WWE Draft

[President Jeff]

So what did everyone think of the WWE Draft that happened Monday and the supplemental draft that happened today

[Phate]

Here are the draft picks for those who don't know:


- 2008 WWE Draft Full Coverage -

Monday Night Raw Draft Picks:
1. Rey Mysterio
2. CM Punk
3. Michael Cole
4. Batista
5. ECW Champion Kane
6. Jamie Noble
7. Deuce
8. Chuck Palumbo
9. Matt Striker
10. Layla
11. Kofi Kingston

Friday Night Smackdown Draft Picks:
1. Jeff Hardy
2. Jim Ross
3. Umaga
4. Mr. Kennedy
5. WWE Champion Triple H
6. Trevor Murdoch
7. Big Daddy V
8. DH Smith
9. Brian Kendrick
10. Maria
11. Shelton Benjamin
12. Carlito

ECW Draft Picks:
1. WWE U.S. Champion Matt Hardy
2. Mark Henry
3. Hornswoggle
4. Super Crazy


Jim Ross posted a new blog earlier today at this link with his initial thoughts on being traded to Smackdown last night during the 2008 WWE Draft. As we noted earlier, with the exception of Triple H and possibly Batista, everyone else was kept in the dark about where they were being drafted until it was done live on television.

Ross had the following to say first about his trade to Smackdown: "I am not happy about this surprise development. I also contemplated calling it a career Monday night and not going to Houston to tape SD. After speaking with my wife and thinking on this matter until 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, I have decided to do the right thing for the fans who care and the talent who care and begin my new assignment. It has been explained to me that the WWE’s Smackdown tenure on My Network is a high priority within the corporation. Allegedly, my presence is needed in that effort."

Not much later, Ross posted a follow-up to his first blog at this link apologizing for some of his comments that he titled "Upon Further Review." He added, "This week I received an unexpected change in my professional address. Within hours of writing an emotional blog, I am positively moving on. I am going to do all I can to make Smackdown the best program the WWE produces. Working side by side with Mick Foley should be fun. It will be entertaining I assure you. Mick is a great friend and a man I greatly respect. The Smackdown roster is loaded with exceptional talent and the WWE wants the brand to grow and I intend to do all that I can in my role to facilitate that growth."

I absolutely hate the idea of Jim Ross being moved to Smackdown!. I don't care how long Michael Cole is an announcer for WWE he will NEVER be in the league of Jim Ross and does NOT deserve to be on RAW at this point and time. Period. He's just not that great of an announcer.

As for the rest of it I love Punk, Mysterio, Batista, Kane, and Kofi Kingston on RAW as well as Triple H, Kennedy, Shelton Benjamin, and Umaga on Smackdown!. It should make for some interesting matches hopefully as well as some potential feuds that we haven't seen before. Deuce on his own may finally have the chance to show how good he actually is with the RAW brand (he has a hybrid Five-Star Snuka Superfly Splash that he turns in mid-air with that is breathtaking). I love Jamie Noble, always have, but he is a cruiserweight on the A-show and practically doomed unless he finds a tag team partner. That's sad for him because he is truly one of the best wrestlers in the world at any size.

London and Kendrick are done with Kendrick being drafted to Smackdown!. Who wants to bet that by this time next year one or both of them are no longer WWE employees? Just a hunch.

DH Smith being traded to SD! made me scratch my head but may also mean he is NOT Ted DiBiase's partner for Night of Champions (I've got a feeling Cody and Holly will lose the belts that night and to have the Tag Team Champions on opposite shows would be, well, retarded). Jeff Hardy to Smackdown! makes me think that his last drug issue really made the company lose faith in him; something tells me he's midcard bound from here on out.

I would have loved to seen Y2J moved to Smackdown!, mainly because 1) he's not exactly doing anything productive on RAW other than the stupidity that is the HBK feud and 2) Kane bringing the ECW Title gives the upcoming RAW/ECW joint efforts a whole lotta god-damned title belts. Y2J on Smackdown! would make him way more than the upper mid-card guy he is now and give Smackdown! another secondary title after losing the US Title. Unless they have a really big feud planned for Y2J concerning the World Title in some way in the next few months him staying on RAW is a waste in my opinion.

Wait - wasn't he supposed to be saving us? WWE blows an opportunity once again. Oy vey.

The ECW draft picks were inconsequential and really show how little ECW means to WWE. They must have it out for the Hardys because Matt was taken from the B-Show to the C-Show - and he's holding Smackdown!'s main secondary title. ECW's draft picks - Matt Hardy, Mark Henry, Hornswoggle, Super Crazy, Finlay - none of those guys (with the exception of the versatile Matt Hardy and Finlay, who is one helluva wrestler and has been since his WCW days) even makes me think top talent. I really think ECW is soon to be gone and that when it comes time for Sci-Fi to re-evaluate ECW that WWE may just do without it. With a great deal of ECW's top guys going to other brands we're left with Mike Knox, Elijah Burke (maybe), Matt, Finlay, The Miz, Morrison, and Tommy Dreamer. Sorry - that just isn't enough star power to sustain a brand.

With Triple H going to Smackdown! I think we can expect at least one World Title to change hands at Night of Champions. I think (sadly because I would rather not see this happen but I really didn't want to see Triple H with the belt again either) that Triple H is more likely to lose to Cena than Edge is to Batista. I don't think Batista has the same drawing power for WWE that Cena has and Cena is THE main guy right now so I see Cena bringing the WWE Championship back to RAW and feuding with the new guys on the block for the next six months. Edge will eventually lose to Triple H - but only to set up THE feud: Undertaker vs. Triple H. And we all know where that feud is gonna end up.

Hell In A Cell.

That's my thoughts on the whole thing.

[Dr. Matt]

I don't know about the sites you guys go to, but the wrestling site I go to had everyone say MVP is going to Raw, guaranteed. Now it really pisses me off because not a single fucking person has even mentioned him staying on Smackdown...

[Phate]

Jun 30, 2008 15:47:13 GMT -4 Dr. Matt said:

I don't know about the sites you guys go to, but the wrestling site I go to had everyone say MVP is going to Raw, guaranteed. Now it really pisses me off because not a single fucking person has even mentioned him staying on Smackdown...

That didn't surprise me. I figured that MVP was going to stay on SD! because he's an "over" 'tweener...something SD! doesn't have. He's the ONLY superstar the Smackdown! writers have been able to create in the last few years other than Kennedy - and we see how lost in the shuffle Kennedy is on RAW. I don't think they wanted that with MVP, something that makes sense to me. On SD! he stays at the top of the card for the most part. On RAW, he gets lost guaranteed.

[President Jeff]

Jun 30, 2008 15:47:13 GMT -4 Dr. Matt said:

I don't know about the sites you guys go to, but the wrestling site I go to had everyone say MVP is going to Raw, guaranteed. Now it really pisses me off because not a single fucking person has even mentioned him staying on Smackdown...

I never heard that rumor once. I usually go to Prowrestling.com and NODQ.com for my Wrestling news. Their rumors are pretty accurate as well