WWE supplemental draft results and thoughts
So D.H. Smith moves to SmackDown, the same place where his cousin Natalya is, potentially setting up a longterm storyline with next-generationers. Though Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. remain on Raw (for now), this makes me four-for-four with my draft predictions from earlier in the week.
But don't give me any of the credit. Actually, give the credit to WWE.
Because my predictions were just based on common sense, on what would be the most logical thing to do booking-wise.
And they actually did it. So kudos to them for the longterm foresight.
(And here's hoping that they do some kind of storyline with Triple H and Edge where Triple H is outraged that the only reason Edge is the champion is because his romantic interest is the boss. Remember, Vince -- reality sells!)
That being said, let's look at the rest of the moves in this afternoon's under-the-radar supplemental draft.
Going pick by pick:
1. Mark Henry to ECW -- Add in that Mark was just added to the ECW Title match at Night of Champions and perhaps this makes the result of Sunday's PPV match a gimme. I don't know if they're giving Henry a big push as a make-good for the Michael Hayes thing, or if they're just moving him to ECW to get him away from Hayes' show. Either way, they seem to love Mark, even though he's never had a long run of success. Perhaps this will be his big break.
2. Jamie Noble to Raw -- Jamie, who also works as a backstage agent -- seems to be making the move more for backstage reasons than for on-camera ones. The backstage agents are broken down by show, and although ALL the agents work Pay-Per-Views and big shows, this seems more an executive personnel thing to me than a big chance for Noble's character.
3. Trevor Murdoch to SmackDown -- Seems logical after the start of Lance Cade's big push last week. I like Murdoch's character, in large part because he doesn't "look" like everyone else on the show, which makes him fun and different. He'll be a midcard "jobber to the stars" as they say, which is what you'd expect. Or maybe he can team up with Jimmy Wang Yang?
4. Big Daddy V to SmackDown -- OK then.
5. Deuce to Raw -- Who the heck is Deuce?
6. DH Smith to SmackDown -- Perhaps Natalya will have some help winning the new Divas Championship this Sunday ...
7. Hornswoggle to ECW -- This is a fun move, and Hornswoggle actually fits in with the personality of what the ECW brand should be (rather than what Vince has turned it into).
8. Super Crazy to ECW -- Vince, Common Sense. Common Sense, Vince.
9. Chuck Palumbo to Raw -- I Chuck take you Billy ...
10. Brian Kendrick to SmackDown -- I'm getting dizzy already ...
11. Matt Striker to Raw -- Who?
12. Maria to SmackDown -- The post-Playboy curse kicks in ...
13. Shelton Benjamin to SmackDown -- See here's one that boggles my mind. Shelton has all the talent in the world -- athleticism, personality, charisma, and yet he continues to be kept in the midcard. And now he moves to SmackDown, which has suddenly become the most top-heavy WWE show. I would have liked to have seen Shelton stay in ECW and be a top guy there, or even move to Raw to work before the live crowd again. Shelton deserves a break.
14. Finlay to ECW -- See Jamie Noble. I think this is more an agent thing than anything. Finlay is one tough dude, and I think he'll bring that to ECW matches, either as a competitor or as an agent. I actually like this move a lot for the ECW brand.
15. Carlito to SmackDown -- I love Carlito and I think he's gonna be a huge player someday. Mark my words -- this 15th pick of the supplemental draft will turn out to be a huge move for WWE and for SmackDown. The only reason WWE was able to move Rey Mysterio to Raw is because Carlito has the ability and talent to be a huge draw for that Friday Latino audience, and I think you'll see that come to pass sooner rather than later. I know SmackDown is crowded at the top, but Carlito is money. Want proof? Go watch Piper's Pit at WM 21 with Carlito, Stone Cold and Roddy Piper. Carlito's in the ring with two all-time legends and totally outshines 'em both. And that was YEARS ago. Maybe Carlito will be the leader of the DH Smith/Natalya "next generation" group?
