The Piledriver Report 5.30.07: The 2007 WWE Draft Lottery
Posted by Ronny Sarnecky on 05.30.2007
On this past Monday Night RAW, Shane McMahon announced that the WWE will be bringing back the Draft Lottery during the special 3 hour RAW on June 11th. The Piledriver Report takes a look at which wrestlers may switch brands during this year's draft.
It's the most wonderful time of the year if you are a sports fan. Major League Baseball is in full swing. The NHL Stanley Cup Finals are underway, and the NBA Finals are about a week from the first game of the series. This year is extra special for wrestling fans. The WWE has announced that during the three hour Monday Night RAW to be broadcast on June 11th, the fans will witness the return of the WWE Draft Lottery. After a two-year absence, the WWE has decided to shake things up once again by moving Superstars around to different brands. The Draft Lottery couldn't have come at a better time. After all, the WWE, especially the SmackDown! brand has been hit extremely hard due to injuries. On the RAW side, Triple H tore his quad, and will be out until SummerSlam. Shawn Michaels blew out his knee, and will be out probably until Survivor Series. Over on SmackDown!, the brand might as well change their name to E.R. Rey Mysterio, Jr., Booker T, the Undertaker, and Ken Kennedy have all been put on the shelf. To compensate for SmackDown's losses, the WWE moved Edge over to the Friday night television show. Thus, leaving RAW minus a third main event wrestler, after you remove the injured Triple H and Shawn Michaels names from the RAW roster.
The big mystery surrounding the WWE Draft Lottery is who will switch brands, and how many wrestlers will be moved in the process. The WWE now has three brands, so it is safe to assume that more wrestlers will switch television shows since the initial brand split in 2002. What is also unknown is how many, if any, trades will be made following the draft? Another question is who will make the picks? As of right now, the only brand with a "General Manager" is SmackDown!. You would figure that Teddy Long would make the picks for SmackDown!, and probably John Coachman will choose RAW's selections. However, who will be put in charge of ECW's choices? It's not like Paul Heyman is still around.
Let's put all of those questions aside, and concentrate on who could possibly switch brands via the draft, and which show will these performers now entertain the fans on?
RAW
Matt Hardy: The best way to utilize Matt Hardy at the moment is by teaming him with his brother Jeff. He currently holds one half of the RAW Tag Team Championship, yet is listed as a SmackDown! wrestler. The main reason for this is because Vince McMahon can not seem to make up his mind. Are Matt and Jeff a tag team, or are they singles wrestlers? Listen to the pops the two get when they make their way through the curtain as a team, and then compare it to the cheers that get while performing in singles competition. There is no question that they are considered main event superstars as a team, compared to being just stars by themselves. Another reason to switch Matt to the RAW brand is the Edge factor. While both men have proven that they can separate business from Lita, there is no reason for Matt and Edge to have to be around each other more then need be.
CM Punk: Face it, ECW is a dead brand, and CM Punk is alive and well. The only thing that could save ECW is by inserting Triple H or John Cena in the roster. At the 2006 Survivor Series, CM Punk teamed with the reunited Hardy Boys, and founding DX members, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. While being surrounded by a legendary tag team, and two of the most popular wrestlers in the company's history, it was CM Punk who received most of the accolades. The crowd was screaming for Punk, as DX and the Hardys were surrounding him in the ring. Punk has proven that he is ready to further his career, and the fans are ready for him to compete in a brand that they actually care about. Moving over to RAW will not only allow Punk to move up the ladder in the company, but it will allow him to spend more time with his girlfriend, WWE interviewer, Maria.
Chris Benoit: A Benoit move to RAW has been talked about since before WrestleMania. Now is the perfect time to make the move happen. The Monday night brand needs to draft the "Canadian Crippler." Not since RAW lost Kurt Angle to SmackDown! after Batista's injury in 2005 has RAW been the home to a great technical wrestler. While a Benoit vs. Edge match for the World title is enticing, the SmackDown! creative staff does not consider Benoit a main event level talent. With his 2004 World title win as a member of RAW, it is safe to say that Benoit has a better opportunity of competing against the top main eventers of the USA Network program. A move to RAW would provide the fans with fresh match-ups for Benoit, such as a shot against WWE World Champion John Cena, as well as the opportunity to renew long ago rivalries against Triple H, Randy Orton, and Shawn Michaels.
The Undertaker: The "Deadman" has been on the SmackDown! brand since June 2002. There are many wrestlers on the RAW brand that he hasn't taken on in a very long time. Unfortunately, due to a torn bicep muscle, the Undertaker will be out of action for a few months. However, the Undertaker's absence on RAW will not hurt as much as his absence on SmackDown! due to a plethora of main event level talent on RAW. When the Undertaker does return from his injury, the fans will greatly benefit with matches against John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, along with new RAW members, CM Punk and Chris Benoit.
Honorable mentions: I figured that Ken Kennedy would have been a lock to move to the RAW brand, because he is being pushed as the next new breakout star. However, due to his injury, and losing his "Money in the Bank" championship slot to Edge, he has unfinished business, and a long-term angle with the SmackDown! champion to contend with. A longshot to join RAW may be Batista. While he is arguably the most popular wrestler on the SmackDown! brand, the "Animal" hasn't been the same wrestler since coming back from his 2005 injury. Batista seemed to be at his best when he was paired with and against Triple H. maybe an "Evolution" reunion is just what the big man needs.
SMACKDOWN!
