First of all, this was the best RAW that I think I have ever seen...ever. The fact that this show mixed together so much surprise and storyline progression along with so much great pure wrestling is incredible and hasn't been seen from the WWE in a long time. Let's go brand by brand and analyze how they're affected by the draft.
RAW:
Along with him, RAW receives King Booker, Bobby Lashley, and Snitsky. In my opinion, Lashley has been somewhat undeserving of his push but it seems to be continuing. Hopefully they'll feud Lashley with Snitsky so that everyone realizes how boring these two guys really are.
Smackdown!:
The Great Khali will be taking his oversized and overrated Punjabi carcass back to the B show...good for WWE. Beyond that, Smackdown will receive Torrie Wilson, Chris Masters, and one of the biggest surprises of the night - Ric Flair.
ECW:
Ok...this show just went from being one of the least watchable shows on television to (maybe) the best show that WWE can provide. Two factors play a part here: the guys that ECW got, and the guys that ECW lost.
Receiving Chris Benoit, the best wrestler in the company, and the Boogeyman, one of the most entertaining guys in the company, will drastically improve the brand. Just imagine...CM Punk teaming up with Chris Benoit to take on Marcus Cor Von and Elijah Burke. That's straight up awesome. Also, look for the Boogeyman to feud with Kevin Thorn.
Maybe the best part of the night for ECW was the fact that they lost some guys. Bobby Lashley and Snitsky are finally gone!!! Lashley was never a good champ and Snitsky was just obnoxious. I only wish Extreme Expose had been drafted off as well...
WWE put on an AWESOME show tonight and is showing a great creative direction with the company. VINCE MCMAHON PRESUMED DEAD??? Interesting storyline...who blew up his car? My prediction would have to be Paul Heyman, but we'll see. Who do you think tried to knock off McMahon? What do you think of the draft? Slap a nice little comment on the board.
Drew Arnold, writing for The Irish Whip
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Business Is About To Pick Up
WWE Draft Results
The night began with a short promo, in which Mr. McMahon insisted that he had the mental capacity to go through with the draft. Throughout the night, wrestlers, announcers, managers, and anyone involved with the WWE in the past were featured as they spoke candidly about the Chairman. Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin were among the speakers in an obvious effort to relive the Attitude Era.
Edge took on John Cena in a very good match which saw Edge emerge the victor. His joy was soon crushed as The Great Khali was drafted alongside him to SMACKDOWN.
CM Punk took on Carlito in yet another entertaining and fast-paced match. CM Punk won, and The Boogeyman was drafted to ECW, which Punk seemed to be in favor of.
Mick Foley came out and delivered a short promo, saying that he would be challenging for the WWE title at Vengeance.
Umaga beat Balls Mahoney in a squash match and Booker T was drafted to RAW.
Benoit and Lashley fought in a highly-technical match, which I thought was the best match of the night. It wasn't quite a five-star match, but it was damn close. Lashley won the match, but Benoit was drafted to ECW as a result. The two men then shook hands in the ring.
MVP beat Santino Marella in the first match where I felt Santino's skills came out. MVP, however, is getting better every week and it showed as he earned the pick for his brand. Torrie Wilson was drafted to SMACKDOWN.
Snitsky beat The Miz in a squash, but the referee reversed the decision after Snitsky refused to follow post-match instructions. Chris Masters was drafted to RAW.
Candice Michelle soundly beat Krystal, and Bobby Lashley was drafted to RAW and then immediately stripped of his title.
Batista beat Elijah Burke and Jeff Hardy in a decent triple threat match. Ric Flair was then drafted to SMACKDOWN.
The RAW team (Eugene, Kenny, Viscera, Orton, and Nitro) beat the SMACKDOWN team (Matt Hardy, Chavo, William Regal, Mark Henry, and Chris Masters) and the ECW team (Striker, Dreamer, Snadman, Marcus Cor Von, and Kevin Thorn) to win the final TWO picks. The match was an over-the-top-rope Battle Royal and featured an enjoyable confrontation between Viscera and Mark Henry. Other noteworthy aspects include Eugene knocking out teammate Kenny (Eugene's retarded) and Orton knocking out teammate Eugene (Orton's an asshole). Matt Hardy also hit an awesome Twist of Fate on Chris Masters from the other side of the ropes. Randy Orton finished the match by eliminating Matt Hardy. Snitsky and Mr. Kennedy were drafted to RAW.
RAW Lost: The Great Khali, Torrie Wilson, Chris Masters, Ric Flair
RAW Gained: Booker T, Bobby Lashley, Snitsky, Mr. Kennedy
SMACKDOWN Lost: The Boogeyman, Booker T, Chris Benoit, Mr. Kennedy
SMACKDOWN Gained: The Great Khali, Torrie Wilson, Chris Masters, Ric Flair
ECW Lost: Bobby Lashley, Snitsky
ECW Gained: The Boogeyman, Chris Benoit
It appears that RAW primarily lost guys to SMACKDOWN, SMACKDOWN primarily lost to ECW, and ECW sent its two McMahon Muscleheads to RAW (neither of which belonged there in the first place). In other words, a conglomeration of talent at the A show was shifted down the ranks to create more equality among the brands. While quantity of talent was shifted away from RAW, the greatest quality went to RAW as it gained the wrestlers who are considered to be the up-and-coming talent (Lashley and Kennedy). RAW and SMACKDOWN gained and lost 4 wrestlers each while ECW gained and lost 2.
In related news, this draft will be supplemented with another draft online (WWE.com) this Wednesday at noon!
A new Vengeance match was announced, which features John Cena against Bobby Lashley, Mick Foley, Randy Orton, and Booker T.
In one of the more bizarre spots ever seen on RAW, McMahon was inexplicably killed from an explosion as the show went off the air. Could this signify a changing of the guard in WWE Upper Management?
Look for Drew's In-Depth Draft Analysis shortly! He'll be discussing the impact of the roster changes, the feuds to look for, which of our writers got it right (hint: none of us), and every aspect of the historic night!
