The 411 Wrestling Top 5 4.28.10: Week 72 – WWE Draft Picks

Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. Most of our topics will be based on recent events in the Wrestling World, looking at those events that make us think of times past.

So, on to this week’s topic…

WWE Draft Picks

Every year, the WWE holds a draft a little bit after Wrestlemania to shake up the landscape of both Raw and Smackdown (and ECW when it existed). Normally, this has meant Raw getting the best Smackdown talent and Smackdown getting the upper middle of Raw, who would become their main eventers. Today, we look back at the last eight years of the draft, dating back to the initial brand extension in 2002.

So what did our group of writers select? Let’s find out…

Chad Nevett

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Kofi Kingston (ECW to Raw) (2008) – Kingston moved to Raw and won the Intercontinental Championship from Chris Jericho followed by a tag team title reign with CM Punk, and US Championship reign before feuding with Randy Orton and looking like he may be ready for the main event.

The Miz (ECW to Raw) (2009) – Everyone expected Morrison to go to Raw as the seemingly better half of that tag team, but the Miz proved everyone wrong by feuding with John Cena, winning the US Championship, and becoming one-half of the Unified Tag Team champions.

Triple H (Raw to Smackdown) (2008) – A shocking move to help get Smackdown over before it moved to MyNetwork and Trips did some good work there… forgetting his feud with the Great Khali, of course.

5. Kurt Angle (to Smackdown) (2002) – The initial brand extension draft didn’t yield any big results except with Kurt Angle who went on to be the face of Smackdown for a good amount of time. Along with the Guerreros, Benoit, and others, he was part of the Smackdown Six, helping to pave the way for Smackdown to develop its identity as the WWE’s wrestling show to Raw’s sports entertainment. Without Kurt Angle’s strong in-ring influence, who knows if that would have happened. More a case of the draft pick helping to shape the brand than the wrestler.

3. The Miz (Smackdown to ECW) / Johnny Nitro (Raw to ECW) (2007 draft) – I’m sticking these two together here because their switch to ECW helped build both of their careers up. Nitro was floundering a bit after a solid midcard run, but freshened things up with an ECW Championship reign and eventually changed his name. Both men then did some good work as singles feuding with CM Punk for the ECW Championship before forming the tag team that got them over big time. Together, they become two-time tag champs, did the Dirt Sheet, and won the Slammy for best tag-team of 2008 before splitting apart as two of the biggest up-and-comers in the WWE.

2.Batista (Raw to Smackdown) (2005) – Batista was coming off a big win at WrestleMania 21 against Triple H, winning his first World Heavyweight Championship and then went on to defend it against Triple H in two successive pay-per-views to solidify himself as a world champion. With Smackdown without a world champion after WWE Champion John Cena was drafted to Raw, it made sense for Batista to go to Smackdown and, there, he began a period of domination (despite injuries), feuding with King Booker, the Undertaker, and Edge. The shift to Smackdown helped Batista maintain his main event status by putting him in an environment where he could prove it. His work with the Undertaker especially helped this quite a bit.

1.John Cena (Smackdown to Raw) (2005) – Like Batista, John Cena had finally become a world champion by defeating JBL at WrestleMania 21 for the WWE Championship and defending it at Judgment Day. Him being the first pick in the 2005 draft was shocking as he came out on the Highlight Reel, cut a promo against Christian and made his presence known. More than that, it left the WWE questioning what would happen to Smackdown without a world belt. Cena, of course, has gone on to define the recent era of the WWE, most of that done on Raw as the WWE Champion with extensive reigns and feuds with nearly every other main eventer in the company at one point or another, including the memorable hour-long match with Shawn Michaels on Raw in 2007. For the past five years, Cena has been the face of Raw without question.

Aaron Hubbard

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Chris Benoit to ECW (2007) – The last time the WWE made a conscious effort to make something of the third brand; when this failed due to tragic circumstances, they never really bothered again.

