Harley R. Pageot of Oshawa, Ont. (7.0): Best Match: Miz/Morrison vs. Hardys. Worst Match: Finlay/Horn vs. Santino/Carlito. Very interesting draft and a ton of new possibilities if played properly. Hopefully, after a long battle with John Cena on Sunday, C.M. Punk will get a chance to cash in his briefcase and turn heel on Hunter to bring the WWE Title back to Raw and open up an array of feuds with Cena, Batista, Rey Mysterio, Shawn Michaels, and more. I'm pretty sure also that it was Vickie who was responsible for Vince's actions. She already butted heads with him earlier in the night when he warned her that Edge could be drafted away. She pulled Hawkins and Ryder from their tag match saying something had come up and we didn't see them again for the rest of the night. And it gives Vince a reason to go over her head and rehire the Undertaker after his recent banishment from the company.
Daren C., Financial Analyst, 25 years old. (4.0): Best Match: Edge/Cena, Worst Match: Take your pick. The good that came out of this draft is definitely in favor of Raw, in that Triple H will be gone to SmackDown, and the image of Raw can hopefully clear up some now that Jeff Hardy is gone. Sorry, I'm a Hardy fan, but he's blew my trust out of the water. I will sorely miss J.R. on Raw, but Cole seems to have improved some. I will not, however, feel any different now that C.M. Punk, Batista, and Kane are officially on Raw, as the soft Brand Separation has had them on Raw several times this year already. J.R. and Mick Foley on Friday nights should be interesting. Also, I am now wondering if the Taker and Triple H will BOTH be on Smackdown? Now, for the BAD that came out of the draft. I feel awful for ECW, the brand has no one now. They can only run Hardy vs. Burke so often til that'll grow old, but the "big names" on the show are now: Matt Hardy, and Raw Jobbers a/k/a Kofi Kingston, Tommy Dreamer, Shelton Benjamin, and Chavo "I once was ECW Champ now I'm back to being a Chump" Guerrero. Why Vince doesn't cancel ECW is beyond me. However, this is the same man who has to be "attacked" by tragedy at least on an annual basis. I hope Vince stays gone this time, and I can't foresee an angle for his return that'd make me interested in him. Seeing Edge on Raw was great, but the rest of the show sucked.
John Striven of New York, N.Y. (7.0): Best Draft: Triple H to Smackdown. Worst Draft: Ken Kennedy to Smackdown. It's about time that Triple H stopped talking about the good of the company and start doing something about it, and I believe he will have that opportunity on Smackdown. He will have the chance to freshen his character, face new opponents, and especially help elevate Smackdown as a Raw equivalent. Though I was intrigued about rumored DX vs. Evolution match-up, I guess we will be waiting for that. It does seem that Smackdown got the best deal of all. Kane needs to freshen up his character and with the Undertaker retired from Smackdown, how about reuniting the Brothers of Destruction and elevate the tag division again? This can culminate eventually in Taker's real retirement match against Kane at WrestleMania. Matt Hardy to ECW was a smart move, as he will do a lot of good there. I only hoped ECW would have gotten another big name wrestler. Perhaps Ken Kennedy would have done better there too, or Rey Mysterio. In fact, a smart move would have been to move Rey to ECW and re-establish the Cruiserweight Title, giving guys like Nunzio and others more focus on ECW.
J. Ingres: Best: Adios Triple H! Worst: Adios: J.R. I watch Raw weekly and the other shows rarely, so I am elated to bid adieu to Triple H. I'm just so tired of his long-ass intros, promos, and constant face time. Also glad that the boring giveaways are over, although I hope the attempted murder sequence doesnt herald the return of the channel-switch heat of the McMahon kids. Rey Mysterio is the most intriguing addition to Raw, but I hope he changes up his matches a bit, as they've become formulaic like Chris Benoit's had become. C'mon, Rey, you're talented enough to throw in some lucha moves and vary your finishing sequence now and then! Geez! Did J.R. know he was moving? Is this more of Vince screwing with him? Cole seemed more upset than J.R., like he got no recognition after "only missing two Smackdowns in ten years." I was bummed to see Jeff Hardy go. I still think he could be a great whitemeat babyface undersized champ battling the monster challengers, getting his butt kicked, pulling out the victory, and have a great run based on that simple premise, his skill and charisma.
INCREDIBLE BENEFITS! Over 50 full-length audio updates per month (iPod compatible)... New weekly award-winning Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (text and printable pdf versions) with latest exclusive insider news, new Torch Talks, great columns, Keller's cover story, much more... Hundreds of full-length back issues of PWTorch Newsletter from late-'80s to today... Ad-free access to PWTorch.com's Main Listing... VIP Forum with interaction with other subscribers and Torch staff... Torch Talk Library with text and audio of hundreds of interview installments from last 20 years... Great layout... Deepest archives on pro wrestling history anywhere... Keller's PWTorch Today PDF Bulletins with email alerts... VIP Email reports on major PPVs and TV shows... Staff Roundtable Reviews (text and audio) followiing major events... The best staff of writers and world class reporting since 1987... We'd love for you to join us and experience the most entertaining, authoritative, experienced staff of professional reporters and commentators in the business... SIGN ME UP NOW!