16. Layla to Raw -- Who?
17. Kofi Kingston to Raw -- I had never even heard of this guy until his match with JBL on Monday, and it took him exactly five minutes to win me over. I'm a huge fan. I think he's gonna be a star.
P.S. Why the heck would you do a 17-pick supplemental draft?
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Comments (20)
I remember Carlito as being lost in that segment with Stone Cold and Piper at WM21. They were both ad libbing and interacting with the crowd while Carlito was trying to stick with some lame scripted material. Seriously, I was embarrassed for Carlito while he was trying to do his bit because he was so out of his league.
I like:
Mark Henry on ECW...he will add to the show...and if properly pushed can be a great big heel on SciFi.
Finlay and Horny on ECW...both will add a lot to the show and I for one would love an ECW Champion Finlay on Tuesdays!
Carlito on Smackdown...its about time this guy gets a proper push...and I hope moving him to Friday does this. Carlito was at a time one of the top 10 guys on either show. He has personality,athleticism and a good look. Why not push him? I see US Champ Carlito down the line.
Super Crazy on ECW...he is super...he is crazy...and he is going to have some great matches on Tuesdays with Bourne,Hardy and Finlay.
I dont like:
Kofi and Shelton on Raw/Smackdown...this feud was one of the only reasons I actually stopped my dvr from fast forwarding through ECW on SciFi...why Vince? They could have taken this feud to new heights and either of them would have made a great ECW Champ before then going to either Monday or Friday. I hope neither of them get lost in the shuffle.
Kendrick on Smackdown...ugh I do not get why WWE loves to break teams up in drafts when they know that neither of these two men will be as successful alone as they were as a team. Some guys were just meant to be in a tag team. I loved London/Kendrick as a tag team. As for Deuce and Domino...whatever lol.
Overall though this year's draft gets an A- in my opinion.
I remember Carlito as being lost in that segment with Stone Cold and Piper at WM21. They were both ad libbing and interacting with the crowd while Carlito was trying to stick with some lame scripted material. Seriously, I was embarrassed for Carlito while he was trying to do his bit because he was so out of his league.
I know the 'net loves Shelton Benjamin, and he's money in the ring, but do you really think he has personality? I'll have to disagree with you. When he speaks, he's pretty wooden and it's like he's reading from cue cards. That's why he hasn't gotten pushed any further. He just doesn't have "it" to be a big star.
Deuce will probably tag with DiBiase.
And yeah, Ben is right. Shelton sounds a tad unnatural on the mic, but he definately deserves a money in the bank win or something.
I like Striker's character and I think he can be a good manager/sometimes wrestler if they give him a good wrestler to manage instead of Big Daddy V.
Kendrick is screwed on SD w/o a tag partner or a CW Title.
The best part is that Cryme Tyme wasn't split up.
I agree that Shelton has weak mic skills...but so did Benoit and he got over...Shelton has a following and if he was paired with a manager he could be a main event wrestler.
I read that Deuce was supposed to be repackaged as a Snuka Jr type character. But again rumors mean nothing until you see something on tv.
Striker is a great manager...wrestler he is ok...nothing special.
ECW just still has no vision or differentiation - it is kind of a waste.
Moving Kane and Big Daddy Waste of Space were good moves to start taking it to be smaller, quicker paced. But they go and add Mark Henry and move the smaller guys like Kofi, CM Punk, and Shelton to a spot where they look small and insignificant next to JBL or even Chuck Palumbo - it will always be the Jeff Hardy-type overcome the monster story.
I'd keep ECW for the sub-6'5" 220 lb guys and keep the pace quick. And quick does not mean high flying.
Just give something, anything other than the same style of Raw or Smackdown with just less popular wrestlers in poorly written storylines.
I like how the draft played now. Now I have a reason to watch Smackdown while only half-killing my interest in RAW.
I do think Shelton has personality. I think the problem is that every WWE interview is scripted and he IS reading from cue cards in a sense. He is trying to spit out some forced lines that don't work for him. WWE needs to can the scripted interviews and let guys like Shelton sink or swim on their own by cutting their own promos and letting their own personality shine through, the way guys like Austin did.
