This was something needed for RAW‘s sake as the announcing had grown stale these past few years. The tandem of Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler had grown stagnate and many fans were getting tired of the repetition of JR’s usual slang and King’s tired act. Many preferred these two in the Attitude Era when their acts were still fresh and easy to get behind, but now it’s become intolerable for some, and while these voices would appear to be a minority, it was something that needed to be done to shake up the sounds of the brand.
Like it or not, this move was also necessary for the fact that Jim Ross isn’t immortal and at some point the voice of the company needs to change – not that it has to, but that it needs to. We need to be groomed to like a new voice for the company, and unfortunately or not, that voice will more than likely end up being Michael Cole unless another announcer rises up through the ranks and proves to be as loyal company man and as cooperative underling as Cole has proven. He’s been groomed for this position and now it’ll be his chance to sink or swim.
CONS: It’s Michael Cole, and while he was tucked away on SmackDown! many could write off his existence as Friday night was an evening we could all opt to skip on the wrestling to dine out with a movie and some friends, whether they be platonic or significant in anyway. His presence has always been a problem, and his command of the English language has always been a point of mockery. Tazz has ribbed him in the commentary booth, as has JBL. About the only person who didn’t best him in a verbal tit-for-tat exchange was probably Kevin Kelly, but he was always incompetent to begin with. Now he’s on an important show and his flaws will be revealed to a large degree. While he’s no Mike Adamle, he’s certainly not the guy they wanted to replace the booming and every popular presence of Jim Ross.
The TAKE: I agree with the decision despite the heavy cons that leave Cole looking more like a downgrade than anything else. This move was necessary and not just for the company as its future can’t rely on Jim Ross forever, but because Cole has proven himself to be the guy that would take over the reins when Ross’s time was up. Yeah, the company seems to have been looking for anyone and everyone to replace JR, but can you blame them? They know, fully well, that the company can’t have too big a future with Ross as the voice of the company as, like with every other mortal, Jim will continue to age and fade away from our existence. They need to start getting us all used to the idea of a new voice of the company. The options were limited for who would replace Jim. You could look outside of the company to get some good candidates, but the WWE would much rather trust it in a guy they’ve been grooming for over a decade, now, and who they feel is loyal to them and willing to do whatever is asked of him, almost without question. Cole is that guy.
Hey, let’s just be grateful it wasn’t Mike Adamle being moved over to RAW, shall we? Whether it’s a shtick or he’s really that fucking dense, his presence on RAW would only have been filled with cons.
Jim Ross: Considered the highlight of the company’s sound as he has been adored by many, for years, to be the best announcer of the industry. Though a lot of that can be written off to his major exposure in the WWE, the fact of the matter is he truly is a strong commentator who has a great presence about him and a true commander of attentions because of his ability to keep fans informed and entertained. His strengths truly made RAW a worthwhile show even if the rest of the show wasn’t worth a lick.
Being moved over to the [pre-] recorded show on Tuesday nights, many will look at this as a slap in the face of his legacy and all of his contributions to the company. After all, the WWE has shown a tendency to try and remove Ross from his position in the announce booth, along with trying to replace him with anyone and everyone. Hell, the company even went out of its way to try and steal up Mike Goldberg from the UFC upon their return to the USA Network. That speaks volumes of how much they wanted good ol’ JR out of their announce booth on their A Show.
PROS: Being on RAW for so many years, despite being pulled around in and out of the announcers booth, has allowed him and his partner, Jerry “The King” Lawler, to become stale. New scenery and a new partner will certainly help him in the long run as he’s slowly faded out of the role as the main voice of the company, as he’ll be eased into a worthy retirement for him. Maybe he can get a farewell on the live show that he’s been synonymous with for so many years that rivals the send off that Ric Flair had received?
As for the company, they benefit in a big way with JR being on SmackDown! as that program now has a quality commentator to help lift the show up. With the voice of the WWE now on the weaker show, it now has some appeal behind it to get fans to care more about the show. Of course it’s going to take more than just a new announcer to lift the show up in the eyes of many, but with Ross there, it might help out enough. This can be treated as his coasting period before his big farewell from the industry, and with Foley by his side, he now has a more serious partner to help him call matches and add depth behind the program. As a matter of fact, the team of Foley and Ross add the flavor to SmackDown! that they needed for such a long time – they’ll now sound like a serious wrestling program as you have the old school approach of Ross and the cool color commentary styling that borders on pure old school and rich attitude from Foley.
