Dissecting the 2009 WWE Draft
The 2009 version of the WWE Draft has now passed with a regular draft happening on Raw, and then a supplemental draft being broadcast via WWE.com and the WWE Universe fansite (an interesting experience seeing a chat full of WWE fan comments, The Fink and others as each supplemental pick was announced). In total, 36 wrestlers have been moved amongst the shows, including Hornswoggle and the WWE Divas. It's time to reflect on all the new possibilities, good, bad and ugly...
First off, I think ECW did a great job of freshening up their roster and creating an interesting bunch of title contenders for its show. Many fans might view ECW like NCAA college basketball players while Raw/Smackdown features the NBA pros. No matter how you see it, this TV show is already one worth watching, and that was definitely illustrated by the back and forth 16 minute match Evan Bourne had with John Morrison this past week. The match gave all sorts of things you don't see in a typical WWE match these days. Granted, Morrison is now on Smackodwn, but Bourne remains on ECW where he'll continue to shine. The ECW title picture got a lot more interesting with the draft though. Already there is Jack Swagger, Christian, Finlay, Tommy Dreamer & Mark Henry. Now add in relative newcomers like Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov as well as Hurricane Helms, and you've got some great potential feuds and matchups. There's also no reason any of those 3 couldn't wear the ECW title. Personally, I'm surprised Finlay wasn't moved to Raw with Hornswoggle, but he also works to train newer stars so that may be his reason for staying. Either way, good things will be in store for ECW, and with Natalya, DH Smith and Tyson Kidd, many are in belief that the next generation of the Hart Foundation is going to form.
A major speculation (and gripe for some fans) with the draft continues to be over what's going to happen with Raw having two major title holders, Cena and Triple H. Will there be a unification just like the tag titles had? Honestly, it doesn't look that way and it may become a spoiler for Backlash that Cena is more likely to lose his title. Most likely Edge will find a way to win the World Heavyweight title once again, but CM Punk is anxiously waiting with his MITB briefcase. Add to that, the fact that Cena and Edge are fighting in a Last Man Standing Match at Backlash and it almost looks crystal clear, that Punk will have a good opportunity to cash in. That's not to say Punk couldn't cash in on someone like Orton, and really get true revenge for Orton knocking him out of the title picture. Punk may even become a heel now that he's on Smackdown which could make things more interesting for that show. Some intriguing possibilities were set up by the draft with those particular moves (HHH to Raw, Punk to Smackdown).
Personally, I'm all for switching around the various wrestlers, but feel the championship belts may have more relevance if they are kept on particular brands and exclusively defended on that TV show or at PPV's. Keeping the titles this way also gives more meaning to the WWE Draft. Perhaps they could have anyone with a title who gets drafted, have to forefeit the title for that show, and then the GM decides how the new title holders or contenders get decided (Battle Royal, Gauntlet, Scramble, etc). I believe the WWE and Intercontinental titles should remain on Raw with the Womens title, while the United States, Divas and World Championship stay with Smackdown. ECW gets its sole title, and adding back the Cruiserweight would be a nice touch there for guys like Evan Bourne, Tyson Kidd and others to contend for. Still this isn't a huge deal and it will be interesting to see who the next winners of each of the titles is, and if the draft played a part in their success.
Some moves which could really propel some of the newer fresher stars into the top tier are MVP's move to Raw, Morrison to Smackdown, The Miz to Raw, and Ricky Ortiz to Smackdown. Ortiz has the look of a possible United States or Intercontinental Champion. We all know MVP, Morrison and yes even Miz have ring skills and the ability to play excellent heels. MVP currently is a fan favorite, and I'm especially interested to see who's going to start challenging for his US title first. Will it be The Miz receiving a top spot? Or The Brian Kendrick? Or will Miz and Kendrick form a new tag team alliance? I wouldn't mind seeing MVP get into the WWE title picture as a serious challenger, maybe even give Randy Orton a run for his money while HHH takes some time off.