Shelton Benjamin to RAW (2004) – Led to the first singles push for Shelton Benjamin, where he was given two upset wins over Triple H and eventually found himself becoming an Intercontinental Champion and a Money in the Bank star.

The Miz to RAW (2009) – Split up the team of John Morrison and The Miz, leading to a summer of awesome matches on Smackdown! from Morrison and gave The Miz a chance to shine on his own and become one of the best heels in wrestling going today.

5.Edge to RAW (2004) – Edge went down with a neck injury in early 2003, derailing his rapid ascent to the top of the Smackdown! brand. He returned as part of RAW in 2004, and after just a few months turned heel. Behind the scenes, Edge was becoming very familiar with a certain red-haired, big-busted member of the RAW lockerroom, not knowing that these acts would become the fuel for fans to turn him into a hated heel who ruled atop the RAW brand for 2006. Edge has been a constant presence in the top of the card in WWE for the last several years, and it all started by being drafted to RAW and the next two years that forged him into one of WWE’s premier stars.

4.CM Punk to Smackdown! (2009) – In 2008, CM Punk was the Money in the Bank holder and was drafted to RAW, winning the World Title on his first night on the flagship show in a major shocker. But he would outdo himself when he was drafted to Smackdown! a year later. Cashing in his second Money in the Bank shot to defeat Jeff Hardy and become a new world champion, Punk slowly turned heel, becoming a self-righteous preacher of the values of his Straight-Edge lifestyle. This character was the most dynamic in WWE in 2009, and he continues to roll into 2010 with momentum from that trade. The Straight-Edge Savior is one of, if not the, most hated men in pro wrestling, and is one of the best heels as well. In the ring or on the mic, Punk is must see TV.

3.Dave Batista to Smackdown!(2005) – When Cena was drafted to RAW, it was pretty much a sure thing that Batista, the World Champion, would be drafted to Smackdown! Batista was, and spent the better part of the next four years as the face of the brand. Feuding with everyone from JBL and Eddie Guerrero to The Undertaker and King Booker and later The Great Khali and Edge, Batista was the dominant force of the B-Show.

2.Kurt Angle to Smackdown! (2002) – Most of the first batch of draft picks were insignificant. The Rock would go to Hollywood, the nWo would leave in months, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar left Raw and went to Smackdown! to stay, Benoit returned on RAW, and midcarders were generally swapped whenever it was convenient. The one draft pick that really mattered was Kurt Angle. Angle was a constant on Smackdown! since day one of the brand split until being drafted to RAW in 2005. Angle was truly the MVP of the blue brand, tearing it up as part of the Smackdown! Six, feuding with Lesnar over the world title, helping to make Eddie Guerrero and John Cena into stars, serving as the GM for several months in 2004, and later coming back from RAW to become World Champion in the wake of Batista’s injury in 2006, where he had a great match with Undertaker. Angle was Smackdown! in the early years of the post-draft WWE.

1.John Cena to RAW(2005) – Moving the hottest act on the B-Show to the A-Show was a huge shock, as Smackdown! lost its franchise player. Since then, Cena has stayed on RAW and has become the face of RAW and the WWE as a whole. The haters can hate, but he is the biggest star in the business right now, and will remain so until The Rock makes an in-ring return, which is highly unlikely. Cena matured into a main event player on the red brand and wrestling hasn’t been the same since.

Scott Rutherford
Because I think the draft as a whole is bullshit because the brand extension as a whole is pretty much a joke these days, I’m also including trades and other assorted brand hops to focus more on a change of brand being of benefit for the brand and the wrestle. Anyone who doesn’t read this this disclaimer or reads it and STILL complains in the comments section…LEARN TO READ!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Undertaker to SD! – A rare one brand only performer. His original move to the blue brand has probably extended his career by more than a few years.

Edge to SD! – This would be the one that happened after the Lita stuff. Like most of my picks, this move helped him blossom away from the suffocating RAW brand politicking.

Chris Jericho to RAW – From the most recent draft. Time will tell just how well this works out but if the use him right, and with the main event talent on that brand, this could be good.

