The Shimmy 04.20.09: 2008 WWE Draft Report Card

Posted by Andy Clark on 04.20.2009

One year later how does the 2008 WWE Draft stack up? Which moves were good? Which were bad? Find out in this week's edition of The Shimmy!

Hey there, folks. This is actually a column I would have liked to have done last week before the 2009 Draft, but given my WrestleMania-related time situation I decided to hold off to this week. It's been a year (technically not quite, but whatever) between drafts and just like last year I'm curious to see how the draft movers fared one year later. We'll focus on the TV draft this week, with the Supplemental Draft coming in next week's column. On with the show!

SmackDown to Raw: Rey Mysterio

You know, for most of the year I would have labeled this move as disappointing. Rey just didn't seem to be getting over with the Raw audience and SmackDown lost that key Hispanic demo that they loved so much. Lately though seems seemed to be turning around, at least in terms of Rey's freshness on the brand. Once he finished up his feud with Kane he really started to click, starting with his match with CM Punk at Armageddon, continuing through his feud with Mike Knox, a nice run in the Royal Rumble, and peaking with an awesome performance at No Way Out. Rey managed to make his Intercontinental Title win at WrestleMania seem like a big deal and I would have been curious to see how he did on Raw moving forward. Still, even after all this time SmackDown is still Rey's home so hopefully he will be able to transfer some of this momentum to the blue brand.

My Grade: B

Raw to SmackDown: Jeff Hardy

The biggest question for Jeff Hardy last year was whether or not he'd get the opportunity to be a big fish on that show. Things looked good when they initially moved him, but with the addition of Triple H and Mr. Kennedy to SmackDown's draft haul you had to wonder. Fortunately for Jeff things worked out just fine. They built Jeff back up by letting him have some great matches with the likes of Shelton Benjamin and MVP before having him reenter the main event scene. Things did look a little bleak for Jeff's WWE Championship chances following his loss at Cyber Sunday, but he went on a strong run before Survivor Series before getting the big win at Armageddon. While he wasn't quite as hot in December 2008 as he was in January 2008 Jeff still had plenty of star power and a WWE Title to his credit. The move to SmackDown was a very good one for the Charismatic Enigma.

My Grade: A

ECW to Raw: CM Punk

Grading Punk's move to Raw is an odd one. On one hand he's won the Intercontinental, World Tag Team, and World Heavyweight Titles. On the other hand he was never booked as much of a world beater through any of those runs. Punk was the recipient of a monster push without the actual push. If anything Punk managed to make more of a name for himself on Raw since he'd be seen by more viewers, but Raw has always been a shaky place to be if you're not at the top of the top. He gained exposure, popularity, and even a bit of a legacy on Raw, but SmackDown might be where he actually gets to become a star.

My Grade: B+

SmackDown to ECW: Matt Hardy

With Punk off to Raw, Matt Hardy slipped into his role as the top face in ECW. This worked out quite well for Matt because he got an ECW Title run out of the deal (something his fellow top face on ECW Finlay can't say). Matt even got a nice level of respect as ECW Champion as he got to hang in there with the other two World Champions in the Champion of Champions Match at SmackDown's MyNetwork TV debut. Matt even got some residual face time as a part of his brother Jeff's run to the title. Matt should probably lose some points for switching to SmackDown immediately after turning on Jeff at the Royal Rumble though.

My Grade: A

Raw to SmackDown: Jim Ross

I've come to find that most of these roster switches are hard to get a handle on a year later. JR has certainly upgraded the SmackDown commentary (which is actually not meant as a knock on Michael Cole because he was good on SmackDown so long as we wasn't working with Coach) and it appears that JR even enjoys the taping schedule for SmackDown much more. JR has had to endure a revolving door of broadcast partners during his time on Raw however, from Mick Foley to Tazz to now Todd Grisham. It is that last one that troubles me a bit about JR's future. While JR and Grisham have actually worked well together so far, JR's move to a more color commentator type role sees him contributing less to the overall broadcast, with Grisham handling the heavy lifting. I would hate to see WWE use this as an opportunity to phase JR out after all the hard work he's done as of late. Still, I suppose being phased out is better than some big, embarrassing, possibly cruel sendoff that they might otherwise have done.

