CALDWELL'S TAKE CORNER CUBE TUESDAY 6/24 - Conclusion of Raw shows WWE's desperation despite Draft possibilities Jun 24, 2008 - 12:23:04 PM

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By James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

Updated daily from the corner cubicle, Torch columnist James Caldwell's weekday blog focuses on hot topic current events and other items of interest from around wrestling.

Updated Tuesday, June 24, 2008

After three hours of Drafting, inconsequential wrestling matches, and week 3 of the money give-away, WWE closed out last's night Raw with another attempt at shock-and-awe to apparently write off the giveaway.

After all that time spent reshuffling the deck and (not doing a very good job of) hyping a PPV on Sunday, was it really necessary for another McMahon limo explosion-type angle?

In WWE's mind, the answer is yes. Ratings have been hovering around 3.0. Interest in McMoney has been just O.K. WWE is still one of top-rated shows on cable - and they'll tell you all about that in a press release - but it apparently hasn't been good enough to satisfy top management. Otherwise, a Draft to hit the re-start button would have sufficed.

The Draft hoopla and intrigue from new match-ups should have led into Sunday night's PPV with the possibility of several title belts moving brands. Think about the ECW Title situation. A Raw brand wrestler will be defending against a Smackdown brand wrestler for ECW's Title. Essentially, Matt Hardy - if he retains the U.S. Title on Sunday - will be asked to carry the entire ECW brand going forward as the only singles champion.

There are many possibilities for fresh feuds on each of the two brands that actually gained people last night. (ECW was presented as a complete joke last night, so I'm putting them at the kiddy table.) But, will WWE have the discipline to hold off on Edge vs. Hardy or Batista vs. Cena until a program has been well-established?

WWE's track record is about short-term. They gave away a relatively fresh Triple H vs. Chris Jericho match last week with little hype as an example of WWE giving away PPV-caliber matches on free TV. The key going forward will be protecting the match-ups created by the Draft.

But at the end of the day, WWE showed the priority wasn't on selling a PPV or giving the Draft center stage. It was about another shock-and-awe segment involving Vince McMahon. As much as the Draft was about change, some things really never do change.

One year ago, the McMahon limo explosion angle back-fired on WWE when news of the Chris Benoit tragedy came into play. One year later, we seem to be looking at the same situation with McMahon putting the focus of his flagship show strictly on him rather than the wrestlers trying to make money for the company.

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