CONS: People will think of this as an insult to Jim’s legacy as his role and his prestige call for him to be on the bigger, more important show. Clearly the fans will hate the fact that they’ll have to watch Friday night’s to catch Jim’s commentary, while Monday is tainted with the presence of the weaker and inferior Cole. In fact, the only con to this move is the fact that fans will hate the inconvenience of a RAW without JR, and JR being on the less prestigious show.
The TAKE: Overall, the business will benefit, overall, from the easing out of the old and aging veterans and the slow grooming process to introduce new key players for our future. The company certainly will, overall, as they can’t rely on Ross forever. In 5 years time the WWE will certainly need to have a new announcer established otherwise fans will never get over the missing piece of Good Ol’ JR. The world will continue without JR as will the WWE need to.
Matt Hardy: I could possibly disagree with the concept of moving Matt, but honestly he needed fresh scenery after his feud with M.V.P. had concluded. His direction in SmackDown! was lost as he no longer had the roll he had being the chasing face to the dubious heel’s championship reign. Writing fucked him over after working to build him up as an actual star that looks ready to be a main event protagonist. If you can’t buy him as a main champion then you’d probably be of the minority as crowds still popped large for him – so much so that fans even jeered CM Punk during their King of the Ring first round tournament bout. He’s a relic of the Attitude Era that is still virtually young enough to fill up a main event slot and be considered a fresh addition to the scene.
PROS: Things on SmackDown! worked to Matt’s benefits: a thinned out roster that allowed him to stand out and shine on his own anywhere on the card, all while granting him progressive movement up the card. But things change, namely the writing staff’s ability to keep writing interesting storylines around him and his character. Moving him off of SmackDown! takes advantage of his star power and gets eyes to follow him wherever he goes, despite him not being nearly as big as his brother, or any other main event superstar that has filled up the main event scene for the past 3 years.
CONS: Now Matt is placed into a position where he won’t have the luxury of a smaller, thinned out roster to potentially move up the card. While being placed on ECW is considered, by many, to be a demotion, but the real problem with Matt’s presence on ECW is the fact that the field is too thinned out and the appeal of that show is diving as it’s both on a poor channel that doesn’t appeal to the average wrestling fan, and has no big stars to draw in the appeal of most fans. Matt isn’t a big enough attraction to save the show’s appeal to ensure its future on the SciFi Network, nor does the program supply him with a big enough roster of contenders to strengthen his current title reign as US Champion.
The TAKE: Seeing as Matt was decided upon as needing a new home, then why not on the more over crowded, star heavy field of RAW, if only for the reason that it has a documented future unlike ECW. On the bigger show, he could get lost in the shuffle, but at least it would be on a more cared for show where we can really test his worth and star power. He sinks or swims based upon his appeal, even if bad writing gets a hold of him. He gets a chance to prove himself as a draw as he climbs up the ranks which results in a bigger demand for merchandise featuring his likeness. There he can really prove whether or not he’s worth this attention, whereas on ECW being the only big star attraction left to accredit to the brand, he’ll be doomed to fail and seen as being a poor draw despite the fact that it’s a recurring trend for that brand name.
Umaga: The monster heel of the RAW brand that has seen the likes of having Armando Alejandro Estrada and Vince McMahon as his controller, to clashing with WWE Champions in John Cena, Triple H and Shawn Michaels, to destroying other members of the roster. The Samoan bulldozer had been spoken about as being a target to move between the brands, as he was scheduled to see the blue lights of SmackDown! and now he is seeing those lights.
PROS: A move was sort of needed for the mastodon like heel. Things on RAW were growing a bit stale for him as his momentum as a destroyer of men was grinding to a halt as more and more people were growing capable of defeating the beast. A change of scenery allows for him a clean slate to cause a field of destruction, as the only SmackDown! superstar who had beaten up to this point was moved over to RAW in the same draft that seated him in a new home. That is, of course, until you noted the moves of Jeff Hardy and Triple H.
