2009 WWE Draft Preview

To steal some famous words from former WWE wrestler, The Rock: "It doesn't matter where you're drafted to!" The WWE's 2009 version of the draft will be presented live from Atlanta, Georgia in a special 3 hour Raw this coming Monday. In year's past since the "rosters" were formed including Raw, ECW and Smackdown, it was a major thing to be drafted to another show, because for a short period of time those superstars only appeared on that partictular show. Now it really doesn't seem to matter much, with an interesting exception we saw a few year's back. When Bobby Lashley was the current ECW champion and drafted to Raw his title was stripped by decree of Mr. McMahon and Johnathan Coachman. For some reason this wasn't the case when Triple H was drafted with the WWE title to Smackdown last year, but in both instances Mr. McMahon certainly played a major part.

Last year's draft saw some interesting moves sending various superstars to different TV show rosters. CM Punk & Kane came from ECW to Raw, Batista moved from Smackdown to Raw, both the Hardys were moved in the draft and Rey Mysterio came to Raw. The most intriguing draft move may have been when Triple H was sent over to Smackdown, while he was current WWE champion and Edge was still World Heavyweight champion on that show. It caused controversy as Raw had no major title holder while Smackdown had both titles. That changed very quickly as CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank Briefcase soon when Edge made an appearance on Raw to taunt Batista and the rest of the roster. I hate to say it but we just might see a major case of Deja Vu happening this draft. With the Backlash Pay-Per-View coming up, the WWE draft moves we see may give us some indication of what to expect there, but I don't know that the draft really "changes the landscape" of the WWE. It would be great to see some really big surprise moves to create some new top stars, for example making Ricky Ortiz a major heel on Smackdown, or sending Kozlov to ECW where he quickly becomes a dominant champion. Those types moves would show true significance for the WWE draft. Unfortunately it just seems like the draft will shuffle the usual suspects around so that they're seen on different TV shows to draw in ratings. Let's hope WWE shocks us...

Here's some thoughts on what we might expect to see in the upcoming draft and who may be on the move...

First off, a couple things to consider:

1) Someone big's gotta move - That means Edge, Cena, HHH, Orton. At least two should be moving in the draft to keep the storylines going. That said if I were to pick the two most likely to move, I'd say Edge and Orton swap shows.

2) Vickie Guerrero is officially the GM for Raw - With Vickie in charge she can make the move happen to bring Edge over to Raw to form the ultimate power couple once again. It's hard not to see that happening, because they provide a certain level of chaos for other wrestlers when they're together. The wrestler they'd be causing chaos with would be John Cena, but hopefully for just a short stint. If Edge moves to Raw, I see no reason he won't defeat John Cena at Backlash to regain the World Heavyweight title and then he can taunt Cena, with Vickie, on Raw. It's also Edge's last opportunity to win the title. Let's say he does it. That only sets it up for CM Punk to cash in MITB and once again take Edge's title away. That is of course if Punk isn't drafted to Smackdown or ECW, but again that hasn't seemed to matter much in year's past. This whole Edge moving to Raw scenario is deja vu in so many ways, because several years ago it was John Cena feuding with Edge and his girlfriend Lita, yet now it would be Cena feuding with Edge and wife, Vickie.

3) Orton and HHH still have their feud - With Orton currently the major heel on Raw, if Edge moves over from Smackdown that takes away their major heel for the show (no disrespect to Big Show). In this scenario, Orton would likely be drafted to Smackdown where he can continue his feud with Triple H. That would make Orton and Edge the major names drafted this year. Last year it was HHH going to Smackdown and Batista going to Raw. If Orton moves, they likely want to keep Legacy in tact and somehow the whole faction moves to Smackdown making it their show to run amuck on. This also could impact Batista, possibly sending him back over to Smackdown to be part of the WWE title chase.

There's two particular wrestlers who seem ready for a move: Vladimir Kozlov and Evan Bourne. Kozlov seems like he could go to Raw or become a major heel on ECW, vying for the ECW title against someone like Christian or Tommy Dreamer. It almost looks as if all the buildup with Kozlov's undefeated singles streak was to build HBK's credibility heading into Wrestlemania 25. That, or WWE decided they didn't want Kozlov facing Undertaker at WM25, and HBK needed an opponent. They made the right move in that case and should consider putting Kozlov on ECW for now.

Another guy who seems likely to move is the high-flying and exciting higlight maker, Evan Bourne. Bourne seems ready for the spotlight on Monday Night Raw. Remember when he was hobbling around on crutches months ago and suffered a vicious attack at the hands of Mike Knox? Well somehow either that attack was forgotten or they're going to rehash it. Either way, Bourne seems like a likely Intercontinental title competitor for Raw and needs to be in the spotlight, much like CM Punk was put into it last year.

Also, keep a watch on the ECW talent pool as they may have the most guys moving. Guys like Ricky Ortiz, DJ Gabriel, Tyson Kidd and the aforementioned Evan Bourne seem to be strong potentials to switch shows and make things interesting as they would add new faces and talent to Raw or Smackdown.

Besides Edge, Orton, Legacy, Kozlov and Bourne moving in the draft, it seems like anyone's guess is as good as mine. There's obviously certain superstars we enjoy seeing more than others. At this point, not everyone gets the full enjoyment of seeing all 3 WWE television shows. Many people might not receive MyNetworkTV & Smackdown on their cable plan, so seeing a wrestler they particularly dislike moved to Friday nights won't hurt too much.

As for the divas, many people will say who cares? At this point any of them could move from show to show. Then again if one in particular is your favorite and you don't get Smackdown, that will hurt... WWE obviously wants to keep the eye candy on its major ratings draws, Raw & Smackdown, so don't expect Maryse, Kelly Kelly or Melina to go to ECW. As for the rest of the bunch, all's fair in divas wrestling. Michelle McCool could make her way to Raw, Eve could go to ECW, etc. Maryse could even move over to Raw making both diva titles on one show. WWE already teased us with a few Melina vs. Maryse contests prior to Wrestlemania 25. Maybe someone will get sent to Smackdown to play the role of Teddy Long's new assistant General Manager. And speaking of that, it will be interesting to see how things shake out with WWE Diva Tiffany serving as "interim" GM for ECW. She's still an active diva who could be drafted to another show.

The WWE draft really is just a concept used to stir up stories and interest in the respective TV shows. It seems these days that any wrestler can go on any show they want at any time. Matt Hardy was able to negotiate his release from ECW last year and got himself signed on Smackdown. Jamie Noble just showed up on ECW saying he was ready to work for Theodore Long and was allowed to do so. Same thing went with Paul Burchill who Teddy signed to his show. So don't get too caught up in the draft moves, although they will be interesting to see as they could give us the likely winners (spoilers) for the ucpoming Backlash Pay-Per-View. Catch the 2009 WWE Draft this Monday at a special start time of 8PM EST on USA!