Wrestling Rumblings #9
April 3, 2009
By: Jose Marrero of WrestleView.com
This weekend is the biggest weekend in the industry Wrestlemania 25 and the WWE Hall of Fame. This is the big one; the one that fans wait all year for and because of that I imagine this week every blogger, columnist, podcast host, etc. is going to want to talk about it?which is exactly why I am not. You see it’s been done to death and the only thing in my opinion now is to wait for it to happen and when it finally does get here I guarantee you I will dissect it. So what does that leave us for this week? With the Wrestlemania buzz there is another big event that no one has talked about yet so I will be the first and that something is the WWE draft?you?re reading ?Wrestling Rumblings?.
The WWE draft some may argue is just as important as Wrestlemania. After all it does sort of set things up for the following year. While it has been a afterthought it was last year’s WWE draft that took Vince McMahon off of TV and started a ?Who done it? angle that has cooled but I imagine will heat up after this Sundays event and while I don?t expect a angle like that to occur twice I do expect moves that will put into place next year’s Wrestlemania. So sit back and relax as I tell you how I would structure the WWE draft and why.
For the sake of this column we are going to assume that each brand will get 4 picks. Of course recent years has shown that hasn?t been the case as usually Raw or Smackdown dominate the picks and ECW gets shafted (expect Raw to dominate the picks this year). However because I?m fair I am going to give each brand 4 picks and away we go.
1. Christian Cage to Smackdown- I think he has worked enough of the rust off and fans are clamoring for either an Edge and Christian reunion or an Edge and Christian feud and I wouldn?t be too surprised to see us get both over the coming year. As a matter of fact if this year’s Wrestlemania proved anything it’s that WWE has sort of run through all their matches and needs some fresh combinations for the coming years ahead. While it may be a sleeper choice I wouldn?t exactly be all that surprised to see Edge vs. Christian at a future Wrestlemania.
2. HHH to Raw- I think Trips has been on Smackdown long enough and while it has been a good fit for a little while I think it is time for him to go back home to Raw. Admit it as much as some of you may hate him on Raw I also think many of you missed him and have been happy to have him back these past few weeks. This thing with him and Orton has legs and well Orton can?t move unless you are going to move Legacy so ?The Game? must come back home.
3. Mr. Kennedy to ECW- While this one would probably never happen I think it kind of needs to. Say what you would like about him but Ken Kennedy has value and should not be released but at the same time he hasn?t proven himself healthy to invest anymore valuable TV time so what do you do? You send him down and use him to help elevate someone like Jack Swagger and who knows maybe give him a ECW title run himself and bring him back to one of the main rosters later on. While this may not be a popular move I stand by this one after all it was just a year ago I believe that Mr. Kennedy was drafted to Smackdown from Raw and what has that done for him? Does anyone even remember that? My point exactly send him to ECW let him prove himself again and he will come back hungrier, fresher and ready to make a impact.
4. Rey Misterio to Smackdown- I think there if there is one thing that WWE is learning from these things is that the fans who watch Raw are not necessarily the same fans who watch Smackdown and vice versa. Plus there are just some guys you don?t move at all and Rey Misterio is one of them. He should have never been drafted to Raw from Smackdown. Rey went from main eventing on Smackdown to being stalked, kidnapped and pretty much humbled by Kane on Raw. This was not a good move and I think now is the perfect time to correct that mistake and put Rey Rey back where he belongs.
5. Evan Bourne to Raw- While many would probably want to see him and Rey team up on Smackdown (and I admit it would be a good idea) I do think Raw is going to need a resident underdog and high flyer in Rey’s absence and if there is one thing I can say about Evan Bourne is he is the perfect wrestler to have when you are trying to get heels over on the big stage and make no mistake about it Raw is the big stage. The guy just easily gets sympathy and that’s the kind of guy you want on your roster when you are trying to help get guys over. Let’s face it Evan Bourne is not going to be your world champion so the best way to use him is to beat him up he is creative enough of a wrestler to keep himself over while you are doing it so that you don?t kill him off. I say put him on Raw and give him the shot.
