Grading the Draft.

Wasn't last night a hoot? Three hours filled with wrestling, draft surprises, free cash, and Vince McMahon being taken out by his "Million Dollar Mania" sign. I'm always a bit hopeful for the draft. It has so much potential, really. Were the WWE to keep the three brands separate, and the draft consistent, it could truly shake things up. But the three brands intermingle whenever it's convenient, and the draft is different every year. Things like that keep this from being the big night that Vince wants it to be. Now that I've got my "internet fan" rant out from under me, let's discuss the picks.

1. RAW:Rey Mysterio
I'm a bit surprised at this one. First off, Rey isn't near the wrestler he used to be. He's had several surgeries over the past few years, and regardless of how determined he is, that's going to slow him down. Secondly, his size will be an issue on RAW when taking on guys like John Cena, Randy Orton, and JBL. There are ways to book around that, and they've done it on Smackdown, but I don't have that much faith in the RAW creative team. Where I do see potential is in a Rey Mysterio heel turn. While I HIGHLY doubt that Rey would turn heel, especially towards the end of his career, he could use the heel turn to justify a slower style that would benefit his bad knees. This would mean, though, that he would be giving up his one advantage against larger opponents, therefore neutralizing him as a threat in the eyes of the fans. I see him coming back for a short time, but not making the impact on RAW that he could have several years ago.

2. Smackdown:Jeff Hardy
Here's an interesting pick. Jeff Hardy to Smackdown. The potential here is for Hardy to hit the Main Event scene with a vengeance. Hardy could feud with Edge for the title and have a great series of matches, as the two wrestler's styles are incredibly compatible. There's also potential with MVP, Kenny Dykstra, Chuck Palumbo and the returning Gregory Helms. This is probably the most sensible pick of the entire night. Hardy's style and attitude make him perfect for Friday nights, and the audience he brings with him only helps as Smackdown moves to a different network. My only regret is that I won't get to see more of Hardy vs. Orton.

3. RAW:CM Punk
Here's the thing: I'm a huge Punk fan. Having said that, I think that him going to RAW is a bum deal. Not that I want him to stay in ECW carrying around that briefcase tagging against Miz and Morrison for another year. I just think that Punk, like Jeff Hardy, would better suited for a year on Smackdown. Not to mention that he holds the Money in the Bank title shot, meaning he could switch brands without a draft pick. Now, having said that, I do think there is potential for Punk on RAW. There are obvious feuds down the road with Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho, Santino, Paul Burchill, and even Randy Orton. Some of those would be great. Punk could help bring out Santino's in ring prowess, he could be taken to the next level by Jericho, and he could have great matches with Burchill or Orton. Punk's true potential comes once he turns heel. (I know, I want everyone to turn heel. I could actually see this happening, though.)
Just imagine CM Punk vs. HBK, CM Punk vs. Hardcore Holly, CM Punk vs. John Cena. That last match has the makings of a WrestleMania moment if you ask me. The diehard internet marks screaming their guts out for their crowned savior against the screaming women and children John Cena bring to the dance. The dueling chants would fill the arena as the two squared off for the WWE Championship. It wouldn't be my favorite WrestleMania moment because of the dueling chants, but it would be awesome.

4. ECW:Matt Hardy, V.1-uhhhh
The second the Hardy's came out as a tag team, I knew two things: 1. I knew they were losing. 2. I knew Matt was going to be drafted. Here's the one thing I didn't know, and that was that Matt would be drafted to ECW. When it happened, though, I wasn't surprised. Matt's got that Hardy fanbase which could help draw people to watch Tuesday nights on Sci-Fi. He's got a little credibility which could help make him ECW Champion. He's also got feud potential against Shelton Benjamin, Chavo Guerrero, and Your Paragon of Virtue Elijah Burke. He could even make legitimate threats out of Mike Knox and Matt Striker. Matt brings another strong face to ECW, which can only help the little brand that can't. Now, if they could make a true main eventer on the show, I might actually watch.