Carlito: When Carlito was wrestling on SmackDown!, Carlos Colon's son was one of the WWE's rising stars. Many people predicted that he would become a main event wrestler by now. Carlito made his WWE debut by defeating John Cena for the WWE United States championship. At WrestleMania 21, he received the rub of a lifetime when he interrupted Roddy Piper's "Piper's Pit," which featured "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Carlito then debuted his own "Piper's Pit" type segment called "Carlito's Cabana," where he would interview different wrestlers. Carlito's stock continued to rise, and at the 2005 Draft Lottery, he was drafted to the RAW brand. He started his RAW career by becoming the first wrestler to win a title upon his debut on each brand, as he won the Intercontinental championship during his first night on RAW. During his RAW career, Carlito has been mired in the upper mid card, and was even in the New Year's Revolution Elimination Chamber WWE World title match. However, lately, Carlito has lost a lot of steam on RAW. Despite a feud with Ric Flair, Carlito did not wrestle on the biggest pay per view of the year, WrestleMania. A change of scenery, and a return to the brand that made Carlito look like a star, SmackDown!, is just watch the doctor ordered. Now, that's cool.
Johnny Nitro: Nitro is another wrestler who has been getting lost in the RAW shuffle. After a successful SmackDown! stint as part of the tag team MNM, Nitro immediately started to make waves on RAW. He won the Intercontinental championship shortly after his RAW singles debut. He constantly bordered in the upper midcards. Most people felt that by 2007, Nitro would be making a move into the main event bracket. In late 2006, Nitro reformed the tag team MNM with former partner Joey Mercury. During the early part of 2007, MNM was one of the hottest tag teams in the WWE. However, since Mercury was released from his contract Nitro has been in booking limbo. Lately, Nitro has been teaming with Kenny Dykstra on HEAT. Johnny Nitro needs to switch brands, so he can rejuvenate his career, and possibly regain the momentum he had during 2006 when most felt he could be a future World champion.
Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas: The World's Greatest Tag Team would benefit from a move to SmackDown!. On RAW, the Tag Team championship is an after thought. The only reason that the WWE Tag Titles are even mentioned, and defended, on RAW is because the extremely popular Hardy Boys are the champions. Since the brand split, the tag team scene on SmackDown! has been far greater than that of their RAW counter parts. The World's Greatest Tag Team, MNM, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, Jr., and Paul London and Brian Kendrick are just some of the teams that have held SmackDown! gold. Imagine a match between Haas/Benjamin against London/Kendrick. It would make you fondly recall the days of the Dudleys/Hardy/Edge and Christian wars. Another benefit to a Haas/Benjamin move to SmackDown! would be for Shelton Benjamin's singles career. When Shelton left SmackDown! for RAW, he was on the fast track to singles stardom. He dominated the Intercontinental title scene, and there were flashes where the fans believed Benjamin was about to crash through to the main event level. He has the look, and the athleticism. However, his promos skills are the only thing that is holding him back. Maybe a switch to SmackDown! would give Benjamin another opportunity to reach his full potential.
ECW
Where do we begin with ECW? They need EVERYTHING! The ECW brand has two things going against themselves. With Rob Van Dam getting set to leave, ECW has no big name talent, and the other two brands don't have many wrestlers who you would consider "ECW" wrestlers.
Crime Tyme: JTG and Shad are the 21st Century version of the real ECW's Public Enemy. While preaching the thug lifestyle, their vignettes feature more comedy then seriousness. Right now, JTG and Shad have lost all of the steam that they had when they first arrived on RAW. Crime Tyme needs a make over, and a switch to a different brand could be just what the doctor ordered. If booked correctly, Crime Tyme could be the most violent tag team since the Gangstas. What better place for them to copy the Gangstas then the federation that bears the initials E.C.W.?
Teddy Long: The WWE is currently running an angle on SmackDown! where Teddy Long hired Vicki Guerrero as the co-General Manager. Of course, the shoe will eventually drop where Vicki and Kristal turn on Teddy Long, thus leaving Long without his General Manager's job. With nowhere else to go, Teddy Long gets drafted into ECW to become that brand's General Manager. To gain revenge on Vicki and Kristal, Teddy Long uses ECW's final pick to choose one of SmackDown!'s most popular wrestlers.
Rey Mysterio Jr.: The ECW brand needs a big name star. They don't need another Bobby Lashley, a too green to be ready to carry the brand star. ECW needs a star that the fans look at as a superstar. With Sabu gone and Rob Van Dam on his way out, the WWE needs to insert somebody who the fans of the "original" ECW can identify with. Right now, there are only two WWE Superstars who fit that bill. One is Chris Benoit, but he is being moved to RAW. The other is Rey Mysterio, Jr.. Rey is the perfect choice to lead ECW. The brand needs its own identity, and needs to garner new fans since they lost many of the old ECW fans. What better way to gain new fans to the brand, then to add on the most popular wrestler from the largest growing demographic of wrestling fans. The Latin fans were attending more SmackDown! shows then RAW shows when Eddie Guerrero was headlining. The trend continued with Rey Mysterio, Jr. Sure, SmackDown! and ECW shows are under the same banner. Where the difference will lay is the TV ratings. With or without Rey Mysterio, Jr., SmackDown! will be able to hold it's own as an already established brand. ECW needs to establish itself as a legitimate brand. Rey Mysterio, Jr. would be a big help for the WWE in starting to create ECW as a true third brand, and not a sorry copy of a once great organization.
These are just some of the wrestlers who may switch brands come June 11th. Will they? Some may, others may not. What will the final rosters look like in a few short weeks? Only Vince McMahon and the WWE creative teams know for sure. As for the fans, we will find out in a couple of weeks.
