WWE Draft 2008

The story of last night's Raw, when all was said and done, was the draft, which was the most exciting and full-of-surprises draft WWE has done. There were some other major angles too - Vince's injury, Shawn Michaels' return in his hometown, and the very first time I have ever been entertained by the Great Khali. So I'm going to divide this post into two parts. First my thoughts on the Draft and what this means for WWE going forward, particularly into the Night of Champions PPV, and then on the rest of Raw.

Pick #1: REY MYSTERIO to RAW
This isn't entirely a bad pick, given how everything shook out. I will admit to being concerned about it at first - with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and Jeff Hardy all crowding the main event or upper-mid-card level as faces (where Rey has traditionally fallen these last few years), I thought the Raw roster was too crowded to really be beneficial for Rey to be squeezed in there. Especially given he has a built-in feud on Smackdown (a former world champion on a brand where the current world champion is involved with a family with whom Rey has much history), and given that Smackdown's about to undergo a network move which would require all hands on deck, I figured he was a lock to stay. But given some of the later moves, I think this could work out well: Rey will make an excellent Intercontinental Champion and I look forward to him feuding with Chris Jericho (or Shawn Michaels, whoever comes out on top of that feud - either one would make an excellent opponent for the returning Rey).

Pick #2: JEFF HARDY to SMACKDOWN
This, in a way, makes sense and is one of my favourite trades of the night. WWE obviously wants to believe in Jeff Hardy and recognizes his over-ness. However, they have some understandable and well-founded concerns, given his second drug-related suspension a couple of months ago, regarding his reliability to carry the Big Brand (Raw) in the main event picture. Smackdown is a great way to go, giving him some fresh, exciting feuds with MVP, Edge and the like, while covering their bases, should Hardy get to strike #3, as a taped show with lower viewership than the Monday night juggernaut.

Pick #3: CM PUNK to RAW
The first trade I really had a problem with. Don't get me wrong - I was glad to see CM Punk rescued from ECW obscurity (although if I knew how bereft they'd leave ECW, I'd be wishing he'd been left there ... given that Matt frickin' Hardy is the biggest name left on that brand right now, I'm guessing they're covering their bases for the eventual cancellation of the brand). But anyway, I'd hoped to see Punk moved over to Smackdown for much the same reason I was concerned about Rey Mysterio being moved to Raw: I thought there was much more potential in feuds between him and Edge, him and MVP, eventually him and Undertaker or even him and Batista, than seeing CM Punk going against Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton ... although Punk-Shawn Michaels would have been, and might still be, a sight to behold. That said, again given some of the later moves, the playing field has been leveled somewhat between Team Red and Team Blue, so perhaps this wasn't the "big fish from the small pond heading over to an overwhelmingly big pond" I thought it would be.

Pick #4: MATT HARDY to ECW
And with this we have our first championship to switch brands. On the plus-side, Matt Hardy is now a lock to be the Hardy Brother to get his first World Title ... too bad it just doesn't mean anything. Bottom line; now that Kane has been drafted to Raw (see draft pick #9), he'll have to lose the title soon. Whether he loses it directly to Matt, or whether there's a step in between, my bet is that Matty's ECW champ by summer's end. And who's going to change that? Miz? Morrison? On the plus side ... this could be the opportunity that ECW's underappreciated bright lights - Elijah Burke, Kofi Kingston, et al - have been waiting for. Not to mention Hardy will be a shot in the arm for ECW ... even if I'm sure there are other places he'd rather be. Look for him to lose his US title soon now however (perhaps to Chavo on Sunday, who will lose it to the rapidly-going-face MVP on Porter's way to the Big Belt) - I'm assuming the powers-that-be would rather the secondary titles remain on one of the two bigger brands.

Picks #5&6: JIM ROSS to SMACKDOWN, MICHAEL COLE to RAW
Putting these ones together as they came from the same match (which ended in a draw). This kind of pissed me off - there has been nothing wrong with the announce teams as-is, and I'm disappointed in WWE feeling the need to do this. JR could barely disguise his displeasure, while Michael Cole was more than happy to move; while Smackdown more than earned back some street cred later, I found both announcers' reactions to the draft damaging to the Blue Brand. As a loyal employee of long standing, JR - if he is telling the truth in his blog today about finding out at the same time as us about his brand switch - should also have been given more of an opportunity to call a few of his own shots at this point in his tenure ... or at least been given fair warning of his new position. I'm telling myself this is more about wanting to stay with old friend Jerry Lawler than any kind of discrimination against the SD brand, but either way, as WWE's most senior announcer, JR could have been treated better. Nice promotion, however, for Michael Cole - we'll see how he and the King work out.