CONS: Umaga certainly had a good thing going for him on RAW after turning fans on their ears to actually care about this over-gimmicked repackaging of former 3 Minute Warning’s Jamal. At one point the fans didn’t care for Umaga thinking he was a flash in the pan mid card attraction that would be playing up to an 80’s stereotypical character who would accomplish nothing, to becoming an appealing character that was both entertaining and drawing out his own fan following as was demonstrated at Wrestlemania XXIV when a small primal chant of his name arose. Perhaps it was best to keep him on the live show and really try and salvage his appeal for a longer run.
The TAKE: I can’t argue this move, it benefits Umaga the most as the roster is smaller looking, while still big enough to allow him a deep enough roster to interact with. The main event scene can utilize him if they need a heel contender to add some credibility to a face’s title run and he can certainly arise as a bigger star. There’s a lot more growth for Umaga on the blue brand, even with the presence of superstars likes Jeff Hardy and Triple H being on the program.
Mr. Kennedy: While many were clamoring for Kennedy to arrive on the scene of the live show his arrival and presence on the show has been lack luster. He was lost in the shuffle of the bigger brand as his stardom was stifled behind a laundry list of bigger and more established stars. A weaker writing staff and an overcrowded brand roster left him looking like a failure. Add to that his own misfortunes of a misdiagnosed injury and a faulty judgment that allowed him to get caught up in the gray market scandal of Signature Pharmacy. To say the least his run on RAW was a failure and a move back to the show that built up his credibility to leave the fans waiting for his arrival on the more important show was a very vital one.
PROS: A move was needed to bring him back out to the forefront. A means to revitalize his career and star power all be placing him on a show that is more focused and driven to creating stars. It was on SmackDown! that he was given a stage to shine on in the first place that landed him the opportunity to show on the A show, where his exposure to a larger audience was meant to be taken advantage of, but wasn’t. Even when the writing staff managed to push him with some stories focused around him, he still ended up lost in the shuffle as nothing came from his program with Shawn Michaels, and nothing was done with him after his one night bout with Ric Flair.
CONS: This is a step backwards for him as the idea was to further progress him as a superstar on RAW, but it isn’t a death kneel for him in the company as others have bounced back and forth between the brands before hitting their stride. It also comes at a time when there was new found interest in Kennedy as his character was experiencing enough of a change to further draw upon his appeal. Though his feud with Burchill was a quick fix to the gaping hole of Regal’s absence, it was drawing in some attention from fans and looked like a worthwhile venture – that’s now gone.
The TAKE: This was the right move for Kennedy. It was a mistake to rush into moving Kennedy to RAW in the first place, and it’ll be a mistake to think that his move back to SmackDown! will hurt him considering both Edge and Randy Orton benefitted from such moves. The difference here is Kennedy can really benefit from this transfer as now he’s automatically moved up in ranks on the card as he now has a thinner roster surrounding him. Kennedy can easily find himself slotted into the main event to battle the likes of a heel champion, namely Edge, and all he had to do to get there, again, was move brands.
Kane: The Big Red Machine finds himself a new home, once again, granting him the distinction of being the only superstar to have been moved between all three brands in the span of only 8 months: going from SmackDown! to ECW thanks to his title win at Wrestlemania XXIV to his new setting of RAW. The former champion also brought with him a title further placing emphasis on the rumors of RAW‘s future involvement with ECW, until Night of Champions allowed for a title switch to keep the brands separate for a bit longer.
PROS: Switching the former ECW Champion may not have been one of my choices for the draft, but I supposed one could always benefit from a new location and set of choices. Nothing can hurt a decision if it’s opening up new options.
CONS: It was a decision that just felt as though it came out of leftfield for the sake of shock value. And as usual, the common complaint about RAW is its overcrowding of big name talents and the weak writing staff that can’t focus on some of the lesser stars. A lot of issues can be held with RAW for simply being a program that lacks constant focus and having too many people to feature with little time to build into half of those programs. It’s one of those issues that plague divisions and Kane being moved there won’t help alleviate this problem.
The TAKE: If Kane needed to be moved then the destination suitable for him would have been SmackDown! He’s benefited from that program before as his feuds have kept rolling along and allowed him to keep momentum gained, whereas on RAW every feud would be to kick start his floundering appeal once more. On SmackDown! he can easily be slotted into any sort of role and never have to worry about whether or not the steam of that role will continue or not. He’s done well for himself there despite some weak programs with M.V.P. to start, and then his movement to battle with Edge getting cut short due to injury, and his being bumped out of a title picture as a focus was built around Khali and Batista. But at no point was he lost in the shuffle as he still rolled along well.