5. Smackdown:Jim Ross
The fact that announcers are available in the draft is ridiculous to me. It only emphasizes how stupid this whole thing is. You never see announcers get drafted in real sports, and that's because the announcers are hired by the networks. This only serves to remind us that wrestling, ahem.. SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT is not like legitimate sports. Having said that, this is just this years "How can we replace JR" move. Sometime in the next year he'll be back on RAW, and Cole will be back on Smackdown.

6. RAW:Michael Cole
I'll add one thing, and that is that Michael Cole being drafted because JR was drafted to Smackdown only proves that this was a rigged draft. It's why doing the draft without GM's making the pick is a stupid idea. This would have made sense if Vickie Guerrero picked JR, and the RAW GM would pick Cole to compensate. Instead we got the WWE Draft "Randomizer" "randomly" picking two announcers back to back. Also, it would have been better had Cole invited JR over instead of instantly assuming that he lost his job. There have been three man teams in the past, after all.

7. RAWBatista
This is one of the moves which EVERYONE called before the draft, along with Umaga to Smackdown. It's a good pick in the sense that he now has the chance to continue the feud with HBK, and possibly even Jericho. After that, there can be more brawls with JBL, and even a feud with Lance Cade. What I really want to see, though, is Batista vs. Santino. That looks to be hilarious.

8. SmackdownUmaga
This is the other move which everyone called, and with good reason. No one on the RAW creative team can do anything with a monster, and Umaga is fresh out of feuds. The idea of him teaming with Snitsky was great, but they'd need a manager to pull it off. Imagine if Mr. Fuji, Capt. Lou, or Freddie Blassie were still around to lead those two. It would be AWESOME. However, we're in the year 2008, and Umaga is going to Smackdown. My hope would be that the Smackdown team could actually use Umaga properly, and allow the Samoan Bull(dog)dozer to actually have a feud and not just be a GM's weapon of choice.

9. RAW:Kane
So the big red machine is heading back to Mondays. I actually think it's a good move for him, but I still don't see anything great happening with Kane. The last year hasn't been good for Kane, and he needs something to freshen him up. His ECW Title run has, sadly, dragged along and brought him down a notch. He needs a fresh feud to bring him back where he belongs. He could make Snitsky seem like a legitimate threat, brawl with JBL, or have it out with Jericho or Batista. Regardless of what he does, it has to be better than his time in ECW.

10. Smackdown:Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssttttteeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr Kennedy!...

Kennedy
A great move. Kennedy has a long awaited feud with Edge that should NOT be ignored. That feud alone is enough to get me to watch Smackdown. A heel Edge working a babyface Kennedy is a dream come true as far as characters go. Much like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kennedy won't be afraid to go far beyond what many normal babyfaces would do to beat Edge, and to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Kennedy could also hold his own against MVP, Finlay, and The Big Show. Dare I say it, I think Kennedy could get a decent match out of The Great Khali. Unless something drastic happens, I can see Mr. Kennedy, World Champion by the next WrestleMania.

11. Smackdown:Triple H
Mr. Kennedy, say hello to something drastic. I believe Paul Heyman told JBL at the original One Night Stand that the only reason he was champ was because HHH didn't work Tuesdays. Well now he does. I have a feeling that the first feud on Smackdown post-Night of Champions will be HHH taking on Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship. I think HHH will drop the WWE Title to Cena, and Edge will retain just so HHH can chase Edge. I don't really see much else for Hunter. He can take on the Big Show, Umaga, MVP, Finlay and Edge. But I can't really see those feuds satisfying him. It's clearly a move to boost Smackdown for the move to MyNetwork. once they get there, though, I don't see him staying much longer.

We have another year until the draft shows up, and a ego building cliffhanger about Vince McMahon to tide us over. Maybe with all this we can let the memories of what else happened about this time last year pass us by. Like many tragedies, we'll never forget what happened to Nancy and Daniel Benoit. Let's try, though, to remember what Nancy did for us, and for the business. What a great manager she was for wrestlers like Kevin Sullivan, The Four Horsemen, Doom, and others.

To tell JJ who you would have drafted, click here.