Over on Smackdown they've drafted a bigtime talent with The Miz' former partner John Morrison, who has already achieved a great WWE resume so far. Morrison, formerly known as "Johnny Nitro" has held the tag titles multiple times (with both Miz and Joey Mercury), the Intercontinental title and the ECW title. He seems ready for a run at one of the major titles and it'd be nice to see him competing there. Unfortunately he may become Mysterio's challenger for the Intercontinental title for the time being with no immediate push. Speaking of Rey, many analysts are saying that Melina and Rey Mysterio were moved over to Smackdown to appeal to Latino viewers which Smackdown draws more of. So which viewers does Dolph Ziggler appeal to on Smackdown?
It also seems inevitable that the Colons were moved over to Raw so that Legacy could take away their unified tag titles. I see no reason that Legacy won't be wearing three belts with Orton having the WWE title, and Dibiase & Rhodes carrying the tag titles on Raw, so Orton can discuss how their plan finally came together to dominate the WWE Raw roster.
The 2009 WWE draft definitely opens up all sorts of exciting possibilities now, but let's hope that WWE can figure out a way to make the draft more relevant and noteworthy, rather than just another reason to have a 3 hour episode of Raw. If some of the stars who are new to various shows (Maryse, MVP, Punk, Miz, Ortiz, Helms, etc) find new fan popularity and success, then the draft definitely has relevance. If those stars sink or are lost in the shuffle, it's back to the creative drawing board.
First off, I think ECW did a great job of freshening up their roster and creating an interesting bunch of title contenders for its show. Many fans might view ECW like NCAA college basketball players while Raw/Smackdown features the NBA pros. No matter how you see it, this TV show is already one worth watching, and that was definitely illustrated by the back and forth 16 minute match Evan Bourne had with John Morrison this past week. The match gave all sorts of things you don't see in a typical WWE match these days. Granted, Morrison is now on Smackodwn, but Bourne remains on ECW where he'll continue to shine. The ECW title picture got a lot more interesting with the draft though. Already there is Jack Swagger, Christian, Finlay, Tommy Dreamer & Mark Henry. Now add in relative newcomers like Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov as well as Hurricane Helms, and you've got some great potential feuds and matchups. There's also no reason any of those 3 couldn't wear the ECW title. Personally, I'm surprised Finlay wasn't moved to Raw with Hornswoggle, but he also works to train newer stars so that may be his reason for staying. Either way, good things will be in store for ECW, and with Natalya, DH Smith and Tyson Kidd, many are in belief that the next generation of the Hart Foundation is going to form.
A major speculation (and gripe for some fans) with the draft continues to be over what's going to happen with Raw having two major title holders, Cena and Triple H. Will there be a unification just like the tag titles had? Honestly, it doesn't look that way and it may become a spoiler for Backlash that Cena is more likely to lose his title. Most likely Edge will find a way to win the World Heavyweight title once again, but CM Punk is anxiously waiting with his MITB briefcase. Add to that, the fact that Cena and Edge are fighting in a Last Man Standing Match at Backlash and it almost looks crystal clear, that Punk will have a good opportunity to cash in. That's not to say Punk couldn't cash in on someone like Orton, and really get true revenge for Orton knocking him out of the title picture. Punk may even become a heel now that he's on Smackdown which could make things more interesting for that show. Some intriguing possibilities were set up by the draft with those particular moves (HHH to Raw, Punk to Smackdown).
Personally, I'm all for switching around the various wrestlers, but feel the championship belts may have more relevance if they are kept on particular brands and exclusively defended on that TV show or at PPV's. Keeping the titles this way also gives more meaning to the WWE Draft. Perhaps they could have anyone with a title who gets drafted, have to forefeit the title for that show, and then the GM decides how the new title holders or contenders get decided (Battle Royal, Gauntlet, Scramble, etc). I believe the WWE and Intercontinental titles should remain on Raw with the Womens title, while the United States, Divas and World Championship stay with Smackdown. ECW gets its sole title, and adding back the Cruiserweight would be a nice touch there for guys like Evan Bourne, Tyson Kidd and others to contend for. Still this isn't a huge deal and it will be interesting to see who the next winners of each of the titles is, and if the draft played a part in their success.