Jeff Hardy: Unlike his older brother, Matt, Jeff was a rising star on the cusp of a bigger role as a main event attraction while on RAW until he dropped the ball, himself, with his failing of the Wellness Policy heading into Wrestlemania XXIV. Despite that set back, he was still a high drawing star of the product and was a big name capable of moving product thanks to his trimmed image and his desire to change up and keep his look unique. It was looking like he was finally going to get that bump up to the main attraction and finally get a bigger role that would have called for him to be a champion, something fans were ready to pay for and see as it was both new and excitingly fresh. He was a different kind of star who didn’t fit into the mold of the typical WWE superstar and it was refreshing.
Again, this is one of those decisions that will be questioned as though this is a downgrade for a superstars career, this one more so as he was a breath of fresh air to a stagnated RAW main event scene. But perhaps the change is necessary for him on two fronts. Perhaps he needed an out from the stagnate nature of RAW as when he wasn’t in the main title picture he was lost once his program with Jericho was dropped for the more appealing Michaels and Jericho drama. His return from his exodus courtesy of the Wellness Policy has come in like a whimper as he’s scored meaningless victories over Umaga and M.V.P. and was teased for a program with Cena and Triple H that really didn’t pay out for him. Not only that, because of his added star power of the past few years that border on rock-stardom he can now help out the sale of SmackDown! on its new network home when the switch is made, and boost the appeal of the show overall.
PROS: A fresh change is welcomed here as he’s been on RAW since his return to the company and of that entire time his foray into the main event scene was halted by his own demons rearing their ugly head again. A new field of competitors to interact with, some of which he hasn’t interacted with in a long time, or at all. A new chance to test his drawing power as he can help raise up SmackDown!‘s ratings, a feat that could draw him more friends for the bigger role of champion despite his previous unreliable nature.
CONS: Fans will look at this as a huge depush as he’s no longer on the live show, the more important show of all of the brands. His role now may be called into question thanks to that unreliable nature of his, which leads fans to think of that as the reason for his moving more so than anything else. It may also backlash upon his popularity, especially if he plays anything smaller than main event attraction. A title chase will be expected almost immediately, and if not, fans may grow to hate this decision quickly.
The TAKE: Again, if he had to be moved it was the right decision to move him to SmackDown! where he can prove his worth to the company by helping out the brand and drawing in money for the company through that program, and it gives him some fresh opponents to work with. It really is a worthy test for him because if he can draw well here then the company knows for certain that they have a true star on their hands and will have to take advantage of his appeal to really make his investment worthwhile.
Rey Mysterio: Possibly the worst move of the bunch thus far there was never any reason to move the smaller upper mid card attraction from the show he’s represented since making his WWE debut all those years ago. While many can point to the fresh new match-ups he can have on the red live brand, most of which he’s never interacted with before: dream match encounters for the most part.
Mysterio’s presence on RAW will now be an awkward one as for the most part he’s always been popular enough to be in the main event, but clearly his draw and appeal was limited in that he couldn’t be seen successfully carrying the belt due to his small size. Many wrote him off as being an unbelievable champion due to his size and that’s going to carry over to his tenure on Mondays as he’ll have to find a comfy rhythm of being the bride’s maid while never being the bride, a role he should be comfortable with after his feud with Edge earlier in the year. A role in the mid card is beneath him, much like him winning either the IC or US titles would be seen as beneath him as they’re viewed as mid card entry belts and he’s no mid card attraction.
PROS: A move seemed to be warranted for the small luchador as more, different match-ups were clearly the draw here. A new roster to interact with could be exactly what is needed for the small Mexican and his appeal, especially as he’s growing older and more fragile. It may be feared that these may be becoming his final days as his physique is deteriorating much in the same way his health is as injuries accumulate at such large numbers.
CONS: The most common complaint about RAW still affects this draft choice: he’s another star that will be lost in the shuffle thanks to poor writing and an over abundance of people to focus. Seeing as RAW is incapable of creating stars of their own and constantly drawing from other brands creations this draft doesn’t help these matters as once again they’re relying on another brands goods to get by.