Pick #7: BATISTA to RAW
I said when this went through that it made the outcome of this Sunday's Batista-Edge matchup a foregone conclusion, and I still stand by that assessment. However I've changed which way it will come out, going by draft #11, which you'll see later. I predict Batista beating Edge on Sunday and bringing the World Heavyweight Title over to Raw. A nice switch, as Batista's been on Smackdown awhile and has exhausted many of his feud possibilities over there, unless he were relegated to midcard status which I don't think he's quite there yet. Here he can continue ongoing issues with Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho without brand-hopping, while creating some exciting new matchups, some of which I don't believe we've ever seen yet, such as vs. John Cena, or a revisiting of his old midcard feud with Randy Orton as former Evolution-aries. My prediction here is that Batista will win Edge's title, leading into a feud with Randy Orton culminating at Summerslam, and I predict Batista-Cena -- a longtime, never-been-done feud between two guys elevated to top-card status at the same time -- as a WM 25 headliner. I just hope they don't pull the trigger on that one too quickly, as it's one of the few feuds they have in the can that we have barely even gotten a whiff of, and yet is so obvious all at the same time - let it simmer, boys, let it simmer.

Pick #8: UMAGA to SMACKDOWN
Predictable but the right way to go - a fresh feud for UT when he's back, a possible threat to the US title, and a possible foil to MVP for best upper-midcarder. Easily and believably thrown into main events, while not hurt too badly by midcard adventures - a good, flexible hand to have on any roster. I just question the one foreordained pick in the lot going so late in the process.

Pick #9: KANE to RAW
And Kane is bound to lose his ECW title with this move - although with ECW touring with Raw now instead of Smackdown, this could generate some cross-brand promotion, and some broader appeal for the struggling junior brand. Either way, Kane is an adequate replacement for Umaga, as a big guy who is considered a legitimate threat and main eventer, yet has been beaten enough that he can be used to enhance where need-be as well without giving away too much. I look forward to seeing his work with ... oh, I don't know. People. On Raw. *shrug*

Pick #10: MR. KENNEDY to SMACKDOWN
Now I'd really have preferred to see Kennedy moved to ECW. I think he'd provide Matt Hardy some competition at the top of the card, enhance ECW's clout, and at least give them a second draft pick instead of only the one while Smackdown and Raw both clean up and make their brands fresher and more interesting. That said, it was around here that I started thinking this was a good night for Smackdown and I still believe that. With Kennedy, Jeff Hardy, MVP, and Umaga on the US title level and able to move up as needed, and Edge, eventually the Undertaker and ... well ... the next guy solidly on the main event level, SD definitely became every bit as interesting as Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Batista and Randy Orton's Raw. The wildcard being where Undertaker winds up upon his return.

Pick #11: TRIPLE H to SMACKDOWN
This is it folks, the transfer Paul Levesque (Trips) has been resisting for years. Obviously, the shift of Smackdown from the CW network to MyNetworkTV is a big deal to the WWE and they want at least a few top guns over there. However, with his departure, that leaves Raw world title free - why I believe Batista will beat Edge and take the World Heavyweight Title with him (and if he DOESN'T, look for Cena to win the belt off of Trips to evenly weigh belts and brands again - since both matches have now become interpromotional, look for at least ONE title to change hands). Either way, I'm going with the first scenario (Trips retains HIS belt and Batista beats Edge for HIS) as the most likely, leaving the WWE Title (which H holds) as the Smackdown brand belt. The same comment I applied to Batista-Cena also applies to H-Edge: another barely-hinted-at-but-obvious feud. I'd LIKE to see them hold off on pulling this trigger until WM 25, but I'm thinking Batista-Cena has a better chance of that, especially if Cena has a movie to be out promoting and Batista can keep himself sidetracked with Randy Orton, and perhaps Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. I'm suspecting Edge-Triple H will be the Summerslam main event, while the REAL biggie ... Triple H vs. Undertaker, which we haven't seen in like, a decade ... will headline WM 25 (of which, in one way, I have a sinking feeling the Deadman's winning streak will be DOA, ended by a man who doesn't really need that accolade). H and Undertaker, as two locker room leaders, elder statesmen with egos, have studiously avoided each other for years. If that continues, and UT goes Raw-side upon his return, who knows; but look for this to be the Big Thing WWE builds towards if Taker's return is to the Blue Brand.

Either way, some exciting things, I'm generally actually thrilled with the draft results, and can't wait to see how this all plays out at Night of Champions.