Some moves which could really propel some of the newer fresher stars into the top tier are MVP's move to Raw, Morrison to Smackdown, The Miz to Raw, and Ricky Ortiz to Smackdown. Ortiz has the look of a possible United States or Intercontinental Champion. We all know MVP, Morrison and yes even Miz have ring skills and the ability to play excellent heels. MVP currently is a fan favorite, and I'm especially interested to see who's going to start challenging for his US title first. Will it be The Miz receiving a top spot? Or The Brian Kendrick? Or will Miz and Kendrick form a new tag team alliance? I wouldn't mind seeing MVP get into the WWE title picture as a serious challenger, maybe even give Randy Orton a run for his money while HHH takes some time off.
Over on Smackdown they've drafted a bigtime talent with The Miz' former partner John Morrison, who has already achieved a great WWE resume so far. Morrison, formerly known as "Johnny Nitro" has held the tag titles multiple times (with both Miz and Joey Mercury), the Intercontinental title and the ECW title. He seems ready for a run at one of the major titles and it'd be nice to see him competing there. Unfortunately he may become Mysterio's challenger for the Intercontinental title for the time being with no immediate push. Speaking of Rey, many analysts are saying that Melina and Rey Mysterio were moved over to Smackdown to appeal to Latino viewers which Smackdown draws more of. So which viewers does Dolph Ziggler appeal to on Smackdown?
It also seems inevitable that the Colons were moved over to Raw so that Legacy could take away their unified tag titles. I see no reason that Legacy won't be wearing three belts with Orton having the WWE title, and Dibiase & Rhodes carrying the tag titles on Raw, so Orton can discuss how their plan finally came together to dominate the WWE Raw roster.
The 2009 WWE draft definitely opens up all sorts of exciting possibilities now, but let's hope that WWE can figure out a way to make the draft more relevant and noteworthy, rather than just another reason to have a 3 hour episode of Raw. If some of the stars who are new to various shows (Maryse, MVP, Punk, Miz, Ortiz, Helms, etc) find new fan popularity and success, then the draft definitely has relevance. If those stars sink or are lost in the shuffle, it's back to the creative drawing board.
Labels: Commentary, Divas, WWE Divas, WWE Draft, WWE Superstars
2 Comments:
Second time reader, first time commentator! Completely agree with some of the picks for the Draft. If we're trying to "guess" storylines, though, I see the Colons making a heel turn and JOINING Legacy (as they are both 2nd Gen stars), and I see the possibility of a re-unification of the World and WWE titles. It's been a long time, and the people who hold these straps (Edge, HHH, Cena, Hardy, etc) almost ALWAYS defend or show up on both "major" brands. As for ECW, if it's gonna continue as a D-league or the "NCAA" to RAW and SD's "NBA", they should have more leeway as performers. It needs a Paul Heyman, or at the very least, a Tazz (old, no-holds-barred Tazz) to bring some chaos to the 3rd ring of the WWE circus. With the caliber of talent that WWE has (on ECW), implementing an "edgier" show, loosely based on storylines but, more action focused, would impact it in a positive way. But, as a fan, these are merely the ramblings of a dreamer praying for a perfect wrestling experience...
Peace.
R. Clark, thanks for stopping by and leaving some thoughts about the draft. You make some good points..The WWE has made the major titles really lose their value by having them won and lost every other month it seems, so a unification could make the major title that much more of a prize to bring to any of the shows. Not so sure I can see The Colons joining Legacy, but that would definitely be interesting to see as well!
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