It also doesn’t help that Rey works such a faster paced, riskier style than what the WWE is used to playing host to, even if Rey is currently a watered down version of his former self. The chance of him slipping up now, especially after yet another debilitating injury, should draw in some concerns that he’ll look sloppy and unprofessional on a live show’s broadcast because of this style and the miscues that can occur while performing it. It also doesn’t help his appeal that his size will be called further into question by the larger audience of RAW, especially against the likes of some of the smaller workers of the brand.
The TAKE: If a move was completely necessary then the home for Rey would’ve been ECW. I know I’ve criticized the brand, earlier in this column, that it was a fading brand as its future is in peril and they didn’t need to actually benefit from the draft in any way, but his style works for the brand. The brand is trying to focus more on in-ring performances and Rey fits that bill with focus on Punk, Nitro, Miz, Kofi, Shelton and Evan Bourne. In fact, his presence there would’ve helped out the appeal of the show as he’s a big enough star to draw for the product while not detracting from their direction, despite having a now weaker writing staff building them up. The move would also help ease Rey to RAW once they were subsidized by the bigger brand. With the back door option open for Mysterio to slip onto RAW you get him over to the desired brand while further building upon some younger stars who look crisper in the ring and have a resume victory or two over a former World Champion, and icon of the Cruiserweights.
Batista: Necessary moves were made and none could be more agreeable than The Animal’s return to RAW, especially after the ironic situation of his statements. Back in 2005, Batista had belittled SmackDown! as not only being an inferior show and brand by as an environment that was lacking in comparison to RAW, only for him to be moved to that very brand he belittled. This time around he put over the Tuesday night shift as being his home and that he was comfortable working there and didn’t want to have to make a switch back – surely enough, he was switched back to the big red.
Batista’s arrival to RAW notes a big change that needed to be made to both freshen up his career and freshen up the fans views of him. For the past year and a half, or so, Batista had been in and around the World Heavyweight Championship picture, both as a chasing face, to a growing steadily gray champion, to that of a road block champion. Being lost in the shuffle of RAW would serve him well, even if it dims down some of his heat in hopes of reviving him and making him appear fresh in the fans eyes when they see him again in the title scene later down the road.
PROS: Now the talks of Batista being over played in the main event scene can die down some, and fans can grow to appreciate him a little more as he’s no longer constantly thrust into the picture of a title chase, or as the champion. We can now allow his heat to fade some as the fans have been growing weary of his ever constant presence on their screens. A rebuilding process can take place without fear of the brand being hurt by the lack of a strong face contender around in the title picture as the brand carries a number of faces to play that role for a while. This is actually more perfect for him than the idea of leaving him on the “inferior” show he once was vocally against.
CONS: This now opens the doors to a potential feud with John Cena, and it couldn’t come at a more weird time for us all as this is one of those feuds in which you’ll either love or despise every minute of the day. There’s not going to be much of a fence to sit for this one, and it’s all open to us at the moment as being a possibility by as soon as SummerSlam to as late as Wrestlemania XXV.
The TAKE: It’s a perfect move for Batista, and it’s much needed. Forget that we’re going to potentially see Cena and Batista battling, it was destined to happen at some point considering their tease of this encounter back in 2005 when fans actually popped for these two exchanging blows in the final moments of the Royal Rumble match. It’s just more necessary to pull Batista back some as he’s been crammed down our throats for far too long.
Triple H: For some the most shocking switch of the entire draft, even after the Supplemental Draft. His presence on SmackDown! is looked upon as both a gift and as a curse as now RAW is no longer under his thumb while Fridays will be dominated by his presence to the point of nausea. RAW was also viewed as being The Game’s show for so long that many assumed and presumed that he would never leave that show behind, whether by his own choice or via force.
PROS: A huge star is added to Fridays to boost their ratings and sales upon My Network upon their move coming in the summer. His presence mixed with some of the other big names should help give fans reason alone to care about the show, again. Especially when you add to the fact that Trips brings to SmackDown! another title making it feel much more important at the moment, even if only for the moment.
It’s also a new adventure for the fans to see Triple H have to match up with wrestlers he either hasn’t faced before or interacted with in a long while. He gets to revitalize his character, away from the likes of John Cena. It’s no mystery that Trips as a face can be pretty bland, especially seeing that he only took the road because his time to interact with “The Champ” came at an uncomfortable period for him and everyone else when Cena was losing some support and no heel could salvage his heat for him. H can now refocus his character in this break from RAW and interacting with the supposed next big face of the company.
