2011 Supplemental Draft Results

Yesterday, WWE held its supplemental draft lottery through the afternoon. Here are the results, and my thoughts on each. Thanks muchly to Jason Powell, http://www.prowrestling.net, which was my source for the draft results, and who sat through the draft yesterday when I didn't have the chance to.

Daniel Bryan to Smackdown:
I think this is probably a good move for Bryan longterm; generally a better crowd against whom to showcase his wrestling ability. Now mind you, some of the guys I'd be most interested in seeing him mix it up with - John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, Rey Mysterio, etc. - are on Raw. But Smackdown is known for being more wrestling-heavy, for giving matches more time and giving the guys in them more freedom to showcase what they got without the risk of overshadowing the 'Main Event Style'-types like Cena, Triple H etc. As such, I think Bryan can do well on the blue brand.

10. Jack Swagger to Raw:
This makes sense given his involvement with the Michael Cole-Jerry Lawler storyline, although it takes away one of the potential SD dream matches in him vs. Daniel Bryan. Hopefully WWE gives Swagger a good Raw run this time around instead of the lousy one he had last time.

11. The Great Khali and Ranjin Singh to Smackdown:
Not terribly newsworthy, and it will be interesting to just see what kind of role these two play on the blue brand. I own being 'enh' on Khali, so I'm 'enh' on this move.

12. Jimmy Uso to Smackdown.
OK ...

13. Kelly Kelly to Raw:
OK ... I'm guessing, with the high likelihood Kharma's debut is going to be on Raw, that we have just established her first 'Barbie' victim. Not an original though, granted - Jason Powell made the same comment - but honestly, it's true. Raw right now actually has some strong wrestlers - Natalya Neidhart, Gail Kim - and only the heel Bellas as 'plastic' offerings. We needed a gorgeous babyface victim, and Kelly Kelly is it. Not to mention the opportunity to continue her SD feud with Vicki Guerrero if WWE so chooses.

14. JTG to Raw:
JTG is still under contract? Sorry ... I guess it was his partner who was let go ...

15. Alicia Fox to Smackdown:
Hmm ... will she and Michelle McCool form a new Mean Girls type group now that Layla El seems to be on the outs with her former tag team partner? Other than that this is another 'enh' for me. Alicia Fox has developed a vicious style of wrestling and has impressed me on a certain level - but she's hardly one of the standouts of the Divas division.

16. William Regal to Smackdown: I'm agreeing with Jason Powell here too that Regal is more talented than his position on WWE TV would suggest and it would be nice to see him get another Jerry Lawler-esque run in the spotlight, although I'm afraid he's seen more as a great mentor to work with the younger talent. I think his chance to work with Sin Cara, Daniel Bryan, and others will be strong here on Smackdown and I look forward to seeing what role he'll end up playing on the blue brand. With no offense to Booker T, I wouldn't mind seeing him replace T on the commentating team, either ...

17. Yoshi Tatsu to Smackdown:
I think this guy has great potential; I don't think I can really say he's lived up to it. While it would be nice to think on the more wrestling heavy brand he might have more of a chance, I'm afraid he might have been cast too much as a bit of a joke character to be able to completely come back from that. Hope I'm wrong though.

18. Drew McIntyre to Raw:
Interesting pick ... here's a guy who was pushed to the moon, only to have been reined in a bit in recent months. Here's hoping this is a fresh start for someone I think is a pretty damn talented performer.

19. Natalya to Smackdown:
OK. Balancing the wrestling talent a little bit more in terms of the Divas division, I can dig it. While Smackdown really only had LayCool as legitimate wrestling talent up to now, they now have Natalya, and to a lesser extent, Alica Fox. I know they have/had Beth Phoenix as well, however I haven't seen her in ages (have I just been missing her?), so I don't count her as much as I otherwise might.

20. Curt Hawkins to Raw:
Yep - stop the presses on this one.

21. Chris Masters to Raw.
Some more visibility for the Masterpiece, who has actually grown on me and I think has learned a lot in his time in the biz. Let's see where he goes with this one. Or maybe he just remains on Superstars after all.

22. Jey Uso to Smackdown:
OK - makes sense with his tag team partner having moved over.

23. Kofi Kingston to Raw:
Another big name move - no wonder that, while I'm still using the term 'supplemental draft', WWE didn't. It usually implies switches from midcard or lower, and really they've had a few big-ish names switch over here. Kofi on Raw will have a chance to either excel under a brighter spotlight ... or languish as a small fish in a big pond. We'll have to see whether I like this one or not.

24. Ted DiBiase to Smackdown:
This can only be good, a fresh start for Ted, who's another would-be main eventer who's been languishing way more than he deserves of late. Who on earth would have predicted that of the former Legacy team, Cody Rhodes would have been the one with the intriguing character and storyline, while Ted Dibiase would be the midcarder with no storyline short of a semi-hot girlfriend?

25. Tyson Kidd to Smackdown:
I repeat, he's still under contract? I'm guessing someone might be hearing best wishes for his future endeavours in time ... and where's Harry Smith? Or sorry - David Hart Smith?

26. Tamina to Smackdown:
The Uso reunion is complete. Yay.

27. Tyler Reks to Raw:
Another one who started out with much promise - even made the Smackdown Bragging Rights team - to have disappeared into the Superstars ether. Wonder what this move will do for his career longterm.

28. Alex Riley to Smackdown:
A sudden bustup of Team Miz, which on the one hand disappoints me as I enjoy him as Miz's apprentice and mini-me, but on the other hand, I'm impressed they're giving him a chance to shine on his own. Let's see if he runs with the ball they just threw him. Aaah, who am I kidding, he'll run with it if they let him, he won't if they don't.

29. Beth Phoenix to Raw:
Or is this the feud they're setting up for Kharma? Kharma destroys Kelly Kelly and Phoenix makes the save as the 'real' competition? Interesting. I do have to echo Jason Powell's question though ... with Tamina jumping brands meaning Santino Marella has lost yet another girlfriend ... a Glamarella reunion anyone?

30. Sheamus to Smackdown:
He could dominate the brand, and that's the truth. it will be interesting to see who they put him with and how. If Undertaker comes back in any kind of OK shape, these two could have an intriguing and heavy-hitting, high-impact program. It would be brutal. If they weren't obviously building toward a HHH-Taker rematch at Wrestlemania, and if we weren't so clearly getting to the end of the line on Taker's streak and career, I'd suggest Sheamus, if built right, could be an intriguing 'challenger'/'victim' at the next Mania ... except for the likelihood at this point that it will be Taker's last. Either way ... there's room for a good feud there if possible - and other feuds if not. An interesting choice with which to end the 2011 WWE Draft.