Max and Andy get it. I'd be shocked if Deuce, albeit not by that name, wasn't DiBiase Jr's partner for NoC against Holly and Rhodes.
I smell London and Kendrick being wished well in their future endeavors sometime in the next year unless they find tag partners. Kendrick and Moore maybe? Things may not be looking up for Matt Striker either, who was barely used even on ECW; the last time he was anything near high-profile was when he was Big Daddy V's manager.
And now Kelly Kelly is ECW's only diva, which means either we're going to be treated by Kelly dancing every week, or she's going to be either stealth-moved to one of the other brands or wished well in her future endeavors.
I didn't even think about DH and Natalya being cousins. That is interesting. Since Dibiase already said DH was going to be his partner, this change was either last minute or Dibiase decided to purposely lie to a fan in a bar.
OR the story was made up in the first place.
Deuce is Jimmy Snuka's adopted son. I'd love to see him start a second/third gen group with Dibiase and Cody Rhodes (I totally feel a heel turn coming for the talented but boring Cody. I have a feeling this guy can cut a good heel promo).
I thought Kelly Kelly would be moved to Raw, because I figured she'd be the target for next year's Playboy cover girl. I wished Hornswaggle and Finley were split; I have a lot of respect for Finley as a worker and as an agent with the divas during the Trish/Lita era and hate to see him turned into a comedy figure.
Why's everyone so down on ECW? Its actually not that bad, the in ring product is actually better than smackdown, though they have lost alot of their best talent(Punk, Kofi, Shelton) Though it was cool they ended the Kofi-Shelton feud with an extreme rules match.
i think the phasing out of the C brand begins here.
I am glad to see that Smackdown and RAw now seemingly have a level playing field. 2 good shows can only benefit the WWE.
Glad to see Benjiman and Kofi out of ECW this means they can ring the death knell for this travesty of a brand that was better when it was simply known as heat.
The draft was good overall although some moves were head scratchers. The one thing we all have to realize is that Vince is a fan who is building his product according to what he wants to see, mainly b/c he truly does not have any competition. Thus, we are going to the Vince Wrestling Entertainment for a while. If you watch WWE between 1996 and 2001, you will see how much Vince tried to please the fans with WCW around by building new stars.
Now being a fan, I would book it similar to the guy called the Armchair Booker on Wrestlecrap.com. Make sure each brand is distinct from the other. ECW would have been more fast paced action packed, thus I would have kept Shelton and Kofi, brought over both Hardy Boys, Super Crazy, Noble, London and Kendrick, etc. Smackdown would be more hard hitting wrestling (Noble might stay then), and Raw would be more entertainment. Book wrestlers you have no intentions on giving a major push into tag teams. I believe you will get a wider audience with that.
Overall though a decent draft.
Kelly won't be released anytime soon. She's been treated as one of the top women in the company, so unless she does something stupid, she's not going anywhere.
As for Layla in the original post, I've noticed that she's actually gaining a lot of fans around the Internet. You might not think she's worth anything because she is a non-wrestler who was with Kelly's worthless dance group (and who was a better dancer than Kelly herself), but she has loads of charisma, something that can't be said about a lot of the other non-wrestling women in WWE. If treated right, she can really be worth something, but I'm probably going to be wrong.
And am I the only one who thinks Murdoch is going to be Edge and Vickie's wedding singer?
Kelly Kelly has 2009 WrestleMania Playboy playmate spread written all over her. She will definitely stick around for the eye candy factor like a Torrie Wilson once did.
and Murdoch as the wedding singer is a good, if obvious writing team, idea
Shelton Benjamin doesn't have personality or charisma. He couldn't get any if his life depended on it even if he had Bill Gates money. I don't know about his athleticism when he had a run against a coulpe of top guys he was always falling when he shouldn't have.
Way too many people think Shelton Benjamin is good because he jumps high and used to have a technician gimmick in Team Angle.