CONS: Many will assume he’ll bring with him his bag of political tricks that end up hurting the brand, overall. He’ll also take away the spotlight from Edge who had just turned things around for himself to be the biggest heel the company has to offer at the time. There’s also the fear that he’ll squash the progress of the show and their ability to churn out superstars of the future as he stunts the mid card scene the same way he has on RAW for years. I’m not willing to bet on this as I’m sure this is more Trips bidding his time before sliding back to RAW where he can finally gain back the pin loss he sustained from Cena those years ago.
The TAKE: It was the right call. He needed the break from the show and needed a fresh new look. He also needs to be toned down from the main event scene so fans can adjust to some of the other faces on the payroll, and find him appealing in the main event scene again. The fact that he hadn’t worn a title around his waist for nearly 3 years until Unforgiven doesn’t really prove he wasn’t involved in the main event scene, especially if you look at his reunion tour with Shawn Michaels, a tour that saw the two involved in pay-per-view main events against the likes of The Spirit Squad, Vince and Shane McMahon, and Edge and Randy Orton’s Rated RKO combination. He needs a bigger break from the bright spotlights of the main event, and it doesn’t help that his time away from being the last act to close out a show he’s worked with both Carlito and Umaga and left both looking weak and inferior, and his work with Jeff Hardy was sketchy. It seems the only guy Trips is capable of wanting to put over is Mark Henry as was demonstrated on the 3 hour live RAW Draft episode.
CM Punk: The move that’ll drive more of us wild if the writing continues to drop the ball on one of their main event stars in the making by losing him in the shuffle of the average RAW showing. The man is the holder of Money in the Bank, yet has been on some rather weird losing ends of bouts that you wouldn’t expect any kind of champion to be suffering from, let alone strong number one contenders to a main event role. It’s one that has spanned his presence on all three brands in various matches. He started off so promising with strong outings with Edge as his opponent earlier in the year, but now the man walks away eating too many losses to sustain the believability of his contention of a major title in the near future.
PROS: A move was necessary for Punk. His popularity demanded he see bigger lights than those provided by ECW, a brand that always needed him in the wake of lost stars in Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Sabu and even Sandman. He outgrew the brand, so much so that he never needed the brands title, but rather, the ECW Championship needed him to remain relevant after suffering the likes of a failure run in Bobby Lashley and Vince McMahon. He certainly needed a move to sustain his ever growing fan base and it needed to happen here.
CONS: It’s the wrong brand as the same complaints of RAW still stand: he’s not like Matt where he can use this as a testing period of his drawing ability, because it’s too early to test such appeal, and he’s gone through enough trial periods within the company. Any more setbacks could seriously damage him in the future that is irrevocable. He now needs to be placed in a higher spot on the card, and the only slot he can move to without falling into the trap pit that would hurt John Cena to this very day, is the upper mid card with Rey [Mysterio]. If the WWE pushes him too fast to the main event the fans will grow bored of him quickly, and if he remains in the mid card with no progress fans will never believe him as a credible contender when it comes time for him to cash in the goods of his contractual promise.
The TAKE: It’s simply the wrong brand for him as RAW is over crowded with bigger stars that warrant time and placement on the show. He would’ve benefited more from the better time managed Friday night show and thinner roster. He could’ve easily been slotted into a big role there and found himself a suitable feud that plays off of his history from earlier this year. On RAW it’ll be a long time, if ever, that he’ll get to collect on any sort of feud based upon his interaction with Randy Orton at Backlash. Plus it gives him a target for his Money in the Bank while still maintaining his position as a face, a position he needs to remain in as he’s far too popular at the moment to try and benefit from his more impressive heel character.
Moving Punk was necessary – as a matter of fact, it was vital to the survival of his character for the long run. It just feels that with Kennedy, Umaga, Jeff Hardy and Triple H all on SmackDown! Punk could’ve benefitted from that field to test him at the start before moving him to the main event for a World Heavyweight title bout and eventually settling on his position as an upper mid card act. It would’ve been a more stable home where thanks to the thinned out roster the writers could’ve managed to figure him in to build him up for that role.
Oh, but there was so much more to this draft. The announced 11 was easy to accept and move on with, though there were certainly some easy to disagree with moves. It was the rest of the moves that left me with a straining headache and desire to go all punchy.
