By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

The draft lottery was born out of a need to strengthen the depleted Smackdown roster after the departure of Brock Lesnar and the uncertain future of other top heel Kurt Angle. It ended up being an ego trip for Triple H in the short run. There is still room in the long run for this to be beneficial overall to WWE, although this week's Smackdown wasn't a good sign.

Booker T marched in and immediately proclaimed that he felt he had been traded to the minor league. It's a bit overly simplistic to argue that Booker's words somehow confirm that Vince McMahon in real life cares much more about Raw than Smackdown. It's a bit ridiculous to say that Vince is looking to intentionally bury half of his company, half of his revenue stream, half of his stock value.

Vince may deep in his heart care more about the Raw brand because it's been around longer and was the show that eventually beat Nitro. But he wants both Smackdown and Raw to be successful. That doesn't mean, though, that having Triple H and Shawn Michaels fighting for Raw doesn't help sway decisions in favor of Raw. That doesn't mean that Smackdown doesn't often earns the title "Tuesday's Afterthought." And six months from now, it's possible Smackdown will look like it got the better end of the draft.

Mark Jindrak and Rene Dupree are the two "prospects" who jumped from Raw to Smackdown. That also left both Bashams and Charlie Haas on Smackdown. Those five may end up having more impact as second and first tier players than Edge, Shelton Benjamin, Rhyno, Chuck Palumbo, and A-Train, the five heavyweight wrestlers who shifted to Raw.

Let's look at some comparisons in talent between the two brands:

·Edge vs. Rob Van Dam: Let's go with the admittedly ridiculous notion that an honest effort will be made to take advantage of RVD's strengths and hide his weaknesses (something Gabe Sapolsky talks about in this week's "Torch Talk"). RVD, out from the path of Triple H's palm-facing anytime he got any sense of momentum, may become Smackdown's no. 1 babyface. He has a ready-made feud with recent tag partner Booker T. If he's given a chance to take on Kurt Angle in a showcase match, it will be his best chance to display his strengths and hide his weaknesses. There is a reason, despite almost no interview time and no discernible endorsement from any promoting mechanism that he is still among the most popular wrestlers in WWE.

Meanwhile, there's Edge, the unproven blue chipper who has yet to have a memorable match that doesn't include tables, ladders, and chairs. He has yet to deliver a money promo that sold tickets. But he has the look. Despite his failure to prove himself yet, he is the obvious and rightful top pick to put a top tier push behind. He's athletic, attractive, charismatic (in a rough, unpolished way so far), and fresh. He has a chance, in a feud with Triple H, to be elevated to a top tier position by next year's WrestleMania. He may hold the World Hvt. Title for a long stretch over the next two years. Then again, he could also flop. He might be slowed by his fused neck. He might not have the type of breakout star-making in-ring ability that everyone assumes has yet to be tapped. He might never get past his big grin and wishy-washy babyface persona. RVD, perhaps, might end up being a bigger draw over the next two years than Edge.

·Shelton Benjamin vs. Mark Jindrak: Shelton was brought over to Raw because he's seen as having potential to follow in the footsteps of Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle by becoming yet another former amatuer wrestler breakout star. He's undersized, but in a company with Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero holding both World Titles, that's not the crippling drawback it used to be. He was the more charismatic and outgoing member of the former World's Greatest Tag Team. He was the more exciting wrestler of the two, also. He showed a glimpse of mic ability on Smackdown a couple weeks back. He could be the 2004 breakout star of the year. But for a guy who hasn't had any singles push other than last week's Smackdown, there's hardly a wealth of evidence.

Meanwhile there's Mark Jindrak, a slightly younger, considerably bigger one-time WWE blue chipper who may or may not be given a big push now that he's with Smackdown. He's got a lot going for him, but like his former WCW partner Sean O'Haire, he can't quite get to that point where management is confident enough to invest in him. But for a guy with his size and appearance, and for a guy once slated for a slot in Triple H's "Evolution," and for a guy whom Hunter personally likes and wants to see succeed, he could end up breaking through as a star. There's not enough evidence right now to say with confidence that Jindrak or Benjamin are much more likely to become bigger stars over the next two years. If both are given sizable pushes and good storylines to work with, both could become money players. Neither are particularly damaged goods.

·Rhyno, Palumbo, and A-Train vs. Booker T, Rene Dupree, and Charlie Haas: Booker T is obviously being positioned right away as a bigger player than any of the three heels sent to Raw from Smackdown. In fact, Rene Dupree has more of a chance to be a second or top tier player over the next two years than any of the three on Raw. Throw in dark horse Charlie Haas, who also might have more upside than the three on Raw, and this is a steal for Smackdown. In fact, in two years Dupree could be the biggest star of anyone involved in this draft. I haven't seen enough of him to say with confidence he will, but at only 20 years old, with good size, solid mic work, and a natural ring aptitude already that will get better now that he's working singles matches, he could be the surprise of the draft. He'll have to abandon his lame gimmick along the way, though.

I've never been as big on Rhyno as many others who bought into Paul Heyman's desperate attempt to convince ECW fans in the promotion's latter stages that Rhyno was a mix of Chris Benoit and Tazz. Chuck Palumbo will benefit from breaking away from the stagnant, played-out FBI trio, but he's always been portrayed as a goofball. Whether he can rise above that has yet to be tested. A-Train is a big guy who's a good hand in the ring, but he was given his chance last year to break out and it just didn't click. I don't see him being given another chance over on Raw to do much more than be a stepping stone for Shelton Benjamin or TV fodder for Batista.

·Nidia and Tajiri vs. Teddy Long, Spike Dudley, Bubba Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Rico, and Jackie: The rest don't add up to much. Tajiri may now get lost on a roster without a cruiserweight division, although the fact that he was traded may indicate WWE has some special plans for him on Raw. Nidia will make a nice addition to the Women's division on Raw.

Teddy Long, hopefully, will get a chance to be a prominent manager on Smackdown put in a position to draw money, not just fill lower-card TV segments. Spike Dudley could have been a great addition to freshen up the Cruiserweight Division, but jobbing him out clean to Chavo Guerrero on his debut on Smackdown really damages his potential. The Dudleys were stale on Raw, and they have a chance to be stale all over again with The Bashams, Rikishi & Scotty, and Nunzio & Johnny Stambolli. Rico may be too muscular to be part of the Cruiserweight Division, but that's the only place he has a chance to be utilized to his potential. Overall, among the rest of those involved in the trades, there isn't really a lopsided victory for either brand.

I'd give the edge in the draft in the short-run to Raw due to Edge and Benjamin being stronger potential impact-players in the next two years than those acquired by Smackdown, but it's close. If Booker and RVD are given serious pushes right away, and if Jindrak and Dupree break out as stars, Smackdown could end up looking like they got the better end of the deal.

The biggest loss for Smackdown may be Paul Heyman. He was so good as G.M. lately that he was at risk of stealing the thunder of the wrestlers. If WWE brings him back to Smackdown as a vengeful heel manager, Smackdown could really be a winner. Although Heyman is said to not be crazy about being recast as a manager (understandable considering the McMahon family's long-held boneheaded attitude that managers "steal heat from wrestlers"), he could redefine and reestablish the value of managers in pro wrestling, one of the sad lost arts over the last 15 years. Heyman could manage Jindrak, Haas, Dupree, and a Basham or two and single-handledly give each of them their best shots at becoming breakout money players. If that happened, Smackdown could end up being the big winner in this month's Draft Lottery.

With so many fans tuning into Raw for the lottery, there is clearly great interest in shaking up the two rosters. Now it's time for WWE to make sure they take advantage of that peaked interest.

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