6. Santino Marella to ECW- I admit I am a big fan of Santino Marella but at the same time I feel he has done everything he can do on the Raw brand and because of his limitations they are not going to give him the chance he needs to grow and develop. I think if he moved to ECW writers would feel more obligated to use him and since it is a 1 hour show you would have to put him in the ring and really see what he could do. Sure you ruin the whole thing with him and Beth Phoenix but that has kind of run its course anyway.
7. CM Punk to Smackdown- I have not entirely given up on CM Punk but let’s face it with John Cena, HHH, Randy Orton, and the soon to be returning Dave Batista on Raw Smackdown is going to need babyfaces and I think this could be a great opportunity for CM Punk as main event babyfaces are going to be hard to come by on Smackdown. I think CM Punk is up for the challenge and I think WWE needs to try to push this guy now rather than later before he becomes an afterthought.
8. Shelton Benjamin to Raw- After a decent run on ECW and a strong run on Smackdown and possibly Money in the Bank briefcase in his future I think it is time for Shelton Benjamin to come back to Raw. Especially if he wins MITB as the history of that match shows that no matter what brand you are on when you win it you eventually come over to the Raw brand when you cash it in (Ok RVD technically was a ECW guy by the time he cashed it in but at the same time he was still competing on Raw)
9. Kung Funaki to ECW- Do I really have to explain this one? I just want him off of Smackdown and definitely don?t want to put him on Raw. Listen I am sure Funaki is more than a talented wrestler I mean you don?t get a 10 year run in WWE without having something to offer. However this Kung Fu gimmick is just wearing thin on me and I think it belongs on ECW not on Raw or Smackdown.
10. Chris Jericho to Smackdown- I think Chris Jericho is going to be a interesting guy to watch next year as it would seem his top heel spot on Raw has been taken over completely by Randy Orton and well Edge pretty much has it down on Smackdown but still it is nice to see upper level heels. I actually thought it would?ve been a pretty good idea this year to have the Undertaker take on Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania with it being a fresh feud as those two have never competed against each other before. I wouldn?t mind seeing Jericho vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26.
11. Gail Kim to Raw- This one is just purely selfish on my part. I don?t see much in Rosa Mendes yet and let’s face it Beth Phoenix vs. Melina and Mickie James has been done over and over again. I would like to see some fresh matches in the women’s division on Raw and I think Gail Kim moving to Raw gives that a shot. I am sure some would rather see Michelle McCool but she is just not polished enough in my opinion and I truly think the fans who just watch Raw would be much more satisfied with Gail on the Raw roster.
12. Vladmir Koslov to ECW- This guy has just fizzled out. He started off with a lot of fire and a lot of push from creative and went from a man that many were predicting was going to be WWE Champion last November to a guy who can?t even get a spot at Wrestlemania. Besides I have sent a lot of castoffs to ECW and well that’s where they should be. Not because they can?t be valuable later on but because ECW should be the place to go and work on things in a higher profile situation than FCW and I think you can always bring Vlad back to one of the other rosters later on after he hopefully becomes a more polished worker.
So there you have it my mock WWE draft. Bear in mind I would still do the supplemental deal to better balance the rosters but if I had to write a show for draft night these are the people I want my audience to know are moving. With that being said its time to wrap this one up. Of course it goes without saying that you should all be watching Wrestlemania this weekend. It is the biggest event in the industry and because it is a event of the highest magnitude I will be there live in attendance for Wrestlemania, the Hall of Fame and the ROH PPV and more than likely will be coming at you next week with thoughts on my latest Wrestlemania weekend experience. So to all my Houston readers if you happen to see me say ?Hi? and to those of you who can?t be there well still say ?Hi? to me via email wrestlingrumblings@hotmail.com or hit me up on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/wrestlingrumbling and well that’s next week I will try to do better and until then I am out.