Supplement the Headaches And the Mess
The Supplemental Draft once again made things difficult to come for the upcoming year. Some moves were just so out there, and while some will bemoan the raping of ECW, I honestly could care less as I’m almost 100% certain that ECW‘s expiration date reads along the lines of 12/08, though I’m sure there’ll be a specific date involved, such as the 23rd.
This year we saw so many names being flung about, as feuds were ended, tag teams destroyed, and futures placed into jeopardy after having found some success on a new home recently. The end result is a clashing of names that mashed up and fell into the laps of new owners, some leaving questions along the lines of, “why” and “what does he/she do there”. Seriously, some of these moves just lead you to wonder what the creative staff is thinking – and hopefully it isn’t, “oh, we’ll have fun with these guys for this one storyline that’ll last all of a week, and then they’ll be dumped to the purgatory known as Funaki usage.” How the fuck does Funaki manage to remain “SmackDown! number 1 announcer” if he’s rarely on SmackDown!?
ECW Gets: Mark Henry, Hornswoggle, Super Crazy and Finlay.
Henry makes sense as clearly there’s going to be issues between he and Michael Hayes, but a move to RAW, outright, would have helped in the same way this transition does. Not only this, but that move to Monday’s would’ve slotted him into the bigger role of heel challenger to any face champion, a position many fans probably would not have liked though it would have served the purpose of giving the champion a strong monster challenge.
Super Crazy gets moved over to the brand he should’ve been on over a year ago, but seeing as the brand will die soon and be integrated with RAW, it’s almost as if he hasn’t gone anywhere. Shame they didn’t think about this a lot sooner.
And finally the move that just doesn’t make much sense until the brands are merged as one come this time next year, Hornswoggle and Finlay get bumped off of the “B” show to do some more comedic relief on the “Extreme” show. So long as this act is over, it’s obvious that the two will get some play on the live show to further its reach and its marketability.
SmackDown! Gets: Trevor Murdoch, Big Daddy V, DH Smith, Brian Kendrick, Maria, Shelton Benjamin and Carlito.
Trevor makes sense. His character is gimmicky and fun so obviously it was going to start to feel out of place on RAW for all it was. A singing cowboy? We may have Jimmy Wang Yang’s new partner in the future, as I’m certain the WWE would love nothing more than to erase Shannon Moore once more.
Big Daddy V is an oddity if only for the fact that throughout this draft, RAW didn’t get any really big heel names to balance out its main event scene. Again, much like Henry, while many would oppose it a run in the main event as a feeder to the champs credibility would have benefited the show more than seeing Big Daddy V work the Tuesday dates on the mid card squashing whoever Koslov didn’t kill earlier in the card.
DH Smith gets a fresh start to make his introduction to the WWE audience a proper way. Should he remain clean and out of trouble, he could get some actual air time here to build him up. Besides, we’ve seen the history of SmackDown! create stars for the future, so this is perfect for DH.
Brian Kendrick gets the note about how it was a mistake to move him off of this show in the first place, along with the note about how creative is sorry for splitting him up with London one week, only to have them partner again sometime after Wrestlemania XXIV. Why he needed that year on RAW to get demolished, debunked, and depushed is beyond me. At least they amended that error.
Maria gets a fresh scene to work around, but I call it into question seeing how much she’s improved and how far she’s come. She turned her character around to be more serious in the ring when needed, and she’s turned around her clunky abilities to look more passable in the ring. She’s still a far cry from the likes of a Manami Toyota, but I’ll take what I can get out of the models posing as in-ring wrestlers. Over on SmackDown!, though, this progress may slip and she’ll be delegated back to being nothing more than eye candy, which is a shame. Even if they were to put a Divas title on the program, it wouldn’t be enough – she’d still be stuck working with the likes of Maryse, every week, which doesn’t help her or anyone else out, for that matter.
Shelton Benjamin gets a fresh start, but unfortunately it comes off after a huge missed opportunity. ECW should’ve been the show that reestablishes him big time as a true mid card player. After all, the ECW Championship is no better than the Cruiserweight title at this point, only it’s still alive and active for all to see. It’s a huge missed opportunity there to really give him some line of credibility that could’ve carried over for this move. He can certainly benefit here, though with Matt Hardy gone, and the other Hardy being a main eventer, I don’t see much progress for Shelton here, at least not yet.