5.Booker T to SD! – Back when the brand extension was taken somewhat seriously, the Booker T. character made sure to let his disgust be known for having to go to SD! from RAW making it feel like brand hopping was a big deal. The great thing for Booker was that while it took him a little while to find his feet, once there, he turned into one of the best heels of the last 5 years when the King Booker gimmick really gelled. Would this have happened on RAW? Highly doubtful since he seemed destined for nothing more than a mid-carder if he stayed on SD!, thanks to a less crowded roster.

4.Eddie Guerrero to SD! – Was originally drafted to SD! when the brand split happened and never jumped between the brands like most others. He was one of the corner stones of the blue brand and no matter how hard the WWE tried to make him a heel he always won over the fans on sheer charisma and talent. His World Title win brought out genuine emotion in even the most jaded fan and was a large part of keep SD! afloat during the REALLY bad years. The hole left by his passing has never really been filled no matter how hard Rey Mysterio has tried.

3.CM Punk to SD! – The politics heavy RAW brand was never going to be a place where Punk was going to thrive. He, like a bunch of others, works better on the blue brand and his shift from one of the most over faces to the one of the most over heels on either brand in the past 12 months just fleshes that out. While his title runs have not been the best, his feud with Jeff Hardy was one of the highlights of 2009 and pretty much proved two things, Punk doesn’t need a title to be interesting and he will be the perfect foil for the next great babyface the WWE happens to find.

2.HHH to SD! – I know he went over to bolster the talent on SD! due to a network shift and the WWE wanting to boost the star power but actually think HHH was better suited to the blue brand rather than the red anyway. SD! is the workers brand and when HHH gets in the ring with a worker he defenitely rises to their level. He had some great matches/feuds with Edge and Jeff Hardy and had a great televised match with The Undertaker. It was the freshest he’d been in years and I was certainly entertained. Pity his stay wasn’t a little longer.

1.John Cena to RAW – I only just realized that this is the only SD!-to-RAW pick I made in my top five. When shows one thing, if you’re struggling on RAW then pray to get to SD! where you will be given a chance to really shine. This just happens to be one of the rare occasions where the reverse was true. So mightily over was Cena that it demanded he be brought to the larger RAW audience and has became one of the top WWE stars ever and one of the most polarizing wrestlers to boot.

Robert S. Leighty Jr

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Kurt Angle (RAW 2005) – Angle back on RAW was a great thing because it gave us Angle/Michaels II and III.

5.Kurt Angle (SmackDown 2002) – Angle was the #2 pick for SmackDown (3rd overall) in the original WWE Draft. He made SmackDown his show for 3 years and had incredible matches with the likes of Eddie, Brock, Edge, Benoit, and countless others.

4.Jeff Hardy (SmackDown 2008) – Hardy was moved to SmackDown in 2008 and like many underutilized talents, SmackDown was the best thing for his career. He went to the brand that was less entertainment based and finally received a push to the WWE Title. He followed that up with a short run with the World Title before putting CM Punk over before he left the WWE.

3.Edge (RAW 2004) – Edge was drafted to RAW from SmackDown as a vengeful babyface ready to take down Evolution. As he started to roll on RAW his character switched to a crazy ass heel and soon he was being groomed as a Main Event star. Art imitated life as the WWE opted to put him and Lita together and the rest is history as he ran with his new Rated R Superstar Character and became the best heel in the WWE since HHH in 2000.

2.CM Punk (SmackDown 2009) – Punk was drafted to RAW a year earlier from ECW, and while most knew this was a step-up for Punk most feared he would be lost in the shuffle on RAW. He did get a short run with the World Title, but was never seen as a top star on RAW. One year later he gets drafted to SmackDown and this time he gets a proper run as the #1 guy on a brand as he turns heel and becomes one of the most interesting characters in the WWE in years. Two more reigns as World Champion also helped.