My Grade: A-

SmackDown to Raw: Michael Cole

While JR has proven to be a good fit anywhere he goes, Michael Cole has not really fit in well on Raw. Perhaps it is his combo with "The King," maybe he's being whipped up on too badly by Vince McMahon, or maybe it's following in the footsteps of JR, but for whatever reason Cole has just not taken off as the Raw broadcaster. I will say that in recent weeks, last week's draft special in particular, Cole has seemed more comfortable in his role. I would have loved to have seen Tazz stick around and move to Raw to help Cole out. With it apparent that there are no commentators switching brands this year it should be interesting to see how Cole continues to grow in is role on Raw.

My Grade: C-

SmackDown to Raw: Batista

Batista had done just about all he could do on SmackDown, so it made sense to move him to Raw. Matches with John Cena, Chris Jericho, and Randy Orton all proved to be pretty good, but his freshness as a character, even with a prolonged absence due to injury, seems to be on the downturn. Perhaps once he is able to lock up with in a singles feud with someone again (or bust out a badass suit) he'll be able to recapture some of his mojo, but for now it appears like a heel turn wouldn't be that bad of a move. Batista is sticking around on Raw for the foreseeable future so we'll see which end of the face/heel spectrum he remains on.

My Grade: B+

Raw to SmackDown: Umaga

This was a move that everyone saw coming and pretty much agreed needed to happen. Umaga had become the ultimate jobber to the stars on Raw and needed a change of scenery to get his monster's edge back. Unfortunately for the Samoan Bulldozer we haven't seen too much of him on SmackDown as he's spent most of his time on the injured list. He spent about three weeks back before going down with another injury shortly before WrestleMania, although is no word on how long he'll be out. While a feud with Undertaker could be really cool on SmackDown, I hope they actually have him return on ECW as it'll probably be much easier getting his monster reputation back, plus he'd actually have an opportunity to win a World Title.

My Grade: D

ECW to Raw: Kane

Kane had had a strong run on both SmackDown and ECW after leaving Raw in 2006, but moving him to Raw last year was a curious move considering how face heavy Raw was. That problem was rectified when they turned Kane heel shortly after he was drafted. The results from then have been mixed. Kane was actually one of the more interesting characters on Raw last summer but lost a lot of that interest during his feud with Rey Mysterio. After the initial post-draft push Kane has sunk back into his traditional role of being the big scary guy floating around the upper midcard/lower main event waiting to be needed for something important.

My Grade: B

Raw to SmackDown: Mr. Kennedy

The grade I give this move is not reflective of the thought process of moving Mr. Kennedy, but of what we've actually been able to see of him. Like Umaga, Mr. Kennedy's move to SmackDown had to be seen as a positive. Kennedy just fits in so much better on SmackDown (which makes his move back to Raw in this year's draft all the more puzzling) so it was nice to see him go home. Also like Umaga, Kennedy spent the majority of his SmackDown tenure out with an injury. It looked like he may have engaged in a feud with Shelton Benjamin for the United States Title but got injured shortly before SummerSlam and we have not seen him since. The thinking behind this move was solid, but unfortunately it just never panned out.

My Grade: D

Raw to SmackDown: Triple H

John Cena and Triple H should remain on two separate brands so Triple H's move to SmackDown was a good one in that regard. Let the two biggest stars in the company head up the two big brands, just like the Brand Extension was originally envisioned with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. That being said, Triple H's run on SmackDown, while not bad, was pretty boring. Perhaps it is because he spent most of that time as a face champion that his act got stale. It is no coincidence that he finally gained some interest once he lost the belt to Edge at Survivor Series. Triple H's move to SmackDown was intended to make SmackDown a bigger deal, and while it probably did seem that way to some wrestling fans even Triple H's star power wasn't enough to overcome the black hole that is MyNetwork TV.

My Grade: A-

And there you have it, the big moves in last year's draft. Next week I'll take a look at the 2008 Supplemental Draft where there tend to be more gems and hidden finds.

The Shimmy Likes it Raw!

What's on tap for tonight's show?

No Disqualification Match: Triple H vs. Randy Orton; The last time we got a WrestleMania rematch in London things turned out very well. Here's hoping lightning can strike twice.

The Great Khali gets a chance to plant a kiss on Santina Marella. What will Santina's brother Santino have to say about this public display of affection?

That does it for this week's column. Have a good week everybody. Until next time, don't die. Clark…out.