Carlito gets the apologetic note that Kendrick got, and that Kennedy has framed and plastered onto his wall, but I think the move didn’t need to happen as his attitude has sucked and his desire to be a well rounded wrestler has completely fallen to the wayside. This is a reward to be on this show as RAW just feels unorganized outside of its main event players, and a reward is something Carlito hasn’t earned with his current situation.
RAW Gets: Jamie Noble, Deuce, Chuck Palumbo, Matt Striker, Layla and Kofi Kingston.
Noble gets thrown onto the list of superstars who won’t benefit from a move to RAW, and much like Punk before him, will get lost in the shuffle. Hell, there’s almost no reason to believe he’ll get more air time than Paul London is going to, or that Super Crazy got during his stay. This was simply a terrible move, all around.
Deuce finds a new home after losing his lover, Cherry, losing his new alliance with Maryse and losing a partnership with Domino. So what can he do on a show that’s going to see him, along with others, lost in the shuffle? Oh, right…probably nothing.
Chuck Palumbo finally gets a move that could benefit his character though it comes at a time where his heat has died off considerably. Canned or not, at one point this man and his act was actually liked, and then it became enjoyable to see his transformation with Michelle McCool and her interactions with Jamie Noble. Though none of that will matter on RAW as he’ll likely be that biker guy that can’t get air time.
Matt Striker finds his way back to the red live show, but at what cost this time? Clearly he’s gifted enough in the ring to work as enhancement talent as he can make anyone look better just because of his tremendous ability to sell [on the level of The Rock], but his gift of gab could be lost here. He makes for a tremendous manager and that should be played up even here. Though I’m not too against his move, it just leaves a big question over him as he has no monsters to hide behind unless you plan on making Batista a true animal.
Layla finds her way far away from eye candy gallery to a show whose women’s division is actually a little more serious, now, than what it used to be during the pinnacle of the Attitude Era. Not too opposed to this as she’s a growing decent in-ring athlete, but clearly her skills of dancing and appealing to people through standing around for the sake of looking pretty will be lost on this brand switch – again, I’m not opposed to that as I’d actually rather see less eye candy segments on RAW and see Layla hone in on her wrestling skills a bit.
Kofi Kingston arrives to RAW and this is a decision that is just as bad as CM Punk’s arrival to the same show. It’s over stocked with bigger stars that will see more air time. What benefit will Kofi get out of this move? Well, some will point to his current Intercontinental Championship victory at Night of Champions as being a show of faith from creative, but I can point to Shelton Benjamin and Carlito as two examples who got the same initial treatment on the live brand before fading away from prominent roles. Add to that, he’s still very green in the ring as he’s still young to the industry as a whole. He needs more time before this move should have been made. In fact this switch for Kofi could end up hurting his appeal, leaving him in the position as Punk: having to rebuild his fan base and credibility.
A Call to Finish
After taking the time to work on this and realizing I have little room to go on to some of the other subjects I had in mind for this week, I end on this rather flat note, once again.
My mind is just scattered all over the place. I’ve been killing time doing all sorts of random things and at no point have I actually felt nearly as productive as when I started last week’s article. Even this week felt like the idea was bigger and better than the execution I was willing, consciously or subconsciously, place into it. Then there’s the fact that I’ve fallen out of the loop a bit, once again, as I seemingly can’t keep my mind on watching these shows knowing I’ve got the addiction of Hell’s Kitchen to keep me company for another night, the prospect of Kitchen Nightmares to barrel down my viewing tube pleasures come later this summer, the nagging issues of my DV-R constantly cutting off the opener of The Venture Brothers just because [adult swim] likes to start shows earlier than the time they have them scheduled to air. I’m usually not this big into watching television but man have some of these shows managed to hook me in good.
Lord only knows how long before my friends sucker me into the world of Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, and it’s only a matter of time until the greatest show to ever exist, Entourage, returns to the air. And during all of this programming to keep up with I notice that what inevitably suffers is my wrestling viewing habits. I’m left with more DVD’s to catch up with, more files on my computer that require burning, and more older episodes of WWE programming stuck on my DV-R that I have to get around to at some point.
But hey, you’ve already hit the finish line of this Draft-centric edition of this column, so I might as well reward you with the sweet release you’ve been looking for: that’s all folks. See you all around once again next week, assuming of course Larry doesn’t mind keeping my “Pinky Tuscadero” ass around for another 7 days.