1.John Cena (RAW 2005) – Easy #1 choice here. The reception Cena got when he finally got moved to RAW was awesome. This was just before the crowds started to turn on him, and when he still had an edge to his character. His initial appearance was quite awesome as he went toe to toe on the mic with Christian to pay off their cross show feud.

Jeremy Thomas

HONORABLE MENTIONS

2006 – Kurt Angle & Rob Van Dam to ECW – When it began, ECW had a chance to get one guy from each brand. Those guys were Kurt Angle & Rob Van Dam, and it made us think they were taking ECW seriously. At the time, anyway. This is two honorable mentions in one.

2009 – The Miz to Raw – This led to the breakup of MnM 2.0, the elevation of Miz and the eventual tag team title run that just ended. People love to hate on Miz, but I seriously dig him and this is what gave him the chance to shine.

5.2009 – CM Punk to SmackDown – When this happened, a lot of people had high hopes. Just the year before, Jeff Hardy had been drafted and gone to new heights; people were expecting the same for Punk. Well, that’s what we got, even if we had a slightly rocky road in the first couple of months. On SmackDown, Punk stepped up and made a fantastic heel turn to the point that he has become the most hated heel in the company. He had a very solid run with the title, and more of those will be on the way no doubt. He’s also leading the most enjoyable stable within the WWE in years. This was a huge boost not only to Punk, but to SmackDown as a whole.

4.2008 – Jeff Hardy to SmackDown – Jeff was still a big question mark at the point that he made the switch to SmackDown. He had only been back on Raw for about a month following his second Wellness suspension and everyone was just waiting for him to be hit with Strike Number Three. As it turned out, that strike never happened and Jeff ended up over on SmackDown. The rest of the year would see Jeff’s big push into the main event, as he would fight for the World Heavyweight Title several times before he finally captured it at Armageddon. This is the finest singles run of Hardy’s career without a doubt, and a large part of it is because he had the chance to shine on SmackDown…and possibly because he had Matt there to keep him out of trouble. Whatever the reason, the 2008 Draft was very good to the Charismatic Enigma.

3.2008 – Jim Ross to SmackDown – This one was decried by…well, pretty much everyone, including Jim Ross himself. The company man had no idea that he was moving and the shock and disappointment was very evident on his face when it was announced; the IWC immediately followed suit. You know what, though? Sure, it meant that we had to suffer through Michael Cole on Raw, but it also meant that JR had an opportunity to freshen things up and try announcing with some new partners. I think this was a reinvigoration of JR’s career, and I thoroughly enjoyed him calling matches with Mick Foley, Tazz and Todd Grisham. This is a bittersweet one because of course I did loathe Cole going to the live show, but in the end I think it solved more problems (i.e. the staleness of Lawler and Ross as a team) than it caused.

2.2007 – Johnny Nitro to ECW – This is for all the people who don’t think the supplemental draft means anything. In 2007, John Hennigan was languishing on Raw. He got drafted to ECW in the supplemental draft in a move no one noticed or cared about. Then, someone didn’t show up to Vengeance. Out of nowhere, Nitro was wrestling CM Punk for the ECW Championship. And winning. This was the launching board for his reinvention as John Morrison and he’s never looked back. He got an immediate and strong push against CM Punk and has since gone on to become a multi-decorated champion in the company, as well as a favorite among casual fans and smarks alike. I venture to say that if he hadn’t been Pick #23–the last pick–that things would have been very, very different in the landscape of the WWE right now.

1.2005 – John Cena to Raw – This move was huge. John Cena was rocking SmackDown like nobody’s business, and had just won his first World championship by defeating JBL for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. The WWE was clearly looking to start the ’05 Draft off with a bang, because this was the very first pick. Cena got to make the move to a live show where his mic skills would be put to the best possible use, and he’s never looked back. This one wasn’t exactly unexpected, as it was rumored that they would be moving Cena to Raw, but it was one that everyone was watching with baited breath to see if it were true and how it would go. As the last five years can attest to, I think it went quite well. There’s just no draft pick that has had more impact in the history of the yearly event.