To talk about the draft with JJ and others, click here.

At least Dibiase knew how to make it interesting...

This past Monday night, I tuned in with piqued curiosity to see exactly how Vince was going to give away one million dollars of his own money. I figured it would be a quick sweepstakes, with a brief segment here or there trying to give away an entire million dollars. What I got was surprisingly different.
From the first moment McMahon came out I was flabbergasted at the amount of time wasted on this publicity stunt. During almost every segment of television time we were treated to Vince slowly and awkwardly dialing telephone numbers, hanging up on people, and asking them for the password. COUNTLESS minutes which could have been devoted to storylines and character development to further improve the quality of the WWE's flagship show was wasted. Not only that, but the time and energy of the live crowd in Oakland also went out the window with these excruciating segments. I can't believe the crowd didn't start chanting boring EVERY time McMahon stepped onto the platform.
If you're going to go through with such an inane idea, why not do it during random segments of the show. Instead of having Vince walk out to the platform, have him in his office backstage. When someone comes to ask him a favor, he can make them call the person on a phone set up in his office. That way you're furthering the storyline, getting on with the publicity stunt, and giving the person winning the money the chance to say something to a superstar they love, hate or don't care about.
Having said that, what was the deal with all those people he called? McMahon's calling to GIVE them free money and they sounded like they could care less. "Hello? This is Bubba from Freebird City. Yes? The password is WWE Universe. I won how much? Ok, thanks. Bye." Wow. Just Wow. Were Vince to call my house, I'd probably have a few things to say other than my name and a password. Before the music started, for sure.
Maybe next week we'll see some of the kinks worked out. Honestly, I'd like to see them do something like this for Smackdown and ECW. But we know that won't happen. A) They're not that important, B) Smackdown is taped. One can wish, though, can't he?

To tell JJ what you'd say to Vince, click here.

To talk about what you would like to have seen instead of McMahon playing phone tag, click here.

Same ole Heartbreak

As I watched RAW Monday night, awaiting Vince McMahon's "big" announcement, I actually saw a good wrestling match. Not totally surprising, as RAW has shown us a lot of good wrestling in the past few weeks, but it was a match that made me think. I'm talking about Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels going one on one in the Main Event. A good match that's part of a good storyline that really got me thinking.
The great thing about Jericho and HBK is that the two really click together. Jericho is admittedly a fan of HBK, and that showed in their match. Almost every time HBK came out ready to do a signature move, Jericho was prepared. HBK didn't really have anything other than his usual repertoire, and it cost him.
Here's my big idea: Make HBK find a new finisher, or some new moves to up his game.
Now, I know that no one in WWE is going to walk up to the guy who's dubbed "Mr. Wrestlemania" and force a new finisher on him, but it is a really logical thing to do. Part of what has kept Undertaker from getting stale is his various trademark maneuvers. He's got the Tombstone, Chokeslam, Last Ride, and now his "choke" maneuver. Not to mention that he's altered his standard offense as his character has changed.
Think about when Jericho came back. Y2J knew better than to teturn without something different, and he brought in the "Codebreaker" to give him an impact move that gave him an entirely new dimension to his matches. Now he doesn't have to work the back for the Walls of Jericho, he can also work the head and neck for the codebreaker. He doesn't have to wait for his opponent to tire out enough to slap on a submission or hit the Lionsault, he can also surprise them at any time with the knees to the face.
I'm not saying that HBK has to stop being the "Showstoppa," just that the show shouldn't stop as much for the Sweet Chin Music or the flying elbow like it once did. Every fan in attendance knows when HBK is going to kick someone, or when he's going to drop the elbow. Now that he's in his forties, many of the wrestlers on the roster grew up watching him. They should be able to anticipate as much as the "thousands in attendance and millions watching at home." All I'm asking is for Shawn himself to realize that and freshen up his in ring act.

To tell JJ that HBK will never change here.

To talk about Y2J vs. HBK, McMahon giving away a Million and more, click here.

(Pictures courtesy of www.onlineworldofwrestling.com)