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KELLER: A breakdown of likely moves in the WWE Draft and why wrestlers should or shouldn't go where
Apr 12, 2009 - 10:32:01 PM |
Unfortunately there's not a lot of point speculating about mid-card or undercard wrestlers fates in the draft tomorrow since WWE doesn't really concern itself with anyone but the top level wrestlers, and those who occasionally get some featured TV time can end up on any brand without explanation anyway. But among the top acts, they tend to usually stick with the brand they're on (except in WrestleMania season), so here's a few thoughts on the prospects of the top wrestlers tomorrow night..
-JOHN CENA: He's nearly a lock to remain on Raw, which more than ever with the move of Smackdown to a weaker network has become the undisputed top show. If he goes to Smackdown, it's likely a swerve that will be "undone" with an angle or trade shortly thereafter.
-RANDY ORTON: For the same reasons as Cena, Orton is also a virtual lock to remain on Raw.
-TRIPLE H: He's put in his time on Smackdown, and now it's time for him to do what I'm sure he's eager to do, and that's move back to the A-brand and do whatever's next for him. A heel turn would be welcome since he's so joyless as a face.
-BATISTA: Also a near lock to remain on Raw because he was just thrown back in the mix, and it's with Legacy. If the plan was to send him to Smackdown, they would have just waited to reintroduce him until after the draft.
-UNDERTAKER: In order to keep Smackdown a viable "major brand" he's gotta stay put as the Smackdown institution. It helps with politics, also, for him to the biggest fish in the smaller Smackdown sea, rather than rotated out of the top mix due to the glut of top stars on Raw.
-REY MYSTERIO: Likely to move back to Smackdown where he can be featured again and be on a more kid-friendly station and timeslot again. The move to Raw never worked out, in part because he got injured just as he was about to be pushed in the Big Show-Floyd Mayweather angle. At this late stage of his career, he deserves to be a featured primary babyface on a top brand, and that's only going to happen on Smackdown.
-CHRISTIAN: He should move to Smackdown, and I'd be surprised if he doesn't. Christian's been a good soldier through his "punishment" for working for TNA for three years, so now he can move to a post-WrestleMania program of some type with Edge. Smackdown needs a strong babyface with some name value and credibility and tenure, and Christian provides that.
-EDGE: With Orton the centerpiece heel on Raw, Edge deserves to remain a centerpiece heel on Smackdown, and with Christian perhaps moving to Smackdown, that can occupy him for six months if they play that card right.
-THE BIG SHOW: This could go either way. With Vickie Guerrero over on Raw, perhaps they move him over to be a sidekick with her. His character is so undefined at this point, they could move him in the direction of a top enforcer gate-keeper babyface for Cena leading to an eventual turn, or feud him with Cena leading to a babyface turn later. I think he'll ultimately be best used as a babyface given his sense of humor and quick wit. It's tough for him to be mean.
-C.M. PUNK: The best move for him would be to go to Smackdown where he can join Rey and Undertaker as the top babyfaces over there. He would have breathing space to breakout as a top tier player, and a dynamic between him and Christian down the line in a feud with either as the heel has some real potential on the mic and in the ring.
-CHRIS JERICHO: Tough call. I'm leaning toward him being Smackdown's biggest acquisition of the draft, and perhaps feuding with Christian or Punk right away.
-CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE: They better stay on Raw with Orton! There's no reason to break them up prematurely in the midst of the surge of interest with Batista being added to the mix.
-JEFF HARDY: With Triple H moving to Raw, I'd suspect Jeff Hardy will be a Smackdown roster member, joining Rey, Taker, and Punk as the top tier faces.
-MATT HARDY: He could end up on Raw or Smackdown. I don't think he's a priority for McMahon, and Hardy will end up wherever McMahon feels the need for an established veteran heel to fill a second tier slot. If Jericho moves to Smackdown, Matt moving to Raw might be a good move. I'd even like to see as a last hurrah as a babyface a feud between Matt and Triple H just to give Matt a little rub of being in a top level feud if for no other reason than to test the ceiling of his push.
-JACK SWAGGER: He should stay on ECW. He could use another year of being a big heel fish in the smallest pond, but by this time next year he should be ready to be in the top mix as a heel on either Raw or Smackdown.
-EVAN BOURNE: WWE likes him enough that he could end up pushed anywhere. I'd like to see him remain on ECW because a long feud with Swagger could be great for both of them. However, on Smackdown he could feud with a newly moved Jericho, perhaps, or even Matt Hardy if he stuck around. If he moves to Raw, he can feud with Matt there (if he's moved to Raw).
-THE REST: Everyone else is unlikely, no matter what brand they're on, to be placed in a money position against anyone on this list, so it really doesn't matter where they end up as they'll be used as filler to one degree or another no matter what show they're on.
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PWTorch senior editor Wade Keller has been covering the pro wrestling industry full time since launching the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter in 1987. He hosted a weekly pro wrestling radio show on KFAN in the early-'90s, he's hosted the internationally distributed "Ultimate Insiders" DVD in-depth interview series, he's been interviewed and quoted by major newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and TV shows as an expert wrestling analyst over the past two-plus decades, and he's conducted career-longest insider interviews with some of pro wrestling's biggest names over the years including Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Jesse Ventura, Eric Bischoff, Bill Watts, Rick Steamboat, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean "X-Pac" Waltman, Raven, Lanny Poffo, Jim Ross, Terry Funk, Bruno Sammartino, Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Jerry Lawler, Jerry Jarrett, and many more.
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